Welcome back to Life and Living, our third term – and only our fifth ‘Life and Living’ term since our inception in 2020.

I was listening to Hugh Mackay with Phillip Adams on the radio, and they shared interesting insights.  Hugh Mackay, a social psychologist, spoke of Jerome Kagan’s research findings: humans don’t thrive in stability – they thrive in change; humans need the challenge of new experience.  Mackay went on to say that natural disasters are important for communities – they are awful but they draw a community together.  They are not welcome but they always have the effect of enlivening us. We are stimulated and illuminated by challenges.

I pause to reflect: if that is the case, we are truly thriving at Living School!   

You really should listen to the 30 minute interview on the ABC.

Listen to this interview here – it’s great! https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/latenightlive/use-guest-name-in-url/103814748

As I listened, something else caught my attention in this interview – Hugh spoke my thoughts (a food web moment):

The moral sense is a social sense.  Schools must allow difference to be experienced and explored – mistakes and success, good days and bad – so we can develop social intelligence, self-awareness and empathy.  Humans learn social negotiation.  Mackay believes when we lose our social time to online time, we become morally diminished.  We need face-to-face interaction to learn our social and moral sense – common sense.  Living School celebrates pluralism and humanism – because this is the reality – the truth – of our social-psycho-ecosystem locally and globally.

Mackay went on to highlight online communities have sprouted the age of ‘opinions’.  Information is not news – it is data.  And humans rush to an opinion: people have to have an opinion about everything.

The Dunning Kruger effect was discussed, and Mackay quoted, Bertrand Russell: The problem with the world is that wise people are so full of doubt and foolish people are so full of confidence.

As we live, learn and lean into Living School, we are evolving and we are listening.  I am so amazed at where we are now – and I am still very excited at our future.  I trust you are developing your sense of belonging in our diverse community’s culture.  You also have a responsibility – we flourish when we give and when we support each other.

If you have some area of expertise or interest, or if you know of someone or a local event, and you would like to volunteer, please let us know by contacting [email protected].

This term’s KeyStone theme is Life and Living.  This is really a focus on teaching and exploring philosophy.  There are six big ideas I hope to convey this term in my weekly assemblies: 

• Empiricism vs. Rationalism: Introduce the concept of how we gain knowledge. In simpler terms, this explores whether knowledge comes from experience (Empiricism) or reason and logic (Rationalism). 
• Utilitarianism vs. Deontology: Explore the concept of ethics. Briefly introduce Utilitarianism, which focuses on the greatest good for the greatest number, and Deontology, which emphasizes following moral duty and principles.
• Individualism vs. Collectivism: This explores the balance between individual rights and societal needs, exploring the importance of personal goals and achievements (Individualism) while also emphasizing cooperation and working for the common good (Collectivism). 
• Justice vs. Fairness: To understand different approaches to equality. Justice focuses on treating everyone the same, while fairness considers individual circumstances. 
• Skepticism vs. Dogmatism: The importance of questioning and critical thinking (Skepticism) versus blindly accepting information (Dogmatism).
• Existentialism vs. Absurdism: For senior students. Existentialism focuses on individual freedom and responsibility in creating meaning in life. Absurdism explores the apparent lack of inherent meaning in the universe. 

“Since philosophy is the art which teaches us how to live, and since children need to learn it as much as we do at other ages, why do we not instruct them in it?”

Michel De Montaigne On Education 1533-1592