CHAPLAIN
RESOURCING RADIANCE
OUR PART TO PLAY AS A SCHOOL IS TO EDUCATE NOT JUST FOR THE HEAD , BUT ALSO FOR THE HEART
REV DAVID ASSENDER SCHOOL CHAPLAIN
It ’ s astonishing to think that we live in an age where information worldwide is popularly distributed to the masses through a handful of companies . And now the race is on to secure the central position in the world AI ecosystem . Whoever emerges as most popular will ' have leverage to shape the direction of AI at a fundament level , controlling both the experiences of individual users and setting limits on what other companies could and couldn ’ t do .' Consequently , the race to keep up in both law and ethical policy is struggling to keep pace .
Technology , just like education or power ( or even our heart ), can be used and abused . In the right hands , however , it can also give us a greater understanding of ourselves , take us to new heights and provide us with just the right support we need to flourish . Resources like technology give us more capacity to make a larger impact for what we will . What ’ s in our heart is magnified , or brought to more powerful expression . In turn , this means our plans for a brighter future must always include a moral sensitivity and aptitude for wielding resources like technology in order to bring hope to the world .
The theme of a brighter future is the subject of Isaiah ’ s prophecy in Chapter 60 . God ’ s holiness and glory are often experienced as a great light in the Bible , and here , as it was when Moses experienced it on Mt Sinai , it is foretold to radiate forth from God ’ s people onto nations . While the author is speaking of undefined circumstances in a distant eschatological era , the message is clear : in the darkest of days , our purpose is to bring the hope of God to the world . In fact , we are to be radiant about it :
' Arise , shine , for your light has come , and the glory of the Lord rises upon you .
See , darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples , but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you .
Nations will come to your light , and kings to the brightness of your dawn .
' Lift up your eyes and look about you : All assemble and come to you ; your sons come from afar , and your daughters are carried on the hip . Then you will look and be radiant , your heart will throb and swell with joy …' ( Isaiah 60:1-5 )
The transformative nature of such a community inwardly and outwardly is love , truth and justice . But as we see in Isaiah and many other passages in the Bible , the light is to be reflected onwards and outwards , into the darkness . In response , the work of our radiance will also enlarge and bring joy to our heart in seeing people being drawn out of the darkness .
Attuning hearts to seek out dark places to shine a light . This is God ’ s vision for his people , but equally sounds like a great vision for a school . Equipping boys to not just get a good education , but to will and to want that education towards a brighter tomorrow ; resourcing boys to making the world better for all , because it is our Scotch identity , caught , taught and sought ; to enlarge their hearts towards others as they reflect God ’ s goodness and love . I would want boys thus resourced to the hilt for all of life . I think we all would . I think we all should .
Each year at Scotch when the Perelberg Award winner is announced , we hear another story of a Scotch boy , either a current or former student , and how he has dedicated himself to making his world a better place . Many of them find incredible ways of using technology to achieve their goals . We celebrate their radiance . That makes me proud as an educator . Our part to play as a school is to educate not just for the head , but also for the heart . It gives me hope to believe that the more we get this right , the more our chances for a brighter future are substantially increased . We want to resource radiance , and may the darkness never overcome it .
6 Great Scot Issue 169 – September 2023