Dear Parents
POWER
I spoke at last week’s assembly on power, how one uses it and to what end. I read these words of Nelson Mandela’s which sum up his attitude to power:
“The problem I have is not how to use power. My biggest problem is how not to use power.”
This from a man who in old age, after a life of immense struggle and 27 years of incarceration, chose nation building over revenge, sought to use power to make human life better, to remove domination of one group over the other, so different to the lived South African experience up until 1994.
How to relate this to boys aged 9-13? They each have strengths, some more readily apparent than those of others at this age. Physical strength, athletic prowess, musical ability, academic ease, power of concentration, etc. How does a boy use these in relation to others? Does he “lord” it over others, criticise them or look down on them for not having the same talents as he does, or not yet be at the same stage of development as he is. Or does he show humility and appreciation for his talents, help and encourage others, use it to the advantage of the group/team/class or just for his own “glory”?
SPORT AT BISHOPS
Last week the Principal wrote this about sport at our school. I though it particularly important to share in the light of a number of negative postings that have appeared in social media.
“Our sports programme is very important to us as part of the balanced education of our boys. We encourage our boys to strive for excellence in every area of which they take part, sport included. And they rise to that challenge time and time again. I am so proud of them for giving their all.
There are times though, when things don’t work as well as we hoped and there is a danger of letting this affect us negatively. I refer specifically to rugby, where we have struggled with results these past few weeks.
At the beginning of last year, when we realised we needed to devote more attention to the rugby programme, we introduced a new coaching strategy, “This is Bishops”, where we set out a programme of coaching, headed up by a team of advisors and appointing specialist coaches in key areas. We made it clear at the time that this, coupled with an improved recruitment strategy, was a long-term project that wasn’t going to “fix” Bishops rugby overnight but was going to have long term influence.
I have been saddened and sometimes angered by some of the comments made on social media that criticise our boys, our coaches and our school. The school and the Executive are fully supportive of the rugby programme, securing a wonderful sponsorship deal with our partners 10X, that has helped fund this improved coaching structure. This included paying attention to the Prep schools that provide us with most boys to develop skills and talents at an earlier age. We will overcome, that I am sure, but it will take time and we need the support of all members of our community as we go along this journey.
The rugby programme is an important part of our total offering, but then so are other sports, our cultural programme and the academic side of school life. And I could go on and on, citing areas of excellence that some seem to ignore. We are developing young men to go out into our world as Good Men, men who have reinvented modern masculinity and who are contributors to society as good citizens of our country and our world. We need to show them that we believe in them, we support them. We need to show them that a balanced approach, keeping perspectives in place, will be their best chance for success.
Our rugby boys turn up week after week, trying their hardest to do their best. Our coaches pour their energies and passions into what they do. Let us support them while always retaining the bigger picture of what Bishops stands for – holistic, excellent education in the development of Good Men.”
Kind regards
GREG BROWN
HEADMASTER |
