PRINCIPAL
DR SCOTT MARSH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
THE PRINCIPAL DELIVERED THIS SPEECH TO STAFF AT THE BEGINNING OF TERM 1
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE PURSUIT OF BEAUTY , GOODNESS AND TRUTH
Over the Christmas break I read an interesting paper titled ‘ Re-humanising Education ’. The overseas authors , Blackwood and Guthrie , argued that over the past century , despite the expansion of formal education at all levels , we have witnessed an increasing homogenisation of educational pathways – our access to education has increased , yet the offerings are more uniform .
Indeed , the authors described that in many cases , what we offer today is ‘ less human ’. They believed that the goal ( or purpose ) of primary and secondary education was increasingly being conceptualised as preparation for university and that in their view , this has led to a hyper-standardisation of those environments . Significantly , they claim that this conceptualisation is directly counter to the healthy and holistic development of students .
Today we know that standardisation dominates much educational discourse . We also know that over the past 20 years we have witnessed a strong movement in education to focus on the development of ‘ transferable skills ’, often , over the prioritisation of subject mastery .
Blackwood and Guthrie observe that in the contemporary educational landscape , there appears a pervasive fear of anything that feels definitive .
I do relate to this observation , as we often hear
that today ’ s education is about ‘ learning , relearning , unlearning ’, or ‘ preparing for jobs that don ’ t exist ’ and other such catchy phrases . Where learning once meant doing ‘ that one thing ’ well and becoming a craftsman , today our modern economy rewards the pursuit of constantly learning new things , and in so doing , seemingly celebrates or recognises potential rather than actual achievement .
I believe that our educational systems have been impacted negatively by a strongly secular , economic rationalist paradigm . Here , the goal of schooling is to learn ‘ stuff ’, to get the marks that will get you the job that will pay you well , to ensure the economy prospers . Sadly , I have seen countless stories of students choosing subjects not because they loved the subject , but because the subject would get them the best marks . I have also witnessed many students change their university course simply because they received a higher ATAR than they had expected .
Here , students have left their passions because their mark enabled them to access other university pathways , generally bringing higher paying job options . Yet we know , as parents or teachers , that so many young people often start one degree , change to another , and even drop out of university altogether . Tragically , alongside this reality , our society is
4 Great Scot Issue 171 – Edition 1 2024