What does the Navitas purpose of transforming lives through education mean to you?
Education allows people not just to learn a particular topic, such as health, economics or business, but also about themselves as learners, and as people. I see transformation as positioning myself as facilitator to allow transformation to take place; for the student to transform themself. I am not the maker of the transformation, they are. I simply allow it to happen, to give space to it, to encourage it. The transformation then flows out into family, to community, and the environment. This could mean a family history or legacy changing for future generations, or a transformation in a community through projects initiated by those who have received an education. It can mean transformation in the way we think about the environment and how we relate to it.
Which of the Navitas values resonates with you most and why?
There isn’t one particular value that resonates more than the others. The values that ground Navitas are part of who I am and what I do as a teacher, a colleague, and a person. They are part of what I do outside Navitas as well. These values enable us to make good decisions for students at the various colleges around the world; and the community and environment.
· What would you say have been your greatest achievements – both professionally and personally?
The many, many, students who have come to my classroom, then gone on to complete their degrees and into their careers. The letters from parents, thanking me for the safe place I provided in the classroom for a son or daughter who struggled with anxiety, but found joy in completing a pathway program.
The email from a recent student who thanked me for understanding where she was coming from, and who said I inspired her. Bumping into students with smiles on their faces who, in their final year at university, tell me what they learned in their pathway studies continued to be useful at university, and who said they were so thankful they completed their studies at UC College. All of this feeds my continued advocacy for these programs, without which many people would have missed out on a chance to transform their lives, and the lives of others, through education.
COVID has clearly impacted higher education in a major way. What, in your view, are the most important skills education staff should be looking to develop?
Learning to communicate in an online environment. You cannot simply transfer how you communicate offline into an online environment. My Bachelor and Honours degrees were in communication. And, as Marshal McLuhan declared, ‘the medium is the message’. Little did I know how important these words of wisdom would become. Learning about as many new technologies, and teaching with these technologies, as possible. We have no idea what the ‘new norm’ will look like, and technology will be our assistant in our lives as educators. And developing resilience around change. COVID has reminded me to take nothing for granted and balancing living one day at a time with systems that require planning ahead is an art form in itself and an essential skill for the 21st century.
Who inspires you?
I draw from educators such as Jiddu Krishnamurti, Neil Postman, and drivers of the Human Potential Movement, such as Carl Rogers and Fritz Perls. Carl Rogers in particular has informed my position in the classroom. And the other theorists who saw human potential as the main impetus for transformation and change. Also, the students, as they struggle against all odds to succeed and transform their lives. My colleagues inspire me. Our conversations in between classes - in my office, or the corridors, or the doorway of a classroom, or in the car park – this is also where my learning takes place.