Page 4 - Luce 2023

Fro m The P rincipal

From the Principal

These last few weeks representing the College in a new sport, or for some, simply
my son and I have building up the confidence to make a verbal contribution
been learning about the in a large seminar group. The fear of failure (or even being
Wurundjeri calendar second-best) can be nearly paralysing for such accomplished
of the seven seasons as and driven young people, and the social and professional
described in the Woi cost of putting themselves on the line in these ways can seem
Wurrung tradition. Or, prohibitively high.
rather, he has been
teaching me what he Our role, then, is to provide an environment and a
has been learning at community in which our students feel sufficiently physically
his kindergarten. As and emotionally secure to be able and empowered to take
I write this, it is Iuk intellectual risks; to engage with difficult subject matter; to
or eel season when try new things; to take chances; and to risk failure, knowing
the eels are fat and ready to harvest and the Manna Gum is that they will be held and supported in their triumph or their
flowering. As March becomes April, we will enter the long disappointment alike.
Waring or wombat season which brings with it rainy days,
misty mornings and long dark nights. It is a novel experience In 2016, the Dean of Students at the University of Chicago,
for me to be taught something completely new by my three- John Ellison addressed what he and many others in Higher
year-old, having been very much in the role of parent-teacher Education felt was a disconcerting trend toward intellectual
until recently. isolationism on college campuses. In a letter to new students
he explained, ‘We do not condone the creation of intellectual
Since arriving in Melbourne in September 2022, I feel that I ‘safe spaces’ where individuals can retreat from ideas and
have been learning new things every day. Not just about Janet perspectives at odds with their own’ (Grieve, 2016). In
Clarke Hall, the University of Melbourne, and the Australian contrast, earlier that year Morton Schapiro, President of
Higher Education context, but also about the rich and Northwestern University, explicitly affirmed the value of
unfamiliar animal, bird, and plant life of our new home. These safe spaces, stating, ‘I’m an economist, not a sociologist or
daily conversations with my son as we walk home through the psychologist, but those experts tell me that students don’t fully
University’s System Garden, one of the oldest teaching gardens embrace uncomfortable learning unless they are themselves
in the country, have reminded me of the importance of life- comfortable. Safe spaces provide that comfort.’ Janet Clarke
long learning and, perhaps more importantly, the sheer joy of Hall is a ‘safe space’ in the best sense of the controversial
learning. phrase, then, and just as importantly, we are a ‘brave space’,
too.
I know from my conversations with Janet Clarke Hall alumni of
all ages that intellectual curiosity and strong self-identification As we all appreciate, our young people will need more
as a ‘learner’ are the hallmarks of our community, no matter than a little bravery to face their futures after graduation.
how old you may be. Whether it is the young alumna who In the aftermath of the Cold War military strategists coined
decides to accept a secondment to a foreign country to the acronym VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and
immerse herself in a new language and culture; the alumnus Ambiguous) to describe the geo-political climate of the early
who makes a brave mid-life change of career to follow his 1990s. It has more recently become something of a buzzword
passion for photography; or the alumna from the 1970s who in Higher Education circles, as we ask ourselves how best we
has recently embarked on a research degree after retirement, can equip our students for adult life within a VUCA world.
JCH alumni are clearly not afraid of an intellectual challenge
or of trying new things! In this, as in many things, they La Trobe Futurist and co-founder of the Australian Futures
are excellent role models for our current students, and I’m Project, Dr Fiona McKenzie suggests that whilst it may be hard
delighted that you will have many more opportunities to meet to predict exactly what the world of work will look like in the
them at a varied calendar of events to be held in the College in decades to come, there are some skills and qualities that will
the coming years. surely stand the test of time and technology:

At Janet Clarke Hall we encourage our students to challenge ‘A study by the McKinsey Global Institute found that
themselves, to push bravely out of their comfort zone, and the hardest things to automate are things like social and
to try something new. This might look like learning a new emotional capability… A lot of this is actually related to
musical instrument, auditioning for a part in the ICAC musical, soft skills, or social, emotional and analytical skills. So

4 LUCE Number 21 2022