Scotch College

From the Principal - June 2000

From the Principal

This edition of Great Scot details several events that provided exceptional experiences that will leave valuable impressions on those involved.

The Hockey tourists to New Zealand enjoyed wonderful hospitality from billeting hosts as well as exciting hockey contests. The Year 10 Football tour to Darwin and the Tiwi Islands impacted at least as much on the boys' cultural and social awareness as on their football expertise.

A group of 19 students of Chinese travelled to Beijing, Nanjing and Shanghai, greatly improving their language abilities. Their understanding of life in China was enhanced when they enjoyed overnight hospitality in Chinese homes. For many this provided the dominant memory of the trip.

A group of elite musicians earned an invitation to play at an international festival in Zimbabwe. Political upheaval threatened to cancel the trip but advice and support from the Australian High Commission proved effective, allowing the boys to experience a hugely different culture and yet feel welcome through a shared love of music.

Another group of students completed their first high altitude trek, climbing higher than Everest Base Camp in Nepal. The exhilaration of conquering altitude induced fatigue, of conquering Kala Patar (over 5,500 metres) after 11 days of physical hardship and of maintaining focus during the exhausting return trek were significant achievements. The friendships made within the group and the character shaping experience of a widely divergent culture contributed to an unforgettable experience.

How fortunate each boy on these trips has been. How fortunate Scotch students are to have opportunities like these made available through our admirable teaching staff.

We can confidently expect each student on these trips to benefit from the experience and so become a wiser and more mature person. The quest for maturity underlies all education, and involves many elements, including a variety of challenging experiences. These need not be to the extent of those described above. Scotch's wide co-curricular and sporting program provides ample scope for every student to be impelled into valuable, character-forming experiences.

"We can confidently expect each student on these trips to benefit from the experience and so become a wiser and more mature person. The quest for maturity underlies all education, and involves many elements, including a variety of challenging experiences."

Other important maturing elements are responsibility and understanding. While a school can give meaningful responsibility to students through leadership positions, for many young people today responsible adulthood is essentially deferred.

By 16 or 18 most are fully capable of adult judgement and responsible decision making. But our system of schooling, university degrees, professional training and post graduate qualifications puts off for many years the experience of responsible, accountable action. While this is understandable in our highly complex world, it is frustrating for adolescents wanting to enter adulthood. Little wonder that many young people feel uncomfortable in the no-man's land we leave them in!

It would surely benefit young folk if older generations learned to open the adult world and invite an adolescent in, even occasionally, to begin a process of induction into adulthood. It may be simply a parent inviting his son or daughter to spend some time in his or her workplace, demystifying the world of daily work. It may be making time as an aunt or uncle or even an acquaintance to talk with genuine interest about an adolescent's interests.

Ideally, young people should be enabled to create a comfortable relationship with an adult beyond the immediate family, where sometimes the intensity of parental concerns can hinder objective and long-term perspectives. This could help adolescents make sense of events in their lives, to impel them into understanding by sharing the benefit of adult experience.

Schools like Scotch do a huge amount to help youngsters gain maturity. Much more could be done if, as a community, we all made a deliberate, significant effort. May I encourage all adults to think where each could contribute to an adolescent. You have much to share and it can make a huge difference if you do so.

Dr Gordon Donaldson