Yesterday we spoke about rubbish, and how much of it we generate. We looked at some photographs of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (which is now twice the size of Texas, or three times the size of France), and is the biggest of the five garbage patches that exist in our oceans.

We also considered why it’s so easy to throw things away. There are the obvious bits of trash we generate every day, but as a society we are more prone to dispose of items as soon as they take up too much space, are too old, or are no longer of use or value. At this point, we turned our focus to our relationships, and whether we adopt this same attitude towards people?

I’ve always found Human Capital Theory interesting, but I must confess that I struggle with the term at times. Human Capital is (very simplistically) described as the economic value of a worker’s experience and skills. It is something that can be increased over time through education and training. My concern with this idea is that it somehow downgrades people to something somehow less human. Something that can be spent or consumed, and when it is no longer fit for purpose, disposed of and replaced. Those far more experienced in the world of business will probably say, ‘So what? That’s life. Take the emotion out of it.’

I guess where I’m going with this is that we got to a point in our assembly where we decided that human beings are not disposable; that each of us has unique value, and that none of us can be replaced like for like. We therefore need to take care of ourselves and take care of others.

Having spent most of my childhood on a farm in South Africa, I can remember times when a vehicle would break down, or a piece of equipment would stop working as it should. It was inconceivable that it would simply be replaced, and my grandfather would quickly leap into action devising some hair-brained method to get said equipment working again, until one could go into town and get the part one needed. This philosophy extended to just about any household item too!

When it comes to relationships with friends and loved ones, we could probably take a leaf out of my grandfather’s book. We should try to fix things as best we can, and not simply walk away or disregard people when we don’t agree with them on a particular point. Pilgrims’ is a relatively small school, and so we all get to know one another really well. We need to help our boys hone their relationship-maintenance skills so that they can go out into the world building and growing their capacity for love, and preserving those very precious connections with those around them.

So, we took a very roundabout journey to come to two conclusions. The garbage patch is too big, and we need to ‘love our neighbour as ourselves’.

Craig Cuyler
Designated Safeguarding Lead / Director of Wellbeing / Head of PSHEe