Our opportunity to lead - Scotch College

Publications

Our opportunity to lead

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Mr Tom Batty
School Principal

We all have opportunity to influence to the greater good at each moment in our lives.

In recent decades, the World Cup has brought little cheer for England supporters with penalty debacles, broken metatarsals, and the odd sending-off and disallowed goal all contributing to the not so gradual realignment of hope with reality

In many ways the 2014 competition was pleasingly more straightforward: two 90-minute spells of crushing underachievement and it was all over, leaving the hardened fan free to relax, enjoy the real contest and let his mind wander to Brentford’s summer signings on the back of their promotion to the Championship.

There was a moment, however, during the final inconsequential group game that caused my ears to prick up. It came when one of the pundits commentating on the game proffered the view that England’s failure was down to a lack of leadership on the pitch

There are certain words that seem to have become universal in their use in sweeping simplistic statements of what is wrong and what must be done. Of these, leadership tends to rattle my cage most, though strategic pushes it close. Both, of course, look to define important ideas and behaviours, but meaning and scope tend to get lost in the comfort of words of such accepted high currency that they instantly cause heads to nod and carry the day with minimal question

Much is made of our need for leaders, the power of leadership, and even the ability of some to develop the qualities required to lead. Perhaps the attraction of the word is that it suggests elevation to an elite group that can do things beyond the capacity of others, or the means through which a problem can be instantly solved by someone else without hard work and planning (strategic or otherwise) – or the grassroots development of a national approach to a game

For me, leadership is the ability to influence to the greater good.

When suggesting this in Assemblies, I have noted that it means we all have opportunity to lead at each moment in our lives. Whilst through appointment and circumstance some people are expected to exert such influence in certain situations, the opportunity to influence to the greater good remains for all, in each moment.

There are, of course, different styles of leadership. Each opportunity to influence is as subtly different as the personalities of those involved and the nature of the circumstance. Influencing a group of soldiers on the front line is likely to require a different approach to influencing a group of boys struggling with their reading or those involved in a political debate, but there are common traits. If the outcome of the influence is ‘the greater good’ then I would contend any such influence brought to bear represents leadership

To my mind, such a view of leadership sits at the heart of education. If the essential goal of education is to nurture the judgment that will underpin a lifetime’s decision making, engagement and participation (and I believe it is), then the teacher’s role is to influence to such end. The teacher guides amidst the messy mix where people debate, listen, share ideas, critique, refine, rebut, challenge and support: that space which exists between our inner self and our interaction with the world about us. It’s the place where minds and bodies provoke and collaborate to empower individuals in their capacity to pursue mutually beneficial, if often uncertain, ends. The teacher, therefore, is required to lead

Over the recent break, I attended the 21st Annual Conference of the International Boys’ Schools Coalition held at Montgomery Bell Academy, Nashville, Tennessee. The Coalition currently numbers more than 250 schools across the world and continues to expand. Formed in 1995, initially to take a somewhat defensive stance for boys’ schools, particularly in the US, the Coalition has grown to be both a major voice for boys’ schools and a source of research-based advocacy and professional development.

Two years ago, the 19th Annual Conference was held here at Scotch and attracted some 480 delegates. Focusing on the theme Building Boys into Good Men, this year’s conference combined, to good effect, the fruits of recently commissioned research, academic and professional observations of renowned experts, and the shared practice of successful teachers with the thoughts and reflections of some of Nashville’s leading music names

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ABOVE: JACK OTTER (12MH), JAMES CLEMENTS (12EN), PRINCIPAL TOM BATTY, CAMPBELL MATTHEWS (12DN), PAUL COLMAN (12LN) AND DAVID ATHAN (12LJ) PHOTOGRAPHY: ANGUS SCOTFORD, ARISPHOTOGRAPH

I left affirmed, and inspired, that the Coalition’s research on relational learning (I Can Learn From You – Boys as Relational Learners, Michael Reichert and Richard Hawley) mirrors our commitment to ongoing conversations of learning, and the development of spaces in which boys and staff can build learning relationships across the campus and throughout the long Scotch day. Montgomery Bell’s impressive use of imagery and narrative in guiding boys’ journeys certainly made its mark on the Scotch contingent, emphasising the importance of the physical learning environment and providing food for thought on the finishing touches to the spaces of the Sir Zelman Cowen Centre for Science. And it was encouraging to hear of recent research from New Zealand suggesting boys in boys’ schools significantly outperform those in coeducational settings across the socio-economic spectrum

A strong recurring theme in American schools, which they relate directly to leadership, is that of honour. Whilst I can’t fully shed the European’s sensitivity to institutions having codes of behaviour or espousing adherence to some creed, I can readily embrace identification and nurturing of those values we deem as fundamental for personal growth and the positive development of functioning societies.

For me, such values fuel interactions which traverse the interface between that which is within and that which is beyond, and represent the foundations for the influence which underpins leadership. With noted sensitivities respected, the American schools I have visited do inculcate a sense of identity and a willingness to articulate and stand up for those things deemed to be truly important. My observation is that this is generally beneficial to leadership

Determining what is truly important can’t however, be done in isolation. At Scotch, we are blessed with our Christian foundation and the readings and messages from our Chaplains steering boys’ minds to those few things of real significance. Importantly, we are also able to set the rich, diverse canvas on which boys and staff can engage, with each other and with the world beyond our doors, so necessary for individuals and groups to refine those things of real value.

While I was in Nashville, Scotch staff created opportunities for boys to engage with our friends at Tiwi College; with cadets from London on a tour to Darwin; with other Year 9 footballers in Adelaide; with experts in Year 12 literature at the Melbourne University Winter School; with the bush of the Pyrenees State Forest; with sailors at the Australian Secondary Schools Sailing Championships in Sydney; and, with cricketers and school communities across England and in Singapore

Scotch boys once again took to kayaks to explore the glaciers and communities of Prince William Sound, Alaska; walked in the footsteps of those who shaped civilisation from Troy to Ithaca; stood at the scenes of Europe where some of the cleverest scientific minds determined, and continue to determine, just what our world could become; and, had their minds opened and hands dirtied building homes with Global Village in Cambodia.

Strengthening ties with cultures beyond our shores, some 20 boys are currently on exchange at Scotch from France, Germany, South Africa, China and the UK. And, ensuring the best of our nation makes its impact abroad, at the time of typing, four Scotch boys are returning from representing Australia in scientific and mathematical Olympiad competitions held in Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Taiwan and Indonesia

The complex task of preparing young men to influence for the greater good may not see England progress through to the latter stages of a World Cup, but it is, perhaps, likely to lead a generation to better articulate and stand up for those things they believe to be truly important in bettering the world they will inherit