From the Director of Pedagogy and Innovation

Building for Self and Others

Earlier this week I worked with some of the teachers who are a part of planning out the new look Year 7 program for 2024. 

The opportunities of this program continue to reveal themselves and it is exciting to put some steps in place to get these happening. 

A particular part of the project that I am looking forward to is the enterprise students will undertake to serve others. We have all heard the truism that it is better to give than receive, but there is strong research backing this very old saying as well. 

Serving others, whether it is by providing a meal for a family that has recently had a child, or upgrading a part of this school for others to use, can be a powerful pathway to personal growth and lasting happiness. Neuroscience shows us that giving and serving have the same positive impacts as healthy eating and exercise; altruism is hardwired into our brains and there are benefits for many when we do this consciously. That is not to say that it is always easy, or that we will want to do it, but like other parts of life, it can be tough but rewarding. 

In their time with us next year, Year 7 will spend some time finding causes they care about inside and outside the school. Finding their passion and seeing how their labour and efforts will help others will be one of the levers we use to engage and energise students. Imagine if we could get these 12 and 13 year old young people to plan out a space in the school that could be used to cook and serve food for others. They could design it, be part of the building process, invite others in, prepare food and clean up after them. Students would be responsible for working out how to deal with rubbish, seating, weather contingencies and more, with teachers taking the role of coaches and mentors as students bring all this to life. 

I am very excited about this for a number of reasons, but particularly because there is a space for everyone in these projects. While one person may be great with a hammer but less confident calling building suppliers, there will be others with strengths in that area. Project documentation, sketching up layouts, generating budgets and writing briefs and evaluations are all part of what we will be doing. Very importantly, these are just different ways of teaching the content and material we need to deliver. Simply put, we are just returning students to the driver’s seat of their learning and getting out of their way so they can do what we know they can do. 

Mr Chris Sanders

Director of Pedagogy and Innovation