" One of the great gifts of this publication is that it provides a window into the world of St Michael’s, a view from our crest."
A moment with Mrs Terrie Jones Here we are at the end of a semester looking back with equal parts exhaustion, joy and amazement that we have been back onsite at school for two terms. Students, staff and parents have reflected positively on all the gains of being re-connected and experiencing more of the normal rhythm of the school day, week and term. But we have also realised that it takes stamina and specific skills to be in social settings as wonderful and demanding as those we enjoy as a strong, cohesive school community. Recently I attended a Leading Edge Circle event hosted by the Centre for Strategic Education where the guest speaker was Michael Stevenson who was a lead in the OECD’s HighPerforming Systems for Tomorrow project. The aim of the project was to consider the next frontiers in education for the world. It involved dialogues with the best performing jurisdictions in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). The outcome of the dialogues, which would be no surprise to anyone in the wake of the pandemic, was a consensus that 21st century education should support the concept of human flourishing. The paper arising from the dialogues, ‘Education for Human Flourishing’, is a thought-provoking read. It posits, ‘a flourishing person is achieving their highest potential – being the best they can be. They may do so by the exercise of moral and scientific reasoning, contemplation and awe, but they choose where and how to apply these processes, in a specific setting or role with a personal goal.’ The paper also advocates for a re-thinking of the relationship between individual and societal flourishing and highlights the responsibility
flourishing individuals have to ensure the flourishing of others, today and tomorrow, ‘by giving equal weight to human and planetary flourishing.’ Let us contemplate, the challenge and tension inherent in ‘being the best they can be’. What exactly does it mean? And how do we navigate the tension this may provoke as we all emerge from times and circumstances that certainly have not been the best they can be. I certainly do not think it means always being positive, or happy or stoic. Indeed, I think it actually means being resilient in the face of our fears and using the resources available to us – both internal and from those around us – to find the courage to hope, to aspire, to keep on, not just having to rely on our own resources but looking out and around to see who we can assist and who is there to assist us. A St Michael’s education has always been about the whole child and the gifts and talents they can use to benefit themselves and the world. One of the great gifts of this publication is that it provides a window into the world of St Michael’s, a view from our crest. Its pages are filled with examples of individual and collective flourishing through learning, being and doing. And while we cannot always be ‘at our best’ as individuals, and life circumstances will not always be as we may choose, we can elect to be inspired, and aspire to grow and thrive no matter the adverse circumstances we may endure. Our role as a School and a community, is to equip and inspire our children and young people to expect nothing less for themselves than the education and lives they deserve.
The Crest Issue 7 2022
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