American entrepreneur Ted Turner once commented: “If I only had a little humility I’d be perfect…”. An article in the media this week highlighted the cultural differences between various countries around the world when it comes to individuals’ self-promotion and self-aggrandisement. While acknowledging that he was inevitably stereotyping, he claimed that many nationalities are not in the habit of speaking the language of self-effacement. As he illustrated, “underplaying your status in this town [Washington] is akin to smearing yourself in fresh elephant dung on your way out of the house – people may still speak to you, but it’s going to be terrifyingly brief.” Those in the public eye – politicians, celebrities, and so on – are all too often self-publicists using their profile as well as channels such as social media to ensure that their achievements and movements are broadcast vociferously to all.
In stark contrast, self-deprecation has long been the British way. Josh Clancy noted that “we cloak ourselves in the armour of irony and self-abasement to ensure that no one will ever call us anything dreadful such as pushy, ambitious or a bit keen.” This tradition of nonchalance and perceived indifference is deeply ingrained in the British psyche. The RGS is, perhaps, guilty of further embedding this mindset. As one of our six values, within the value of integrity, we talk of the importance of approaching life with humour and celebrating traditional qualities such as decency, politeness, and humility. So, are we selling our students short? Are we nurturing a culture whereby students undersell themselves or are embarrassed to reveal their true talents? In my opinion, this could not be further from the truth and this last week at the RGS has highlighted this.
Scholarship for All is firmly embedded in our ethos; rather than the domain of a select few, scholarship unites and inspires us as a community. Our Junior ILA (Independent Learning Assignment) Evening provided our Third and Fourth Form students – supported by their Sixth Form mentors – to discuss with the attendees their research projects at a science-fair-style event. The rich diversity of topic impressed: AI, asylum seekers, board games, fashion, the International Criminal Court, motorsport, US politics, roller coasters, space exploration, supersonic aviation, sustainable energy sources, time travel, and many, many more. Our junior students in the First and Second Forms then competed against their counterparts from RGS Dubai in the 200 Seconds Competition. Again, the breadth of their interest was remarkable. In just 200 seconds and with a limited deck of presentation slides, the students addressed the audience on Star Wars, air travel, architecture including the Eiffel Tower and the Gherkin, iconic music, to name but a few. In both events, it was, however, not the range of subject matter which really struck me but the passion, the articulate way the students expressed themselves, and the complexity and sophistication of investigation. Our students spoke with conviction and confidence: to their great credit when speaking live in front of an audience.
Our culture of mutual respect and high achievement means that our students are proud not only of their own achievements but equally celebrate those of their peers. We publicly acknowledge success and use this in an aspirational way to, in turn, inspire others. The scholarship events this week perfectly illustrated this. For me, humility is not an obstacle to progress; humility is an absence of arrogance and self-entitlement, a desire to continue to reflect and improve, and, perhaps most importantly the ability to take what you do, but not yourself, too seriously and to be able to laugh at yourself. And if that means being a bit keen and applying metaphorical elephant dung from time to time, then so be it.
Dr JM Cox
HEADMASTER