It is customary to bid farewell to the Old Year and welcome the New Year but today many of us will wait for the end of 2022 with a feeling of apprehension about the future. We have been reminded that not many things are permanent in our life in a way that can only be caused by natural disasters or wars, both of which have escalated and raged during 2022.
There is an old saying ‘what does not kill you makes you stronger’: how can we apply this to the currently world situation where it seems that we are not getting stronger but only die at the hand of both Nature and people’s hatred for each other?
I suggest changing the saying to ‘because it has not killed us yet, we must do what we can to get stronger’. With this I mean reflecting rationally, historically and scientifically on the role of humanity in this Universe and take stock of what we should be collectively proud of and what we should apologise and make amend for. Only an unbiased and collective reflection can save us from repeating old mistakes, making new ones, some of which will undoubtedly hurtle us headlong to our demise.
At Queen’s English Language School, we encourage and foster healthy discussions across disciplines, faiths and personal beliefs on current topics such as the environment, poverty or near poverty, economy in different countries, the value of education, personal growth, mental and physical health to name only a few.
This is solely possible because not only we teach English as a Foreign Language in a traditional way but also we value our great students’ diversity and variety of experience by encouraging each one of them to express those personal beliefs and share their experiences, regardless of their level of English proficiency. This is not just a ‘token’ statement on our website: ask any of our past and current students whether the school really applies the core values in our Mission Statements: we have done so, and the results of the survey will be available shortly for you to mull over.
In conclusion, what I am personally taking away from 2022 and bring across to 2023 is the gratitude to all the students and staff at the school for their dedication to their job and passion for learning, trust in each other and openness of mind: we are a thriving and inclusive school because of the people who make it so.
Vittoria Telo, School Principal
