The posting "outs" another SES initiative - the Lucca Leadership Trust.
sandra wrote:Now compare that to what gets taught on a Lucca Leadership Weekend.(a humanitarian, altruistic organization set up by Mr Boddy, new headmaster of St James) and there is a great difference. The ethos that the Lucca organization has IS non prescriptive, encourages self awareness, kindness towards others and general high thinking.
But he doesn't seem to have the guts to give the children the same benefit of the doubt and let them find things out for themselves.
A two-minute online review of the organisation's websites shows that its governance appears to be dominated by SES-related people. See
http://www.luccaleadership.org/index.php?id=19
and
http://www.luccaleadership.ie/about.htm
for the Irish experience.
The titles and content of the "events" resonate with SES language. It's quite possibly the same old SES doctrine dressed up in more attractive format . But I'm prepared to be shown otherwise. Yet it's hard not to imagine the initiative intended, in part, as a recruiting exercise, given the narrow selection of the governing bodies.
The SES appears to be coy about exposing its links with the Trust. For example, David and Tim Boddy are trustees, but there's no indication of their SES involvement in their introduction, beyond David Boddy's claim of travelling "the globe lecturing in Advaita philosophy". Unless the reader is familiar with SES or School of Philosophy terminology, the relationship between the organisations is not apparent. For example, nearly all office bearers are either alumni of SES schools, have taught in them, raised funds for them, "lectured in Advaita philosophy", "attend weekly philosophy classes", participated in "Art in Essence", etc. But no office holder’s bio actually claims membership of the SES – the common thread that appears to unite these people.
It's refreshing, however, to see an implicit admission that the SES "philosophy" is Advaita (ie faith-based, essentially Hindu), and not general philosophy. Pity they still don't tell you this on their press ads and school information in Australia.
One can only speculate as to why the Lucca Leadership Trust doesn’t make it’s connection with the SES clear. An organisation that actually follows its espoused values (which include speaking truthfully) is a rare and courageous thing. Such an organisation would attract my admiration, rather than my scepticism.