Boundaries
Boundaries
Li Po Chun United World College (LPCUWC) is very different from the previous school where I was Head. For a start, LPCUWC is just 15 years old, whereas my previous school was almost 140 years old. When I arrived at my previous school, I knew I had inherited a long and rich history when I walked into my office for the first time and I was greeted by a large and very impressive collection of old books on the bookshelves. Many of those books bore the name of one or another of the former headmasters, my predecessors, written on the front page.
There were certainly some unusual titles among the books I inherited. There was volume two of Demosthenes’ Orations, but not volume one. There was the three volume set of The Life of Gladstone and the four volume set of the Works of Edgar Alan Poe. There was a book called ‘The Schoolboy – his nutrition and development’, and it talked about hunger “as a manifestation of the carnal sin of greed , to be suitably repressed”. Fortunately, I am not applying any of the advice from that book to the catering arrangements here at LPCUWC.
One very interesting 216 page book was called ‘The Romance of School’ by C.J. Prescott. It was written in 1932, and it opened with these words at the top of page 1:
“Headmasters are naturally in a class of their own... To his boys he is always an august figure, the more so because the deference paid to him by his staff is witnessed by them and becomes the model for their imitation. They know that he is the fountain of authority…”
Its view of students was somewhat less flattering. Of girls, the book said this: “The education given to girls fifty years ago (i.e. in about 1882) assumed that they were more ornamental than utilitarian. They were taught to write in a beautiful hand, to speak with correctness, to carry and deport themselves with dignity, and to play on the piano or occasionally some other instrument such as the harp. (While) our girls of today might sneer at all this, they would do well to remember that their stately grandmothers possessed a native intelligence, and a wonderful skill in directing their often large families and numerous servants (in a manner) that their grandchildren will not win cheaply”.
The view of boys was not much better. The book talked about their misdeeds, their eagerness for mischief, and it offered this advice: “The typical boy in our secondary schools is a delightful creature. As a rule boys are friendly souls, gregarious, companionable, sociable. If they do not, like wolves, hunt in packs, they make up packs. As cattle, sheep and horses herd together and as birds of a feather flock together, so boys naturally associate in groups, and pull together and play together and laugh together. Abundant vitality is his hallmark. Like the foal, the calf, the puppy, the young of all animals, he is restless, active and (unlike them) talkative. He is singularly sociable”.
The chapter continued with a similar flow of drivel for another six pages before finishing with this warning to teachers and School Principals: “There is scarcely a rule or law that (boys do not break) at some time. Dishonesty, lying, cheating, blasphemy, uncleanliness, theft here and there, show their ugly heads, and punishment must follow swiftly upon their detection.”
Fortunately, another old book left on my bookshelf had the remedy to the problem of unruly youth. This book was probably the most surprising title I found for a Principal’s shelf – it was called ‘The Life of the Bee’. I was probably the only School Principal in the world to have ‘The Life of the Bee’ on his office shelves, and it was a 351 page manual on Apiculture, or bee-keeping. One of my predecessors apparently saw the parallels in raising bees and raising boys, because there was just one bookmark inserted in the book, at page 47, in a chapter headed ‘the swarm’.
It is a sad fact that School Principals spend a disproportionate amount of time dealing with disciplinary issues. It is probably expected, as adolescence is a time for pushing the boundaries and testing the limits. Inevitably, those boundaries are sometimes pushed too far, which is when mistakes occur.
According to research in adolescent psychology, teenagers need (and despite their protests, subconsciously crave) boundaries within which they must operate. If the fences are weak and consequence-free, then whatever is inside will break through. Asking young people not to lean on the fence is about as useless as playing the flute and expecting the rats to follow - it only happens in fairy tales.
It is important, of course, not to confuse the setting of boundaries with oppressive restrictions. No strong teacher (and, in the same way, no firm parent) should be a stranger to compassion and sensitivity. We see this in history through the examples of many strong people. Our current UWC President, Nelson Mandela, has a moral and ethical strength which is extraordinary and an example to us all. Throughout his life, Nelson Mandela has been a stalwart man who has remained resolutely committed to his ideals and purposes. However, this did not stop him showing love, shedding tears, or dealing with those he met with kindness.
This is actually quite radical, because it is counter to the ways of the society that surrounds us just as much as it is counter to the views of C.J. Prescott. When we read a newspaper or watch the television, we learn very quickly that the ways of society are usually to ‘grab all you can for yourself’, and we see it in so many different ways – in the materialism of our society, in the values portrayed in advertising, and in the motives that drive most people. Everyone believes in something, and what that something is, is of incredible importance. A belief in Stalin will create one kind of world, a belief in money another, and a belief in Jesus or Allah or Buddha or radical atheism yet others.
Creating a better world is the challenge that United World Colleges were established to meet. UWCs were set up to bring together the next generation of future leaders from all around the world. The aim was to unite the students around a common set of ideals while retaining the diversity of cultures and beliefs within the College. Having done this, the aim was to educate the young men and women to the highest possible standards so they would assume positions of influence when they returned to their homelands. The concept was that as they studied together, they would live on campus to learn how to understand each other at a very deep level.
This is an educational philosophy that pushes the boundaries of traditional education way beyond the usual limits. It was radical when the first UWC opened in 1962, and it remains cutting edge today.
Most importantly of all, it provides authentic hope for a better world!
Sunday, 23 September 2007
Studying on the roof of Residential Block 2 of Li Po Chun United World College, looking north across Tolo Harbour.
This photo was taken yesterday morning (22nd September).