By Nick McIvor | Posted: Friday September 30, 2016
In order to succeed we need perseverance.
Thomas Edison famously tried over 2000 different materials before settling on the carbonised bamboo filament that glowed in the world’s first commercially viable lightbulb. With a mixture of creativity and trial and error, Edison invented what was needed. He also got there through incredible perseverance. Edison was renowned for his fastidious testing. When his lab assistants' started to become exasperated, Edison persevered.
I suspect few of us would choose to work our way through over 2000 experiments, and in just two years as Edison did, to achieve the end we sought if we could do it another way. We would, however, probably see the place for perseverance in most achievements that matter. We would recognise the importance of perseverance, and with it tenacity, in getting ahead in whatever we are pursuing or developing. Much of the progress our boys make, in and out of the classroom or curriculum, will be a matter of perseverance. It will come down to how much was done, in the right way, at the right time, with the right resources, to complete something new successfully.
Perseverance is understood by most of our boys in principle. They understand why it is important. Most have grown up in a household or whanau, or network of families, in which people have worked hard in their jobs or for each other. They have seen what perseverance produces. It is, sometimes, at their personal level that the good practice of perseverance may still be on the way, or becoming devoted to the right things.
We encourage all of the boys to persevere as we move into the final phase of the year. To persevere with NCEA or Junior learning and assessment activities - to get the best outcomes. To persevere in the co-curricular, as the Winter sports and Term 3 Arts become replaced by new opportunities soon. To persevere in living more of our POWER values, and with them good connections and friendships with other students, staff, and parents. To persevere to learn to back themselves and others, in finding a way forward, with our support.
It has been a busy term. Thank you to all the students, staff and parents who have contributed so much to making headway, and to setting us up for a great finish in 2016.
Nick McIvor
Scientia Potestas Est
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