“Education includes exercising compassion and mercy”
In the day-to-day bustle of a small, lively boarding school, with a formal curriculum to deliver together with many immediate opportunities and the almost inevitable
challenges, I sometimes forget to stand back to marvel at the slightly bigger picture.
Most simply expressed, the bigger picture is that UWC Robert Bosch College (RBC) is a community of 200 young people and 60 or so adults, committed to the UWC Mission to ‘make education a force to unite people,nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future’. There is an intentionality to the backgrounds of both students and staff: especially the students are selected from some of the most intractable divides humankind has created, in addition to the hugely varying environmental circumstances in which humans live on and affect this planet. The fact that young people from such backgrounds can come and find ways to live and learn together, communicating through what for most is a 2nd or even a 3rd language, sacrificing privacy even at the bedroom level, can only be described as remarkable. ‘Social’ learning – learning to live with others from different backgrounds – is an essential component of a UWC education. RBC continues to explore how this particular approach to education can address effectively our human contribution to global warming. At a global level, the first 10 years of RBC also happen to be recorded as the ten hottest years on record (US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).
Schools like RBC show that it is not inevitable that humankind descend into cicumstances of mutual incomprehensibility and ‘beggar-thy-neighbour’ selfishness. What students and staff achieve in living and learning together, including through our differences and difficulties, gives me hope for humankind. Schools like RBC also keep alive the idea that education is not simply about the teaching, learning and assessment of the formal, academic curriculum – important as this is. RBC emphasizes that education includes encouraging and nourishing imagination, creativity, and adventure – together
with service. Education includes exercising compassion and mercy. To exclude the nonformal leaves the educational ‘plate’ half empty.
RBC Board Vice Chair Dr. Christian Hodeige was Chair of the UWC International Board (and I a member of its Executive Committee) when the UWC Mission was written in 2006. It struck us that education can be used as a ‘force’ for many purposes, positive or negative. The world sadly has many examples of education being subverted, as a force, for outcomes that I would describe sometimes
as too individualistic, sometimes as destructive, and even worse, sometimes as ‘evil’. Apartheid education in my own South Africa and education in Germany under National Socialism are two examples of education being subverted as a force for destructive, ‘evil’ intentions. Although RBC tries to fulfil outstandingly its educational responsibilities to each student who attends here, the bigger purpose is for RBC to represent that education can and should be in alignment with working towards peace and a sustainable future.
This Report marks the completion of ten years of RBC as an educational community. RBC is an enduring initiative of the Robert Bosch Stiftung (RBSG) together with Deutsche Stiftung UWC (DSUWC). It is an educational project with strong support, including financial support from the beginning, from Land Baden-Württemberg and Stadt Freiburg. Almost all the students, selected to attend RBC by UWC National Committees in their ‘home’ countries, could not attend here without a scholarship to cover all or most of the associated costs. In addition to the financial support from RBSG and DSUWC,
the Land and Stadt Freiburg, I want to give special recognition to the ten years of ten scholarships per year group (20 scholarships in total per year) donated by B. Braun (Melsungen). Additionally, many individuals – including UWC Patron Shelby Davis – families, foundations and organizations – including UWC International – generously and faithfully support RBC in different ways. To each and all a profound Thank You! Throughout these ten years, RBC has had remarkable and wise Board leadership:
Dr. Christof Bosch as Chair and Dr. Christian Hodeige as Vice Chair from the beginning, together with a deeply committed Board that always has included the President/CEO of RBSG (currently Dr. Bernhard Straub). Helmut Rau, current Chair of the Advisory Board, has been indefatigable, first in his political role in securing Land support for RBC, and in bringing potential supporters and donors to RBC. Those who know the school well will recognize the instrumental roles played by Dr. Helen White (Director of Student Life since the beginning), Dr. Christian Bock (Director of Studies for the first 9 ½ years) and Thomas Drössel (CFO since 2015). RBC has a magnificent staff, who contribute fully to the life and learning at RBC, many remaining from the initial 2014 staff. The staff deserve recognition for their great contribution far beyond the terms of their employment.
Finally, to the first 10 generations of RBC students: it has been a privilege living and learning with you. I am sure I will continue to be inspired by your ongoing contributions and accomplishments even as I pass the baton of leading RBC to Helen White.
This article was published in our Annual Report 23/24. Read more.
