In the School’s Vision, Mission, Values and Principles Statement, which was revised at the beginning of first term this year, and which I commend to all of you, Diversity is one of the key Values.
Diversity respects and embraces Individuality. With the miracle of DNA, we are all born as individual human beings. Dr Seuss, in his inimitable fashion, sums it up rather neatly:
“Today you are you!
That is truer than true!
There is no one alive who is you-er than you!”
One mark of the emotional and spiritual health of any community, or any School, is the manner in which it looks after its most needy members. As we all know well, there are a lot of needy and suffering people in the world. We witness their quite horrendous plights through the media on a daily basis. There are a lot of needy and suffering people in Australia as well.
The treatment of refugees and asylum seekers, and particularly their young children, in our offshore detention centres; the prevalence of domestic violence against women; the plight of aboriginal youth in detention centres; the increasing incidence of suicide amongst young men and the steady increase of homeless people sleeping on the streets of Melbourne’s CBD are just some glaring, domestic examples.
As a nation, I believe we could demonstrate more compassion, and the School is certainly doing its best to encourage its development.
Diversity necessitates the acceptance and fair treatment of all people regardless of their race, religion, gender, sexuality, or socio economic and political status.
While Individuality and Tolerance are essential to the existence of Diversity, Fear, and Prejudice, often based on ignorance, are its greatest enemies. Too often, phobias have dominated recent political and public social debate. Homophobia and Islamophobia are two recent examples.
More informed, constructive, and respectful discussion needs to take place all around Australia in government, in the press and social media, in local communities, amongst families and in schools, concerning the acceptance of difference. Life, with all its complexities, must be embraced, rather than feared, for positive developments to take place.
Robert Browning’s Fra Lippo Lippi is a great champion of embracing rather than fearing life:
(This world) “means intensely, and means good:
To find its meaning is my meat and drink.”
Both the Headmaster and I have quoted in the past the Socratic mantra that ‘an unexamined life is not worth living’. What a great clarion call for the importance of education! Education by its very process of intellectual enquiry is totally incompatible with and directly opposed to any form of intolerant extremist or fundamentalist views. The latter by their very nature oppose Diversity, and are immeasurably poorer and deficient as a result.
To conclude on the subject of Diversity, I think that the Reverend Hans Christiansen’s final blessing, at this year’s recent Hone House Service, is full of excellent advice:
“Go forth into the world in peace; be of good courage; hold fast that which is good; render to no one evil for evil; strengthen the faint-hearted; support the weak; help the afflicted and give honour to all.”
Michael Bartlett Chairman of Council
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