A good start…
Parents are continually given advice from a range of sources on a range of topics – it can seem relentless. One topic that can rise above the rest is education, particularly on timing of starting school. The current popular view is that the more you hold your child back from school, the more they will succeed […]
Co-Education Versus Single-Sex Schools
Co-Education Versus Single-Sex Schools In 2022, The Sydney Morning Herald had an article about the educational debate between co-educational schools like Newcastle Grammar and single-sex schools, which are predominantly in Sydney. The issue has been in the news, given the work by Chanel Contos on consent and respectful relationships, in which the poor behaviour of […]
What Works? Boys, Year 12 Academic Success, and the HSC
“I needed to pull my head in and give this study thing a crack. Ease up on the skateboarding and set some goals and priorities. I’m going to be here ‘til Year 12. I’m not going to lose anything from trying to do my best in these last two years.” (Joseph) There continues to be […]
A love letter to Newcastle: new century, new vision
Long gone are the steel works, and the coalfields are on notice. Newcastle is a city in transition. Some of you may have already read Matt Dickson’s homage to Newcastle in The Guardian. In it, he offers a historical panorama from the time of Awabakal land, through colonisation to an optimistic glimpse of Newcastle’s future. […]
The Complexity of Teaching
“Teaching and teachers can profoundly change and significantly enhance lives.” Marcia Devlin, CEO of the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership wrote an opinion piece recently about the status and role of the teaching profession. At the end of a complex Term 1 2022, three years into the pandemic, I’d also like to add my […]
Managing Smartphones in Schools
The misuse and impact of digital devices and smartphones by school students has been reported in a series of articles recently in the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. In 2022, a leading independent day and boarding school for boys in Sydney made a policy decision to stop students from bringing their own laptops to school. According to an […]
The Seasons of COVID-19
At the start of 2022, I wrote a blog inspired by Botticelli’s’ stunning fifteenth century artwork, Primavera which not only acts as an allegory for Spring but represents the beauty, innovation, and complexity of a new era. I reflected on the way The Black Death radically disrupted society with many historians suggesting that the social, political, economic, […]
McCrindle – ‘Future of Work’ report, 2022
The social researching firm, McCrindle, recently published its ‘Future of Work’ report for 2022. As usual, their enormous survey of students, teachers and parents garnered some interesting results, which schools like ours would be wise to consider. Across Australia, we see a fair degree of parental choice across three major school sectors, with roughly 16.6% […]
Why is there a shortage of teachers … and how can we help?
We live in a world where criticism comes more easily to many than praise, and a world where media reports frame the way we think. Many of us who have been in the education space for a long time would know that we rarely hear students today saying “I want to be a teacher.” In […]
The Changing University Sector – The Rise of Early Entry
As Year 12 complete their Trial examinations this week, the ‘new norm’ of university entry is picking up pace. While the ATAR is still the main method of selection used by most universities, many institutions are now offering early entry schemes for school leavers and many students are taking advantage of these opportunities. A quick […]
