Assistant Principal - Pastoral Care

Building a Learning Character

“Learning is not the product of teaching. Learning is the product of the activity of learners.” John Holt

In the 1970s and 80s when I was growing up, a set of encyclopaedias had pride of place in a home. Families who had the ‘World Book Encyclopedias’ were always seen to have an advantage over those who had lesser brands such as ‘Funk & Wagnalls’ (like my family’s second-hand set). Encyclopaedias represented knowledge and having it gave you much of what you needed to learn. Today, we know that such a view is incredibly limited, that knowledge is infinite and constantly expanding and that through the internet, knowledge is easily and readily accessible. So it begs the question, what does a young person need to cope in a world where knowledge is constantly changing and, at times, highly contested?

The pinnacle of Australian education policy set its directions in the 2019 Alice Springs Declaration of Education. Here Federal and State ministers determined agreed goals for where education should be heading: 

“The Declaration has two distinct but interconnected goals:

Goal 1: The Australian education system promotes excellence and equity 

Goal 2: All young Australians become:

• confident and creative individuals
• successful lifelong learners
• active and informed members of the community.”

These two goals are reflected in most schools’ brochures and mission statements. The most important question though, is how do we achieve this? How do we prepare our young people best for a world that is rapidly changing? Where should our focus be if young people are to become lifelong learners who are confident and active and informed? Where should our emphasis be as educators (both parents and teachers)?

Guy Claxton, an English academic, argues that:

“Apart from food, shelter and love, more than anything else today’s young people need strong minds. They need minds that are supple and robust enough, to deal well with the challenges and uncertainties that are coming their way. Whether it be mastering complicated new technology, mixing with different kinds of people, moving to a new country, or coping with a baby without any Aunties or Grannies to support and advise you…the one thing we can be sure of is that today’s students will need to be up to living a learning life.”

In another presentation he argued that:

“The fundamental purpose of education is precisely to increase young people’s level of Resources to cope with life … Education is the response to increased Demand that focuses on reducing stress by expanding capability. If we go right back to basics, back to the ground floor — not getting out at the usual mezzanine of SATs scores and GCSE results (for Australia you can insert HSC and ATAR) — education is about giving all young people whatever-it-is we think they will need in order to thrive. And that means: thrive in the face of the challenges and opportunities we anticipate they are going to meet.”

In light of the increasingly complex and diverse demands placed on young people, the NSW Government has been reviewing the future directions of education and they too have arrived at similar conclusions to Claxton:

“The long-term vision is for a future school curriculum that supports teachers to nurture  wonder, ignite passion and provide every young person with knowledge, skills and attributes  that will help prepare them for a lifetime of learning, meaningful adult employment and  effective future citizenship ... The mere acquisition of knowledge and skills is  insufficient; opportunities to transfer and apply learning to new contexts should be an integral  part of every subject throughout the years of school. Applications of learning, including  meaningful challenges and problems and through projects that students undertake, also  provide opportunities to build students’ skills in knowledge application – such as critical and  creative thinking, using technologies, interpreting information/data, collaborating and  communicating.”

Thus, I would argue that learning dispositions and character traits are essential to a young person being well-prepared for 21st Century living. It is not so much what we are learning that is important but how we learn. This is what students take with them when they leave school. If a young person can persist with a challenge, can self-discipline themselves and delay gratification, if they can ask good questions and think and reflect on what they are doing and how they are doing it, if they can work with others and by themselves and they are prepared to try different things to solve problems then they will be well on the way to living a learning life. In essence, they are building what I call a ‘learning character’.

Andrew Johns often makes the point that he believed the Storm’s exceptional success could be put down to one key factor: “they choose people with character over ability every time. Character wins out every time.”

In particular, he notes how the lesser known players in the team regularly and reliably executed their role to create a platform of success. Over the years commentators have recognised how players enter the Storm system and become much better footballers as a result. In short, this is often explained by a culture that values and emphasises work ethic and character above all else.

This is why we place a strong emphasis in our reports on ‘Work Habits’. Here parents and students gain a good insight as to how each student is progressing in their learning character. I urge you to discuss the next Progress Report with your child carefully and with the lens of character in mind: what character are they exhibiting, what qualities do they stand for, how will these character qualities help them achieve in life, how are you supporting them to develop these qualities in partnership with the College because, as we know, character wins out every time.

Students receive one of the following ratings for their effort in each of the above.

Michael Larkin

Assistant Principal