On 18th August this year the Minister of Education announced that students in Year 12 and 13 would be taught Philosophy as part of a wider course including Politics and Civics. This was picked up by the Listener magazine in an article published on 17th October.

The article speaks expansively about the philosophy of Stoicism, referring to the recent surge in its popularity. Ryan Holiday has written several bestsellers which bring to life this ancient wisdom and explain its relevance to modern life. I read one of his books recently about the lives of the early stoics, including three of the leading lights, Epictetus, Seneca and the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Their main approach to life was to aim for self-mastery, where one’s happiness was not dependent on external events, but came from within. This idea aligns perfectly with what is taught in the scriptures of ancient India called the Upanishads, passages of which students at Ficino will learn by heart.

“Those who find in [Self] their Spirit, their love and their joy, become masters of themselves. Their freedom then is infinite.

But those who see not this become servants of other masters and, in the worlds that pass away, attain not their liberation.”

Chandogya Upanishad Chapter 7, adapted from translation by J Mascaro

Regularly practising the Pause and being able to fall still in the fast-moving world we live in, is a blessing for our students. To deepen this rest, the students are offered meditation towards the end of Year 6. By practising this for two full years in Year 7 and 8, they are establishing a very strong foundation for self-mastery.

Professor Heather Dyke from the University of Otago is quoted extensively in the Listener article. She speaks of the imperative need for students to learn philosophy to enable them to face the bombardment of information young people are having to digest on a daily basis, and explains how the study of philosophy and especially the ability to think critically are essential to be “able to disentangle information from misinformation and disinformation.”

Students at Ficino are certainly getting a wonderful head start by learning philosophy at such a young age. By the time they reach Year 8, their ability to listen, speak and answer questions sets them up superbly for secondary school. This was evident at our assembly this morning where our Head Boy delivered the first of the Renaissance Trip presentations and fielded questions with confidence, humour and a real understanding of his subject.

Peter Crompton, Principal