“Calm seas never made a good sailor” – Theodore Roosevelt.
The 26th President of The United States of America had quite a few pearls of wisdom in his arsenal. I like this one and its application to the school context.
Clearly it suggests that adversity and challenges are necessary for personal growth and development. Just as a sailor learns to skilfully navigate rough waters and storms, individuals learn and grow through facing difficulties and challenges. There is no shortage of those for our boys at IGS, however I’m not suggesting this is a bad thing.
Roosevelt is emphasising the idea that overcoming obstacles can build strength and character. In essence, it encourages embracing hardships as opportunities for growth rather than avoiding them. When I think about the hardships our boys face, it’s not necessarily the ‘big’ things like the passing of a loved one that come to mind. It’s more the everyday struggles, like completing an assignment or getting into their locker that are far more relevant and pressing.
At IGS, our boys don’t always have things go their way. Sometimes they bring upon themselves the consequences of poor decision making while at other times they are the unfortunate recipient of hardship or suffering. Regardless, facing tough times and working through these, develops our boys into ‘skilful sailors’ so to speak.
Sometimes, our natural instinct might be to over-protect boys. We may try and calm the waters for our boys or anchor them in a safe harbour. Sometimes though, although we want to do something for our boys and protect them, we’re doing them a disservice. We’re not helping to build their toughness and grit.
I’m not suggesting that we with throw caution to the wind and let our boys do whatever they like whenever they like – especially in the face of danger. But I am talking about letting them work their own way through challenges. Letting them find their own lost property; letting them try to fix a friendship that’s gone a bit sour; offering advice on an assignment without doing it for them; allowing them to own their mistakes and misfortunes. We should give them space to practise resilience, toughness, grit, and determination. You might be surprised as to how skilful they are in persisting and enduring through hard times.
Recently, Kohler and Reece (2023) in partnership with The University of Adelaide, published Resilient Youth: State of the Nation Report 2023. Alongside other important wellbeing data, the report highlighted that more than 75.5% of boys in secondary schools across Australia considered that their own level of resilience was in the moderate range, while 16.1% thought that their resilience was high.
Primarily, I think this shows that our boys are mostly, pretty good sailors. They might run aground from time-to-time or travel north when they need to go south, but I think, based on what I see each day at IGS too, the boys are durable. Parents are doing a good job. Teachers are doing a good job. We’re giving them enough space and distance to experience the highs and lows of life, yet we’re taking the helm when we need to or have to.
To be honest, I’m not surprised at the results in the report, and I think mostly it paints a positive picture for our boys. Who would’ve thought, given the almost relentless pursuit of some media outlets to report the apparent doom and gloom of being a teenager, that most boys are resilient, gritty, and determined.
As we approach the end of term, watch your boys proudly as they navigate the stormy waters of assessment. Don’t be afraid to take the wheel every now and again, just as we might do here on campus. Help them through, not around the stormy seas and the dangerous waterways.
Remember, calm seas never made a good sailor…
Peter Christie
Dean of Students