As I have said before, choosing to read books really does have a positive impact on us – both now and in terms of our prospects for the future. I am Malala is of course the autobiographical story by Malala Yousafzai and, just to remind you, it tells how Malala, who today is still only 25 but, when she was 13, was shot on a bus by a Taliban gunman in an assassination attempt. This was retaliation after she had spoken out in her region against the restrictions on girls attending school. The bullet left her in a critical condition and she was eventually transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. She recovered and began to campaign for all young people, to have the right to education; she went to school in Birmingham and then on to Oxford but first, at 17, she became the youngest ever recipient of a Nobel Peace Prize. If you haven’t read, I am Malala, then I would certainly recommend it.
I wonder how many of us leapt out of bed this morning, filled with enthusiasm at the prospect of another week at School – many of us I hope. But just in case you were not one of them, or perhaps because the thought of internal exams and end of year assessments, or some other test or just the work you will do in your six lessons today or indeed anything else made you wish you could go back under the duvet, it is staggering to think that according to a UN report, some 263 million children and young people across the world do not go to school. This is equivalent to a quarter of the population of Europe. The reason that those 263 million young people will not access a school education is often poverty or war, and girls are still more likely never to set foot into a school than boys. Despite the pressures and challenges we do have from time to time, and I would never want to belittle those, we really are lucky to have access to an experience like this at HGS.
So, what am I saying?
Firstly, although it will not always feel like it, particularly when we are being pushed to achieve our best, we really are very lucky to be able to access an education in the broadest sense. An education that can give us the freedom to choose how we live our adult lives – what we go on to do professionally and indeed where we live. Education should give us options. Nelson Mandela famously said that Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world – our education can change our world and, in turn, we can have a positive impact on the world of others.
Secondly, when HGS was founded in 1862, it was for boys only and I am delighted that is no longer the case. I sincerely hope that opportunities for all genders are now more equal, but I suspect that in the world in general, there is still more to do. In your lifetimes, I hope that opportunities for all will equalize and perhaps many of you will play a part in making that happen.
And finally, you need to form your own ideas on these things, the problems that exist in society and the potential solutions and a way to do that, a way to gather your own independent thoughts and views, is by understanding more about the lives of others such as Malala Yousafzai and a way to do that is by reading reliable sources, such as books.
So, my final message is that we need to keep educating ourselves and one of the best ways to do so is to read books. Take the opportunity over the summer holiday to read – books, articles, poetry, plays – as broad a selection as possible. Even if you only dip in and out of reading material – the more the better. Keep reading!
Kofi Annan said: “Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.”
Stay well and safe.
Be kind to yourself and others.
Best wishes,
Dr Bird
