In the 2014 Opening of School Chapel, Director of Spiritual and Ethical Education Cabell King and Head of School Kathy Giles discussed the value of education in relation to this year's All-School Read, I Am Malala. Read excerpts from their talks below:
"The story of Malala Yousafzai reminds us that education is not universally available. We will think together this fall quite a bit about education, about cultural inertia, and about the use of religious rhetoric to convey political positions. It might be my favorite feature of this summer’s all school read that Malala is your age. Confronted with a situation that seemed to her unjust she took advantage of the resources available to her. We’ll find a way as a school to respond to the book and to improve access to education. Welcome again to this academic year and to your own invaluable education."
- Cabell King, Director of Spiritual and Ethical Education
"The question of the value of your education is a big one. Consider Malala and her friends, the girls who were in the van with her when the van was stopped and the shooters who were looking for her found her. Did any of you ask, while you were reading that part, whether it was worth it or not? To be 14 years old and hunted down by assassins for taking a stand, for wanting an education, for wanting to be able to think and dream and debate and decide her own path – was that education worth it? If we were in Malala’s shoes, in the shoes of her friends and teachers, would we open school tomorrow and start classes if it meant putting our own lives at risk?
Because what Malala and her friends sought, and still seek, is the education that sits in front of us as possibility this year– the opportunity to ask any question you can think of, to seek out answers anywhere and everywhere, with no religious or governmental authority quieting you by threat or force, to try out all parts of yourself until something clicks – some idea, some motion, some tune, some equation, some rhyme – and you are off, interested, engaged, throwing your energy into it and finding that energy returned to you many times over in what we sometimes refer to as passion. Can we imagine our years starting with anything other than these possibilities? Promise? Passion? Purpose? These ideas go to the heart of any education of value, and they are ours to be had this year. We will get out what we put in, and the higher the quality of our engagement, the more meaningful and valuable our education will become.
So back home to finding the promise and the value of what will do here every day. From my perspective, it’s the finding that is the most valuable part of any education, and finding takes energy and focus and the willingness to figure out what you are going to get done what you want to get done and how you are going to do it and the encouragement and support and motivation of people around you who are equally as engaged, equally as curious, equally determined to build value in their lives and experiences. No one can do it for you, and you can’t take for granted or just assume it will happen. And there is nothing more exciting and exhilarating than when you start to see it come together.
I wish that for us, this year – I wish for us a year in which we create hundreds of valuable educations, educations that may start and will certainly grow here and will go on, both for college and for life. It is the great work of a school, your school, that we will do together. I urge us to be kind without exception, to work hard, to inspire each other, to be grateful for our many blessings, and to remember that for millions of people your age around the world, your education is a beacon of hope and possibility."
- Kathy Giles, Head of School