HEAD SHOTS

Reflections on our global community with Peter Sturrup, Head of School

As I write this introduction, Australia is on fire, Indonesia is drowning, Venice really has been sinking and the 2010s have been declared the hottest decade in recorded history. Whether you believe in climate change or not, our global community faces an emerging threat unlike any we have ever faced before. Our ability to respond to these catastrophic climate events, let alone agree to long-term solutions, will test humanity’s capacity to exist peacefully, cooperatively, safely and with hope for the future.

The world is at a crossroads. The scale of the problem we face will require a solution of a similar scale. The direction we choose may very well determine our fate as a species and the face of life on earth.

The challenge being faced was expressed by Albert Einstein in the mid-20th century when he pointed out that, “The problems that exist in the world today cannot be solved by the level of thinking that created them.” Addressing this issue will require a new form of problem solving, a renewed commitment to collaboration among people of different nations, a new acceptance of the balance between economics and environment and a re-evaluation of our dominant world views.

We need to make transformational change. We also need to consider who should be leading that change. We need to look at not just the faults in the status quo, but the fault with the assumptions that created the status quo in the first place. We need to seek change in ways that challenge the underlying beliefs, myths and power structures that got us here. We can no longer accept incremental changes as solutions to a system so badly broken.

The theme of this issue is “Our Global Community” and it is my belief that our hope for transformational change lies in this global community. Many of the answers we seek already exist in the vast diversity of our global community. But we have to be willing to be open to the wisdom that comes from different places and that therefore challenges our thinking. If we are prepared to listen, the answers may come from those most silenced; if we are prepared to work, the inspiration may come from those whose hands have already been dirtied; if we are prepared to learn, the lessons may come from those who remain closer to the natural laws that govern our planet; if we are prepared to look, we may see the vision of a more sustainable, equitable world revealed to us by those whose eyes see opportunity defined differently than we do.

What makes me most proud is that a microcosm of the global community on which we need to rely already exists here at Pickering College. Within our school, innovative approaches to problem solving and a recognition of the power of collaboration combine with a belief that every individual has value and worth and dignity. This inspires our students to listen, work, learn and see the opportunity that people from around the world have to contribute to making the place better. If we can do it at Pickering College, we can export that approach to people all over the world. That is a very hopeful prospect indeed.