We may well be familiar with the lovely story of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson out camping. During the night, Holmes woke up, nudged his faithful friend and said, “Watson, I want you to look up at the sky and tell me what you see.” Watson said, “I see millions and millions of stars.” Sherlock said, “And what does that tell you?” After a minute Watson said, “Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three in the morning. Theologically, I can see that God is all powerful and that we are small and insignificant. Metereologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day today. What does it tell you?” Holmes was silent for about 30 seconds and said, “Watson, you idiot! Someone has stolen our tent!”
When we next sit out under the stars, we should look around and tell people what we see. Hopefully we will say we see good friends, colleagues, former sparring partners; we probably see some regularly; others may not have been seen much. Hopefully we will also see evidence, if we are willing to look carefully, of all the good that our education system has done over the last thirty years. But first, look up and say what we see. Those stars that we see were there thirty, sixty, ninety years ago when schools started; in fact, those same stars were there way before that. It is thought that the light reaching us now from some of those stars only left the star on the day that some of our schools started; the light from some of the other stars was sent out well before that. And the beauty of the stars is that even if we cannot see the stars, they are still there.
It is a wonderful idea to have celebrations outside under the stars, not least because it is right and fitting to do so as it is a perfect picture of what the stars tell us educationally. Out there we are exposed to the elements, but in equal measure to dangers, beauty, order, vastness, openness, opportunity, potential and all of that is a reflection of a school. Education is a risk, for sure. Clouds can get in the way of the stars at time but they remain in place; educational clouds can block out what we are doing sometimes but we are still there. Just like the stars, education is unrestricted; it is a vast, unexplored glorious universe out there inviting us to bring our children into its wonders. Equally, education is ordered, like the galaxies of stars, though each one is unique, individualised; each star, just as each child, is in exactly the right place.
Every now and then, as we look to the night sky, we might see a shooting star; so too in the educational world! However, we do not need Sherlock Holmes to remind us that stars shine the brightest (and therefore have the greatest impact) in the darkest hour; that will be the real test of a school, that when things are dark in this country, when as individuals and institutions we come across great hardship and difficulty, then the light from that school can shine brightly and lead the way forward for all who pass through there.
Looking at the stars is all we need to humble us as we contemplate our smallness but it is also all we need to inspire us as we reflect on our existence in this beautiful creation. As we consider the huge responsibilities of taking schools forward for the next thirty years, we all need to look up and to seek help from God; after all, even with all the stars in the sky, we still need to turn to a brighter light. We are encouraged also to look up and see the big picture; each school is not on its own but is part of the global village.
Many people celebrating education are a star! That is not because they only come out at night, though some may be examples of the alternative to the children’s ditty, “Twinkle, twinkle, little star, point me to the nearest bar”! They are stars because of what they bring to this world through schools. Don Maclean sang the words, ‘Starry starry night’, in his tribute to the great painter Vincent Van Gogh who in turn once said, “For my part I know nothing with any certainty but the sight of the stars makes me dream.” May the sight of these young stars in our schools help us to dream big. Let us, like stars, continue to shine brightly for many more years, even if the effect of what we are currently doing will only be seen in many years’ time.
- Tim Middleton is the executive director of the Association of Trust Schools [ATS]. The views expressed in this article, however, are solely those of the author in his private capacity and do not necessarily represent the views of the ATS.
- Email: ceo@atschisz.co.zw
- website: www.atschisz
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