As Headmaster of a large urban boys’ school I love the inter- actions I have with our young men and I am often left in awe of their abilities and maturity. This also often happens as I chase yet another ball to the boundary at The Willows, one innings by a young Waitakian, this past season particularly comes to mind. Today’s high school students are an outstanding generation equipped to deal with an increasingly complex world and they bring deeper meaning to values more commonly associated with older generations.
Jake Bailey who was the 2015 Senior Monitor at Christchurch Boys’ High School provided an outstanding example of the depth of our youth when having been recently diagnosed with cancer he made an inspiring valedictory speech that had an impact all over the world. It was a speech of old-fashioned values, however, these values are more relevant and more prevalent in 2016 than they were in the age they supposedly represent.
We don’t hear the word gallant often and yet it resonated and inspired the social media generation.
In what for many is an uncertain world our young men these days are braver, more resilient and also more caring, more inclusive and more tolerant. The tough man ideal has been replaced by a thinking and decent man.
The statistics also show that they use less drugs and alcohol, smoke a lot less and drive a lot safer than their parents did.
There is, however, a large gap between students like Jake, as well as the outstanding sportsmen we see at The Willows, and the small minority who have tarnished the image of our youth. Most students are decent, but there are the “ticking time bombs”, as chief Youth Judge Andrew Becroft described them, who are influenced by alcohol and drug abuse, income equality and, most importantly, a lack of family and community connections, support, values and role models.
One of the challenges that makes life harder for modern teenagers is that values are not, in fact, fixed. Values are the way societies over time have responded to dilemmas and formed cultural norms. In our global and multicultural society these cultural norms have collided and values have become contestable.
Our students have to be decision-makers at a much deeper level and much earlier in life than any other generation. The students who can do this are much stronger as a result, but the consequences for those (and for their communities) who don’t negotiate this contest the outcomes are catastrophic.
New Zealand high school students these days are more exposed to the brutal realities of life, but despite having more information, it is vital to remember that they are still not junior adults. The science is clear on this, as their brains continue to develop into their early twenties. So to negotiate the mine field of good and bad values they need support and connection.
Schools are important in this. School provides a sense of community, where students, teachers and parents feel that they belong to something bigger than themselves. School is also important for teachers when they can change lives through the relationships they have with their students.
Co-curricular activities, assemblies, uniforms, traditions and ceremony (which students actually love) are not bygones of a colonial heritage. They are places where communities are formed, where students feel connected and supported and where they gain the resilience to become moral decision-makers.
One of the great things about school now is that students behave well and work hard not because they are scared of their teachers, but because of the relationships they have with them.
I hope the readers of this article see the many links to nurturing strong youth that The Willows provides. Mike Dormer’s instruction to every school player to play in the “V” has very little to do with cricket and plenty to do with being strong and decent human beings. If in our schools, clubs, families and communities we can continue to provide a sense of connection our students will, from this base, negotiate the skills they need to solve the world’s complex problems.
They will leave us in their wake.
We urge Willowers to read the inspirational 2015 valedictory speech delivered by Jake Bailey, the link being: cbhs.school.nz/media/24305/head- monitor-jake-baileys-speech.pdf
- In the address, Jake pays tribute to his late uncle, Nephrology transplant pioneer, Dr Ross Bailey. Ross was also a playing member of The Willows at the time of his tragic death off the coast of Sri Lanka in 1997. Ross is missed by all lucky enough to play hockey and cricket with him – Ed.