Thursday 20 March 2025
The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is rapidly fadin'
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'
Bob Dylan, (1964)
This is not a new idea. Bob Dylan may have penned a popular song, but it has always been true that times change, the old zeitgeist is displaced, and the new generation will supplant its predecessor.
It is the same in education, and especially so in establishments that seek to embody tradition. At King’s we have many traditions, but we joke about the fact that it only takes an initiative two years until it becomes a new tradition, and only five years and a complete cycle of students to have no awareness of any that slip by the wayside.
In fact, it fills the modern student with horror to think that practices like caning, fagging or even compulsory full-time boarding may have been within their parents’ lifetime. For our longer serving staff, it can feel at times, that the pace of change and the rate of innovation is overwhelming. A consolation is that we know the children in front of us will experience the same in their turn…it is simply a part of the ageing process.
So, as iPads replace pens, detentions replace physical fatigues, and student voice replaces the seniority, what traditions are we to hang on to? For if traditions that define and distinguish an institution like King’s are to survive, we had better decide which ones are worthy.
Worthy traditions go to the heart of shared values. Chapel attendance is a great example, assemblies too; they speak of a spiritual side, the heart of the College and our sense of community. The annual Grammar Match - a sporting tradition, but also the ultimate ‘friendly’, though we don’t say that! The School haka and school song - both speak of pride, belonging and a sense of identity. Community service, academic rigour, artistic and musical excellence - House Music! The picture is becoming clearer - King’s values community and excellence in all it does. Unique among schools? Not at all, but it’s the way we do it. The House system is perhaps the most significant difference - perhaps only the fictional Hogwarts could rival the intensity of King’s in this regard.
But time does not stand still there either. All boarding and day Houses of course comply with new legislation around child protection and work to foster a sense of safety and belonging - none of which diminishes the passion. Prefects might feel a certain loss of personal clout when administering their duties, but role-modelling has always been the stronger super-power…so some of those ‘traditions’ are best consigned to the history books.
In considering tradition at King’s College, it’s worth reading the comments of a past Headmaster - not JT or Greenbank, but rather Claude Elliot - who was Headmaster of Eton from 1933 to 1949. In an address to a group of new boys, Elliot stated…
“You may have heard it said that you are here to be prepared for a life of distinction. Not a bit of it. You were here to be kept off the streets during your difficult years. So, you will be made to work every hour God gives you. If you are dim, you'll be helped over the hurdles. If you are clever, your potential will be assessed and you will be punished if you don't fulfil it. Your spare time will be spent fagging for older boys, and if you don't do what they tell you, or any of the staff tell you, you will be punished. But I wish you good luck. You are going to need it.”
I wonder how a parent might feel if these sentiments were proclaimed today! There are, of course, kernels of truth here - but the tone will leave many cold. Post-war England is thankfully markedly different to how we live and educate in New Zealand in 2025.
In summary, it is important that we retain our core values while moving with the times. It may take the wisdom of the aged to discern what we keep and what we reject - but it will always be the next generation that generates the change.
But this writer is very conscious of Dylan’s words…so I won’t say anything more!
Come writers and critics
Who prophesise with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin…
Grant McKibbin
Teacher in Charge of Mentoring