Julia Baird visits Radford

“There are countless opportunities for awe, for wonder and for grace in education.”

This was the central theme of the inspirational address the award-winning author, Dr Julia Baird gave to Radford staff and teachers on their first day back for the new school year.

Dr Baird, whose most recent book, Bright Shining, has been shortlisted for the Indie Book Awards, spoke passionately about the role grace and awe has played in her life, especially after she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2015.

She spoke about studies showing the alarming drop in empathy across the world. “We constantly underemphasise the impact of our kindness on other people.”

She encouraged staff and teachers to try and find that which makes them strong, and which sustains them, and to hold onto that as they go into this new school year. She spoke at length about the importance of doing things that make us happy, not just what we need to get by. As an example, she referenced Rebecca Solnit's book, Orwell's Roses. The book is a reflection on the author George Orwell's passionate gardening and love for roses.

According to Dr Baird, we should seek to find that which brings us joy, in the way roses did for Orwell.

“What we fight for, what we work for, are lives that also have roses. That we should have bread, roofs over our heads, education, equality, but also lives of art and leisure and music and beauty, of sunlight and sea and green trees. That we should grow roses, or whatever it is that brings you most joy, in our own corners. Kids need not just bread, but roses. Schools do too. In fact, we all do.”