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The Shad Valley Experience at Statistics Canada
by Bill Graham, Writer–Editor, @StatCan
Source: @StatCan - Statistics Canada's Electronic Employee Magazine, August 2000.
Shad Valley is a science, technology and entrepreneurship summer program, now entering its fifteenth year and widely recognized as one of Canada's premiere educational programs. In the best sense of the term, it is an elitist program, designed to challenge the top students in grades 11 and 12 across Canada. This year two students from Scotland participated.
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Shad Valley student demonstrating enthusiasm. |
The program accommodates about 50 students at each of 10 university campuses across Canada and at the campus of the University of Strathclyde in Scotland. For one month, usually in July, participating students live on-campus and are exposed to challenging lectures, a variety of workshops, labs, project work, stimulating guest speakers and a variety of other activities.
Any student who has been through the Shad Valley experience (Shad survivors) has nothing but incredible comments like:
“Think of the most amazing experience you have ever had, an experience that changed the way you felt about yourself and your future. Now multiply that experience by ten. That's Shad.” or
“I learned more about science, math and business in four weeks at Shad than I did in all my years at school”.
School is out but some students are in and anxious to learn
On July 11, 2000 Statistics Canada hosted 52 students and 10 teaching staff from the Carleton University campus of Shad Valley. The day got underway at 9:00 a.m. with introductory remarks by Education Liaison Coordinator Mary Townsend followed by an introduction to Statistics Canada and the nature of our work by ACS Mike Sheridan.
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ACS Mike Sheridan joins the class. |
Mike Sheridan opened his talk with a number of truisms, including the fact that God did not create chartered accountants to make statisticians look like swingers, nor that statisticians are pencil-heads, but that it requires people from numerous professional backgrounds to carry out the job that Statistics Canada accomplishes. Using a simple table (Youth attending school full time by age and sex) he explained the process of becoming a data detective, illustrated with the ‘usual suspects' and the ‘smoking gun'. The subtext of Mike's dialogue with the students was the advantages of attaining the highest level of education possible.
A second address by Dale Sewell, 2001 Census Communications Manager, on the census provided another forum of dialogue with students. She provided details about the history of census taking in Canada and outlined how the census is conducted today. More particularly she gave a real worldview of the lot of census interviewers, complete with dog encounters, angry people and hidden dwellings. “When I asked for questions there was a sea of hands,” she recounted, “I barely had time to a draw a breath”.
A pizza lunch and rotation among three different hour-long, hands-on activities filled the remainder of the day. Lunch was attended by the Shad students and a number of staff from the STC economics and computer science recruitment programs who were there to encourage the Shad students to consider Statistics Canada as a potential employer. STC recruit Heidi Ertl of SIEID (Science, Innovation and Electronic Information) described the students as “extremely amazing to speak with.” Her questions to them about future career interests were met with enthusiasm. And their praise for the Shad Valley program was equally enthusiastic.
A hat trick of informative activities kept the students interested throughout the day
The Environment Statistics sessions were round-table discussions on climate change. Students were prepared in advance with background material and discussion questions. The student mix in each of the three sessions was unique, but discussion was the activity in which students showed the strongest interest. Session leader Claude Simard really enjoyed the animated discussion with students, which continued until the elevator door closed on the participants of his last session.
Lisa Adams from Geography Division demonstrated GIS (Geographic Information System) applications and mapping. Students were particularly interested in Internet mapping applications such as JEM (Java Enabled Mapping). They were able to locate their own home addresses using postal codes and to show information associated with the address. Lisa observed that, “since the students were from all over Canada, this demonstration allowed them to feel a little bit at home, and to share it with their fellow students.”
The third session was a computer lab where students received a demonstration of a CD-ROM database created by the Centre for Justice Statistics as well as training on E-STAT. They concentrated on crime statistics. These statistics were to be used in a business plan for a crime prevention product that students were required to develop during their month long stay at Carleton University. The lab used statistics on attempted murders in Newfoundland. A student from Newfoundland reported that the ‘attempted murder' statistics must be wrong since Newfoundlanders always finish what they start.
As observed and as reported, the Shad Valley experience was also rewarding for Statistics Canada participants. The enthusiasm of a young mind can make you look at what you do in a new light.
