School Operations

Apology, action and the path to reconciliation

At our Year 7, 8 and 10 Student-Led Chapel service last week, I asked the students to consider the idea of reconciliation on the occasion of National Reconciliation Week. More specifically, consideration of the notion that “an apology without action is just words”. 

“Sorry” is a deeply embedded, universal concept. It spans all times, cultures, beliefs, religions, and ages. We say it multiple times, in multiple ways, daily. 

The earliest documented "apologies" are from ancient Greece – known as apologiae, they are not what we today would call an “apology”, but more like a defence. In 399BC, Socrates – arguably the MOST important philosopher and thinker of ALL time - was on trial to defend himself against the charge of acting on a prophecy which claimed that he was the wisest of all men. Socrates presented a logical, philosophical defence of his actions, concluding that he must be wiser than other men only in that he knows that he knows nothing. Socrates explained that he considered it his duty to question supposed "wise" men and to expose their false wisdom as ignorance. This earned him much admiration amongst the youth of Athens, but much hatred and anger from the men he embarrassed, who promptly found him guilty and sentenced him to death. 

From Socrates we learn that the ancient idea of ‘sorry’ was not saying “I AM sorry”, but defending one’s actions when they are, fairly or unfairly, held to account. This is a very early example of the idea that an apology without action is just words. Socrates could have just said sorry and accepted a lesser punishment, but he didn’t. He chose to start a conversation about what was unjust and unacceptable in his society, about what ideas and beliefs needed to change, about the importance of a rich culture of debate around important societal issues. 

I recently stopped a student as they came into William Street and I spoke to them about their uniform, which was in disarray. The student said to me, “Sorry Miss”. They still got my lecture about our uniform policy and, as I am certain they will be presented the same way tomorrow, I think this was more a case of “Sorry. Not Sorry”. An apology without action is just words.

“Sorry” can easily become clichéd. “I’m sorry, but…” is not sorry at all. “I’m sorry if you feel that way…” is also not sorry and is trying to lay blame. “Mistakes were made” is not even close.  

Sorry is an acknowledgment of wrongdoing, it requires reflection, humility and purpose. It is grounded in context, conscience and understanding; it requires being informed, having perspective and insight into the steps needed for healing and reconnection. It deals with the deeply human need for justice, equality and respect. We say sorry mostly when we don’t really need to and don’t really mean it. We apologise often as individuals, as members of a team, as an employer, a leader, sometimes representing ourselves but often representing the views of many, the desire of many, to right a wrong.  On 13 February 2008, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered a formal, historic apology in Parliament to Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait peoples, particularly to the Stolen Generations. Kevin Rudd spoke on behalf of the Australian people when he said, 

“We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians. We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country. For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.”

The Apology elicited a wide range of emotions amongst those affected. While few believed that it would completely erase the pain of the past, many felt that a vital first step in the healing process had begun towards building a respectful new relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. 

There are 2425 years between Socrates, to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s Apology, to school uniform conversations, and to ourselves sitting in St George’s Cathedral for National Reconciliation Week. 

If an apology without action is just words, then an apology with action – and knowledge, compassion, humanity, respect and conscience – brings healing, connection… and reconciliation. Reconciliation is a big, divisive, emotional concept and it takes time. 

As we marked the occasion of National Reconciliation Week, we were reminded that we do need to engage with what this means in a context that is bigger, older, wiser and much more complex than just our own.

Mrs Shannon Allen

Dean of School Operations