Assistant Principal - Learning

 

Planting Trees...

On Tuesday this week, I was reminded of the iconic moment in 2003 when George Creagan stood over his gallant opponents and taunted them with a sledge of ‘four more years’...now, such a moment may not register for some, but for a staunch All Blacks supporter, it was a moment in time, where inspiration, and aspiration was brought shattering to the ground (not to mention the hopes of an entire nation!). That Mr Roff chose such a moment in time, as he held up his hand with four raised fingers, to remind me that I had ‘four more days’ is testament to the fact that it has required such a visceral image to piece through the illusion of denial that I have shrouded thoughts of my leaving O’Connor Catholic College with.

Yet, despite my futile avoidance of the inevitable, I know that after almost seven years of inspiration and aspiration, I leave with my heart full, my head clear and my spirit light. Each and every day I have had the pleasure to awaken with a sense of anticipation for what I will learn from our students and colleagues. With challenge there has been growth, with success there has been celebration, and with everything in between there has been plenty of room for laughter, eyebrow raises, critical discussions, and enough gesticulation that a choir conductor would be proud! 

The All Blacks may have experienced utter disappointment and disillusionment in the realisation that all their hard work did not result in the outcome they envisioned (and we won’t talk about 2007) making Creagan’s taunt all the more effective in its cutting brutality. But they got up again and reframed their approach with a deepened understanding of the spiritual concept of ‘Whakapapa’. Simply, this is the idea of ‘a long unbroken chain of humans standing arm in arm from the beginning of time to the end of eternity’ (Kerr, 2013). Each individual in the chain has the obligation and responsibility to add positively to the legacy, for the first responsibility ‘is to be a good ancestor’. 

But how often do we actually authentically reflect on our obligation and responsibility to our whakapapa - the O’Connor Catholic Learning Community? Built on a foundation of commitment to the dignity of the human being, we are driven by the moral imperative that all can learn in our community. What strikes me about such a purpose is the focus on ‘all’. Alongside our students, our parents and caregivers, O’Connor teachers are learners. For learning has to be the who, the what, and the why of everything thing we do, the decisions we make, and actions we enact each day. Our responsibility and obligation is to progress the learning forward, not to disrupt through a yearning for the past, a keeping of tradition and comfort at the expense of growth. We need to lead the learning, demonstrate what it means to be a learner, and most importantly reveal our vulnerabilities to seek perpetual improvement. By risking in this way we emulate the mighty All Blacks journey to a return to world cup success; cultural transformation underpinned with a commitment to improvement - to feedback. As Brene Brown so succinctly states “If you aren’t in the arena getting your butt kicked, then don’t bother giving feedback.” The All Blacks were clearly getting their butts kicked, but they were in the arena. Each day we want to inspire our students to get in the arena, but what happens if we, the lead learners, aren’t there?   

And so, with a little vulnerability, I would like to thank each and every member of our O’Connor Catholic Learning community. Thank you to the students and colleagues and leading learners that have inspired me and sparked my desire to lead in a journey seeking aspirational goals. How incredibly fortunate I have been to be in a position to contribute, in just a little way, to the legacy of our school. And with this, Roffy, there are no more days...only trees I won’t be here to see grow.

Eli Simpson

Assistant Principal (Learning)