Excerpts from Mr. Harvey’s Academic Assembly Remarks
Good Morning,
Do I have your attention?
Do I have your attention?
Do I have your attention?
Well, thank you for giving me your attention so fully, but, sadly, I’m no longer certain that it is yours to give. And if you are not in possession of your attention, who is? TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube? Nevertheless, if you have given it to me freely and completely, my wish is to give it back to you because in our current cultural moment it is a highly valuable and rare commodity, one that should be held on to at all costs!
In a recent work by the social psychologist, Jonathan Haidt, your generation has been convincingly characterized as The Anxious Generation because of the epidemic of mental health issues among Generation Z. One of his key arguments is that digital overexposure - the pervasive use of smartphones and social media - has resulted in fragmented attention. Here are just a few corroborating facts. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), in a recent global study, notes that reading, writing and numerous skills are steadily declining. What’s more, over one third of teenagers acknowledge that they are digitally distracted. The average time Gen Z spends on any given website is only 2.5 minutes, and the current metric used among contemporary advertisers is 8 seconds. That attention span is less than a goldfish! In that last decade diagnoses for ADHD have tripled and, unfortunately, the largest spike in cases is with elementary-aged students.
Read More of Mr Harvey's Remarks : The Third Bird: Reclaiming Your Attention
Land Acknowledgment
The Country Day School wishes to recognize and acknowledge the land on which the school operates. Our nearest Indigenous Nations are now the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the Chippewas of Georgina Island. The Dish with One Spoon Wampum covenant is often cited as an example of the shared responsibility for caring for these lands among the Huron-Wendat, Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples who would call these their traditional territories. CDS respects the relationship with these lands and recognizes that our connection to this land can be strengthened by our continued relationship with all First Nations, by acknowledging our shared responsibility to respect and care for the land and waters for future generations.
School Information
Junior, Middle and Senior Schools
13415 Dufferin Street, King, Ontario L7B 1K5
(905) 833-1220
communications@cds.on.ca
admissions@cds.on.ca
Founded in 1972, The Country Day School is a co-educational private school offering programs in JK-12 and located on 100 acres north of Toronto in King.
13415 Dufferin Street, King, Ontario L7B 1K5
(905) 833-1220
communications@cds.on.ca
admissions@cds.on.ca
Founded in 1972, The Country Day School is a co-educational private school offering programs in JK-12 and located on 100 acres north of Toronto in King.
