From the Head of School

China’s world maps, not unreasonably, have quite a different view of where the centre of the world is:

In this map, the British Isles can barely be seen as they fall off the northeast corner. The first Scottish king of England (James VI of the former, the first of the latter) as figured significantly in our history lessons, but clearly didn’t rank highly in this seventeenth century painting of the Indian emperor, Jahangir (James is the one with the ginger beard in the bottom corner).

In schools, most nations put themselves at the centre; international schools can offer a different perspective. Nevertheless, ISA is in Scotland, and that is important to our identity: we must all view the world from somewhere, and all global issues start locally. A good reminder of that are the Gordon Highlanders, founded in 1794 by a local duke, they first found action against revolutionary France, fighting in the Netherlands, Egypt, Denmark, Spain and Belgium (specifically, Waterloo). But their involvement in world affairs didn’t end there: they helped preserve and extend the British empire in India, Egypt, Sudan and South Africa; before fighting for more relatable causes in the first and second world wars, and then with NATO. Our Grade 8s visited the Gordon Highland museum this week. For Aberdonians born and bred, it is a part of their heritage; for the many other nationalities in that grade level it is an opportunity to connect their host country with so many significant world events. Scotland remains a paradigm of world history as Aberdeen transitions from fossil to wind energy. On some maps, it may barely be a spot, but it is a vital gateway to understanding the rest of the world. An opportunity we would like to make more of at ISA. On Facebook, you can also read about the Doric event we hosted.