The biggest ship

WE may well have heard people say that they were like “ships that pass in the night”, an expression that comes from a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, where we read that “ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness; so on the ocean of life we pass and speak one another, only a look and a voice, then darkness and silence.” The description is vivid and the meaning is clear: we often come into contact with people for a very short time with only fleeting attention and interest before we move on in our journeys. For many, our schoolmates have been no more than such ships that pass in the night.

Ships that move across all the world’s oceans, of course, come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, not to mention purposes and power. A look at the world’s largest cruise liner passenger ship, the ‘Symphony of the Seas’, will probably blow our mind away. It is nearly 400 metres long (the length of four fullsize soccer pitches); it has 18 decks, 22 restaurants, 24 swimming pools and can carry 6 680 passengers, being serviced by 2 200 crew members. With so many people crowded into a limited space, we would be tempted to think that the passengers living on top of each other cannot fail to get to know each other and yet even in such a small place for only a short period of time, it will be easy for people to pass by each other as “ships in the night”; the connection with others may never be made. Even a ship of that enormity, too, can be like a drop in the vast ocean; it can be easily missed.

We have already seen in previous articles how education can be linked to ships — we have considered scholarship (being like a pirate ship, perhaps) and entrepreneurship (being like an icebreaker) in the light of education, so now we can see how schools are like cruise liners, carrying numerous people, serviced by trained and varied crew members, on exciting voyages of discovery and adventure. This ship is relationship; such a ship has a big role in the fleet of ships in which we will find youngsters. After all, cruise liners are no doubt embarked upon for a period of great relaxation and the aim of the voyage is to provide exactly that — relaxation. However, if we were to take an axe to that and remove the ‘ax’ from ‘relaxation’ we will be left with ‘relation’ and that is really what such ships should provide.

As has been noted previously, what the coronavirus has shown us is how important schools are, not simply for academic purpose, but more for the social, human, relational interaction that is fundamental to life. Relationship is such a key ship in a child’s life at various levels.

Children must learn how to handle the relationship with their peers. The playground is the greatest classroom for the youngsters; it is their real world; it is the world where they are on their own and have to not simply survive, but co-exist and even thrive. It is the practical session where they put into practice the theory they are taught. They are not just on each other’s radar, but are engaging in close proximity in a way that is safe for all. They must learn to live with many other different people.

In addition, pupils will have crucial opportunities to learn how to handle the relationship with those in authority over them, whether that be teachers, other staff or pupil leaders. These roles need to be based on relationships, and what they experience in that regard is what they in turn in future will employ themselves. The flagship in terms of relationships is SS Respect.

The long and the short of it is that we must ensure children do not pass as ships in the night, but travel in convoy in daylight, all the time moving forward to reach their destination. Communication is key in relationships and the communication they must learn must be more than a signal or a distant voice. Relationships are at the heart of collaboration, where the flag of self needs to be lowered and the ensign of others needs to be raised, if the ship is to sail safely. These are the Cs on which relationships sail — communication and collaboration. These are the real symphonies of the seas. As Simon and Garfunkel sang in their classic song all those years ago, “Sail on silver girl; Sail on by. Your time has come to shine. All your dreams are on their way. See how they shine. Oh, if you need a friend, I’m sailing right behind; like a bridge over troubled water, I will ease your mind.”

 Tim Middleton is the executive director of the Association of Trust Schools [ATS]. The views expressed in this article, however, are solely those of the author in his private capacity and do not necessarily represent the views of the ATS. Email: ceo@atschisz.co.zw, website: www.atschisz