Great Scot September 2019 Great Scot 157_September 2019_ONLINE | Page 6

Principal
Life of the mind and
a life in the field
MR TOM BATTY
SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
4
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.
Great Scot Number 157 – September 2019
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