Headmaster's Reflection
Unfolding Humanitarian Crisis
Our heartfelt sympathy and prayers go to the people of Turkiye and Syria, whose lives have been shattered by a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake. The images are simply devastating - buildings that have just collapsed to the ground, mountains of concrete burying those who died in their sleep. What often gets forgotten is the number of people crippled, injured, left homeless in the middle of winter, and traumatised in this unfolding humanitarian crisis. The human suffering is way beyond the death toll.
Aid and support have been arriving in Turkiye and Syria from governments and from ordinary people from across the world. Strange as it may be, there are always some heart-warming stories that come out of a natural disaster. Miracle rescues are moments of joy as is the way the whole international community comes together, with the best technology and the best search and rescue teams, in a time of great need. Even Ukraine and Russia are sending specialised teams. It is heartening to see the nationalist differences that so define and cruel our world just disappear, replaced with seeds of collegiality, cooperation and love of humanity.
Since 2012, the Marist Blue Community has been providing support and aid in Aleppo, Syria throughout the tragic war. Aleppo is one of the cities that has been devastated by this earthquake. If you would like to help, Marist International Solidarity Foundation are requesting support here.
Education of the Heart
During the holiday break while loitering in a bookshop I opened ‘If This Is a Man’ by Primo Levi at his description of an Auschwitz hut in the middle of the night. He describes the sound of sleeping prisoners moving their jaws as they dream of food. Levi writes, ‘You not only see the food, but you also feel it in your hands, distinct and concrete…someone in the dream even holds it to your lips.’ I decided to buy it and after reading I understood why many critics believe it to be the most important book of the twentieth century. It is a monument to all who were killed in concentration camps last century by the Nazi regime, but more importantly it tells us what humans can do.
Levi escorts you through the workings of the concentration camp with cold realism. Levi’s book tells us what humans can do: in this case, execute a formal decision to eliminate an entire race and do so in the cruelest manner. The book is full of Levi’s encounters with fellow prisoners, most of whom vanish during the story.
His novel reminded me of a letter shared by a Boston High School Principal with new teaching staff.
'Dear Teachers
I am a victim of a concentration camp. My eyes saw what no man should witness: gas chambers built by learned engineers; children poisoned by educated physicians; infants killed by trained nurses; women and babies shot and burned by high school and College graduates. So I am suspicious of education. My request is: help your students become human. Your efforts must never produce learned monsters, skilled psychopaths, educated Eichmanns. Reading, writing, and arithmetic are important only if they serve to make our children more human.'
It has been said the heart of education is the education of the heart. Of course, the core business of any school is the education of the mind. That said, a good education educates for life; it is where values are learned. When parents entrust their son to a Marist education, we trust that when their son leaves our care, they will know where their heart is; learning to live compassionately with others, contributing responsibly to the welfare and happiness of others. They will speak from the heart in truth and integrity.
Matthew Hutchison
Headmaster
