Life of the mind and a life in the field

Mr Tom Batty
School Principal

In the midst of a Term 2 discussion regarding considered issues of our times, a Year 12 boy expressed frustration with the behaviour of the many he encountered not sharing his views. In an attempt to ease his disappointment, and soften his landing, I noted that he shouldn’t be too hard on people, as we are all bonkers. Aware of the need to expand, I expounded: ‘You know those thoughts you keep to yourself, that are yours and yours only? Well, we all have them.’ I then put it to him, that, as social beasts, we entertain such a state while attempting to navigate the complex web of the communal world, and that it was, therefore, perhaps unsurprising that we might cause frustration to those around us.

I recalled this conversation when lending my mind to the future for intellectual thought in our changing times, I suspect because of the need to establish some primary frame of reference for our condition - in this case our ongoing challenge to connect (and make sense of) all that goes on in our own heads with the world we observe and those with whom we share it. Put another way, the balance we seek, and accept, between a life of the mind and a life in the field.

There is, of course, need to consider the nature of an intellect, and here I am drawn to a view of capacity and desire for adaptability in finding clarity, and pursuing truth, amidst the complexity and variety in all we sense and observe. With this, and changing times for behavioural interactions between individuals, groups and organisations, in mind, a strong case forms for the presence of forces at work on the nature and place of intellectual thought.

Whilst the power of advancements in communication to disrupt order amidst established agencies is nothing new – think language, the printing press, radio, television – the advent of immediate and ubiquitous communication, and the subsequent rise of social media, not only remove authority from established seats of knowledge, by their empowerment of the individual they allow those personal inner thoughts to find like minds. Thoughts once kept to oneself, perhaps out of concern of being considered an oddity, can now locate and connect the other 200 people in the world who might be interested and feel something similar. The potential is enormous – for good and ill.

As the world increasingly becomes more densely connected surface than defined hierarchical steps in a vertical tube, established pathways, that, though perhaps limited for many, were the source of comfort, security and a common belief in ‘truth’ linked to institutions and values bigger than oneself, are being challenged.

The relational balance between the individual and that which he/she observes is changing. As individuals share inner thoughts, such views increasingly become those of a collective (however small), and are, therefore, more readily articulated than when remaining the realm of personal ponderings.

I would suggest this brings consequences for intellectual thought. Where do reason and the pursuit of truth sit in such construct? How do we, now as a member of an identified group, maintain a sense of ‘the other’, particularly when ‘the other’ is often perceived, or perceives itself, as at the binary pole?

The part of education in progressing intellectual thought must enter the fray here: its need to anticipate and meet the requirements of both group and individual. As I have previously proposed, in focussing on the perceived needs of the many, the significance to this of what is best for each child can be lost. Education and qualification make uneasy bedfellows and the discomfort is accentuated when curricula and testing swamp the sharing of passions and mastery. As communication increasingly connects at the micro level of the individual, education must follow suit for the benefit of the group.

With the three-headed dragon of education: what we teach (curriculum), how we teach (relationships) and how we assess (qualification), the first and the last have held trumps; generally, I believe, because they allow control by those who wish to control and steer things to (at best) what they believe is in the nation’s best interest, and (at worst) their short-term gain. I would contend, it is the dragon’s second head that should always be primary in driving education planning, and particularly so in an age rich in information.

The ‘how we teach’ requires us to consider how best we connect the interests and skills of our teachers and boys. Continuing with familiar theme, my view is that the most important thing an education provides is opportunity for young people to become passionate about something. The second most important thing is to get them as good as they can be at that which now rattles their cage. I suspect, that, within reason, it doesn’t really matter what it is that grasps energies and imaginations as long as it does so sufficiently enough to be nurtured to mastery.

So exposed, being interested and acquiring a degree of mastery becomes habit. Possessing interests, young people are more likely to seek them out, attract others with different passions and hone communal views. Having tasted mastery, young people are more likely to expect it of themselves, observe it, and learn from it, in those they meet and in that which they undertake. I believe such traits build a network of people and ideas bigger than any individual and establish effective habits of reason and the pursuit of truth.

In keeping with such spirit, recent weeks have seen six Scotch boys participate in a Model United Nations conference representing Belgium and Mexico, with all debates and consultations conducted in German. Thirteen rowers, in quad and eight, took to the Thames and performed magnificently at the Henley Royal Regatta, the eight making it all the way to the final where they lost to Eton. A Year 9 boy claimed the Australian Scout Medallion, while Year 7 and Year 8 teams represented Victoria at the National da Vinci Decathlon finals in Sydney.

Demonstrating strength of intellect amidst the stiffest of company, two boys earned bronze medals when representing Australia at International Olympiads, one in Physics (Singapore), the other in Mathematics (Bath, UK).

Over the mid-year break, 30 members of Scotch Pipes and Drums headed to Scotland, our C Band returning as European Juvenile champions at B Grade, and our B team fifth placed at the Juvenile A Grade. Thirteen boys embraced an expedition to South America, 46 a science trip to the USA, while 49 young Scotchies had minds stretched in i2 Science Camps at the School.

In powerful endorsement of the times, the early weeks of Term 3 saw four Year 11 students of our Indigenous Programme head to Pontmain, France, to participate in an international youth forum themed Child Rights in Action: Children as Human Rights Defenders, organised by Change France.

And, here along both sides of Morrison Street, works continued apace on projects specifically designed to bring people together in the sharing of ideas, stories, memories, ambitions and talents.

Amidst the ever-expanding network of connection, opportunities to demonstrate, and give form to, an intellect multiply. The disruption of those cylindrical tubes, and growing interactions of even our innermost musings, increasingly expose thought to the messiness of our condition - its desire for belonging, affirmation and betterment.

It is my view that this increasingly shifts intellectual thought to purpose, from mind to field.