Page 2 - 2022 - Altiora Vol 74

OM THE A
FR
CTING HEADMASTER
2 | FROM THE ACTING HEADMASTER
2 |
In 2001 I read a book entitled Creating the Future
School by Emeritus Professor Hedley Beare. In the
book, he predicted what schools needed to look
like in the year 2020 to be sure that they were
adequately equipped and conceived for the needs
of our young people in a modern world.
It is a fascinating book and, for many educators, a
seminal work. The book’s premise is based on the
changes a student will see in a lifetime and how
schools might need to respond to such changes.
The focal character in the book is a five-year-old
named Angelica.
The book is divided into two parts: the first
describes how schools are and have been viewed
by society, and the second considers effective
responses that schools can make to keep up with
the unprecedented change now so common in our
world.
Hedley Beare was incredibly accurate, but not
even he could have predicted what might happen
post-2001. Since then, we have seen terror attacks
on the World Trade Centre (2001), the birth of
Facebook (2004), a face transplant in 2005 and the
birth of the smartphone in 2008. And, of course,
we had the global pandemic of 2020-2022.
However, from Professor Beare’s challenge to
parents and educators, have things changed so
much in schools as a result? The opening comment
from the book hears from Angelica where she says:
“Hello. I am Angelica. I am 5 years old. I really don’t
have much of a past. In fact, I am the future. You
need to understand what I am learning to believe,
how I think about my future, what my worldview is.
You and I both want me to be a success in the world
which I will enter as an adult and which I will be
responsible for.
In future days I will admire you for being able to
look forward with me and to help me define what I
need to learn… My world is already very different
from the one you have grown up in.”
This opening comment has shaped my career ever
since. In particular, the responsibility bestowed on
me as an adult and educator is to look ahead for
our young people and imagine possibilities that
have been suffocated by the status quo.
But what does this mean for our School, and more
importantly, your child or children? Getting it right
matters. But getting it right is not a race; getting it
right is what we focus our effort and time upon.
The best educators, schools and most parents
believe that schools should be a haven for our kids,
where they engage in learning in the way it was
always meant to be – exploratory, challenging and
enjoyable.
At its best, Blue Mountains Grammar School
will be a place to feel safe, stretched, hopeful,
curious, creative, and reflective. A place where
our young people learn to be principled, to think,
to communicate, to take calculated risks; a place
where they learn to care, reflect, and ask great
questions.
Blue Mountains Grammar School has an enviable
reputation with over 104 years of stories and
legacy. For Blue Mountains Grammar School to be
a ‘future school’, it is not simply about technological
advances or contemporary practices. At their best,
schools are an exceptional place to work. My own
experience of being at school was a good one. As a
student, there was a bit of a rhythm to my journey
at School, and if there were music playing in my
head, it was more melodic – most likely something
like The Eagles or James Taylor.
As I have shared before, we have the chance to
shape a learning experience for our young people
that, while they hear the drumbeat of fierce
competition, will continue to dance out of the joy,
creativity and exhilaration that comes with learning
and knowing.
I will finish by again quoting Angelica, who says, “In
future days, I will admire you for being able to look
forward with me and to help me define what I need
to learn.”
Let me invite you to consider what our children
will admire us for and challenge us to courageously
step towards their future and away from our
past school experiences. I look forward to our
partnership in this opportunity.
Mr Steven Coote
en Coot
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v
e
Mr St
Acting Headmaster
eadmaster
Acting H
T erms 2-4, 2022
Terms 2-4, 2022