The Age of Kindness
Headmaster’s Routh Assembly Address
Monday 27th January 2020
Excerpt from “The Power of Kindness”
“I want you to meet Roberto. He is the parking attendant in the little historical town of Fiesole where I go to work every day. You know the routine: After you park, you put coins in a machine, print a piece of paper, and leave it on the dashboard; from that moment, time ticks away in the back of your mind. Roberto walks around and checks.
In theory, it’s not a likable role. But Roberto is the most popular guy in town. He is everybody’s friend. When he sees me he tells me about how he went to the top of the church tower, and how beautiful the landscape is from there, or he lets me know my car’s left front tire is a bit low, or describes Fiesole as it used to be when he was a kid—and he does this with everybody.
If you transgress, he will give you a friendly warning, because he knows everybody’s car and where everyone is, and often—believe it or not—he has come to ring the doorbell at my studio to remind me it’s time to pay. He will let you cheat a bit on time—but not too much. He hates taking out the green notebook and writing a fine. But usually there is no need, because everybody feels treated well, and everyone pays.
In these days of rising impersonality, when a computer voice will say hello and thank you at the supermarket, and people look at their smartphones and not at you, and eat in front of a screen, and die alone, warmth and human contact are a dangerously dwindling resource, and a man like Roberto is almost a miracle.”
Good morning
On the first day of term, I challenged you consider how the past decade might be remembered. Last Friday evening, Dr Rimmer’s annual Research Competition continued that theme, her prompt being “How will our current age be remembered?” Seven teams vied to present the most convincing argument and they were all very good.
Very good; but very gloomy. Dystopian, even. It left me worried that you are so worried. And so angry. We were told that we may be living in the Age of Carbon. Or, more precisely, the Age in which it all runs out, destroying the life on Earth in the process. That was a cheerful start. Then the Age of Intolerance was proposed. Protests in the Middle East, France, Hong Kong. Political turmoil; Trump’s impeachment, Britain’s Brexit. People’s Voice movements; #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, Extinction Rebellion. Happy days.
The suggestion was that we are living in years in which civil unrest, populism and social decay are sweeping the globe, upsetting the old order by refusing to listen to it anymore. Fair enough. No doubt things needed to change, but even if motives are good, surely intolerance of others isn’t? In our thirst for change, are we perhaps becoming too quick to judge and to attack?
Another team called those same years of conflict the Age of Chaos. Climate change again. More economic, social and political instability. Donald Trump made a frightening appearance. Two other teams then went further, taking all those ills and laying them at the door of the current generation.
One proposed the Age of Awareness, a time in which mankind is having to confront the consequences of its past behaviours, be they sexism, racism, discrimination, greed, or global warming.
The winning team, with more menace, called this the Age of Reckoning. Conjuring up the biblical notion that the sins of the fathers are visited upon the sons (although that is now “gendered language”). They argued that historians will recall this age as the time the human race had to account for its past behaviour. If that sounds familiar, let’s just say that it felt like Greta Thunberg was in the room with us. Not that that is a bad thing. I admire Greta Thunberg; her voice is fresh and her message powerful. But I’m starting to worry that the only role model for young people taking action in the world today is an angry one. Whatever happened to our love affair with Malala Yousafzai a few years ago? The young woman shot by the Taliban for defending the rights of girls to be educated. Like Greta Thunberg today, she quickly became the most famous teenager in the world. Equally passionate, but her message was couched in compassion, not anger. So much so, she became the youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Anger is useful as a motivation, but it only goes so far in influencing others. I hope we aren’t living in the Age of Anger. I would prefer something more positive. Like the Age of Kindness. Which sounds a bit soppy, I know, but if kindness was the dominant theme of our time, most of the problems that were aired last Friday wouldn’t exist.
Surely it would be harder to overturn society, commit acts of terror or destroy the planet before our grandchildren get to inherit it, if people actually liked one another a bit more? If the prevailing hallmark of our age was compassion, not confrontation? That doesn’t give up on wanting to change things for the better. Its just that people are more inclined to change their ways if they feel understood. Cared for, rather than criticised.
That said, I don’t think there will ever be an “Age” of Kindness. For three reasons.
Firstly, kindness is often taken for granted. Sadly, humans can be quite self-centred. We assume good things happen to us because we deserve them, rather than because someone else was looking out for us. Take Roberto, the parking warden in our reading. A man doing an unpopular job in a considerate manner. Many would be self-righteous enough to presume that he simply ought to be nice to them. Too self-absorbed to realise his choice to be. He doesn’t shirk his responsibilities, still gives out tickets. But he has empathy. He realises how those being ticketed may feel and acts with kindness, whether they acknowledge it or not.
Secondly, kindness is not newsworthy. Cruelty makes headlines, kindness does not. We can reel off countless cruel tyrants: Ghenghis Khan, Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot, Muammar Qaddafi, Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, the Taliban, ISIS; the list is endless. Yet when it comes to kindness, after Florence Nightingale and Mother Theresa, we start to run dry.
Which is a good thing, because it means that cruelty is the exception, not the norm. It is unusual events that make the news, not the commonplace. There is no doubt that the world can be a cruel place. 75 years ago this very day, 27th January, Allied soldiers uncovered the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau and the world learned of cruelty on a scale unheard of. Man’s inhumanity to man constantly shocks and astounds us.
But that is precisely because it is abnormal. Being cruel is not the norm for human beings. Kindness is. It doesn’t get talked about for the same reason that we don’t often discuss the air around us. Because it is everywhere. And like oxygen, kindness is just as essential for life to exist. Despite how gloomy we may be about our current age, the truth is that humans are, by default, much more inclined to generosity and compassion.
The final reason is the most important one. Kindness is uniquely personal. True kindness is not a global phenomenon. It is an intimate one. Person-to-person. An act of kindness towards you today may mean nothing to someone else. And that is because, to be genuinely kind, you need to understand the other person. You need to see them for who they really are. To have taken the time to imagine what might make their lives a little happier, their burden a little lighter. If you are lucky enough to discover a genuinely kind person, someone who gets you well enough to know exactly how to brighten your life, I guarantee they will influence you more than any angry protest or cruel threat. If you are wise, you will learn from them. Kindness is not just deeply attractive; it is a powerful force.
In the end, I don’t know what will define the current age. What I do know is that the hundred small kindnesses that you receive this week, along with all of the ones that you give back, will define your life.
Presentations
Netball
Yesterday we hosted the Regional netball finals, in which three Bromsgrove teams were competing and representing Worcestershire.
The U16’s played well in a hard pool to be placed 3rd and narrowly missing out on a place in the semi finals
The U14 team won all games their pool, only losing by a goal in extra time in the Final, but still winning silver and qualifying for the National Finals.
Best of all, the 1st team were unbeaten all day, winning every pool match comfortably and eventually beating Wrekin College 10-5 to be crowned West Midlands Champions. They also now go through to represent the region in the National Finals.
I would like to invite all of the 1st Netball team forward to receive their medals and trophy.
Physics
Nine Lower Fourth pupils took part in the University of Birmingham's ‘Big Physics Quiz’ recently. In teams of three, they tested their physics knowledge against 250 pupils from across the Midlands. All Bromsgrove teams finished in highly respectable positions, with one team finishing in joint second place. I am pleased to invite: Bowen Cheung, Nicholas Hunt, Shaan Sanghera to collect their bronze medals.
Rugby
Congratulations to the U16 squad who finished their 15-a-side season in fine style, beating Prince Henry’s Evesham 31-10 in the final of the North Midlands Cup.
Review
On Wednesday, there was a reunion of the Singapore and Australia netball tour with a trip to Arena Birmingham to watch two matches in the Vitality Nations Cup.
Well done to the fifty pupils who auditioned for the solo House music competition last week – a 30% increase on entries from 2019 - and congratulations to those who got through to the final, which takes place on Thursday next week. Thanks also to all Houses for your ensemble entries, Miss McCanlis will be in touch to finalise sound check rehearsals.
Basketball
Well done to the U14 Basketball team who beat Waseley Hills and St Augustin’s to qualify for the County finals, and to the U18 team who beat Stowe School 45-25.
Football
In the five matches played against Clifton College we won 3 and drew 2. Special mention to the 3rd X1 who won their first game in two years.
Hockey
The U16 boys’ team beat Clifton College 2-1 to progress to the third round of the National Cup. In a mid-week match the 1st team lost 2-1 against a strong King’s School Gloucester team.
In the block fixture against Denstone College there many good wins, including an 8-1 victory for the 1st X1
Netball
In a very physical hard-fought game, the 1st team emerged victors 34-32 against St Bede’s College, taking them through to the quarter final of the Independent School’s Cup.
Rugby
Sadly after a valiant effort, the U15 team bowed out of the NatWest Cup losing 15-14, with Oakham scoring the decisive try in the final minute of play.
Swimming
On Friday we hosted over 150 teams in our Invitational Relays at Worcester swimming pool, where our swimmers performed well, a number of teams qualifying for the finals.
Tennis
Well done to the Senior Girls’ team who beat Cheltenham Ladies’ College 4-2 in the National Cup.
Volleyball
I am pleased to announce a new sport to our programme, with Bromsgrove’s first volleyball squad visiting Red Hill Club for their first joint training session. The quality of volleyball on display was high and all matches played were closely contested.
Preview
I mentioned earlier that today marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. It is also Holocaust Memorial Day 2020, which seeks to learn from the lessons of the past and be ever watchful for the evil that comes if discrimination, racism and hatred are not checked and prevented. I am grateful to the five pupils amongst you who will be representing the School this morning at the Holocaust Memorial Ceremony at Bromsgrove Town Hall.
The next set of AEO Grades are published today and I encourage you all to reflect upon them with your Tutors.
Tomorrow evening the annual Fourth Form House Drama Competition will be held in Cobham Theatre, starting at 7:00pm and you are all warmly invited to attend and support your House. This is always a highly enjoyable evening, with a chance to appreciate the incredibly hard work and talent of over 70 members of the Fourth Form.
This year there are excerpts from a wide variety of plays ranging from The Sound of Music through to Kafka, Shakespeare and Victoria Wood. There are also some pieces written especially for the competition. Tickets are free, but please ensure you reserve them via the School’s online box office. The event will finish just after 9.00pm.
On Friday this week we welcome the English Symphony Orchestra and pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason to Routh Hall to give workshops, open rehearsals and an evening performance of orchestral. Tickets are just £5 and are wholly recommended.
On Friday we have own clothes day in aid of Moyo Lunga Community School.
Finally, this Saturday sees our Sixth Form Course Information morning and all current Fifth Form are strongly encouraged to attend.
A busy week ahead, enjoy it and be alert for the genuinely kind people in your world – when you find them, keep them close.
Please now stand as we say the Grace together.