Many critically important issues have arisen in the last eighteen months and many injustices are rightly being uncovered. Outrage is being expressed, with good reason, and Generation Z are politically active,\u202fknowledgeable\u202fand engaged, in a way that generations prior to it simply were not. Larger numbers of people than ever are seeking for a fairer, more equitable world for all, and it feels timely and positive that this is the case; not least because the unfolding events in Afghanistan this summer have served as a shameful and terrifying reminder of how fortunate we are to have access to an education system which is open, free, and encourages debate and diversity of thought. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet\u202fat just the moment when the world should be pulling together in our battle against a global pandemic, it seems we are more polarised than ever. At a time when we are questioning the notion of binaries in all sorts of arena, argument itself has become trenchantly binary.\u202fThis is an era of no-platforming, of cancel culture and of\u202foffence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asking questions, not seeking answers<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n And so at Wimbledon High, as we introduce Civil Discourse into the curriculum (official launch in November 2021) we want to ask the following questions, and explore their potential answers together: <\/p>\n\n\n\n These are big questions, and not easily answered \u2013 but\u202fthat\u2019s\u202fthe point. The important discussions\u202faren\u2019t\u202feasy but that\u2019s exactly why they should happen.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n Bridging the generation gap<\/strong> \u201cIt really is people like you and the WHS teachers who make the difference, by acting on the recognition\u202fthat the wisdom of your generation can be supported and enhanced by listening to and engaging with the voice of ours.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Hear, hear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What next?<\/strong> And the aim? Well, it\u2019s simple: for our students to be truly flexible, robust\u202fand open in their thinking, and for the world to re-awaken itself to the notion of\u202freal debate and discussion, based on authentic encounters between enquiring hearts and minds.\u202f\u202f <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many critically important issues have arisen in the last eighteen months and many injustices are rightly being uncovered. Outrage is being expressed, with good reason, and Generation Z are politically active,\u202fknowledgeable\u202fand engaged, in a way that generations prior to it … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":420,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[46,45,51],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/whs-blogs.co.uk\/heads-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/whs-blogs.co.uk\/heads-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/whs-blogs.co.uk\/heads-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/whs-blogs.co.uk\/heads-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/whs-blogs.co.uk\/heads-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=419"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/whs-blogs.co.uk\/heads-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":421,"href":"http:\/\/whs-blogs.co.uk\/heads-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419\/revisions\/421"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/whs-blogs.co.uk\/heads-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/whs-blogs.co.uk\/heads-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/whs-blogs.co.uk\/heads-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/whs-blogs.co.uk\/heads-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u202f <\/li>
And, crucially, these discussions need to happen in an inter-generational forum. We cannot submit to the lazy and divisive notion that our age and level of experience renders us either too na\u00efve\/impassioned\/\u2018woke\u2019 (Gen Z) OR cynical\/entrenched\/outmoded (Boomers and beyond) to understand and learn from those of a different generation. As the Head of a leading school filled with amazing young women, it is not only my privilege but also my duty to listen to\u202fall\u202f<\/em>of the voices around me and take on board a diversity of viewpoints \u2013 those of the students, of course, but also of the parents, the alumnae and the staff. It\u2019s such a fine balance between allowing our amazing girls to feel heard and valued and respected, and also understanding that those of us in authority have wisdom and the perspective of experience to bring to bear. As one of our former Head Girls put it in an email to me: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And so, we will be threading Civil Discourse through the curriculum, through academic and pastoral, with sessions for Y7-9 in PSHE with Ms Kennedy, for Y10 in their PPE studies, Y11 in form times and Sixth Form in their Onwards programmes.\u202f\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n