Point of View A Sneaking Suspicion

A SNEAKING SUSPICION

In line with the beliefs of Gordonstoun’s founder Kurt Hahn, Lisa Kerr suggests that the path to true happiness for colleagues weighed down by stress can be found through being of service to others.

Through HMC, SCIS, Rugby Group, BSA and many other bodies whose acronyms trip off the tongue, I speak to a lot of Heads. The uninspiring conversation opener of “How are you?”, once the universal precursor to a pavlovian reaction of “fi ne”, now generally elicits a weary “shattered”. It’s not surprising; the pandemic has been horrid for everyone, relentless for schools, and unimaginable for Heads, most of whom have not had a proper break since Christmas 2019. Any creeping optimism has been quickly squashed by horror and despair in the face of the Ukraine crisis.

Appropriate self-care

In staff rooms the length of the country, colleagues discuss how to adopt appropriate self-care. We wonder how to create a better sense of work-life balance (remember that?!); we encourage woodland walks, sunrise yoga, time with family and friends. In short, we know we need to look after ourselves and our staff.

And I believe in all of that. But whilst that cocktail of compassion might help with immediate regeneration, I also have a sneaking suspicion that it is not in that

direction that true happiness lies.

Gordonstoun’s founder Kurt Hahn believed in a different form of education, where young people could discover their sense of self through out-of-classroom learning experiences and, I’m getting to my point here, through being of service to others. That’s why, in addition to offering probably the world’s broadest curriculum, all Gordonstoun students take part in one of the school’s nine services. The most famous of these is the Gordonstoun Fire Unit, part of Scottish Fire and Rescue, which sees students carrying pagers 24/7 during term time. But the other services are just as impressive, from running outdoor education

That appeal hardly ever fails

and sports sessions in local schools to delivering coastal safety awareness training.

As our students have emerged from lockdown, it has been wonderful to see them blossom through seeing how their skills, knowledge and hard work can make a difference in their local community. As Hahn said, “There are three ways of trying to win the young. There is persuasion, there is compulsion, and there is attraction. You can preach at them: that is a hook without a worm. You can say, You must volunteer, and that is of the devil. You can tell them, You are needed. That appeal hardly ever fails.”

As adults, as teachers, we too are needed. And I believe that our recovery from the pandemic, our sense of identity, and our self-worth, will ultimately be restored by putting our shoulder to the wheel and doing what we do best; being of service to children and young people.

Yes, we are tired, and yes, we have experienced unimaginable stress, but we have shown what we are made of. And, along with a bit of TLC, we will be energised and renewed by seeing the impact of what we can do for the next generation. ●

LISA KERR is a businesswoman who had her own media and communications consultancy and multiple directorships, including the Vice Chair of Scottish Opera, before becoming Principal of Gordonstoun in 2017.

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