Great Scot September 2019 Great Scot 157_September 2019_ONLINE | Page 8

Chaplain
Developing their minds as
they develop their passions
REV DOUG CAMPBELL
SCHOOL CHAPLAIN
During the Term 2 holidays, I visited a Tatts shop
and bought copies of Time, The New Statesman and
The Spectator. To be honest, I do not normally have
time to read magazines, but a vacation is a time for rest
and to read the things that intrigue and stimulate. The
shop assistant looked approvingly at my purchases and
commented: ‘You must be an intellectual’. I took it as
a compliment and quickly stammered that I was most
certainly no intellectual.
I suppose part of this reticence is that for many in
the world today, the idea of ‘intellectual’ is generally
treated with suspicion or is used as a term of contempt.
The lecture was ‘too intellectual’ is a phrase very often
heard. The epithet can often be simply a throwaway
line that both dismisses the speaker and excuses the
listener’s unwillingness, or inability, to engage with
the matters at hand. Yes, the concept of improving
the mind seems to be passé and out of touch in this
ever-changing world. Why improve your mind, master
a subject or finely hone a gift or skill when Google will
give you the answers and YouTube will teach you the
techniques?
Australians are ‘can-do’ people who live in this
pragmatic age where almost everything, including
the pursuit of improving the mind and gaining
understanding, comes down to the bottom line. What
will improving my mind get me? Will it automatically
improve my ATAR? Will it allow me to gain a better
job? Will I be able to buy the apartment of my dreams
and fill it with more expensive stuff? Why expend the
time and effort in exploring deeper into a topic if there
is little or no immediate benefit? For many, intellectual
pursuit seems at best trivial.
Our boys are growing up in a world where ideas
and understanding have never been more important,
and yet are under attack. There are examples of
arguments and thinkers being shouted down by critics
who seek to silence their political and ideological
opponents. So assured that they are correct, they refuse
even to consider the opinions of others, and will do
all they can to ensure no one else hears them, too.
Sadly, they often seem to base their arguments not on
intellectually critiquing the ideas they dislike, but on
the basis of their feelings (‘I just feel like …’) or ad
hominem arguments.
6
Great Scot Number 157 – September 2019
It is imperative that we pass on to the next
generation the importance of engaging, improving and
developing the mind. We need to have the boys explore
and understand the issues that arise in the world. To
be totally prepared, they should be encouraged to
read the great works of literature and be aware of the
themes they examine. They should learn to grapple
with the essays of critics of all political views that try
to understand our world. They should listen to the
works of the maestros and experience the art of the
great masters. Our boys need to develop not only their
passions but their minds to understand their world.
Life is one of continuous learning. We keep
sharing this truth with the boys at Scotch. During
Scotch’s Literature Festival, a famous illustrator of
children’s books challenged some Year 7 boys to learn
how to draw a dragon. He showed them the way to
hold their pencils and how to sketch with freedom,
embracing their errors and incorporating them into
their vision of a dragon. The boys used their minds
and imaginations, and in the process they learned
new skills. In turn they shared their pictures with the
illustrator, and asked him questions about the books he
had illustrated and the stories he imagined. They were
engaged intellectually and showed a degree of critical
thinking.
A couple of Year 10s dropped into my office
unannounced last term and began to discuss the book
12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos (Allen Lane,
2018) by Canadian academic and psychologist, Jordan
B Peterson. Professor Peterson has become an internet
sensation through his internet lectures, and his book is
a best seller.
It would be fair to say that many have opposed
Peterson’s ideas. My visitors had carefully engaged
with the book and the advice the author was sharing.
Prompted by Peterson’s wider reading, these boys
had begun to read some of the works Peterson had
mentioned. They were now embarked on a journey
through some of the great works of literature by the
likes of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, T S Eliot, Alexandr
Solzhenitsyn, George Orwell and others. Moreover,
these boys wanted to know about my take on
Peterson’s use and reading of the Bible. These boys
were on a pursuit for knowledge and truth.