Is society being mollycoddled?

Take a look at the picture on the screen [picture of rough sea on Christmas Day in Budleigh Salterton, South Devon, shown]. Would you go swimming in this? Hold your thoughts on that question – we’ll come back to it shortly.

Last week, parts of the far southwest of England near Lands End were placed under a rare red weather warning issued by the Met Office. Here in Gloucestershire we were under an amber warning – one down from red – on account of the arrival of Storm Goretti which was predicted to dump up to 30cm of snow on us overnight on Thursday into Friday.

Having spent some of the day on Thursday speaking with the College’s leadership team as to what we would do if that came true (close the school, suspend bus routes, go back to virtual teaching even?), I woke at 2.30am on Friday having dreamt that I had overslept and that there was 5 inches of snow on the ground. So that I could rest easily, I peeked outside and saw nothing but a wet road and slept soundly until 6am. There was still no snow and then school carried on as normal on Friday.

So were the warnings overkill? Possibly. Did they create a degree of worry and uncertainty? Yes. Do they help us plan for issues? Yes. But, do they take a decision out of our hands? Do they make us reliant on somebody else to take the responsibility for making decisions about others’ safety?

Perhaps things have gone too far when we are issued official advice as to how to walk properly on ice – see the official NHS advice issued recently which tells us to “waddle like a penguin” to keep safe. Some might say this is ridiculous and a reflection of just how far society has regressed into neediness and helplessness.

So, back to the rough sea we saw earlier. Would you swim in this? Unfortunately, on Christmas Day, many members of the public did – part of a long standing tradition in Budleigh Salterton in Devon – and two died, presumed drowned in the icy swell unable to be rescued by the lifeboats which deployed. Their bodies are still missing.

What made those swimmers feel able to swim in a sea which was clearly highly risky and dangerous? Rumour has it that the assembled swimmers assumed that the RNLI were deployed nearby in case anyone got into difficulty. It only took a small group to be reckless and enter the water – others, seeing them go in, assumed all was fine and followed them, with the tragic consequences that then brought.

So, I pose these questions here this morning. Do we now live in a society where the state, or recognised authorities like the Met Office, experts in their field whose advice is to be ignored at one’s peril, helps us too much? Do we as the public expect the state to look after every risk that there possibly is to us? Do we expect rescue and assistance whenever things go wrong, thus absolving us of any real responsibility to look after ourselves?

I have spoken before, including at Speech Day last July, on how I think there is currently a worrying lack of resilience in society. For example, we are utterly blessed with a National Health Service which we can call upon whenever we get hurt and an ambulance, mostly, will come to our aid. We are taken to a hospital where there are highly qualified nurses and doctors on duty who will do their utmost to look after us. If we have a flat tyre whilst out driving, most cars don’t now come with a spare and so we are reliant on a callout roadside assistance service like the AA to come and help us. How many of us here in Chapel will ever need to change a tyre again? Is that a basic skill we ought to possess?

The Met Office tells us whether we should leave the house in bad weather or stay at home. We are driving cars which spot many dangers and will essentially drive for us with systems such as automatic braking and lane control technology.

Perhaps one way of looking at it is this: people need the advice. Over the holidays, two ‘hikers’ (and I use this term loosely) had to be rescued from the UK’s second highest mountain in Scotland having decided to scale the summit in trainers and tracksuit bottoms. Not ideal in sub zero temperatures with snow at altitude. Even worse, they did not set off until late afternoon and were soon in pitch darkness with very little to light their way. It was always going to end in disaster but the point is this: are some people so utterly clueless that they need the long protective arm of the state to protect them from their own stupidity?

This morning, I have used the term “the long arm of the state” to describe the way that our authorities, institutions, those we label as experts, extend their influence into every aspect of our lives to control and de-risk it. Traditionally, the phrase has been used to describe the far-reaching power of the authorities.

Another news item over the holidays make me reflect on this latter definition of the term. The government announced just before Christmas that they were going to direct schools to train teachers to spot and tackle misogyny in the classroom, while high-risk pupils could be sent on behavioural courses as part of the government’s long-awaited strategy to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in the next decade.

There is another whole assembly in this alone and so all I will say here is that the announcement created a lot of controversy and debate in the media. I ask the question: should the government be targeting schools to deliver this sort of education? Surely parents and other members of our community are just as responsible for upholding decent standards in society? And to what degree should the government direct us to be good, upstanding human beings? Is this another example of us needing direction on something which in the past would have been assumed?

As I said last term, in many ways, age brings fortune and the gift of wisdom and experience. When you as young people are required to assess risk – and it may not be immediately obvious that the situation is requiring you to do this – pause and think. Trust your gut instinct. Your brain is quite good at sensing danger. It is often over cautious but for good reason for our bodies are vulnerable.

But perhaps at the same time, take those opportunities that present themselves to take a measured risk and don’t miss out on the fun and exhilaration that such experiences bring us. But whatever you do, don’t forget to walk like a penguin on ice.

Christian San Jose MA (Oxon)

Headmaster