Thought for the Term: CARE

I was inspired by the recent Thought for the Term by Miss Collins that explored the fact that, amongst other things, “it’s cool to care”. What struck me about this statement was that, as we head toward the end of a long term, I remain so incredibly impressed by the diversity of things that the young people in our schools choose to care about.

To me, caring about something is often inspired a shard of curiosity from a young person. One of the great joys of working with young people for me is therefore trying to fan the sparks of curiosity into the flames of interest and enquiry. In his 2010 TED Talk, Professor Brian Cox explained “why we need the explorers” (Why we need the explorers | Brian Cox - YouTube) or people who care enough about asking questions that they want to go deeper, giving of their own time and passion to discover more about the things that excite them. I see this in my own children, with my 7-year old son’s absolute commitment to learning more about dinosaurs. He cares about finding out more, he reads and watches television shows about them with a voracious appetite – and so, when you talk to him about them his eyes come alive with excitement and enthusiasm.

Such passion for learning and overt enjoyment of finding out more is a sign not of childish enthusiasm but of a deeper care, a care brought out of joy of sharing a moment with another person – to be able to say “we” rather than “I”. To be part of a community.

I see it daily at St. Birinus from the boys who care passionately about the newly formed American Football Club (thank you Mr Roush and Mr Stainthorp!) to the students involved in the Warhammer Club, and to those who will be showcasing their commitment to the Arts and school life in this week’s production of We Will Rock You.

At a time when society is more apathetic than at any point I can remember, caring passionately about something is to be celebrated in and of itself, and for what it provides us by way of strengthening our communities and enabling us to ride out challenging times because we do so together.

Mr Graeme Irwin
Deputy Head, St Birinus School