From the Principal

Last week I was privileged to attend the Christian Schools Policy forum in Canberra. My time in Canberra offered the opportunity to connect with many Christian School leaders and Board members from across Australia, meet with politicians in order to advocate for parental choice when it comes to choosing Christian Schools and listen to some inspirational speakers. 

Being a History teacher I love telling stories and see them as a very powerful way to convey messages, connect with students and parents alike and I wanted to share a little from a presentation by the Honourable John Anderson whose topic was “Telling a Better Story”. He encouraged Christian Schools to be intentional in telling their story and to ensure we are engaging with society, its institutions, and leaders. Below are a few key takeaways that resonated with me from his presentation:

• When civilizations stray from their moorings and don’t fuel their culture history shows us there are only a few possible outcomes:
  • Decline
  • Revolution
  • “Double downing” on the current culture.
• According to John Anderson he observes that in Australia we are living in a revolutionary civilizational moment
• Not the first time this has happened
• We need to remind ourselves and others that our traditions and Australia are based on the Judeo/Christian underpinnings that have been taught over many many generations.
• He asked this very probing question What is our culture and are we willing to defend it?
• He encouraged us to be adults that intentionally pass onto the future generations the story of their culture and why it is worth defending. If we do not know our history and even its heroes, people, especially young people are susceptible to believe anything.
• He observed that currently, there are large parts of Australia that don’t know where we are, who we are and we don’t know how to get back to the mothership of the building blocks of our culture. He stated that progressive activists are a very real challenge to our culture. 
• It was encouraging to hear that in his opinion:
  • Decline is not inevitable!  And we can fight back. Our institutions are not destroyed. Excellent leadership needs to replace weak leadership. 
  • We do need to have an urgent response that is not despairing and disengaging – we need to make sure we don’t do this!
  • Christians need to focus on what we as Australians have in common! Not where we disagree.
• Lastly there is HOPE for our future.
  • Tell our imperfect story:
    • A story of prosperity, personal freedom, value of human life, care of others and the dignity of human life that has its roots in the Old and New Testament
    • Focus more on one’s responsibilities not one’s rights.
    • Rediscover that “real freedom” is about what one “ought to do” not necessarily can do!
    • We are living in an age of general disengagement and as Christians we need to encourage our communities to engage with our Democracy.
  • Social fabric and family:
    • Christians have to make sure we are honouring families and making sure that families are intact and impactful. Schools play a very important role in this space.

Overall, a very encouraging and thought-provoking presentation. I hope that you will all take a moment to think through some of what I shared from John Andersons presentation.

Enjoy your long weekend!

In Christ, 

Stuart Kent

Principal