Excerpt of speech made by Dr. Nimal Sanderatne as Chief Guest at the S. Thomas’ College Kollupitiya, Prize Giving on July 17th 2009.

It is indeed an honour for me to be asked to be the Chief Guest at your esteemed school. I value this opportunity to speak to you as an old Thomian, who owes so much to the school where I spent thirteen of my formative years.

You at S. Thomas’ Preparatory School belong to a family of Schools. This I think is somewhat unique. Four schools located in different environments in this country bound together in a common pursuit, yet differing in the student composition, emphasis and approach. You share a common tradition; a common set of values; and a strong commitment to a rounded education.

S. Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia is the parent school that gave birth to the other three schools. Founded in 1851 by the visionary Bishop of Colombo James Chapman it has grown in stature to a pre-eminent national institution of excellent education. It is big in many senses. It is large in its student population, in its buildings and sports facilities and rich in both human and material resources. Your founder Mr. W. T. Keble who taught there was possessed with the idea of establishing a preparatory school very soon after his arrival in the country.

S. Thomas’ Gurutalawa nestled among the hills in one of the most beautiful regions of the country has an emphasis on outdoor life. It is almost a wholly residential school, has a farm and is a small self-contained school and organic community. It is an egalitarian school and like the other schools of the Thomian community draws its students from all ethnic and religious communities. When the founders were in search of land for the school, Mr. and Mrs. Leslie de Saram donated about 32 acres of land with a farm. A plaque had been prepared for laying the foundation stone for the school that said the land and farm had been donated by the de Sarams. Mr. and Mrs. De Saram insisted that their names be struck off and be substituted with the words "Two well wishers". That is the kind of generosity and altruism that has characterised the history of S. Thomas’.

Not too far from there - at least as the crow flies-is another St. Thomas’s in the countrys mountain region of Bandarawela. It serves a township that has a hinterland of some of the country’s prestigious teas and vegetable gardens. It is a school located in a beautiful town with a rural estate backdrop. It has an egalitarian student composition from all the main ethnic and religious communities in the country. A little known fact is that the founder of S. Thomas’ Bandarawela was your own founder Mr. W. T. Keble. On a visit to Nuwara Eliya, Mr. Keble was possessed with the idea of establishing a preparatory school in Nuwara Eliya. He soon realised that the Nuwara Eliya climate was too cold for children from other areas and decided to locate it in Bandarawela.

The Preparatory school at Kollupitiya was, as we all know., established by the visionary and eminent educationalist, W. T. Keble who hailed from a prominent family of educationalist , read for his degree at Keble College Oxford which was named after his great grand uncle, John Keble, known to posterity as a poet and composer of some of the most popular hymns. After ten years of his stay in the country as a teacher of St. Thomas’ he was possessed with a vision to establish a Preparatory school on the model of the English Preparatory School.

His vision was to establish a small school for children who would be nurtured in an environment of boys up to only the age of 11 or grade 5. It was a means of giving children in their formative years special attention and a quality education. The school began with less than one hundred students and grew gradually till the demand for entrance to the school erupted. That is why you have today more than a thousand students.

What are the common features and characteristics of an education at S. Thomas’? What is the Thomian vision? What is the Thomian tradition?

S. Thomas’ is committed to a rounded education that develops the personality ‘of a child to his fullest potential. An education at S. Thomas’ is not merely one of book learning it is an exposure to the wider

world of knowledge and extra curricular activities. It is committed to an education that is not confined to the development of the alone. It is committed to an equal commitment to the development of the body and the inculcation of sound values. The Thomian ideal of education is summed up in the Latin dictum., MENS SANA IN CORPORE SONA - A healthy mind in a healthy body.

It is indeed good to see so many parents here. Some of you have come here as proud parents to see ‘your sons receive prizes. Others are here because of your interest in the school and as well wishers. I applaud you both for you are taking an interest in your children’s education, but appreciate even more the presence of those parents who are here even though their children are not winning a prize.

The role that parents must play in the education of their children can never be abrogated by sending your child to the best school. You have a continuous, continuing and unremitting role to play in the formation of your child’s intellectual and moral stature.

This role was amply captured by President Obama in his Father’s Day message recently. He said he understood the role of a father by "the absence of one". His father left the family when he was only two. He had wonderful grandparents. Yet, in his own words; "I still felt the weight of his absence throughout my childhood."

President Obama went on to define and discuss the role of parents. I quote.

"As fathers, we need to be involved in our children’s lives not just when it’s convenient or easy, and not just when they’re doing well-but when it’s difficult and thankful, and they’re struggling. That is when they need us most.

And it’s not enough to just be physically present. Too often, especially during tough economic times like these, we are emotionally absent: distracted, consumed by what’s happening in our own lives, worried about keeping our jobs and paying our bills, unsure if we’ll be able to give our kids the same opportunities we had.

Our children can, tell. They know when we’re not fully there. And that disengagement sends a clear message-whether we mean it or not-about where among our priorities they fall.

So we need to step out of our own heads and tune in. We need to turn off the television and start taking with our kids, and listening to them, and understanding what’s going on in their lives.

We need to set limits and expectations. We need to replace that video game with a book and make sure that homework gets done..... We need to tell our sons, those songs on the radio may glorify violence, but in our house, we find glory in achievement, self-respect, and hard work.

We need to realize that we are our children’s first and best teachers. When we fail to control our tempers, our children learn from that - and it’s no surprise. When we work hard, treat others with respect, spend within our means, and contribute to our communities, those are the lessons our children learn."

A child’s mind is like a sponge that absorbs from the environment both the good and the bad. Parents you are your son’s and daughters best teachers. They learn from your example not from your exhortations; they learn from not by what you preach, but what you practice; they observe your behaviour and emulate you. Therein lies our responsibility as parents, teachers and citizens of this country.

I often recall the profound words of Bishop Chapman who told teachers. "You belong to a noble profession that is poorly paid but richly rewarded.." It is because of the rich rewards of teaching, the enormous satisfaction of moulding young minds and seeing the fruits of your labour right in front of you that persons like your headmasters of the other two schools and the Warden of S. Thomas’ College have taken to teaching. I hope that among you the teachers of the Prep school are many teachers who are richly rewarded though poorly paid..

I had the opportunity of having the finest of teachers at Mount Lavinia. A galaxy of men and women totally dedicated to the life of the school. Learned persons who not only imparted their knowledge, but instilled in us a thirst for knowledge and inquisitiveness for the search after the truth.

What is the education you must strive to achieve at S. Thomas’? I think there are five components to a good education.

The primary reason for coming to any school is to study the various disciplines or subjects, gain proficiency in them and pass examinations. This is the prime and basic feature of a school education. However, if your education is confined to this then your education is incomplete. You must develop broader interests that enrich your lives. I know that your school has a wide variety of extracurricular activities and encourage interests like music, poetry and drama.

A very important component of your education must be the development of an inquisitive mind; a thirst for learning and the ability to think. The most fundamental objective of education is to train young minds to think. And that is very much the responsibility of teachers.

An essential component of your education is the development of your body. A proper education is one of developing a healthy mind in a healthy body. When we were in school studies stopped at the end of school at 3 p.m. Times have changed and the competitiveness for examination success has resulted in tuition classes that deprive you of enjoying the enjoyment of the playing field. This is indeed very unfortunate as participation in sports is an investment for your future. It develops the best friendships, teaches you to perform as a team and accept success and defeat. Today there is a high incidence of diabetes at an early age in the country and much of this is due to a sedentary life in childhood and a continued sedentary life style afterwards. Therefore do not neglect this very important aspect of life. Sports are an investment for life.

The fifth and most important attribute is the formation of the correct values and ideas of living. You may pass your examinations; you may excel in your education and be a learned person; you may be a good sportsman; yet, if you do not possess a moral character and sound humane values, your achievements are not much use to society. Mahatma Gandhi once said: "Education without character is a social evil." S. Thomas’ provides you the environment to develop those values which lasts through life.

The Head Master Mr. Yohesan Cassie Chetti spoke about the most important challenge we face today of building a united Sri Lanka. He spoke about the need to build bridges of understanding among different cultures. S. Thomas’ has always stood for a robust pluralistic society. Today many talk about the need for ethnic harmony and peace. There is much rhetoric on this theme. Yet, if we are honest, we must recognise that the fundamental reason for the lack of ethnic harmony is the fact that a majority of our people are not pluralistic in their value orientation. At S. Thomas’s one is enriched by the friendship of persons from different religions, speaking different languages and belonging to different cultural traditions. Thomians are pluralistic in their value orientation. This they must pass on to the vast majority of our people for our country to attain peace and social harmony. The values that we have learnt and believe in must be passed on to others. We are a minority that must endeavour to make a change in our society.