When you walk into the bathroom in the Community Commons, you see the sign on the door. At first, it seems inclusive. There is Braille under the printed words to make the bathroom signs accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired. But if you place your hands on the Braille, you won’t be able to feel anything, because the Braille is not actually there. The dots are flat, and there is no texture.
The same issues appear in the way our school handles recycling. Around school, there are different bins for trash and recycling. Students are encouraged to sort their waste to help make our school more environmentally friendly and sustainable. However, both the trash and recycling are emptied into the same container. By the end of the day, recycling is mixed with trash, meaning it can no longer be recycled.
In both cases, Kingswood Oxford seems to be supporting these important values, like accessibility and sustainability, but does not follow through in practice. Braille that cannot be read is not helpful, and recycling that is thrown away with trash is not sustainable.
This is a very important matter because this school does not just teach academics; it teaches values. When systems are set up to look good but do not actually work, students learn that appearances matter more than real change. Over time, this makes important issues feel more like tasks and trends rather than responsibilities. Instead of learning how to make meaningful change, students are taught that just checking a box or putting up a sign is enough, even when the problem itself is not fixed.
This is especially concerning because these actions directly contradict the school’s stated values, which every Kingswood Oxford student has heard before, specifically, the core values that preach “honesty, integrity and respect,” and the need to “care beyond self” and to “take responsibility.” The truth is, these values are not wrong, but they are not being upheld either.
When a sign includes braille that can’t be read, it may look accessible without fully helping the people who need it. When recycling is collected but not actually recycled, it gives the impression of being environmentally responsible without real follow through. In both cases, the school promotes important values but the actions don’t completely match them.
These solutions are not complicated. Proper Braille signs already exist and could be very easy to install, and the school could improve its recycling system or be honest about why they can’t fix these systems. Students and faculty would likely support these improvements because most people at Kingswood Oxford care about inclusion and taking care of the environment. The Green Team club on campus has already worked hard to make changes on campus.
The question is no longer about whether we value inclusion and responsibility, but instead whether we are actually practicing them. If Kingswood Oxford wants students to truly believe in the school’s values, the school needs to actually show them through real actions, not just appearances. Even small changes would prove that these issues matter and that this school is willing to improve. When a school follows the same values it teaches, students notice and are more likely to take those values seriously themselves. In the end, a value that is only performed is not really a value at all.
As students at Kingswood Oxford, we are encouraged to live by the school’s core values. When the school’s actions reflect those values, it strengthens the sense of trust and community that makes KO special.
