Dear Editor:
Burnaby students have the potential of being world leaders in setting the example of what schools should be producing.
I am encouraged to note that students in Burnaby schools have their sights on high academic goals as well as humanitarian needs.
I refer to the relatively recent announcement of the prestigious academic AP Capstone program, currently offered to only one school in Canada, which will be offered at Burnaby North next September, and the even more recent and timely humanitarian gestures surrounding Christmas (Burnaby schools making impact on community during holidays, Burnaby NOW online, Opinion, Dec. 13).
The local and global humanitarian efforts of students, through programs like the Burnaby Christmas Bureau and Operation Christmas Child, are to be lauded, and they signal a world where compassion and philanthropy are still attributes of the young.
These developments reflect that students are showing a good balance between high intellectual aspirations and suitable social and humanitarian responses in an age of globalization.
This combination of a passion for the advancement of learning, and a ubiquitous compassion for people are goals of education worth promoting in our school system.
Ben Seebaran, Burnaby resident, retired school administrator, Vancouver School Board
