Deputy Principal

A Time to Learn

I would like to finish up writing about our time in Japan by reflecting on what the boys, staff and students could take away from a different culture. From the time we arrived through to the time we left, as I have previously mentioned the Japanese people could not have done more for us they always put the comfort of us as tourists in front of their own. There are a few takeaways that I have had time to reflect on that I think we could all learn from:

1. People take their time when they are driving. Not once did I hear a car beep its horn in Tokyo. This is in a population of nearly 14 million people. They were patient, respectful and always followed the road rules. I wish I could say the same about our community when I reflect on how some of us treat each other at Kiss and Ride, when some in our community continually turn right from Shortland Avenue into Fraser Street or drop their sons at spots where they are not supposed to.
    
2. Japanese people and indeed their students self-manage. When we arrived at fixtures, the Japanese students would organise themselves into training drills. There was little involvement from the coaches. The students knew what was expected of them and did what they knew they should. At the end of the game, they packed up the ground without being asked, no one left early, they helped each other.
    
3. The streets, buildings and school grounds are all clean. Indeed, I was told that the schools do not have external cleaners come in as the students clean the school. The schools are not hard to clean as there is no rubbish. It is hard to find garbage bins in Japan. Japanese people carry their rubbish with them as we did until you can find a garbage bin. It made me think whether we now have too many bins at St Patrick’s. I have reminded the boys that out of all  the schools I have worked in, St Patrick’s has the most garbage bins. Yet as I walk around the College, there is rubbish on the ground. The hedges are littered with rubbish because some of our students cannot be bothered to pick up their rubbish and expect that it is someone else’s job.

There are many things that I am sure that the Japanese could learn from us as well. I simply reflect that sometimes when we grow up in a country where we are blessed with beauty, abundant resources, and space, that sometimes we can fall into a sense of self entitlement. It may be time for us all to sit back and reflect and think about putting others before ourselves. To take care of the environment that surrounds us and treat everyone with dignity and respect, because no one else is less important than ourselves. As we teach the boys, it does not matter how much money you have, the car you drive, the connections you may think you have. What is important is the person that you are. The person that embodies the spirit of God our Father. 

Adrian Byrne

Deputy Principal