Flourishing in the Midst of Distraction
A school is much like a walled garden, not too dissimilar to that first told in the story in Genesis.
Flinders desires to see every young person flourish within a walled garden. Walls are the boundaries that provide for security needed. Absent of walls, nature beyond can come in, ravish and devour.
Gardens flourish through pruning, tending and cultivation inside a wall’s protection. As author and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt reminds us, flourishing is grounded in the cultivation of virtue, through hope and purpose, and real connection. Yet today, one of the greatest obstacles to this is the devouring influence of mobile phones.
Research continues to show a sharp rise in anxiety, loneliness, and distraction among young people — closely tied to the desire and draw of mobile phones (and social media). Haidt has challenged us as a school to consider: what kind of environment best helps young people thrive and flourish so that they are strong, resilient, capable and connected?
Flinders is committed to growth through holistic formation, and we wonder what a school may look like where our students are free from distraction, where healthy attention is restored, friendships are deepened, and we encourage relational and spiritual presence.
We want our students to be free from digital weeds so they can be free to learn, wonder, converse, and hear the still small voice of God.
This is not about weeding out all technology. Rather, it is about considering how we wisely steward its healthy features.
Just as good plants flourish, so too do the lives of our young people when tended, pruned and supported every day. They will be like trees planted by streams of water, which yield fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither — and whatever they do prospers (Psalm 1:3).
Thank you for partnering with us as we consider a culture where our students can flourish fully —in Christ and in community.
Luke Swain
Head of Campus
