Theme: ‘Managing Change’
It is most appropriate that at Maritzburg College, today, as we await the announcement and in time arrival of our 16th headmaster, we should consider the topic of managing change.
After all, you young Collegians are programmed from a young age to be rather hostile to the concept of change, even though it is inevitable, it happens all the time, it is in many cases unstoppable, and it is very often part of an evolving process that is in fact healthy, enriching and good.
For 20 years, I have had College boys throw back at me, as they kick back at any change or attempt at progress, the misquoted words from Mr Ray Fuller:
“But there are certain things that do not change and must not change.”
It may come as a surprise to you that Mr Fuller was, in fact, a supporter of change.
It was his view that almost everything must and should change, and that Maritzburg College should embrace such changes.
- From teachers, who pass through the corridors and classrooms and perhaps in time drift slowly into retirement.
- To buildings and facilities, which over decades decay and need replacing.
- To even the school’s beloved tribal practices and traditions, which change, as the world beyond these ‘old walls’ evolves.
According to Mr Fuller, there were only some things that, in his view, should never change – and those to paraphrase were the “basic human values for which the school has stood.”
But change can be unsettling and even rather terrifying, as we move from a place of certainty and light, into one that may seem dark, ominous and beyond our understanding.
But, if the world around us is ever-changing and change is inevitable, then we need to be ready for that change.
While we may be rooted in and by those unchanging basic human values that old ‘Bones’ Fuller spoke about all the way back in 1965, we need to at the same time be flexible enough to embrace the benefits and opportunities that change offers.
As you know, we live in a world of rapid technological advancements, leading to changes in global communication, information access and the very structures of the world we live in – from Washington, to the Ukraine and to Gaza.
We need to be ready –
- To adapt to the new circumstances that at times swirl around us.
- To accept and believe that our education at this school and hopefully the prodding of our teachers and parents have equipped us with not just the determination and resilience to succeed, but also the self-belief and especially the curiosity to ‘make it out there.’
- To have a mindset that accepts change as being crucial for personal growth and progress, and embraces it.
- To remember that focusing too much on the past or even the present can hinder our ability to adapt and innovate for the future.
If, as one writer put it, “change is the law of life”, then, men of College, let’s go to it.
Sport vs Northwood
After a run of very successful weekends for the College teams, the overall results versus Northwood confirm the challenge that they were prepared to lay down against you boys.
Not even 10 years ago, Northwood would have barely won a single match all day against Maritzburg College.
The lessons on managing change and managing it well, and maximising the opportunities that change always bring, at times stared at us on Saturday.
We will need to work harder and smarter, in the weeks ahead, as we undergo the change in sporting codes from summer to winter, and we prepare for the two big local derby fixtures that are looming against DHS and the very same Northwood.
I take this opportunity to sincerely thank all the coaches and boys who wore the red-black-white with pride and honour over the summer season, and I wish all the participants in our winter programme well, as they tie-up the laces to their blackened boots or pick up those curved izinduku of hockey men.
We will back down to no-one, but must prepare and prepare well, with guts and fire, for the confrontations that await us.
Closing:
In closing, I have a true little story from the recent Dusi, which I received from a paddler who was a Kearsney Old Boy.
The email goes as follows:
“I was very impressed with the patriotism and humour of a Grade 11 College boy.
“He was paddling with us from Pump House Weir on the last day.
“He had missed his seconds and his juice was finished.
“He was struggling to stay with us to use our ‘wave’. He still offered to ‘pull’, which is considerate but not necessary when a single is paddling with a double.
“Some way along, he saw the ‘Maritzburg College’ sticker on our canoe (my paddling partner is an Old Collegian from 1985 and was a proud old College parent.
“This made the College boy ask if we were ‘both College old boys, sir.’
“I said ‘no,’ and that I had gone to Kearsney.
“He then commented to my partner, ‘Ah sir, if you were paddling with another College old boy, you would be finished by now.’
For his sporting chirp and for putting this Botha’s Hill chap in his place, S Vennicker, there is a slab of chocolate awaiting you.
Pro Aris et Focis
Mr M Marwick
ACTING HEADMASTER