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TABLE OF CONTENTS
| SPRING 2015 •
TORCH
15
In response to the guiding question underlying the Institute’s mission, “What kind of world
do I want” and “How will I contribute to that world?” students demonstrate originality and
passion. Ethical leadership is a long-standing Havergal commitment. Our students understand
the importance of aligning their action in the world with their values. They also understand that
leadership is a learning opportunity that starts with their courage to ask challenging questions.
This year, Irshad Manji’s guidance helped us to understand the importance of asking questions
with an open mind and being genuinely curious to learn. She taught us to have faith that we will
all learn from our questions and not to let our fears of asking a difficult question keep us out
of the conversation. It is important for young women to understand that conformity, although
comfortable, can often hold one back, and that “standing for nothing” can demonstrate a lack of
commitment to ideas.
This issue of the
Torch
features some of the dozens of projects Havergal students have initiated to
contribute to the world in which they want to live.
“What Kind of World Do I Want?”
By Ann Peel, Director, Institute at Havergal
Children’s Rights Club
Marley Melbourne believes that
children’s rights matter.
“I think that if more children knew about their rights, they would
probably be more confident in themselves and their choices,” Marley
says (Grade 5). “It is important that adults encourage children to know
their rights and for governments who have agreed to the declaration of
children’s rights to live up to their word.”
Marley will be working with one of Havergal’s community partners,
Grenoble Public School, to initiate a Children’s Rights Club to educate
students on their rights and the importance of standing up for them.
Free to Be
Should I say what I think?
Yes. Standing for nothing
is a cop out.
After Irshad Manji’s visit to Havergal in October, the Free to Be
Group thought students needed the opportunity to have the difficult
conversations her work supports—the ones that are usually avoided.
They decided that the first conversation they would ask at their event
was: “When should we limit freedom of speech?” Their goals were
to open minds, to learn how to have difficult conversations, to learn
how to give and take offense and to raise awareness of patterns of
conversation at Havergal. Through this after-school event, students
delved deeply into these issues and learned how to facilitate a complex
conversation, how to invite different viewpoints and how to develop
techniques to demonstrate an open mind.
Institute at Havergal