The departing principal of one of Australia’s most prestigious boy’s schools has railed against bums and farts in young adult literature, which is definitely something the rest of us should be paying attention to.
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In an article which continues the former Fairfax papers’ love affair with private school personnel changes, Dr Timothy Wright of Sydney’s Shore School told the Sydney Morning Herald “There seems to be a flood of books [about] bottoms, farts and all the rest of it.
“I’m not sure that once you have read one or two of those, there’s a whole lot more to explore.”
Dr Wright, whose concerns about the malignant forces in modern culture did not extend to charging in excess of $30,000 a year for a tertiary education, took issue with “churned out” books for students.
It’s a position he has held for some time. Speaking to The Australian in February, Dr Wright said reading widely instils a sense of empathy.
“I will understand more completely the perspectives of other people and I will not believe in unidimensional solutions to life’s problems,” Dr Wright said.
He’s not wrong, but Dr Wright stopped short of saying the immense wealth and influence harboured by students’ families could act as a form of social insulation.
“The boys are privileged, and it’s not their fault,” Dr Wright told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“It’s what you do with your opportunities in life that I think you are responsible for.”
His statement comes nearly a week after the ABC revealed an interactive chart displaying the disparity between the spending at Australia’s most elite private schools and their public counterparts. Seeing that inequality laid out so clearly should be grounds for a proletariat revolution.
Anyway, you can read Dr Wright’s comments here. We somehow doubt The Day My Bum Went Psycho wordsmith Andy Griffiths gives a shit either way.
