Solitary

Headmaster’s Routh Assembly Address
Monday 29th April 2019


Solitary
Albert Woodfox spent almost 45 years in solitary confinement in a cell barely the size of a bathroom, for a crime he maintains he didn't commit, and despite his conviction being overturned four times. Woodfox was already in prison when he was accused of stabbing a prison guard to death, and found guilty despite overwhelming evidence supporting his innocence. The former member of the Black Panther Party believes it was his political activism while in prison that sealed his fate, resulting in more than half a lifetime spent alone.

His cell was just 2.7 metres by 1.8 metres. "It had two metal bunks attached to the wall, a metal sink/toilet bowl combination attached to the wall and a metal table and bench attached to the wall across from the bunks," says Woodfox, now 72. "But the space is smaller because you only have that narrow path from the back wall to the bars that you can walk."

Woodfox spent 44 years and 10 months in solitary — longer than any other prisoner in US history — often pacing that well-worn path, and only allowed out for one hour each day.

"There is some anger. You can't not be angry when people take half of your life away from you," he says. "And you can't not be bitter when so much wrong has been done to you, so much physical wrong.” "But despite everything that was done to destroy me, I became stronger. I used my prison cell, that was meant to be a death chamber, as a school." 

Good morning and welcome back after the long Easter Break. My usual reminder – despite what it might say on your timetable, this is not the Summer Term, it is the Examination Term. Summer carries the connotation of long lazy days spent lying in the sun, which is the exact opposite of how to study for exams. Save that for the long holiday that will follow straight after this short term. Examination Term, Summer Holiday – got it?

However you spent the break, I hope it was profitable and that you return feeling that you used your time well. Although many of you will have been revising for much of it, I hope that you also managed some physical pursuits as well. Maybe walking the dog, hitting the gym, team training, perhaps recreational sports while on holiday.

Whatever exercise you may have done though, it would be hard to rival the achievements of a group of your teachers for sheer physical challenge and adventure over the break. Mrs Hankinson, Miss Baker, Miss Honey and Miss Popescu all succeeded in trekking to Everest Base Camp in the Himalayas, arriving on Easter Sunday.

Don’t let that name fool you. Base Camp sounds like it might be easy. That it might be at the bottom of the mountain, near a carpark or at the end of the road perhaps. Far from it. Base Camp is 5500 metres above sea level, an altitude that makes any physical exertion difficult. It takes a week of gruelling trekking on foot to reach. Halting to acclimatize, fighting headaches and breathlessness. And, of course it is all uphill. Unrelenting climbing, alone with your thoughts (there is no WiFi up there). I haven’t had a chance to speak to the fearless four about their trip yet, but I do wonder, amongst other things, what they took to read.
Years ago, when I was younger and doing a lot of mountaineering, I always tried to take a motivating book with me. Stories to fill my mind during the long hours climbing the next day. Something to distract, take my mind off the hard graft.

The trick I learned was to read about people suffering worse than I was. If you are going to undertake a daunting challenge, it is inspiring to read about others who tackled worse. To learn from their tenacity. Therefore, I carried the stories of Shackleton and Scott. Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. Reinhold Messner, the first person to climb Everest without oxygen. Explorers who had it much tougher than I did. That way, no matter how sore and exhausted I was as I crawled into a tent or a snow cave each night, I could reassure myself that others had faced worse and succeeded. Find inspiration.

Hence, the reading that Sham’s has shared this morning. About a man who turned his prison cell into a classroom. Which is not to say that you should consider your time at school as some sort of a jail sentence. However, for a while at least, many of you are about to be locked away in solitary, if only to study. Whether you are sitting public or School examinations, you are about to embark on a few weeks that will test your fortitude and self-discipline. Perhaps there is something to learn from someone who had those abilities tested in the extreme?

The reading was taken from a new book called ‘Solitary’ by a man named Albert Woodfox, who grew up poor in New Orleans in the late 1960’s. A petty criminal as a teenager, he was eventually being sentenced for armed robbery aged 22. He probably would have been released after 10 years, were it not for the fact that while in prison he was falsely accused of killing a prison guard. Woodfox was black, the guard was white and New Orleans in the Seventies was still a hotbed of racism. Wrongly imprisoned, he got life without parole.

As if that weren’t bad enough, because prison officials considered him a threat, he then spent the next 45 years in solitary confinement. 45 years. That is three times longer than you have been on this Earth. 45 years confined in a space the size of your bathroom for 23 hours a day. One hour to exercise in a yard, then back in the cell. No internet. No TV. Nobody else to talk to. For 45 years.

Ask yourself, as I did over the break, how does a person stay sane in circumstances like that? How do you go on living? In 2016, after 14 separate trials, retrials, hearings and appeals, Albert Woodfox was eventually released from his sentence, aged 72. In his book, he gives some insight into the mental and emotional discipline that kept him going over four and a half decades.

Woodfox became highly organised, a creature of routine. He got through each day by breaking it into smaller, manageable chunks and did each one with 100% commitment. Each of his self-imposed tasks may have seemed trivial, even pointless. Mopping his cell floor, wiping the walls, folding his bedclothes, doing press-ups. Collectively though, each job done contributed to an overall sense of satisfaction.

He would also study. After the first few years in solitary, he was allowed access to books and he would tutor himself. He revelled in the time he had to learn, became totally focussed. He called it a gift.

So it should be with your revision. Break your days into chunks. Make each task your sole focus. Convince yourself it matters most. Don’t stare aimlessly at the calendar, wishing time away. Definitely don’t see your study leave as some imposed sentence to be endured.

See it as a gift and structure it. If you start your day without a plan, you will end it disappointed in yourself. School’s work on timetables for a reason; they are efficient and they ensure things get done. Apply the same to yourself, when you are in lock down.

Inevitably, when you study you can feel a little isolated. Especially on study leave if you are away from your friends. You may have spent the year learning together, but you will all walk into the examination hall alone. So take another lesson from Mr Woodfox. He survived 45 years with minimal human contact; you can survive 45 minute study sessions without Snapchat.

He set his mind at rest in solitude, practice doing the same. Of course, he didn’t have the persistent distraction of a smartphone two inches from his fingertips. But then, he also didn’t have the promise of a long summer holiday in two months. You do.

One last contrast. Albert Woodfox was shaped by his lifestyle – literally. One hour’s exercise per day is not enough for the human body. We are built to move and stay active. By the time Woodfox walked free from prison in his 70’s, his body had not only aged, it had become shaped by his confinement. He was stooped and he shuffled, unused to walking far. He was jumpy; unexpected sounds startled him, large groups of people were unnerving, bright light hurt his eyes. That might describe you after an hour’s Chemistry revision, but it will pass.

Woodfox’s disabilities took 45 years; it is not going to happen to you as you sit and study over the next 45 days. Nevertheless, it is a reminder to move regularly, to stretch, to stay active while you study. So, as these precious next few weeks play out, if you find the going a bit tough, if the solitude is stifling and you hunger to be free, push on by reminding yourself that other people have faced much harder challenges and survived.

Presentations
Climbing
It is pleasing to announce that a new House competition took place before the Easter break. A timed climbing competition on a fixed route on the Prep School climbing wall.
Results as follows:
Boys: Lyttleton 3rd Walters 2nd Housman Hall 1st
Girls: Housman Hall 3rd Oakley 2nd Thomas Cookes 1st

Chemistry
Well done to three pupils who achieved a Silver award in the Chemistry Olympiad this year, placing them in the top 25% of entries. Tristan Hall, George Marshall, Mikhail Shabalin

Review
Well done to all who enjoyed and benefited from School organised language trips to Spain, France, Germany and to those who braved the conditions on their Gold D of E practice expedition in the Lake District.

Our cricketers were back in School last week playing pre-season warm up games against Leicester City, Worcestershire and Warwickshire academies.

Finally, a word of commendation for the IB pupils who baked a host of cakes and put on an Easter-themed afternoon tea for residents from Rashwood and Breme care homes at the end of last term.

Preview
As I have already alluded, today is the start of the examination season. Our IB2 pupils are already on study leave. IB1 are taking their mock examinations this week and the 5th form have only got two weeks left of lessons before they commence their leave. Make the most of every moment to revise – you will have a long summer break to be grateful that you did, or regretful that you didn’t.

And back to my point about maintaining some physical exercise while you are studying, you may like to consider StressBox, which is a combination of boxing and relaxation to combat stress.
Liam Blackwood will be working with the Fifth and Sixth Form over the next three weeks during activity times on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The first session is tomorrow and places are limited, so please email Miss Leech to reserve a spot.

This week we are hosting the SATIPS art exhibition in the Hospitality suite, there will be a number of visitors on site.

Marmite Seminars: If you are keen to stretch yourself academically you should consider attending these interdisciplinary seminars. It is a very busy term, so the courses are short. Fourth and Fifth Form seminars begin on Tuesday and Wednesday lunchtimes this week. You will also receive details of the final Movie and Pizza Evening of the year, and the trip to Cambridge on June 27th. Email Dr Ruben to express your interest.
On Friday we have Own clothes day in aid of 'Sport in Action' (Zambia)

Monitors Selection
Finally, a word about next week’s Routh, the last for a while. For the rest of the country, next Monday will be a Bank Holiday, but for us at Bromsgrove it is a normal school day. Before you start feeling too hard done by, remember that you have more holidays in your year than any other school in the country and indeed, about five times as many as you will get when you eventually work for a living.

Next Monday’s assembly will be dedicated to the historical reading of the Housman Verse and also the signing in of our new School Monitors. As usual, I seek your thoughts on who in the Lower Sixth may be worthy of consideration for this important leadership role.

And, as usual, I stress that this is not a democratic election, it is not even a vote. However, it is a serious poll of your opinion and the results carry weight when decisions are made. Time is against us this year with a shortened term, so you will get the survey link next period and must respond by the end of tomorrow.

By all means, nominate people that you admire. However, remember this as you do. Being a School Monitor is a job. It is not a prize for being a good citizen or an award for diligence. There are too many good and diligent pupils in the Lower Sixth for that to occur. There will be reward for their contributions and achievements, but it will come in other forms. Prizes, colours and caps, scholarships, testimonials, trophies, all will be acknowledged in their final year.

For now though, we seek the best people for a challenging job. There will be many who will have the skills and the character to be a Monitor, we have the challenging task of choosing those most suited. Which is why we are not the slightest bit interested in a balance of boys and girls, or an even spread between IB, A Level and BTEC. We are not even looking for representation from all Houses. We are looking for people who you think represent what the School stands for, people you admire, people you would happily be led by. Thank you in advance for your ideas about that.

Please stand for the Grace