From the Assistant Principal

Learning is Hard

That sounds like a ridiculous statement. Of course learning is hard. Obviously.

But I wonder how many of us have truly had to learn something completely new, from scratch, in the last few years.

In much of the professional learning I’ve undertaken - new initiatives, research, best practice, new educational acronyms - there has certainly been a lot to take in. But I wouldn’t necessarily call it hard. Why? Because the new ideas connect to old ideas. That’s how learning works. This new bit attaches to that older bit, which helps that other bit make sense.

The brain craves connection. The bigger the schema - our background knowledge - the easier it is to make meaning. When there’s something to connect to, we get those lovely, “Ahhh, that makes sense” moments.

That’s why learning about teaching or leadership no longer feels overwhelmingly difficult. There’s enough in my existing schema for new ideas to latch onto.

But learning something entirely new?

That’s hard.

Recently, I started looking into buying a caravan. Bougie, I know. The problem? I know absolutely nothing about caravans. Nothing about suspension. Nothing about diesel heaters. Nothing about solar panels or battery systems or how many litres of water I might need.

At a caravan show, my brother-in-law was casually throwing around questions about tow ball weight, off-road capability and lithium setups. I just stood there nodding, feeling like I’d accidentally wandered into a conversation in another language.

With no background knowledge, I had no schema to build on. The only caravan I could confidently evaluate was the one with the big window that opened up like a fancy bar. That made sense to me. My brain found a connection there.

So, I had to learn.

And how does one begin learning in 2026?

YouTube clips. Forums. Podcasts. Reviews. My mate Chatty G. I started small. I learned the vocabulary. I asked questions and found answers. Slowly, painfully, connections began to form. I got things wrong. I made mistakes and learned from them. 

Suspension links to terrain. Solar links to battery capacity. Battery capacity links to how long you can free camp. The schema starts to grow. The confusion starts to ease.

And it’s been a timely reminder.

This is what learning feels like for our students.

When we introduce new concepts and ideas - persuasive writing, division, inferring, or algebra – for some of our students, there is very little schema to attach it to. No background knowledge. No vocabulary. No sturdy foundation.

It feels like standing in a caravan show with everyone else speaking confidently about diesel heaters.

That’s why we build knowledge carefully.

That’s why we teach vocabulary explicitly.

That’s why we revisit and retrieve.

That’s why we model.

That’s why we give time.

Because learning is hard.

Our job isn’t just to have learning happen to students - it’s to help them build the knowledge and confidence to invest in, and eventually drive, their own learning.

And when we remember how it feels to be a novice again, it shapes the way we teach.

It builds intention.

It builds patience.

It builds better practice.

The goal has never been to make learning easy.

It has always been to make it stick.

Mat Williamson

Assistant Principal (currently camping in the learning pit)