From the desk of Nick Clogg - College Deputy Headmaster: Academics

Dear Parents, Staff and Boys,
During half-term I was blessed to attend my parents’ 60^th wedding anniversary in Cape Town. The small celebration was an event that will remain with me for the rest of my life. Not only was this a significant event, but more importantly it allowed for us as a family to reflect. Sixty years of marriage is a rarity in our society today. There are many reasons as to why this is a rarity and I am certainly not in a position to unpack these in any way. However, being part of this significant event allowed me to consider some of the reasons why this may be a rarity.
 
In the last ten years we have experienced a tenfold increase in the rate of technological change and it is predicted that in the next ten years we will experience a thousand-fold increase in this rate of change. For most this is a frightening thought as it pries open that door of uncertainty and fear to such a degree that it is unlikely we will ever be able to close it.

Arguably one of the unintended consequences of this technological change is our waning ability to create ‘free’ time in which families really connect and friends really communicate without relying on technology. The pace in which we exist is so frenetic that I would suggest we are ‘losing’ our ability to slow down literally and do very little. In addition, because our wants and desires lack patience, is it that we are also becoming less resilient when things do not pan-out as we expect or want? Too often we react too quickly without actually thinking through the issues concerned. Does this fuel our unnecessary emotional reactions that potentially break-down our ability to communicate effectively? Are we, as parents, guilty of allowing these emotions to cloud our own sense of judgement, thereby chipping away at our children’s sense of tenacity? Are we too quick to blame and less likely to reflect before becoming emotionally charged?  
 
In a week where we have witnessed the horrific, unnecessary deaths of innocent people in Nice and an attempted coup in Turkey, have we really reflected on our own lives and focused on the many positives we experience in this wonderful country of ours, or have we latched on to the ‘easy’ negatives? I am not for one minute suggesting that our lives are without significant challenge, but maybe we are guilty of not seeing the wood from the trees?
 
The world in which we all live today is very different from my parents’ generation. Many might argue that today’s world has far more challenges than ‘back in the day’. I have always believed that such perspectives are relative: every generation has had to deal with significant challenges that may seem trivial to later generations, but at that particular point in time, these were as significant as the challenges we face today. The human race is social and people need people – this has been a constant throughout time. Therefore, if we need people, surely we must create more opportunities to communicate effectively and with real meaning, and spend more time with each other?
 
When I asked my parents what had ‘kept’ them together for over sixty years, unequivocally they both said friendship, we love talking to each other and we always create non-negotiable time for us and the family!