“Freedom is hammered out on the anvil of discussion, dissent, and debate.”
– Hubert H. Humphrey
Earlier in the week we had a staff training day. As always there was an opportunity to revisit ideas already known and to learn something new. I was particularly taken with a slide in a presentation on cross- curricular learning about the Latin origins of the word ‘impediment’. A fascinating root if you care to take a look. This quick reminder of long-forgotten knowledge from school led me to thinking about the Ides of March. The Romans based their monthly calendar on the phases of the moon with three broad periods defined as Kalends, Ides and Nones, with the Ides falling around the 13-15th March. Shakespeare is perhaps the reason why the Ides are the best remembered. In his play Julius Caesar the emperor is warned of impending danger on the Ides, he dismisses the risk only to be murdered by Brutus, supposedly his supporter. Since then the Ides have been seen as a harbinger of violence.
We find ourselves approaching the Ides of March in a world that is as dangerous, violent and risk-filled as ever. Earlier in the week I spoke with colleagues in the Gulf region and offered them both support and good wishes as their part of the globe exploded into violence. We are always careful when speaking with our young people about often complicated geopolitical situations. I can’t help but think that our community is an example of how we can all co-exist and maintain a level of understanding. Sadly this opportunity of international school is not available to more, this is a time in which we could do with people thinking with wide horizons and in a way that promotes greater understanding.
This week, Senior School pupils are performing Oliver! Jr and next week is the eagerly anticipated Junior School show Defrosted. How good to see our pupils working together to put on a production in which all are working towards a common, shared goal.
Our Senior School netball players departed for Geneva where they will play over the weekend. If we can teach nothing else, I hope that by being part of our community, we can develop leaders with a means to resolve disputes without resorting to the destructive power of threat and conflict.
We are approaching the Ides of March, the idea that there is more danger to be released on this world is an unedifying prospect indeed. I’m sure we all wish for a swift conclusion to this latest bout of human folly.
