I often wonder what the future will look like. As an avid consumer of all things science fiction — in the distant past I dabbled in science teaching as well — thoughts of driverless flying cars, trips to Mars and internet speeds that actually reflect what we see in the advertising, regularly waft through daydreams on lazy weekends.
This week here at Eddies we celebrated Catholic Education week and 200 years of Catholic Education in Australia. Our days have been filled with celebration, learning and activity - Kahoots, Spirit Tents and friendship bracelets, Mass, Winter Sleep Out and perhaps prescient of the future, Parent/Student/Teacher Interviews done via the internet.
While we celebrate 200 years of Catholic Education history, it’s important to remember that 130 of those years include different incarnations of what we now call St Edmund’s College. If I was to step into the shoes of Brother Morgan (our first Principal), I wonder how he would have imagined the future. In 1892 as he walked up the hill from the corner of Elizabeth and Mary Streets to the newly constructed Brothers’ House, what would have been his dream for the coming era?
Whether Brother Morgan dreamt of flying cars or trips to Mars — I’m pretty certain the internet wasn’t front and centre — is lost in time. I am sure however, that one dream was at the forefront of his mind - a dream that has been dreamed by many since and has remained constant over the years. It is the dream of educating young people, to provide a Catholic education - an education that is reflected in our College motto, our College Mission and our College Vision.
In the past, there was no doubt people drove cars on the ground, and not too quickly. Mars was the stuff of Edgar Rice Burrows fantasy novels and astronomers. The closest thing to the internet would have been a crackling, static filled telephone line for voice calls only. Streaming a movie was unthinkable and impossible. CBC Ipswich would have been a school for Catholic kids. Rules and expectations, understandings and traditions, all based on the solid Catholic and societal foundations. There were known knowns, a few known unknowns and no one cared about unknown unknowns.
Fast forward to 2021. There are still known knowns, there are more known unknowns and we are aware of many unknown unknowns. St Edmund’s is no longer just a school for Catholic kids, perhaps it never was. Today we stand firm in the fact that we are a school of inclusion, a Catholic school for kids.
Today at Eddies, we have kids from many backgrounds and faith traditions. Regardless of religion, faith filled or not, we trust that with guidance, support and love, these young men, our young men, will discover their many talents that lie within. Possunt quia, posse videntur - they can because they see they can. In creating an environment of compassion and care, our College, our Eddies team, will continue to seek to educate holistically, spiritually, academically, socially, physically and creatively, in a place where all are valued.
What will the world look like in 130 years? I’m not sure. Will there be driverless flying cars or trips to Mars - who knows? I remain ever hopeful however, that I’m around long enough to see internet speeds actually as fast as those in the glossy advertisements.
Who will help to lay the foundations of the future for the next 200 years? It will be the young men of St Edmund’s, educated in an inclusive Catholic community, enriched by Ipswich culture, grounded in the Edmund Rice tradition. Young men who will go into their future as strong, kind and gentle men, who live simply and importantly who will make a difference.
