From the Principal
John XXIII College
Recently, I was reminded of the difference between awe and wonder. Both are emotions often inspired by the extraordinary or beautiful, of course, with awe being a feeling of admiration, often accompanied by a sense of smallness in the presence of something grand or powerful. On the other hand, wonder is more a curiosity or amazement, often accompanied by the need to better understand or investigate further.
In the season of Bunuru (February and March), we feel the intensity of the sun during the hottest part of the year, but there are times during Bunuru when we are introduced to what is to come, a cooling air and storm clouds. During the past fortnight, there has been little evidence of the former, but it was on an early Wednesday morning recently when storm clouds did build, flexing with the accompanying thunder and lightning. During the same storm, many of our Primary School students were completely captivated by the awesome show on display. Captured in the moment of recognising the power of nature only to have that circuit of witnessing the extraordinary broken by the necessary insistence that they take shelter as the lightning storm rolled by. “Amazing”, “scary”, “exciting” were all words shared as they huddled under shelter, and then, “I wonder why it’s so loud?”
“I wonder?” Which reminded me of the late Sir Ken Robinson, who championed the importance of curiosity and creativity in learning, arguing strongly that all children are born with both, and the role of education is to cultivate their curiosity and creativity. He also warned that when school systems prioritise standardisation over individuality, they risk extinguishing the very qualities that enable students to thrive, not only in school, but in life generally. Why? The simple truth is that engagement precedes achievement and wonder fuels engagement.
How engaged would our Primary student have been if he had the opportunity to investigate and explore the reasons why the thunder was so loud? Instead, he had to settle for my feeble explanation. Perhaps he took up the offer to further investigate at the Library. I wonder?
Daniel Mahon
Principal