A New Year...but the same values.

As the new school year got underway, the Headmaster spoke to pupils about the values that have helped make The Grange into the happy and successful community that it is.

I don’t know how many of you have been following a couple of stories from America about that country’s relationship with Islam. The first has been the debate about whether a big new mosque, run by moderate Muslims should be built in the vicinity of the site of the 9/11 massacre site in New York. The second, timed to coincide with the 8th Anniversary of 9/11 tomorrow is of a small church in Florida that is organising International Burn –a-Koran day, to widespread condemnation from muslims, Christians and those of all other faiths and no faith at all. I’m glad to see that as of last night the event is now ‘on’ hold’

These issues have opened up a debate about ‘American Values’. On the one hand you have a minority claiming that American Values include the destruction of all that threatens the United States including, it seems, anything to do with Islam, while others prefer to see tolerance and freedom of religious practice as being much more typically Ameircan virtues. In Washington, David Axelrod, the senior political adviser to President Barack Obama, reiterated the determination of the White House to prevent the torching of the books. "That church may have the right to do what it’s doing but it's not right," he said. "It's not consistent with our values... I hope that conscience and good sense will take hold."

It’s a word that we often hear these days, values.

But what do we mean by values? Most simply put, they are the things that an individual or a group of people show are most important to them in the way they treat others. They are the behaviours or attitudes that someone or some organisation consider have most value. Sometimes they are written down or clearly articulated, sometimes they are just obvious from the way someone acts or a group of people goes about its business.