From the Principal

Celebrating change and differences of opinion

'The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.' (Socrates)

At our Public Speaking finals last week, I sat back and listened and learned from the wisdom of our finalists. The variety and diversity of topics was matched by the eloquence and creativity of our speakers.

I was struck by how engaged our young people are with world events and social justice issues. In education, we sometimes refer to opportunities of encouraging the ‘student voice’ and we need to explore new avenues to benefit from the ideas and gifts of our students.

Our Catholic Church sometimes receives criticism for its reluctance to change. The words of Jesuit Priest Fr Frank Brennan SJ are particularly heartening:

‘When coming to new social questions through the eyes of scripture and our Catholic tradition, we should not be surprised, upset or disturbed by a variety of viewpoints, even amongst bishops. In a democracy, there is always room for a genuine difference of opinion.’

Stories can sometimes highlight a necessity for change. I follow a Law Channel online published by Catholic Education WA lawyer, Bernard Hill. He related a story from Sweden in which drivers were not permitted to drive for five hours from 1:00am on 3 September 1967. 

At 6:00am drivers were allowed back on the road, but they now had to drive on the right rather than the left. Although it was ultimately a successful change, streets were initially lined with abandoned cars as motorists were not prepared to accept that other motorists had changed sides. 

We all rely on goodwill and anticipate that most people will do the right thing. We keep left on escalators; we wear masks for health reasons; we conform to norms of social interaction. However, we also need to embrace the necessity for change and differing viewpoints. 

Thank you to our students for the ways in which they initiate and encourage reflection, contemplation and action to make our College, and wider community, a better place.

Robert Henderson

Principal