MAC Mag 06
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BOT Chairperson’s<br />
Report<br />
Here’s something to think about!<br />
Felix Schelling – 19th century<br />
educationalist and philosopher said : “True<br />
education makes for inequality. The inequality<br />
of individuality, the inequality of success;<br />
the glorious inequality of talent, of genius!<br />
For inequality, not mediocrity; individual<br />
superiority, not standardization, is the measure<br />
of progress in the world….”<br />
As well as the myriad of governance<br />
requirements that the Board of Trustees has<br />
to meet – ensuring legislative compliance,<br />
improving student learning outcomes,<br />
being a good employer, managing staff<br />
performance, being fiscally prudent…(the list<br />
goes on!) – we have an underlying goal of<br />
fostering a unique and identifiable culture for<br />
our school community.<br />
We sum up our goals and aspirations for<br />
you - our students - with the phrase “Enjoy<br />
Success”. Having this as our maxim presents<br />
us with a huge challenge. How do we ensure<br />
that students at Mount Aspiring College<br />
are experiencing success and having the<br />
opportunity to enjoy it?<br />
The key, I believe, lies in promoting inequality!<br />
This doesn’t sound very politically correct,<br />
but if you think of it in the context of Felix<br />
Schelling’s words, it begins to make more<br />
sense. It starts with valuing and nurturing<br />
individuality and the belief that every person<br />
in our college community has some unique<br />
skills or talents. We can’t all be good at<br />
everything. We aren’t all good at the same<br />
things. But we all have at least one thing at<br />
which we excel. The challenge for you is to<br />
figure out what that thing is, and to foster it<br />
- to pursue any and all opportunities that are<br />
available to you for growth and development.<br />
The challenge for the Board and for the staff is<br />
to provide an environment in which individual<br />
talents can be nurtured and celebrated,<br />
however diverse they are, without fear of<br />
failure or judgment or ridicule. Identifying and<br />
developing each of your special individual<br />
talents enriches our learning community and<br />
provides a successful foundation for other<br />
learning.<br />
I would like to take this opportunity to<br />
acknowledge our exceptional staff and the<br />
contribution they have made to your success.<br />
I truly hope that those of you who are leaving<br />
Mount Aspiring College this year take with you<br />
more than “paper” qualifications. I hope that<br />
you also take with you some understanding<br />
of your unique personal ‘inequality’ – a pride<br />
in who you are and what you have achieved<br />
and the will to ‘enjoy success’ in whatever<br />
challenges life presents you.<br />
Kia Kaha.<br />
Sally Battson<br />
Chairperson, Board of Trustees<br />
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