The first Question Time of the academic year was held last week for a Year 13 audience and included a stellar panel of staff. Mr Player, who organised the lunchtime event, introduced the staff members which included 'The MVP of psychology, thinks he's all that with a croquet bat' Mr Shaw, 'the witcher of English literature and the king of Goodwin', Mr Miller, 'the contrarian-vegetarian, and most regal of all the drama queens' Mrs Farrell and ‘the leader of the College, but does he have the knowledge?’ Mr Howe. They all had about two minutes to give their view on three hot questions which had been posed by the pupils in advance.
Britain 2021. Still mostly a man's world. Agree or disagree?
Mrs Farrell agreed it was still mostly a man’s world and stated that things like a distinct lack of research about the impact of women’s issues such as having periods has on them in the workplace and day-to-day life should be considered a lot more.
Mr Howe said the key word in the question was ‘mostly’ and that makes the question more open for discussion, however there is no doubt that women are underrepresented on things like company boards. He made reference to how at Shiplake there are four female governors and that the board would be cheapened massively if they were not involved and that we are looking for more females to join as they bring such an important perspective. Opportunities are increasing for females and rightly so, although he noted that by addressing imbalance and improving diversity that young men are increasingly required to be spectacular.
There was a third ‘yes’ from Mr Miller as he noted that whilst Britain and the UK have made progress, there is still a historic gender gap, but it’s being clawed back especially compared to other countries, e.g. Afghanistan where the freedom of women has regressed. There are still, however, everyday subconscious remarks that restrict people in their role and more education on how to treat people is required but progress is being made even if it is slow. We are more aware and we are tackling it and that’s important.
Mr Shaw added that historically Britain has been pro-queens, and has the longest reigning monarch of all time in our Queen, and that Margaret Thatcher was also the longest-serving British prime minister and the first female leader of a European country. He notes how one of the ways to look at the frailty of something is how quickly it can be taken away, eg in Afghanistan. Something tells him that it would take a long time to take away the rights of men compared to the rights of women. Poverty is so important and where women succeed they tend to be from affluent backgrounds who see other successful women as role models. He also referred to how when salaries are tracked for men and women out of university they are on a par until women stop for maternity leave.
Genetic engineering. Scientists have the power to make the next generation of humans stronger, smarter, healthier, better. Should we do it?
Mr Miller stated this was a bad idea and that if genetic advantages only become available to the highest bidder then it will only increase the divide between the haves and have nots.
Mr Howe stated that a naive answer is of course we should, as we should look to improve ourselves if we can. However he is cynical about some science due to hidden agendas and feels that pharmaceutical companies are driven by profit - the difference in cost of the same treatment in different countries is astounding. Are they really helping to improve or are they creating new products to increase their profit margins? He also noted how medical advances have extended life but wonders if the quality of life is much better and whether there is an ethical question around extending lives at the expense of dignity.
Mrs Farrell gave a strong ‘no’. Her ethical stance is against the exploitation of any living being on earth. The humans genetically modified to express this will be exploited. She feels it is arrogant to think we can do better than the millions of years of natural evolution. She made reference to the controversy over twins who were born from genetically engineered embryos, and asks what research has been done into how those with adapted DNA will live and grow up and start to reproduce themselves.
On the contrary, Mr Shaw suggested that as an able bodied person it would be easy to say we shouldn’t do it but others who aren’t so fortunate may disagree. He made reference to how gene therapy has recently managed to cure sickle cell anemia. He also mentioned the recent breakthrough with developing the Malaria vaccine which was recently released and the change that this advance in science will have on hundreds of thousands of people in Africa.
Which two famous people would you most like to go on holiday with?
Mrs Farrell would like to go on holiday with RuPaul Charles, the famous drag queen and talented performer who has lived a most interesting but difficult life. He stands for gay rights, trans rights and fights for equality in every way. Also the playwright Lisa Magee, whose work includes Derry Girls. Lisa grew up in Northern Ireland at the same time as Mrs Farrell so they share culture and it would be ‘a great craic’.
Mr Howe said he’d want to go with someone who would make him laugh and would opt for Ricky Gervais, who is funny but incredibly well informed. The second choice would be Michael Palin, who would be engaging and fun.
Mr Miller, who also had Ricky Gervais on his list but now that Ricky was unavailable as on holiday with the Headmaster, went for second choice Geraint Thomas, as he’s like to go cycling with him, and third choice, singer Taylor Swift.
Mr Shaw gave this question a lot of thought and was considering how the two picks would get along. He wanted to go with Her Majesty the Queen but didn’t want to call her a celebrity. He therefore opted for tennis player, Roger Federer and also Donald Trump - on the premise that Donald would be so insufferable that Roger would speak to Mr Shaw more and they would become really good friends.
Mr Player said of the afternoon's event: "From my perspective the event went brilliantly. All the panel put forward really thoughtful, insightful and robust ideas on some big topics. We spent a lot of time discussing to what extent Britain in 2021 is still mostly a man's world, and whether genetic engineering to improve humanity is an idea we want to pursue further. It's so great that we can do events like this at the College and bring the big topics to the stage and have these wide-ranging and exciting discussions. We then had a good discussion on who we would go on holiday with, with ideas ranging from Ricky Gervais to the Queen and Taylor Swift. I think the Year 13s really enjoyed seeing their teachers engage with these challenging ideas and that they benefited from being able to put their questions to them, as well as seeing the staff showcase some of the values of the school upfront. Next time, Year 12. I'm looking forward to it! - but first I must go on my Nick Fury-like quest to assemble the next heavyweight panel."
