Page 42 - The Gonzaga Record 1985
P. 42
dispensing an even-handed discipline totally devoid of malice but full of authority
and understanding.
I do, as it happens, remember my first 'biffs'. The offence involved horseplay in
the lunch room resulting in the breakage of a Thermos flask. Both myself and an
American boy were fixed with responsibility and duly dispatched to 'the Office' to
receive our punishment. The principles of Natural Justice were, as always,
scrupulously observed and having heard our respective defences, my colleague
received 'three' and I 'two'. To this day, I have never understood the distinction in
guilt.
I don't want to make too much of the idyllic picture of the life of the new boy in
those days. Boys will be boys and harassed masters will, in trying times, react in
similar ways the world over. There were, however, other factors which helped to
set the tone of the place in those early years.
Firstly, there was the school itself. Eighteeen acres of well tended grounds,
considerably less built upon than now, provided a wonderfully free and expansive
environment, with room for the pursuit of quiet contemplations on the one hand
and more sturdy enthusiasms on the other.
Secondly, the relatively small numbers meant that, even though one associated
chiefly with one's own classmates, one knew at least by sight everybody else. There
was a general spirit of chumminess, not completely extinguished by the inevitable
disdain affected by the seniors for the existence of us.
Finally, one was conscious of taking part in something of an experiment in
education. I remember finding at home, while still quite young, a copy of the school
Prospectu s. I remember reading the description of the school and the type of
education on offer and, even at that stage, recognising that the reality matched up
pretty well to the promise.
As the years passed, Gonzaga influenced me in many ways, mostly for the good.
I remember with great affection most of the masters although, in common with all
schools, Gonzaga had its fair share of spectacularly bad staff members. Similarly,
before I left, there had begun to develop the social cachet in regard to the school
which is, I believe, totally foregin to its original purpose and which is, frankly,
offensive and off-putting to some.
On balance, however, I believe that Gonzaga has survived the attitudes of the
parents of some of its pupils. Its influence on me was undoubtedly beneficial. If the
views on many matters which I learned and accepted there have changed over the
years, that change has occurred largely, I suspect, through an application of the
spirit of enquiry and the exercise of the judgment that I was taught during my time
as a pupil. Friends that I made there have remained with me.
It might all have been very different, however, if those early impressions had
been less favourable, if the message had been less clear. Then, as now, the recipe
was not to the taste of all . I was one of the lucky ones.
William Earley (1957- 67)
34
and understanding.
I do, as it happens, remember my first 'biffs'. The offence involved horseplay in
the lunch room resulting in the breakage of a Thermos flask. Both myself and an
American boy were fixed with responsibility and duly dispatched to 'the Office' to
receive our punishment. The principles of Natural Justice were, as always,
scrupulously observed and having heard our respective defences, my colleague
received 'three' and I 'two'. To this day, I have never understood the distinction in
guilt.
I don't want to make too much of the idyllic picture of the life of the new boy in
those days. Boys will be boys and harassed masters will, in trying times, react in
similar ways the world over. There were, however, other factors which helped to
set the tone of the place in those early years.
Firstly, there was the school itself. Eighteeen acres of well tended grounds,
considerably less built upon than now, provided a wonderfully free and expansive
environment, with room for the pursuit of quiet contemplations on the one hand
and more sturdy enthusiasms on the other.
Secondly, the relatively small numbers meant that, even though one associated
chiefly with one's own classmates, one knew at least by sight everybody else. There
was a general spirit of chumminess, not completely extinguished by the inevitable
disdain affected by the seniors for the existence of us.
Finally, one was conscious of taking part in something of an experiment in
education. I remember finding at home, while still quite young, a copy of the school
Prospectu s. I remember reading the description of the school and the type of
education on offer and, even at that stage, recognising that the reality matched up
pretty well to the promise.
As the years passed, Gonzaga influenced me in many ways, mostly for the good.
I remember with great affection most of the masters although, in common with all
schools, Gonzaga had its fair share of spectacularly bad staff members. Similarly,
before I left, there had begun to develop the social cachet in regard to the school
which is, I believe, totally foregin to its original purpose and which is, frankly,
offensive and off-putting to some.
On balance, however, I believe that Gonzaga has survived the attitudes of the
parents of some of its pupils. Its influence on me was undoubtedly beneficial. If the
views on many matters which I learned and accepted there have changed over the
years, that change has occurred largely, I suspect, through an application of the
spirit of enquiry and the exercise of the judgment that I was taught during my time
as a pupil. Friends that I made there have remained with me.
It might all have been very different, however, if those early impressions had
been less favourable, if the message had been less clear. Then, as now, the recipe
was not to the taste of all . I was one of the lucky ones.
William Earley (1957- 67)
34
