Anzac Day ceremonies are the closest we have to a uniquely Australian ritual. January 26 still fails to make a major statement to most Australians. Most countries also rely on their leaders and warriors to help give the society definition. This is not a role that John Howard fills comfortably. Our warriors are footballers and other sportsmen, who all too often act with no honor or dignity on or off the field.
Schools also help shape the culture, or to be more accurate, they have the potential to shape it.
There's an endless debate about whether they should influence the society or reflect it, whether to lead or to follow. I don't find too many that are leading anyone anywhere. The great educational trailblazers of the past, people like Winifred West and Betty Archdale, Dorothy Ross and Peter Gebhardt, the visionaries, the risk-takers, have become as scarce as luthiers and apothecaries. Schools are scared of lawsuits, scared of the media, scared of parents, scared of bureaucrats, in short, scared of criticism. Fear rarely leads to growth and innovation, and its manifestation in schools has suffocated much of their potential.