boys can lose themselves , explore interests and seek mastery .
I am certain it requires some structure of progression to allow the acquisition of tools each boy might require as the pace quickens , but this must not dominate all : I am also fairly certain it doesn ’ t flow from all learning the same curriculum for the same tests , or playing the same sport or the same instrument , or making the same argument or taking the same role .
For that pace to quicken , it requires a rich , vibrant mix of similarly inquisitive minds bringing their quirks and foibles to bear as the ever changing broader environment presents its own challenges and disruptions .
In the final months of the year , with all imposed on us , we have seen such originality of response :
• a chess team winning the state final and with it the right to represent Victoria at the Australian
championship ;
• a Year 11 boy pitching his one minute speech as a newly elected MP to claim the Years 11 and 12
section of the Parliament Prize ;
• a Year 8 boy achieving a perfect score in the national CSIRO Bebras Challenge coding
competition ;
• a Year 8 boy taking out the Paul McDermott Violin Scholarship for 2020 ;
• a Year 9 boy earning selection to the Australian team for the World Individual Debating and Public
Speaking Competition in 2021 ;
• two teams competing in an international debating tournament against teams from Singapore
and Malaysia .
Our Year 12s have led the way , bearing the disappointment of a disrupted final year to adapt and think anew :
• the inaugural Movie on the Main supporting victims of the summer ’ s bushfires ;
• the 3400 donated items of the Food Drive ;
• the monies raised for children and young adults with Down syndrome and people experiencing or at
risk of homelessness ;
• the creation of Scotch Streams as the hub of our connectivity ;
• the conception and hosting of a virtual art exhibition ;
• the running of APS e-sports competitions ;
• the writing of letters to local aged care facilities ;
• the imagining and realisation of an extensive mental health campaign across the School .
More broadly , around the School , changed circumstance spawned a surge of creative response . Our musicians and choirs led the way in synchronising remote group performances . With boys entering
Scotch next year unable to come on site , the School Captain hosted a webinar for boys and parents that included a video tour of the school campus by two Year 7 boys . A new Year 12 mentoring programme enabled boys to choose a member of staff for academic and pastoral support . And , as end of year celebrations vied against regulation , a Year 12 picnic lunch saw boys spread across the grounds in small groups joined by their invited guest members of staff . On return to campus , sensitive to varying success in coping with the demands of the remote world , new in-class academic support brought targeted literacy and numeracy support for boys in need .
It is an exciting challenge to bring to bear the best of all that has been learnt on our ongoing quest to better differentiate learning and break down the rectangular restrictions of timetables and classrooms .
Some weeks after putting down Smith ’ s book , I found myself watching the movie White Crow that tracks the early life of Rudolf Nureyev . There is a scene in which , frustrated by the routines and hierarchies of ballet , Nureyev is kicking back against the ‘ system ’. Noting his turmoil , his teacher , Aleksandr Pushkin , asks him , ‘ What is dance ?’, and , not accepting Nureyev ’ s response that it is ‘ Entertainment ’, seeks to guide him to the truth :
‘ You see , all the time I ’ m teaching technique . That ’ s all I do . However , it is good to remember – technique is only a means , not an end . We spend so much time on technique , it ’ s all we think about .’
At which point Nureyev interrupts to ask ‘ What should we think about ?’
‘ Story ’ Pushkin replies , before asking rhetorically , ‘ Why do so few people ask themselves , " what do I wish to say ?”?’
This year we have been reminded , with some force , that the future is not always that which we imagined ; that it is not possible to learn our way to everything we want to achieve ; and that many of life ’ s richest rewards flow from the inspiration of an original life .
Our challenge as educators is to teach the rigour and discipline that have progressed the world , but not to have them swamp the story of each child , and to encourage each boy , lesson by lesson , interaction by interaction , passion by passion , success by success , to have something he wants to say .
As this year draws to a close , I thank you for your generosity , patience and perseverance . Most of all , I thank you for adapting your unique stories to entwine with that of your School , so that , despite challenge and disruption , it might continue to flourish and sow seeds for an original life . www . scotch . vic . edu . au Great Scot 5