Senior School
It was extremely informative hearing Dr Kristi Goodwin discuss online safety with around one hundred College families on Wednesday 21 July. She presented a lot of information in a very short time, providing research and practical tips to assist keeping children safe, while also explaining our basic needs as people and how some organisations exploit these.
Dr Kristi discussed the rapid change of technology over the last few years, and I thought of my late great Aunty Hope, born around 1910, who largely raised us as children. I loved watching cricket with her. In her day, telegrams relayed cricket scores from England to Australia several times each session. Commentators on the wireless used a range of sound effects from the studio to emulate the ball hitting the bat, the wickets tumbling and made up other noises to suit the occasional score update – or so the story goes. Aunty Hope witnessed the introduction of TV to Australia with the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, and ran our household when we purchased our first colour TV in 1977, just in time to see Collingwood draw with North Melbourne in the VFL Grand Final. Later in life, Aunty Hope owned a very underutilised microwave oven, but never owned a VCR, DVD player or personal computer. I wonder what she would have thought of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok?
I also reflected on the rate of technology change in my lifetime. Drouin High School purchased its first computer in approximately 1980 and we studied ‘Computer Awareness’ as an elective, with no one thinking it would really lead to anything much. We were able to do some low level programming in BASIC on this monochromatic device and calculating times tables was quite an achievement. We had compulsory typing in Year 10 in 1981, which few saw being part of their futures. Even at Monash University in 1984, we had access to one single mainframe and a budget allocated for students undertaking a Bachelor of Science, to ensure we could perform analysis using various algorithmic routines using a language called Fortran.
My first professional experience with technology began in 1987 when I commenced with Black & Decker on an IBM 4381 mainframe. Over the next few years, desktop computers began to become commonplace and by 1994 most office desks in Melbourne had a computer of some sort, either a PC or monitor connected to a mainframe. Significant occurrences in 1995 included Yahoo and Altavista optimising web searches and introducing the internet to the general public, with some people paying thousands of dollars for internet usage. In 2003, Myspace launched, and high volume, accessible, real time social media truly began – a journey continued by Facebook and the proliferation of applications exploding at an incredible rate.
All this occurred in what historically is a blink of an eye, with little legislative assistance. Parents have a challenging and ever changing role to play, which Dr Kristi acknowledged in her talk. The social needs of connection, competency (knowing you are doing a good job) and control/autonomy were discussed and how they factor into game and social media development. I found it interesting that many of the boundaries recommended align well with rules Aunty Hope imposed on us as kids for TV watching, although monitoring the range of devices today is much more complex. She had a firm eye on what was acceptable for viewing, determined how much, where and with whom viewing took place, and when it was time to retire for the night. She also ensured we knew we were part of a family, unusual though its structure may have been, and that she cared for us.
I still have Aunty Hope’s New Testament in my car, which dates back to the 1930s. It has travelled with my wife Lee and myself to over 20 countries and the truths it contains are as relevant and helpful today as when they were written some 2,000 years ago.
It is incredibly important for all people to know they are loved and part of something bigger, with a hope, a purpose and a future – and these are absolutely secure in Jesus Christ, no matter what challenges arise throughout life.
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-39
Greg Barker
Deputy Principal – Head of Senior School
CPR Skills Do Save Lives
We recognise Kasen Stanley (10.3) for his effective CPR skills, which he recently put into action when his father, Edd, collapsed at home over the school break. Edd was not breathing and was turning blue. Despite the confronting scene, Kasen was able to remain calm and use the CPR skills that he learnt though Scouting to keep his Dad alive while the paramedics were summoned. Edd is recovering from his ordeal and is obviously very proud of his son and thankful for his actions. Kasen was able to refresh his skills through the CPR component in his Duke of Edinburgh subject in Year 9 with Mr Fox and Mrs Booth. We are confident that this played a part, with his mother stating: ‘Also the refresher course Kasen did in CPR was such a help I am sure. Please keep that going in the school program as it DOES save lives, thank you.’
This reinforces why learning CPR is such an invaluable skill and we encourage everyone to make sure that they know how to assist a person needing this first aid help.