I spent a gloriously uplifting evening last week as the guest speaker at the annual Speech Night at St George’s School in Edinburgh. The young women whose achievements we were applauding were poised, grounded and ready to go out into the world, so in addition to the thoughts I gave them about how to make the most of their lives, I shared with them this poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882):

The Arrow and the Song

I shot an arrow into the air,

It fell to earth, I knew not where;

For, so swiftly it flew, the sight

Could not follow it in its flight.

I breathed a song into the air,

It fell to earth, I knew not where;

For who has sight so keen and strong,

That it can follow the flight of song?

Long, long afterward, in an oak

I found the arrow, still unbroke;

And the song, from beginning to end,

I found again in the heart of a friend. 

It is a simple poem, but a poem which I have shared with young people before, because it is underpinned by an exceptionally powerful and fundamental truth: what we do in life matters. Everything we do matters, in fact – a kind word will reverberate in ways we may not expect, and how we treat others will also reflect back on us at some point. What Longfellow was acknowledging in his poem was that how we live our life is as important as what we do in our life. In anything and everything we do, we need to be true to ourselves, and to be guided by strong principles of kindness, fairness and a generosity of understanding about other human beings. We are not islands; rather, we are woven into the fabric of the lives of others, and we owe it as much to them as to ourselves to seek to make a positive change in the world.

It is easy, when we look around us, to doubt that one person can make a difference to others in the world, but when we recognise that what we do now may not make a difference immediately, but at some point in the future, then we can regain our faltering courage and step up to the mark that is demanded of us.

It was such a pleasure, last week, to see the next generation ready to do exactly this. Good luck to them; they go with our blessings and hopes for the future.

The Queen’s Baton passed into Scotland early on Saturday morning, headed for the Commonwealth Games which begin in just over a month’s time in Glasgow. A symbolic handover took place at the border, when the Baton was handed from the great former decathlete, Daley Thompson, to one of Scotland’s current main hopes for the Games, the hurdler Eilidh Child, and then the Baton sped north towards Edinburgh, where it spent the day being carried around the capital, and ended up in Princes Street Gardens, against the backdrop of the imposing rock of Edinburgh Castle, where a crowd of 1,500 was gathered for a concert in honour of the occasion.

These community occasions are fabulous – they are all about celebration and joyfulness, and the music was made for moving. In particular, a South African song (written, in fact, for the Glasgow 2014 Big Big Sing by Eugene Skeef) caught the mood of the event; led by a large adult choir, it was designed to be infectious, and had the audience up and singing. The words were simple: ‘Moya wothando’ (meaning – ‘Spirit of love’), ‘Ngiti moya’ (meaning – ‘I say spirit’)’ ‘Gdumba dumba dumba’ (meaning – well, nothing other than the wonderfully round, grounded and joyful sounding ‘Gdumba dumba dumba’!). When repeated again and again, the words and tune embed themselves into the ears, mind, voice and soul of all who hear them – try listening to the last 25 seconds or so of this link, and you will have a small flavour of its catchiness.

And so the power of music demonstrates itself once again. Through the words, the discipline of the music, the movement, the togetherness, this song engendered a feeling of goodwill and happiness – and of love and harmony towards one’s fellow human being. Music has that power – and communities have that power. All too often we are told that it is naive to think that we can actually change the world for the better by what we do, think and say, but we sell ourselves short if we succumb to this view. The world is an amazing place, and when we all work, live, act and even sing together, we can create a harmony which has the potential to transcend the conflict, unhappiness, anger and cruelty which can be so prevalent.

Sing out today – reach out today – be, as Gandhi said, the change you seek in the world. And let us hope that the imminent Commonwealth Games are as amazing for the unity that they bring between nations as for their outstanding competition.

As reported in yesterday’s Guardian, a WHO study (to be published in full later this year) reports that the number of teenagers in England who self-harm has trebled in the last ten years, and is now around one in five. Self-harm – cutting, burning or otherwise harming oneself – is a sign of intense mental turmoil. We are faced with a deeply concerning question – why is this happening?

Young people have multiple pressures on them, and all the evidence demonstrates that these pressures are growing. Quite apart from the pressures placed on them by adolescence – that period of hormonal, mental and emotional explosion – young people are faced on a daily basis by messages about money, lifestyle, appearance and exam success which can leave them feeling inadequate and unable to cope with the sense of living a life which will never attain the images of perfection perpetuated by TV, the media, and the online world of celebrity gossip. In a world which seems out of control, self-harm is a way to bring control, albeit in a destructive and psychologically disturbing fashion.

If we can understand the significance of these pressures to which our young people are subjected, however, we can prepare ourselves to take the next steps, namely to help do something about it. An understanding of what leads to self-harm opens the way to teach young people strategies to cope with the world; love, care, time spent with them reiterating messages that counter the negative messages that they hear – all of these are ways in which we can help them.

Equally, however, an awareness and understanding of self-harm should prompt us forcefully to take a hard look at the pressures our society places on its youngest generations. When will we stop communicating that unless they achieve reams of A*s they will have failed? When will we stop foisting airbrushed photos of impossible and twisted ‘beauty’ upon them? When will we stop drooling over the minutiae of celebrity lives?

Do not underestimate what an individual can do in this respect. Resolve today to do something to reject these pressures – refuse to buy a magazine which perpetuates myths of perfect, turn off the television, or talk to a young person about what really, realy matters in life. Each of us can make a difference. Do it.

Ever since 300 girls were abducted from their school in north-eastern Nigeria last month – almost exactly a month ago, in fact – it has been hard to find anyone across the globe who does not regard their abduction as anything other than a most dreadful and despicable act, unworthy of fellow human beings. The campaign to #BringBackOurGirls has gone viral, and offers of help – military assistance, no less – have come in from countries including the US and the UK. The whole world seems united that this is wrong.

And yet … someone (some people, most likely) did it. Someone was responsible. And moreover, that someone, represented by the leader of Boko Haram, the fundamentalist terror group active in parts of Africa, including Nigeria, has taken to the internet to taunt the rest of the world and to ‘justify’ this reprehensible act by reference to Allah and his will. He has said he will sell the girls – and shows no sign of remorse.

Sitting in first world countries, the selling of girls seems incomprehensible. It is – it is utterly incomprehensible. How can anyone regard another human life as so valueless that it can be bought and sold, mistreated and tortured, picked up and abandoned at will? Scratch – not very deeply, even – beneath the surface of our collective memories, however, and we see many millions of (recent) examples. The East African slave trade, which lasted for centuries until it was formally ended in the early 19^th century, is a scar on our history and affected millions; the global trade in human trafficking is – according to estimates – the third most profitable illegal trade after arms and drugs trafficking. There are approximately 20 to 30 million slaves in the world today. More than just ‘someone’ thinks that this is all right.

It isn’t all right. It has never been right, and it never will be. Human life is precious, and to be valued. Children are our future, and they are to be nurtured and helped to grow into the best of themselves. We owe it to them, and we owe it to humanity – our task as enlightened human beings must be to move beyond the selfish, base and cruel to the selfless and the humane. We owe it to all of us to move forward, to be better people, and to make the world a better place as we do.

There are moments in history when we have the opportunity to stand up and say this, and to make a difference. This is one of those moments. So – let us unite. And let us #BringBackOurGirls.

Yesterday I attended the annual conference of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS) in Edinburgh, and as usual at such events, was given great food for thought. SCIS represents over 70 independent member schools in Scotland, and the debate ranged across various topics, including the publication on that same day of a report demonstrating the positive economic impact – to the tune of around £466m – of the Scottish independent schools’ sector on the national economy. Coming as it did on the same day as the annual census released by the Independent Schools Council (ISC) which noted that numbers of pupils in independent schools throughout the UK have grown again over the past year, this was a clear indication of the strength and success of the sector.

What was particularly interesting at the conference, however, was that the debate returned time and again to how, as educators, we can ensure that we are able to do the very best for ALL children. Schools have an aim and founding principle which transcend their requirement to educate the individuals in their care; schools – all schools, without exception – are part of the fabric of our society, and they exist in order to prepare the next generation, and generations to follow, to play a fulfilling and effective role in our world. The world needs our children to be incredibly well-educated – to be self-aware, to have a social conscience, to understand where we have come from, and to be able to think critically and creatively about where we go next. Our schools are crucial in this developmental process.

It is all too easy for schools to become enmired in politics and prejudices about other schools, different approaches, and for healthy competition between schools to descend into harmful point-scoring. If we are to move forward – and put each child firmly at the heart of our education system, for his/her sake and for the sake of all of us – then we need to move beyond petty politics. It is the child who matters – the child and his or her impact on the world, which we must nurture by spending time understanding his/her needs, and what the future will require of all of us.

I firmly believe that the willingness to achieve this is there in all of us – let us be bold and act upon it.

My latest communication from Indigenous Community Volunteers in Australia, whose website can be found here, prompted me to reflect again, very positively, on the power of connecting and sharing experience, and the immensely encouraging effect on individuals and on communities when people reach out and collaborate with one another.

The vision of ICV is of an Australia “where all Australians live in harmony and where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people share the same rights, respect and access to opportunities and rewards, and where their culture is valued and recognised as an asset to Australian society.” This they do by connecting people – volunteers come to Aboriginal communities at the invitation of the communities themselves, and share skills and experience, with the aim of enriching understanding and developing, very practically, a platform for further growth in expertise and proficiency in whatever area the individuals or communities think beneficial, be it in technology, gardening, medicine – or any other area.

One of the fundamental truths I have learned during my time in schools and in education more generally is that for partnerships to be effective, they must be genuine and reciprocal. Teachers teach best when they learn every day from their students; schools working with other schools do not succeed if they believe that they are there to impart knowledge – their success comes when all parties recognise that they are on a journey together. So it is with the experience of volunteers in Aboriginal communities – they have as much to learn as the indigenous communities themselves. Indigenous Australian culture has survived for over 40,000 years – the oldest identified culture in the world still in existence today – and it would be naive to think that its descendants had nothing to teach the world of today.

Our world is rich and varied, and there is so much of it to explore and appreciate. Of one thing I am certain – we owe it to ourselves and to others to reach out and connect. It is our responsibility both to share what we have learned, and to be open to understanding and sharing further the knowledge that others have accumulated.

Together we are stronger and better – and we take one more step towards living in greater harmony.

I marvel frequently at how amazing human beings can be. It is a helpful – and true – contrast to the multiple messages we receive every day from different directions about how human beings can have a dark side of cruelty and violence; it is also an incredibly useful discipline to inspire to action – a goal that aspires to enable other human beings to fulfil their own potential and to work for the common good of all humanity. Being inspired by a vision of human ‘amazingness’, (to use a word coined by a former pupil) is a solid foundation for action that will lead to that vision being realised, and it makes perfect sense that the more people who strive towards this goal, the more likely we are to achieve it. Together we are stronger – and after all, if we do not have a goal or a focus in life, how will we ever achieve it?

So it was with this in mind that I myself was inspired yesterday when I came across a prose poem entitled ‘You are very special’. I have not yet been able to track down an author or an origin, but will continue to seek. This section encapsulated the message of the poem in particular:

 You’re different from any other human being who has ever

lived in the history of the universe.

You are the only one in the whole of creation who has

your particular set of abilities.

Nobody in the universe can reach the quality of the

combination of your talents, your feelings, like a roomful of musical instruments;

some might excel in one way or another,

but nobody can match the symphonic sound when all are played together.

Throughout all eternity no one will ever

walk, talk, think or do exactly like you.

You are special.

We have a special challenge as human beings – to recognise and value the uniqueness and individual specialness of others, while striving to blend this uniqueness into a community that works together in harmony. Together we are stronger – together while celebrating our uniqueness we are stronger still.

Let us be inspired to thought, reflection and action today.

The first International Women’s Day was celebrated in 1911, and then – as now – it was (and is) an opportunity to highlight and celebrate the achievements of women, and to focus attention on the work that still needed (and needs) to be done to ensure that women have equal rights, in whatever context they work and live. The Day is widely acknowledged, with thousands of events all over the world; it has become a fixture in the world calendar.

There is no doubt that investing in women pays off – when women are more equal in pay and status to men, economies flourish and societies grow. This is not down to the women alone, of course, and it would be a mistake to think so – equality demands understanding and action from all people in order for it to be truly worthy of its name. Women alone should not – and indeed cannot – be solely responsible for equality throughout the world – it is a drive that demands of us all that we commit, take part and make it happen.

This is why it is as important to educate boys and men about equality as it is girls and women; this is why it is important that young people are enabled to have sensible discussions about the history of gender difference and that they are encouraged to work together – in mixed gender as well as single gender groups – to seek innovative and creative solutions for the future that transcend this difference. Individually, we will make strides forward in our reflection and appreciation of gender equality; together, ultimately, we will be stronger.

International Women’s Day is such an important day as we continue to strive to make progress as a human race towards more harmonious living. Let us remember that it is a day for all of us to celebrate and commit to equality.

I had a very good experience recently when I phoned a Government department to sort out a claim: the (pleasantly reassuring) computer voice asked me to say in a few words what it was I was calling about, repeated back to me a very accurate summary of my issue, and then took me through a series of questions designed to ensure that I was directed to the appropriate section. When I was passed through to a human voice, I was glad to be speaking to someone who could actually do something about my problem, but grateful too for the technology which had directed me, and had actually made solving my issue much simpler. It had saved me time and made me feel good – a win-win all round.

I did of course want to speak to a person in the end – I needed personal interaction to be able to explain my issue and receive advice. We all respond to other human beings caring and helping us; it was therefore no surprise to read on the website of US Education News that educators in Iowa and Vermont have worked out that “students who develop meaningful relationships with teachers are more likely to succeed.”

This is not of course the only thing that matters – the same educators stress that “students need to feel like what they are learning is relevant to them in order to stay engaged.” This is where technology comes in. If it can ease communication and help focus on solutions, as in my recent experience, and if it can engage, interest and respond to human needs, then it can make a huge difference in education.

Technology has come on in leaps and bounds since the invention of the first Turing machines of the 20^th century, and it has reached a point now where it can significantly enhance learning and add new dimensions to this learning, rather than simply make mechanical tasks more automated. We are at a stage now where we can think incredibly ambitiously about what technology might do for us in education, and can have a reasonable chance that this is already under development, or is at least within the realms of practical possibility.

Spend a few moments today thinking those incredibly ambitious thoughts.