From the Interim Headmaster
you became imitators of us… and so you became a model… we were delighted to share with you… our lives as well.
1 Thessalonians 1:6-7:2-8
Dear Students, Parents and Carers
What should be done about teachers? This is the question constantly posed by politicians and radio show “shock jocks” who operate from a deficit model of the teaching profession. Their aim is to name and shame, based on extraneous data such as NAPLAN and PISA results which play into their narrative of falling standards. Why extraneous? NAPLAN and PISA do not assess the actual curriculum; they are short and limited snapshots and are of questionable methodology. NAPLAN in its ‘MySchool’ iteration compares allegedly similar schools, despite their main feature being that they are often very unalike. PISA results are not sufficiently stratified. The Independent Sector in Australia, for what it is worth (and it is worth something), scores near the top of the world. The Australian problem is not one of a lack of quality, but rather one of a lack of equity, such as social and economic disadvantage; rural and regional under-resourcing.
Writing as one with substantive experience as an education academic, who is at Shore for a time, I can confidently assert that there is no research in the western world which suggests that berating and denigrating teachers as a profession will have any positive impact whatsoever on student achievement. The opposite is the case: the impact is negative. What is successful is supporting and investing in teachers, as indicated further below.
The deficit model assumes there is something inherently wrong with teachers – their capacity, their motivation, and their commitment. Over my 32 years as a Headmaster, I have supervised thousands and thousands of teachers. Of these, the number of individuals that I did not really want in a school that I led, who were giving anything other than diligent full value, I could count on one hand. We are particularly fortunate at Shore in that the School’s reputation continues to attract the best of the best. What I see at Shore is staff giving extraordinary commitment and very extensive hours, often outside Mondays and Fridays during term time.
Governments across the western world are consumed by the metrics of quality. What must be said is that some of the most important things which happen in schools cannot be easily measured with simple statistics. These include far more key factors than PISA and NAPLAN which are, at best, mid-stream, tiny portals. Some of these factors which defy easy quantification include: What kind of human beings are being graduated from school? Are they ready to be excellent citizens who contribute to a better world? What is in their heads and their hearts? Are they people of great character, with a vision for the future? Do they care about other people and the world in general? Has their school helped them establish pathways in life and a sense of meaning and purpose?
Great schools invest in their people. In order to flourish their students, they need to nourish their staff to achieve a flow-on effect. This requires not only employing the best people but providing extensive opportunity for them to further grow and develop. Any teacher who thinks he or she has thoroughly mastered their craft and has nothing to learn has, by definition, gone off the boil: curriculum changes, young people change, and pedagogy (learning and teaching) evolves. Pedagogical change is driven partly by the extension of the digital age, and by recent discoveries in brain-based learning, which provides insights from neurology previously unavailable to teachers. We invest in teaching staff through professional development days (pupil-free days), staff meetings and external professional development courses.
Great teachers are present for their students, in the full meaning of the word ‘present’. The Apostle Paul put it thus: “You became imitators of us… and so you became a model… we were delighted to share with you… our lives as well.” (1 Thessalonians 1:6-7:2:8) Outstanding teaching has a relational, pastoral and avowedly spiritual aspect where teachers accept the role of being mentors and models and, as far as they are known for their humanity and care, are sharing their lives with young people. Accordingly, as is often well said, boys study not just subjects, but teachers.
What is wrong with teachers? Nothing! Of course, we can all improve, as is axiomatic for every profession. Given that teachers are entrusted with the academic and pastoral development of the young and preparation often for adulthood, what could be more strategic and vital in our society? We should honour them, and most especially those we have at Shore.
This week, Shore has dealt with another tragedy, the untimely death in a deep-sea diving accident of Lachie Cozzi, who graduated from Shore in 2018. We have passed on our deepest condolences to the Cozzi family and will seek to support and care for them, especially Lorenzo Cozzi in Year 10.
Dr John Collier
Interim Headmaster
