A Familiar Face

No stranger to Preshil

by Eliana Horn, Stand-in Teacher for David Cobb

Being a Preshilian myself, I was thrilled to be offered the position of interim Media and English teacher while David Cobb (a past teacher of mine) went on his South American adventure. Returning to Preshil in this new capacity felt fitting, as, while it was Lenny who sparked my interest in Philosophy, it was Preshil as a whole which sparked my interest in education. Why was it, I wondered, that while most of my peers couldn’t wait to finish school, I felt somewhat heartbroken at the prospect? What made my experience different?

Having had ten years to ponder pedagogy, it’s my hope that I might bring to Preshil what it brought to me as a student - amongst many other things, the capacity to foster meaningful, mutually respectful relationships, the ability to take responsibility for my own learning and the skills to be a critically engaged citizen - I will never stop asking questions!

Year 11

This term in English, the Year 11s have been studying a set of short and characteristically challenging Peter Carey stories which have given rise to discussions surrounding the Americanisation of Australia, gender roles and the idea of the stereotypical ‘male fantasy’.

Year 10

The Year 10s have been studying a series of stories, the common thread of which is death. In our most recent class, students split into two teams (the defence and the prosecution) and argued (admirably passionately!) for a character’s guilt or innocence.

In Media, both Years 10 and 11 have used this term to put their theory of film-making into practice. All students have written a screenplay, drawn storyboards and designed sets and costumes. We are eagerly awaiting the final products of so much hard work.

It’s also been a pleasure to facilitate a Philosophy elective every Tuesday with a small group of Years 7-10. I’ve already discussed an array of issues and concepts, from moral relativism in relation to equal marriage rights, to topics in aesthetics - can anything be art? Most recently we did a conceptual analysis of ‘leadership’ and came up with a comprehensive working definition of what it is to be a ‘good leader’.

"It was Preshil as a whole which sparked my interest in education."

With the alarmingly quick approach of mid-term, I’m hoping to pack as much in as I can before everyone takes a well-deserved holiday!

Eliana also ran the very popular Harry Potter Baking elective during our Autumn School Holiday Program. The Leaky Cauldron's famous butterbeer, pumpkin pasties from the Hogwarts Express  and the chocolate cake Hagrid  made for Harry's 11th birthday were particular favourites.