From the Director of Curriculum & Innovation

My Educational Journey

As this is my first newsletter, I will introduce myself to those of you who don’t know much about me. This is my 18th year teaching at Emmaus, having focused on Mathematics and Digital Technologies in the Secondary School. 

I am married to Diana who works in ministry at Flinders University as a staff worker for the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students. We have three sons, Elias (Year 7), Theodore (Year 3) and Israel (Foundation), who are all at Emmaus.

I was born in Western Australia and remain a dedicated fan of the West Coast Eagles, even during the tough times. As a family, we moved a lot and I experienced schooling in four primary schools and two high schools across four states.

I am going to tell you some of my story of evolving passions, faith, maturity and diligence, as it is often the reality for our students. With age comes wisdom, and irrespective of our age, we grow in our understanding of ourselves and where we fit in the world. Everyone's timeline is different, and the path to finding meaning and purpose is complex.

At Emmaus, our educational goals are for students to: 

• Belong - to know others and be known
• Flourish - Discover and grow into who you are in Christ
• Think - Build your knowledge, apply your skills and discern the truth 
• Respond - Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God

Having moved to my sixth school at the age of 13, the idea of Belonging was a challenging one for me. My childhood experience was to leave my friends and move interstate every two years to start the whole process again.

In regards to our educational goal of Flourishing, my journey started at age 11. One day, Dad took our family to church for the first time. This began my exploration of faith and over time, I made a commitment and as I matured in faith, I have found a sense of Belonging in who I am in Christ. 

I reflect on my own experience of Thinking and navigating what I was going to do with my life. At a young age, I would have loved to have played for the West Coast Eagles, but I never had the talent. The first serious career idea I can remember having was to be a chef or patisserie chef in Year 9. While I still love food and cooking, I now know the high-stress environment of kitchens is not for me, and this career interest dropped away. It was clear that I had been identified by teachers as having potential as during Years 10 and 11, I was placed in extension classes for Maths, Science and English and yet was receiving C grades. One of my reports has the comment, “At present, he is coasting, doing the minimum that is required without extending himself, and not giving himself a chance to extend these skills.” Another comment mentions that “No assignment was submitted”. I suspect I was a frustrating student to teach. 

In Year 11, my concerned parents took me to a business that interviewed students and helped them identify possible career choices based on their skill sets and interests. When reviewing the report from the company, it identified that I had strengths in Maths, Science and Computing and that I should be an Engineer. Being told it was a well-paid and respected job, I accepted this recommendation. This provided me with the needed motivation in Year 12 to achieve the needed ATAR and I was accepted into Information Technology and Telecommunications Engineering, combining my passion for Maths and Computers. Concerningly, I had primarily chosen this stream of engineering from a single paragraph of information in the SATAC guide.

18 months into my degree, I came to the conclusion that this wasn’t the degree for me. While I was enjoying the Computer Science and Maths components of the course, I didn’t enjoy the Engineering components. At this point, I transferred to Mathematical and Computer Science with a Bachelor of Education, as the thought of being a teacher had been in the back of my mind for a while. I had great admiration for some of the teachers who encouraged me, and the opportunity to help students enjoy these wonderful subject areas resonated with me. 

During this time, I also began a Diploma of Ministry at the Bible College of South Australia, thinking about blending teaching with a role such as a school chaplain. While I didn’t complete the Diploma of Ministry, I greatly enjoyed the study and growing my understanding of the Bible and my faith, and I have considered finishing the study in the future.

Throughout my journey, the aspect of teaching that brings me the most joy is the opportunity to help students navigate their journeys. This is the greatest blessing I have experienced as an act of Responding.

For each student, progress towards these goals is not linear but more like navigating a maze. It is not a simple process.

When looking at the environment of Emmaus, I am grateful for everything that Emmaus provides my children as they grow and mature and the intentional desire for Emmaus as a College to speak into and foster the development of our children. I pray that this would be the experience you have for your children at Emmaus to grow into the adults that God intends them to be, that they would “Act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8 (NIV)

Josh Brenkley

Director of Curriculum and Innovation (ELC-12)

Director of ICT (F-12)