Series S007 - Cool School

• Textual record

8 cm of textual records

The Cool School was founded by Dr. Jim Anderson in 1971. Dr. Anderson was a medical professor at McMaster University. He studied learning disabilities in youth and spent his career providing alternative education to troubled youth. He was very progressive in his views. He spent time working with youth who had drug problems. He posted their bail, testified on their behalf in court, and made himself available to assist them in other ways. His actions with those deemed “criminals” by society made him a polarizing figure. He believed that drugs were a symptom of a much larger problem instead of being a problem in their own right. He won several awards for his efforts, including the Citizen of the Year Award (1975) and the Lamp of Learning Award presented by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation.

The Cool School began in 1971. At first, Dr. Anderson counselled troubled youth and youth with learning disabilities in his home. When this was no longer viable due to space constraints, he moved his operation into an unoccupied building at Chedoke Hospital. After receiving an increase in funding the school moved into a much larger building in the hospital (renamed Chedoke-McMaster Hospitals in 1979), before moving to Mount St. Joseph in 1982.The Cool School leased the first two floors of Mount St. Joseph. Renovations were undertaken by the Sisters to accommodate the Cool School, and to upgrade the third floor where Sisters remained in residence. Apart from living in the same building, the Sisters were not involved with the Cool School.

By 1975, 15 Cool School graduates attended university despite their lack of formal high school credits. By 1977, two former students made the Dean’s Honour Roll at McMaster University and one went on to complete graduate studies.

The school assisted youth who were unable to cope with traditional education. Teenagers between the ages of 13 and 19 attended the school. These youth were referred to the school by medical or educational professionals or parents. In total, 81 males and 42 females attended the school between 1971 and 1976. It was reported that of this number, 35% were recorded as having a major improvement.

The school did not teach a traditional curriculum. Instead it had “four phases” that students completed in order to graduate. These phases were communication, history of ideas, the community, and correlation. The communication phase helped students build a solid foundation to help them with the rest of their studies. This included skills in critical reading, creative writing, and listening and speaking skills. The history of ideas phase taught students about history, sociology, philosophy, anthropology, and economics. The community phase involved students spending one week apprenticing at different jobsincluding with the clergy, banks, social agencies, factories, stores, and schools. The correlation phase had students fill in gaps in their knowledge and enabled them to prepare for the future. Emphasis was placed on self-reliance, budgeting time, developing social skills, and self-esteem in each phase. Students had to track their own progress. Class time consisted of small tutorials of five to eight students, where they shared ideas. The Cool School’s philosophy emphasized respect and belief in each child, and was based on Glasser’s reality theory.

This series consists of material related to the Cool School lease agreement with the Sisters of St. Joseph, discussion of the school’s philosophy on alternative youth education, and, invoices, tenders, and building requests. Also included are opening ceremony invitations and an address by Sister Ann Marshall. Finally, Mount St. Joseph School committee meeting minutes also make up this series.