IQ, EQ and AQ – the shifting focus for success in the workplace…and schools As experienced for decades, IQ (Intelligence Quotient) was considered the metric of success and key predictor of future success in schooling, university and in many careers. The traditional education system had long equated success in schooling on examination capabilities which, [...]
The Importance of Outdoor Education and Curriculum Camps In all my years in schools, outdoor education has on occasion been questioned by some parents as to its value, specifically with concerns expressed about missing academic learning time. I’ve reflected on this view over many years; however, I retain the view that outdoor education [...]
The Benefits of Music As I reflect on working with school-aged children over nearly three decades, one of the greatest joys of this privilege has been to witness first-hand their on-stage performances in music across an array of instruments. These performances have ranged from stunning solo performances to large bands producing unimaginable sounds that stir [...]
I recently addressed students on what it takes to make it as a world-class elite performer in a range of different disciplines, including academia, sport, the arts, chess, or similar. I pointed to a study by Bloom (1985) who looked in depth at well over a hundred world-leading performers and traced back their history leading [...]
Friday 17 June is Foundation Day for Snowy Mountains Grammar School, which is an important milestone, as we celebrated the completion of twenty years at the start of 2016. SMGS had its first cohort in 1996, beginning with just sixteen students, and grew to sixty-nine by the second year, 1997. We have been in the [...]
I recently read an article in the media that, in essence, stated that the use of personal devices (laptops and iPads) was responsible for Australia’s drop in the global rankings in the Programme for International Student Achievement (PISA) tests from 2000 to 2012. PISA is a triennial international survey test of around 500,000 15 year [...]
"There is no shortage of challenges in school education", writes Professor Geoff Masters (CEO of the Australian Council for Educational Research - ACER). He continues, to state that "some of the biggest challenges we face can appear frustratingly intractable. Despite reform efforts, regular government reviews and ongoing calls for change, progress in addressing our most [...]
This week I read an article by Jarlath O’Brien (2016), the head of a school in the UK, whose school is celebrating fifty years of education. This year we will celebrate the completion of twenty years; not quite the same but still a somewhat significant milestone. In O’Brien’s school, they explored historical artefacts including the [...]
