About the Author

Andrew is a vastly experienced Headmaster who led

Westcliff High School for Boys for over 22 years. Under his
leadership, the school was designated outstandingly
successful in each of its four OFSTED inspections. Andrew
has a particular interest in the moral and spiritual
dimensions in education and in building school ethos. He is
now a Consultant advising on different aspects of school
culture and leadership. He is the author of a textbook on
contemporary British Government and has an exceptional
command of the current social and educational agenda.
For further information go to www.ajbeducation.co.uk

For Lynda
whose love and support
have been unfailing.

Copyright Andrew J. Baker (2015)

The right of Andrew J. Baker to be identified as author of
this work has been asserted by him in accordance with
section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior
permission of the publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation
to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and
civil claims for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the
British Library.

ISBN 978 1 78455 159 9

www.austinmacauley.com
First Published (2015)
Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd.
25 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5LB

Printed and bound in Great Britain

Contents
13

Preface

Part One: Young people and their lives today

19
22
25
28
31
34
37
40
43
46
49
52
55
58
61
64
67
70
73
76

1.1 What worries teenagers today: different perspectives

1.2 The 18-30 Generation: what do young people think?
1.3 Our lives in school today: bullying can kill
1.4 Why it matters that we tell the truth
1.5 Some attitudes we can manage without
1.6 Can we have too much choice in our lives today?
1.7 Giving direction to our lives and accepting responsibility
1.8 On the proper use of language
1.9 The screenage generation: how young people spend their time
1.10 Connecting with others: finding space for relationships
1.11 On the proper use of time: finding a balance
1.12 Can all pupils achieve: the importance of character
1.13 Why plagiarism is something we cannot accept
1.14 Being receptive to new experiences
1.15 What really makes children happy?
1.16 Replica firearms and the school community
1.17 Drugs and the school community
1.18 Judging by appearances or judging by character
1.19 Young people and their health today
1.20 Learning from the past: tradition and moral teaching

Part Two: Personal Relationships, Personal Difficulties and

Personal Values
2.1 Attending a funeral: the survival of love
2.2 My grandfathers generation: what mattered to him
2.3 Loneliness in our world today: the most terrible poverty
2.4 A lady and a teapot: recognizing those less fortunate
2.5 Larry Stewart: recognizing our responsibility to others
2.6 Timothy Stone and purpose in life: the path to destruction
2.7 Fathers and sons: admiration tempered by resentment
2.8 Corruption in cricket: we need a moral compass
2.9 Living on very little and finding fulfilment
2.10 Having a hinterland: Denis Healey and richness in life

80
83
86
89
92
95
98
101
104
107

2.11 Happiness: Dr Clares message we cannot ignore

2.12 Christopher Gray: his life, death and significance
2.13 Jonathan Aitken: ascendancy, perjury, conviction, recovery
2.14 Manners for the new millennium
2.15 Mr Papworth and the reallocation of resources
2.16 Courage in the face of adversity: the human spirit
2.17 Multiculturalism in Britain today: balancing our perspectives
2.18 Twelve angry men: one man can make a diffeence
2.19 Arthur Millers all my sons: the choices we make
2.20 Henrik Ibsens an enemy of the people: principles matter

110
113
116
119
122
125
128
131
134
137

Part Three: Aspects of British Society Today

3.1 Democracy: no small matter for us all
3.2 Prostitutes in Ipswich: losing hope and direction
3.3 Prisons in crisis and lives off the rails
3.4 Families in Britain today: what has changed; does it matter?
3.5 Knife crime in Britain today: some frightening realities
3.7 Criminality and goodness: a Christian response to adversity
3.8 Riots in London and elsewhere 2011
3.9 Change in British society in the post war years
3.10 Horror in Edlington: poverty, hopelessness and despair
3.11 Remembering the Aberfan disaster: communities matter
3.12 Rape at Kings Cross: believing nothing; feeling nothing
3.13 Dr Harold Shipman: the violation of trust
3.14: A case of two murderers: the depths of depravity
3.15 The death of Anna Climbie and adult betrayal
3.16 Stephen Lawrence: a case on all our consciences
3.17 Evil and our response: three different cases
3.18 Luke Mitchell: shaking hands with the devil
3.19 The murder of Gary Newlove and the message for us all
3.20 Baby P: private abuse and public oversight

141
144
147
150
153
159
162
165
168
171
174
177
180
183
186
190
193
196
199

Part Four: Considering the World Community

4.1 Fanaticism in Afghanistan: closing the gates of mercy
4.2 James Mawdsleys struggle against the Burmese regime
4.3 The Norwegian killer: horror at an island summer camp
4.4 Margaret Hassan: a martyr for goodness, truth and generosity
4.5 Saddam Hussein: a life of violence ending in violence
4.6 The death of Osama Bin Laden: closing a chapter
4.7 The death of Colonel Gaddafi: living and dying by the sword

203
206
209
212
215
218
221

4.8 The rescue of the Chilean miners: triumph from despair

4.9 Aung San Suu Kyi: a life without fear
4.10 Tsunami in Japan: natures power and the pursuit of renewal
4.11 Inequalities in todays world: the significance of poverty
4.12 Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani: a conflict of cultures
4.13 The sinking of the Costa Concordia: then and now
4.14 Tyranny and the abuse of power in Zimbabwe
4.15 Massacre in Finland november 2007
4.16 Why we remember: continuity in the human story
4.17 Then and now: seeing ourselves in relation to the past
4.18 The Holocaust: its meaning and its continuing significance
4.19 Remembering the Holocaust: the dignity of difference
4.20 9/11 remembered over a decade on

224
227
230
233
236
239
242
245
248
251
254
257
260

Part Five: Some Notable Lives Exemplifying the Human

Spirit
5.1 Derek Worlock (1920-1996): bringing hope to Liverpool
264
5.2 Rabbi Hugo Gryn (1930-1996): surviving Auschwitz
267
5.3 Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997): service and simplicity 270
5.4 Trevor Huddleston (1913-1998): crusader against apartheid
273
5.5 Cardinal Basil Hume (1923-1999): humility and spirituality
276
5.6 Lord Soper (1903-98): preacher; campaigner and humanitarian 279
5.7 Pope John Paul II (1920-2005): deeply spiritual church leader
282
5.8 David Sheppard (1929-2005): healer with a bias to the poor
285
5.9 Jack Profumo (1915-2006): rebuilding after personal disgrace
288
5.10 Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008): writer and patriot
291
5.11 Vaclav Havel (1936-2011): standing against tyranny
294
5.12 Lord Jenkins of Hillhead (1920-2003): statesman and historian 297
5.13 Sir Isaiah Berlin (1909-1997): philosopher and historian of ideas300
5.14 Lord Young of Dartington (1915-2002): innovator and inveterate
activist
303
5.15 Iris Murdoch (1918-1999): novelist, philosopher, and free spirit 306
5.16 John k Galbraith (1908-2006): economist and visionary
309
5.17 Father Dimitry Dudko (1922-2004): heroic priest broken by tyranny
5.18 Enoch Powell (1912-1998): classicist; politician and patriot
5.19 Lord Scarman (1911-2004): Brixton and beyond
5.20 Michael Foot (1914-2010): politics, literature and life

312
315
318
321

PREFACE
In this book I have tried to consider different social,
cultural and educational aspects of our world today. I have
arranged the book around five themes: first, young people
and some aspects of their lives today; second, a broader
consideration of matters touching upon personal
relationships and values; third, a commentary on some
aspects of British society today; fourth, reflections on
developments across the broader world community and,
finally, reflections on men and women, all of whom have
died across the last sixteen or so years and each of whom, in
different ways, led a life which exemplifies the human
spirit. Although the essays, all of which are similar in
length, can be read individually, they do, I believe, reflect a
number of common themes: the importance of personal
responsibility, of education, of community and service, of
thinking about other people, of honesty, and not least, of the
values which inform the life of a free society.
The book originated in my work, for over 22 years, as
Headmaster of a Grammar School in Essex. We were
fortunate in having a large Hall and the school came
together at the beginning of each day for morning
Assembly. I regarded Assemblies as the most significant
and influential form of contact I had with the school as a
corporate body and I used the occasions to communicate
many of my perceptions on contemporary society and the
conduct of life which I considered important. I believe that
the cumulative impact of these occasions on the culture and
tone of the school was appreciable for I think they helped to
shape, within the school community, a collective sense of

what matters and is of enduring importance. These

occasions became an integral aspect of my general style as a
Headmaster and I have now, drawing on notes covering
well over 2,000 assemblies given over the years, expanded
and edited for a broader audience a selection for this book.
I hope the essays will be of interest to the general reader
wanting to reflect on the times through which we are living
and happy to be exercised by the consideration of values
which, in different senses, informs each of the essays. I
hope the book will also have a use in schools by providing
for young people either in morning Assembly or within the
framework of Personal and Social Education, some
opportunities for pause, thought, reflection and insight into
some of the deeper issues of life.
What I offer in these pages represents a personal
statement of things which matter to me and which, within
the context of leading a school I sought to pass on to the
whole school community. The choice of material frequently
reflects my own interests, tastes and enthusiasms. I have
been enormously influenced by and I believe have benefited
from the study of History and that influence is reflected in
these pages. Through History I have developed an interest
in human character and motivation and that too is reflected
here, not least in my own estimations of others. Perhaps
some broader reflections on the considerations which have
influenced both the style and content of what follows may
be appropriate.
The corporate dimension in school life and pupils
education matters. For while, in any school, pupils
experiences in the classroom and the quality of teaching
have a critical bearing on pupils development, pupils ought
also to be able to develop a sense and understanding of what
the school as a whole is about and what it regards as
important in the conduct of life. Moreover, that sense needs
to be shared by pupils, parents and staff alike. In a sense,
this has always been true, but the responsibility placed upon

schools by the 1988 Education Act to, promote the

spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development
of pupils at the school and of society, has brought that
dimension more sharply into focus. That is welcome. One
of the most obvious ways in which that dimension can be
furthered is through the daily coming together of the school
(or a significant proportion of the school) as a corporate
body in morning Assembly.
At the root of my approach to Headship lay a deep
conviction that education has a moral dimension and that
pupils need to be initiated into a sustained debate on moral
issues. It is mans capacity to think and to make moral
judgements which separates him from other forms of life
and not the least of the responsibilities we have as educators
is to sharpen, refine and develop pupils capacity for moral
reasoning. As a Headmaster, I was exercised, too, by the
issue of personal responsibility and troubled by the extent to
which, too frequently, the idea of personal responsibility has
become a casualty in a relativist moral climate. The theme
of personal responsibility was one to which, in different
forms, I frequently returned. That is reflected in these pages.
I also sought to bring into focus some of the core values of
western civilization and liberal democracy and to reflect on
social, political, cultural and international issues as they
arose daily in our national life.
I believe too, with Michael Oakeshott, that education is,
essentially, a transaction between generations and that
teachers are custodians of a moral and intellectual tradition
which it is our duty to pass on to the next generation. I
believe that there is a wisdom in the past which we neglect
at our peril and I have little taste for those fashionable
progressive notions of the moment which seek to discount
the significance of tradition, culture or precedent and offer
in their place an exaggerated belief in discovery and
creativity. I hope, too, that the book reflects the life of the
spirit and if what I have written encourages in my readers

some moments of pause and reflection and some asking of

questions which might not otherwise have arisen, then many
of my purposes will have been achieved.
My approach to the education of young people, has been
shaped in no small measure by my belief that we have a
duty to extend the thinking and consciousness of young
people and to offer them something which transcends their
own culture and experiences and is genuinely life
enhancing. I have not been inhibited by a feeling that I must
always start from pupils present experiences or that what I
offer must be grounded always in the concrete. Young
people need be given a glimpse of the world and of values
beyond those they might experience in their daily lives.
They need to be taught to be aspirational and to have the
opportunity as well to reflect upon those principles which
might form the foundation for a full and satisfying life.
Students are capable of abstract and conceptual thought
provided that this is offered to them within meaningful
contexts and they can be moved as well, as can we all, by
the power and nobility of ideas.
As a teacher and Headmaster I never felt it was wise to
make too many concessions to the youth of my audience
and I always acted on the assumption that young people
have the capacity to reach something which, while not
immediately of their world, was yet couched in language
which spoke to their world. I did not assume that every
word used had to be instantaneously intelligible to my
audience and I was never troubled by the fact that some of
my vocabulary might not be immediately accessible to my
young hearers. I wanted to try to convey something of the
beauty and power of language rather than to be working
always with the safe, but ultimately restrictive, confines of
present adolescent understanding.
For unless we are prepared to challenge young people
with something beyond their own world, they may remain
forever wedded to a culture which offers them few of the

opportunities for personal growth and fulfilment which they

need. I have felt as well that there is an important distinction
between receiving the sense of what someone has to say,
and being moved by it, and understanding the meaning of
every word spoken. One can have the former without the
latter for it has often seemed to me that in the pursuit of
young peoples personal development, while it is clearly
desirable for young people to be able to articulate cogently
their own position, to have a sense of what has been
offered is very far from being unimportant. Such sense
may endure and remain influential long after the detail has
faded from the memory.
These then have been some of the considerations which
have influenced my approach and now my writing. I hope
that my readers, within or outside education, find this
collection stimulating and worthwhile and I hope that
schools and parents too will find in the book much which
may be put to young people and which will have resonance
with their lives.
Andrew J. Baker

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Young People
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Their Lives
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1.1 WHAT WORRIES TEENAGERS

TODAY: DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES
Some months ago my attention was caught by a
newspaper headline: What worries teenagers today? I was
naturally interested and became even more interested when
I read that the survey was seeking to examine the so-called
biggest problems of teenagers today when seen first, from
the viewpoint of teenagers and second, their parents. The
interesting thing was that the two views did not converge.
The parental view was, in a sense, narrower in focus
than the teenager view. Indeed, a rather unflattering view of
parents emerged because parents seemed to think that by far
the greatest concern of teenagers today is the easy
availability of drugs and the pressures which come from a
drugs culture. Parents, it seemed, were not really thinking
their way into the minds of young people and they appeared
to have understated the significance of three other elements
which were prominent in the responses of young people
themselves. Of these, the first was their personal health, the
second, bullying and the third, the personal relationships
young people developed in their lives. Let me consider each
in turn.
It was interesting that a significant proportion of young
people aged 15 to 19 had a concern over health related
issues of which the activity of smoking is a part. Indeed,
there does seem to be an acute awareness in young people
that todays personal habits are not always conducive to
personal health. But that recognition was not linked to
having the ability to make those adjustments in lifestyle
without which genuine health becomes unattainable.

Bullying too was a concern for around one teenager in

seven. That is, potentially, a very large number of young
people. The survey indicated that bullying did not take any
single form. That is its menace. Of course, there was the
obvious element of sheer physical intimidation of the
weaker by the stronger associated, as that so frequently is,
with the infliction of pain. But that, I read, is very far from
being the most pervasive form which bullying can take.
More serious, it seems, is the kind of bullying which seeks
to alienate some young person within the peer group such
that they become apart from the rest. To feel shunned,
unwanted, rejected or excluded can be a singular cruelty. It
is the kind of bullying which plays on the heart and feelings.
Its victims feel diminished and humiliated. No punches are
needed; making someone feel a pariah within a community
in which others are welcome is punishment enough. As we
all know, it can happen and it does happen. When it does,
the hurt is to the whole community.
But, in a sense, the greatest concern of young people
may be an extension of bullying itself. For what the survey
showed was that it was in relationships with friends, family
and others that the greatest teenage insecurity was to be
found. It seems that young people have many of the
material things they need, they are at ease with modern
technology and they dont seem to have too many anxieties
over their schooling or education. But around one in three
teenagers expressed a concern over personal relationships.
Some teenagers found parents difficult to approach or talk
to. For others, finding time to come together with friends to
talk was a difficulty. For while relationships with friends
appeared healthy if measured by the extent of e-mailing and
text messaging, relationships tended to be cast in a different
light if the test became whether young people felt able to
connect with others to the point of knowing their thinking.
I cannot say how accurately this survey reflects the
actual concerns of teenagers today. My sense is that many

are concerned over their academic success to a greater

extent than the survey acknowledged just as many, too, feel
pressure in pursuit of that success. But I think it is well for
us to be reminded that, ultimately, we stand or fall as human
beings in the relationships we do or do not build with
others. Developing those relationships requires time,
patience, sensitivity, the ability to listen and, not least, a
genuine concern for other people. Moreover, if we are too
concerned to speak of the I or the me in our lives, we
might never have the opportunity to find the you, much
less to learn from it.
E. M. Forsters memorable advice on the matter of
relationships was that we should always try to connect.
We might ask ourselves who are those individuals with
whom we do seek a close, honest, genuine and mutually
supportive relationship in which giving is at least as
important as receiving and how many are the circumstances
in which our relationships with others our families or our
friends seldom go beyond the trivial soundbite. There is
much here which can nourish our thoughts and much which
reminds us that many young people have an interest in the
right agenda how we relate to other people without
always feeling that, at a personal level, their relationships
are as full, satisfying or life enhancing as they would wish
them to be.

1.2 THE 18-30 GENERATION: WHAT

DO YOUNG PEOPLE THINK?
The Times newspaper ran recently a study of attitudes
which are apparently held in Britain today amongst people
between the ages of 18-30. The Times characterises this as
the I generation (the Internet generation) and it was
interested in the views of that generation because we can all
see that the influence of those between the ages of 18-30,
just as the influence of those between the ages of 13 and 18,
will have a substantial impact on the future of our country.
For if we want to know what Britain will be like in 20 or 30
years time, perhaps we should ask what it is that young
people believe today. In that sense, The Times survey of
over 1,000 young people in the 18-30 age group maybe of
significance. Let me consider some of its findings.
First, it may be that many in the 18-30 generation enjoy
family backgrounds less stable than earlier generations. 1 in
3 young people say that their parents are no longer together
and the same proportion do not see personal relationships as
being for life. Marriage remains the choice of many but
some, on entering marriage, see the state as less permanent
than either their parents or grandparents may have
considered. Attitudes towards life are also interesting, if not
always consistent. A majority, for example, believe that
women should be allowed to choose whether or not to have
an abortion and all should be allowed to choose whether to
terminate their lives through euthanasia. But almost half in
the generation tested, were against any form of animal
experimentation. For some it seems the animal has a higher
status than the foetus.

Second, the 18-30 generation appears to be imageconscious. It likes to look well; its clothes are generally
customised; appearances count and 40% of the generation
claim to be members of a gym. Looks and fitness seem to
have become more important than faith or belief for 50%
claim not to have been to church since childhood and 10%
have never entered church at all.
The 18-30 generation also appears to favour a more
tolerant and permissive society and the majority believe that
Britain is a society more tolerant than ever. Generally
speaking, the generation believes that we should make our
own choices on how to live rather than have these imposed
upon us by custom or tradition. Drugs are not in fashion, but
that, it appears, cannot be said of drink. 84%, speaking of
their friends rather than themselves, said that they knew that
they had experienced, and not infrequently, binge drinking.
Similarly, 50% admitted to having seen on-line
pornography.
Attitudes towards wealth also emerge as significant.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the 18 to 30 generation owed more
money than other generations but that did not occasion
undue anxiety or concern. For the generation was confident
that, in due course, they would enjoy riches far greater than
their parents. Indeed, acquiring wealth and having access to
the material things in life, seemed to some more important
than how that wealth was obtained. 1 in 8 claimed to have
lied on an insurance form or claimed a welfare benefit to
which they knew they were not entitled.
Attitudes towards the police, Queen and country were
also significant. Trust in the police seems lower in the 18-30
generation than in older generations and 1 in 5 young
people in the age group said that they would not fight
unconditionally for their country. They reserved the right to
say whether the cause was just. We will remember how
much the rights and wrongs of Britains recent participation
in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have engaged the nation as

a whole. That debate appears to have left its mark on young

people.
I make no judgment on these sensitive areas. Many in
this 18-30 generation are in schools and universities and
building their careers. Many have also been drawn into
teaching and schools gain immensely from their energy,
their attitudes, their interests and their idealism. But each of
us, whether 14, 24 or 84 has to decide how he or she will
lead his or her life and central to the conduct of that life are
the beliefs we develop, the attitudes we adopt and the way
in which both of these impact on our daily relationships.
Beliefs and attitudes shape our daily choices and, through
their cumulative impact, they shape the culture and well
being of our society too. Where we stand on these issues is
no small matter and what is not in doubt is that we never
stand entirely alone. For we are social beings and while we
have our own identities which are precious to us, we have as
well a hinterland of wider relationships and responsibilities
which we can never set aside.
That is why it is right that we collect ourselves on the
issue of how we ought to live. We have intelligence and are
blessed with the capacity to think and to reason. These
things we can discuss both with ourselves and with others.
What we cannot do is to pass by on the other side claiming
an indifference to the whole agenda raised by The Times
study. It matters and it calls for our response.

1.3 OUR LIVES IN SCHOOL TODAY:

BULLYING CAN KILL
Not too long ago the funeral took place of a young
thirteen year old girl called Rachel who had been a pupil at
a Nottingham secondary school. She had been at the school
only six months and came to the school because her
experiences at her first secondary school had been
unbearable. Just three months into Year Nine she died. She
didnt need to die. There was nothing wrong with her
health; it was simply that she didnt wake up one day
because she had taken forty pain killing tablets in the hope
that by so doing she would be able to escape the torment
which her life at school had become. When we know why
Rachel took her own life we may be uncomfortable; for we
may not be entirely without guilt ourselves.
Rachel was an intelligent girl. She could handle her
school work and was considered good looking. But she was
different from others in her year because, although only
thirteen, she was already 6 in height. Her mother used to
tell her that tall was beautiful. Rachel was never convinced.
Neither were her school friends. Her name was seldom used
and in its place came other words lanky and giant were
two which had on Rachel precisely the effect intended. She
felt excluded. Beyond that, she was humiliated. Her world
became one of loneliness and isolation. She could bear it no
longer.
At her first secondary school she was subject to verbal
abuse from seven girls and her best friend was threatened
with violence if she continued to be friendly towards
Rachel. She broke the friendship. Rachel became even more
alone. In time verbal bullying and teasing gave way to