Making a Great Education

I have been presented this week with some occasions to reflect on the joint roles of revelation and inspiration as key elements of what makes a great education. 

Every Tasmanian independent school is required to meet regulatory standards established by the Minister of Education and as overseen by the Schools Registration Board. An extensive audit is undertaken every four years. A host of documents are presented in advance and then a formal visit is made to confirm that we meet the standards. Our official visit was last Monday. It went well. Our documentation and programs were described as impressive. 

The technical and scientific elements within teaching and learning must be met. There are vital foundations to establish and progress benchmarks to observe. All are valuable and necessary. Great technical skill is admirable, but it can still be without a soul. 

“Great education exists in the inspirational moment that transforms. Such moments are life-changing. ”

We deliberately write curriculum, plan camps, organise excursions, conduct assessments and create service opportunities with an eye to impact. We consciously aim to create personal growth, skill development, and knowledge creation. We intentionally design to place our students in the place of greatest opportunity. 

Great education exists in the inspirational moment that transforms. Such moments are life-changing.

• The moment a formula comes alive in Mathematics. 

• That moment in Chemistry when an equation becomes a powerful tool, not a chore. 

• A particular page when literature sings poetically of the human soul.

• When history becomes more than dates and dead people.

• The note when music comes from inside you, not the instrument.

In the same way a songwriter tries to write a top ten hit with every composition, we as a teaching staff endeavour to make transformational learning experiences every day. Not every lesson or experience is a hit. Almost all have great value. Occasionally, something will be mundane. But rightly understood, all experiences do have value.

In the same way that great musical hits ‘just happen’, the real moments of transformation in a school are largely unpredictable. There is no conflict in seeking to establish revelation and inspiration amid great planning and deliberate skill building. Without these foundations, inspiration can only be vitally imagined then doomed to remain formless in reality.

As a pastor, Martin Luther King was trained in the art of writing and delivering sermons. His speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963 was no doubt well written. But towards the end of the speech, King departed from his prepared text on the theme ‘I have a dream’. He was prompted by Mahalia Jackson’s cry from behind him on the podium: "Tell them about the dream, Martin!" In that instant on the dais, preparation and skill met inspiration and revelation. We recall a very different speech to that which Dr King had originally penned. 

“As a Christian educational community, we regularly exhort that considered, logical and reasoned thinking are equal partners with revelation and inspiration. ”

Recently, Sam Muggeridge, a Calvin Year 12 student, performed in assembly. He played piano and sang with precision, virtuosity and great emotion. In his spoken introduction he offered a piece of advice to the assembly. He told them of his recent trip to a music camp in the United States. His key learning at that camp was to be yourself. Sam reminded everyone that success is anchored in authenticity. 

I am confident that Sam did not enrol in the course to learn that particular lesson. That particular lesson was probably not listed as a course objective. It just happened amongst all the learning that had been organised in his course. It was a great moment of inspiration that fostered transformation.

As a Christian educational community, we regularly exhort that considered, logical and reasoned thinking are equal partners with revelation and inspiration. 

Most powerfully, they are born out of relationship, community and commitment. There is no ‘I Have a Dream’ speech without Mahalia Jackson prompting Dr King at an assembly amidst the quest for civil rights. There is no revelation for Sam unless he is with people, doing a course in the USA, chasing his dream.

Transformational moments can be neither predicted nor planned for; however, we plan everything with them in mind. These factors of a great education are elusive and yet vital.

Iain Belôt – Principal

Character and the redemption of Steve Smith

Self-esteem is rightly secured by its foundation to character and the core understanding of our identity in God.

Achievement is not the righteous fodder that develops self-esteem. Neither is achievement a measure of success in itself.

As I write, Steve Smith, the Australian Cricketer, has just scored two centuries in consecutive innings of the first Ashes Test in Edgbaston. English commentator Nasser Hussain claimed, “Redemption complete”. The score of 144 in the first innings and 142 in the second do not confirm Smith’s capability as a batsman. That had already been secured by his previous career.

“The axiom holds true – your character is the basket that carries your giftings – the determinant of success is your character.”

These two most recent innings are the very evidence of his character, of his courage, diligence, and determination. A young cricketer might wish to emulate Smith’s most recent feat. A more proper and even virtuous result is to desire to emulate his character and renewed sense of judgement. The axiom holds true — your character is the basket that carries your giftings — the determinant of success is your character.

Smith’s sandpaper moment in South Africa was not a failing of skill or capacity. Integrity was lost when ambition was severed from character. Rightly reframed, character propels and secures achievement. Character requires challenge to develop. The natural state of wellbeing for humans is striving to achieve. Boredom and lack of ambition are both corrosive of self-esteem.

“Through him we have also obtained access by faith into his grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the Glory of God. Not only that , but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character hope and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
(Romans 5:2–5)

Challenges create the context for developing endurance and character, and without them we lose hope and slip into the likelihood of shame. Let us never underestimate the power of hope. We are defined by the way we handle problems. Steve Smith is an example.

“Challenges create the context for developing endurance and character, and without them we lose hope”

The spirit of the age would lure us to treasure happiness. Humanist pop psychology installs emotions over choice and victimhood over self-government. Children become convinced that their feelings are their identity. This creates the preoccupations with self and a hyper-awareness of feelings. The standard by which we measure life is then internal without reference to external norms. Children who swallow this lie now believe that emotions should remain constant and positive. The equation becomes, “If I feel good life is as it should be.”

Emotions are by definition reactive; they are instinctive. They are never even-tempered. Emotions are primitive. They are tied to our fight or flight responses. Emotions are predominately about self. As a result of this orientation, children become emotionally fixated. If the goal is to remain constantly happy, then emotions defy this level of control. The thinking goes something like this: “If I cannot maintain this state of perpetual happiness then something must be wrong with me”, or “The person who disrupted my happiness must be at fault!” Our children are then positioned to adopt personal failure and victimhood as their predominant outlook on life. The rhetorical protests of the current age are:

“What’s wrong with me?” and “How dare you!”

The character-centred alternative is to create a dependable attitude approach to life. We will surely experience emotions, and these are acknowledged and managed. Installing choice as the expression of maturity restores the power of free will, and personal responsibility. If character becomes the focus then the conversation becomes how I deal with my feelings; the focus is on my response, not my feelings.

In a character-focused school, like Calvin, we don’t rescue students from their problems. Our purpose is to shepherd them carefully through accepting responsibility for their actions and to hold them accountable for building their character. Steve Smith’s actions are an example of this. Let us not get lost in his failure in South Africa, or his triumph at Edgbaston; the real victory is found in his daily routine for the 12 months between those events. During this period Steve Smith shaped and refined his character.

Iain Belôt – Principal

Your Engagement Is Valuable

Welcome to third term this year and to the first edition of our new look newsletter.

This format makes for smoother access and more convenient reading. Your engagement with the newsletter should be a more immediate and rewarding experience. 

The degree to which you personally engage with the school is important. It isn’t just the staff and I who value your commitment, your children value it enormously. In fact, your engagement in their lives as they learn at school will most likely trigger and foster the most important and defining element in their educational success: a passion for learning. 

“I encourage you to maintain your child’s learning experiences at school as a top priority”

This passion is the great key to their success in life. Not all learning occurs at a school. However, by its very nature school is an environment that values learning. Everything that we do is designed around a learning experience. As a staff we focus on fostering a passion for learning. We focus on students being involved so learning can happen. 

We are well aware that just one learning experience can transform the quality, trajectory and purpose of a child’s life. A passion for learning is the consistent in element in predicting success. Achievement is less of a predictor. The very evidence of your interest and commitment to your child’s learning will be a model and an inspiration to them. If we as adults work to maintain learning at school as the top priority in their lives, then our children will invest in learning. 

“Our rationale isn’t just to be slick and professional in our communication...”

I encourage you to maintain your child’s learning experiences at school as a top priority in your world. Access to the newsletter is a vital element in this process. Our rationale isn’t just to be slick and professional in our communication. The goal is to assist you to engage easily, so that your child can see you involved and thus validate all that they are going through as a priority in your life. 

Knowing the events in the week, being informed about ideas that have currency, and our perspective on them is of immense importance. I look forward to sharing this journey of learning with you all. For secondary parents, I will see you at parent-teacher night next week.

 Iain Belôt - Principal