From the Principal’s Desk – 23 March, 2018 – Human Rights Day

Dear Parents,

I trust that you all celebrated a wonderful Human Rights Day. As you can imagine being an IB World School, this topic of “rights” is often hotly debated in the HS classes, in particular in the Diploma TOK and Global Politics classes. As independent enquiring thinkers our students do not need much encouragement to challenge the status quo and seek answers to the many questions that they may have.

While it is extremely important to understand where we as a country have come from, it is equally important to understand the concepts of “rights” and “responsibilities”. In fact you cannot talk about one without considering the other. It is a fair assumption to make that students today are very much more aware of their individual rights and have a greater understanding of this subject matter than many of us who were teenagers so very long ago. In fact, they are quick to point out what they are entitled to and what deserve, often citing the UN Children’s Rights or Human Rights charter.

I so enjoy it when these discussions emerge in class, as they never make for a dull discussion. In fact, the conversation can very quickly become heated leading to some bruised ego’s or differing of opinions. In each circumstance I find myself having to remind students of the often forgotten compliment to the concept that is “human rights” and that is the importance and balance of the necessary “responsibilities” that accompany such rights.

For example:
• Children have the right to be taken seriously … and the responsibility to listen to others
• Children have the right to quality medical care … and the responsibility to take care of themselves
• Children have the right to a good education … and the responsibility to study and respect their teachers
• Children have the right to be loved and protected from harm … and the responsibility to show love and caring to others
• Children have the right to special care for special needs … and the responsibility to be the best people they can be
• Children have the right to be proud of their heritage and beliefs … and the responsibility to respect the origins and beliefs of others
• Children have the right to a safe and comfortable home … and the responsibility to share in keeping it neat and clean
• Children have the right to make mistakes … and the responsibility to learn from those mistakes
• Children have the right to be adequately fed … and the responsibility not to waste food
So as we celebrate the end of yet another busy term and look forward to a well-deserved break, may I take this opportunity to encourage you all to remember the history of the 21st March and vow to say “never ever again in our beautiful land”. In addition, I trust that as we encourage and remind ourselves of the hard fought rights, we never forget that none of these can ever be taken for granted, that in order to fully appreciate these we do our bit to act responsibly in everything we do. We are never too young or too old to make this a life choice.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Kind regards,

Grant Ruskovich