Youth Workforce

Figures released by the ABS in August of this year showed that youth unemployment in Tasmania had risen to 12.6 per cent, a figure substantially higher than the national average of 9.6 per cent (Tasmanian Times, 2023). These statistics are somewhat alarming as they indicate that 12 out of every 100 young people are not working in our state.

The question remains why are our young people struggling to get work?

Research from City & Guilds revealed that one in ten young people do not have any desire to work (Youth Misspent, 2022). Is it that they simply don’t want to work, fuelled on by the laborious, stressful, meaningless or boring working conditions they witness first-hand in their parent's generation?

“We need to demonstrate resilience in our work challenges and encourage our young people to take initiative and courage in developing their career maturity. ”

According to Pollock (2021), youth are failing to obtain work opportunities due to many challenging obstacles such as lack of experience, skills and education, transport issues, mental health struggles or a poor understanding of the demands work often entails. Is it just that these barriers are simply too large to overcome?

Or is it that they are overwhelmed with the plethora of options and avenues open to them that they suffer from choice overload – burdened by the paradox of having too many alternatives to confidently make a decision?

There are many reasons why our young people are struggling to gain meaningful, sustainable and enjoyable employment, and we will never be able to articulate one clear reason.  However, what is evident is that we, as the village raising these children, have a responsibility to nurture and foster their interest, passion, skills and confidence when it comes to career education.  In the Bible (Titus 2), Paul exhorts older men and women to train, teach and educate younger people in knowledge, skill, character, conduct and godliness.  This instruction reveals the desire of God’s heart, that the community shape and educate young people in all aspects of life.  We know that Paul also stipulates that “in all things, we are to give glory to God” (1 Corinthians 10:31) and that surely includes the way we view and act in regard to our work.

As a community, we need to provide safe and supportive educational environments, role-model positive attitudes and display a desire to contribute more broadly to society with our God-given talents through our work. We need to demonstrate resilience in our work challenges and encourage our young people to take initiative and courage in developing their career maturity. We have a responsibility as older members to equip and empower our youth.

That is why it has been so exciting to see many of our Year 10 students step out of their comfort zone and engage in the Calvin Work Experience Program.  While the thought of entering an unknown workplace and interacting with unfamiliar people may have been daunting, these young people, encouraged, supported and urged on by their families, friends and members of the community have expanded their comfort zones and made them larger. They have been able to explore career options, increase their maturity, independence, self-confidence, motivation, communication skills and develop greater awareness of life roles and responsibilities (ANCIS). The village has provided them a safe place to grow and in turn they will give back to community through their work in years to come.

 Carly Brouwer - Pathway Coordinator

What does culture mean in a school?

‘What does culture mean in a school?’

This was a question asked by one of our Year 6 students in response to the School Survey this year. It is a good question and, for that student, rather than answer the survey question it became something to clarify. What is a school culture? How is it reflected and what does it say to the students and staff in our community?

Last week our primary learning support teacher, Mrs Honey shared the thinking of some of our Year 2 students with me, students aged 7 or 8 years old. For them, culture is simply “the way a group of people think and act”. I like this definition, the consistency of thought and action is an important way of differentiating personal preference from the type of deep culture that guides us whether we are aware of its effect on us or not.

“For them, culture is simply “the way a group of people think and act”.”

However, it was what came next from our Year 2 students that answered that question of culture in our School in a way that highlighted the heart at work in Calvin Christian School. Our Year 2s reflected that “in our School culture, we are allowed to talk about God and pray.  We can pray to God and pray for each other”.

What a beautiful way to describe a culture of care and concern for others built from our central relationship with God. It expresses a feeling of privilege that, to talk about God and to God is something quite unique and not the experience for all students in our state. For our students, responding to the question of whether Calvin had a ‘strong Christian culture’, ranged between 80-90%. One of our parents described this culture as a “Caring culture and strong Christian values (not just nominal, but part of school life)”.

This is the heart of Christian Education, a concern that our children not just learn the ‘head knowledge’ of what Christianity is but have the opportunity to learn it and live it in an environment where faith is valued. Experiencing this as part of a Christian learning community, we pray, is a transformational experience in the lives of our students. As parents, we invite you again to join in this journey of passing something of eternal worth onto our children, a faith and hope that leads to a life of meaning and purpose.

Scott Ambrose - Principal

Please Mind the Gap

One of the reminders of a trip to visit family in Europe eight years ago was a repeated phrase from the Underground, ‘please mind the gap’.

It is a phrase that can apply to many aspects of life (we even heard a sermon on the topic) but it has been relevant for me as I attempt to cross the most challenging of gaps, the ‘generation gap’.

How often do you notice the generation gap? For some of us, perhaps not often. For those of us who work and live with children and young people, perhaps more often than we would like – a not so subtle reminder of our aging.

“One of the remarkable things about the generation gap is that you can be in the same conversation as the young person and emerge with some limited or quite different understandings.”

Sometimes the generational gap hits me in some quite surprising and unexpected ways. Recently, I have learnt a whole new vocabulary including words like ‘scooch’ (Australian English translation: ‘slide’), ‘eshay’ (a type of ruffian), and an array of American slang that my children seem to know and I don’t. This always inspires me to educate my children in some much older Australian slang and rhyming slang (never as appreciated as I would like it to be).

One of the remarkable things about the generation gap is that you can be in the same conversation as the young person and emerge with some limited or quite different understandings. In fact, I think it is part of the thrill in adopting or adapting words and language, to separate the young and hip from the aged and less hip. It was one of our younger staff members who reminded me of my age last week when, in response to a Year 7 competition that tried to name my top 5 songs, she asked “next time could we have a younger staff member choose the songs?”. 

I was left reflecting on the generation gap that not only divides us in musical taste, but can sometimes lead to communication challenges if not absolute miscommunication. This also has a very serious side to it as we as parents and educators seek to understand the rapidly changing technological environment that our children are living in. 

This week, parents and our secondary students heard from Melinda Tankard Reist and Daniel Principe as they sought to bring perspective to some of the challenges of our social-media obsessed age. In short, there is much to be wary of and some important ways that we need to be supporting and preparing our young people for a world that looks very different to our childhoods. Seeking to cross the generational gap to understand our children’s world, to help them make sense of it and make discerning choices is an important part of our role as educators and parents. 

There are those who would seek to capture our children’s hearts and minds and lead them into habits that expose them to harm. Supporting our young people means crossing the gap, engaging with the things that they see and are interested in, gently guiding them in ‘paths of righteousness’ and teaching good and accountable decision-making. The apostle Paul strikes a note of hopefulness when he writes that “no temptation has overtaken you except what is common to man. And God is faithful” (1 Cor 10:13). A reminder that the sense of hope and purpose found in Jesus is the eternal truth that crosses generation gaps and helps to build a family and community of faith, hope and love.

Scott Ambrose - Principal