One Day We Will Be Honest

Subject: A Matric’s Perspective on the Direction of Kearsney College

To Whom It May Concern, or, as some may say, “Senior Management”

I think it is about time that an honest conversation is had about what Kearsney College is becoming and more importantly, what is contributing to that change.

I write this not to make a passive-aggressive remark or to disrespect anyone, but because I am genuinely concerned about the image that is now being created of the school and the way in which the boys are being treated.

As matrics, I would like to think that we have gained a fair amount of insight into the school, its traditions and the way it is run. We have been here long enough to see changes and we have also been here long enough to understand what makes Kearsney what it is. I think that sometimes we have given the school the benefit of the doubt when decisions have been made that we did not agree with. But at some point we have to ask, how many times we can continue to do that without actually addressing the problems?

The school speaks very strongly about tradition and about valuing the opinions of old boys. However, from the perspective of many of the senior boys, it sometimes feels as though the traditions that actually matter to the boys are being slowly removed or changed without properly considering why they existed in the first place.

I believe the school has lost some of the identity that made it special. This is not simply my opinion. It is something that I have heard from many seniors, including Grade 11s. The problem is that decisions are often presented as being “for the best of the College”, but the boys who are directly affected by those decisions do not always feel that their opinions have been properly considered.

One example is the relationship between the seniors and the younger grades. Teachers are often quick to complain about the behaviour of younger grades especially Grade 10s, yet when seniors attempt to correct behaviour that goes against the traditions and expectations of the school, we can just as quickly be told that what we are doing is inappropriate and they are protected and never need to be held accountable for their actions.

I understand that there is a line between leadership and bullying, and that line needs to be respected. However, I don’t think that means that senior boys should have no role in correcting or guiding juniors. There is value in a Grade 12 speaking to a Grade 10 in a way that a teacher sometimes cannot, that is not to say we have more power that staff. Standing, being spoken to by seniors and being reminded of the expectations of the school have traditionally been part of the culture of Kearsney. If those methods are removed, what is replacing them? This brings me to an incident I heard about which happened after lunch on Wednesday. A group of matrics were standing outside the dining hall talking. Coincidentally, the discussion was actually about the state of the school and some of the concerns that they have. When school ended, juniors walked past on their way to lunch without greeting them. The matrics addressed the juniors and were stopped by Mr Thompson. He stopped them from speaking to the juniors because he thought they were bullying them. His point was why should a junior greet a large group of matrics, which I fail to understand why he shouldn’t. I understand the concern about a group of matrics addressing younger boys and I understand why that could look intimidating from an adult’s perspective. However, the response left me asking a simple question: what are we as matrics actually expected to do when juniors ignore traditions that the school itself tells us are important? Are we expected to simply ignore it? Are seniors no longer supposed to correct juniors? Are we supposed to accept that we are all equals? Or are we meant to submit to junior grades since they are seen as superior to us? If so, what role does seniority actually have within the school?

This brings me to another issue that I believe has been downplayed: hierarchy. Hierarchy does not have to mean that seniors are superior to juniors. It means that different groups within the school have different responsibilities. Being a matric has traditionally meant having a responsibility to set an example, maintain traditions and help guide the juniors. It also meant that seniors had some degree of influence within the school. Now the argument to this is that we should let the prefects handle it, but let me ask this. If I disrespected a teacher, would they not speak to me directly rather than leaving it to Mr Lees? And if the answer to that question is no, then I think that is something that needs to be addressed as well. Do we as matrics who are not prefects not have the right to speak for ourselves.

It increasingly feels as though that influence has disappeared. When we raise concerns, we are often told that the issue needs to “go through the right channels” or that it needs to be taken to “Senior Management”. I understand that there are procedures that need to be followed. However, the frustration comes from the fact that we rarely see what happens after that. From our perspective, many issues simply disappear once they reach that point.

There have also been situations where boys have felt that they have been asked to retract statements or change what they said because there is disagreement about what was originally communicated. Whether intentional or not, this creates a feeling among the boys that accountability does not always work both ways. I also want to acknowledge that there have been members of staff who, in my opinion, genuinely understood the boys and what was best for them. Mr Willows and Mr Kirsten are examples of this. Many boys may not always have agreed with them or even liked the decisions they made, but there was a sense that they understood the culture of the school and were willing to stand by what they believed was right for the boys. I believe that is what many of us are asking for.

We don’t expect every decision to go our way. We don’t expect to run the school. We don’t expect every tradition to remain exactly as it was forever. What we do expect is to be listened to and to have our concerns taken seriously, especially when those concerns are shared by a large number of senior boys and directly affect us.

Another issue that is very obvious is the false promises from people such as Mr Gamede, who will make claims to try resolve concerns that have been brought up but he will just use ‘buzz words’ to make you think that he is on your side but you know what happens after that…. NOTHING. to be honest it would be much better to just tell the truth from the jump and let people know that you don’t agree with them or maybe you don’t care about the issue because it doesn’t affect you. The same line over and over again, “I will have to take this to senior management”. It truly gets boring.

I know that writing something like this may be viewed as disrespectful and I know by seeing in the past what happen to people who voice themselves, that there may be consequences for speaking so openly. However, if the response to criticism is simply to punish the person who raised it rather than consider whether there is any truth behind it, then that only reinforces the concerns being raised. I am writing this because I care about Kearsney. If I didn’t, I would simply keep quiet and leave at the end of the year. But I don’t want to leave a school that I believe has lost some of the qualities that made it special without at least saying something.

As Elie Wiesel said, “There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” I believe this is a time when the boys need to be heard.

I hope that this letter is not simply treated as a complaint from a matric, but as an opportunity to genuinely consider what the current generation of boys is experiencing and what kind of Kearsney College we want to leave behind for those who come after us.

Yours sincerely, A concerned matric