2013 Annual Review

SPEECH DAY 14 NOVEMBER 2013 PRINCIPAL’S ADDRESS MS JACINDA EULER

and ponder the profound, taking our students deep into worlds that are different from the everyday experiences they are exposed to. Our girls celebrate, wholeheartedly, the achievements of one another and I am very proud to say that there is no resentment of tall poppies at this school. In education, being extraordinary, does not mean that everyone has to be an OP1, a soloist at Gala or in the First VIII, rather we enable girls to be the best they can be — it’s about drawing out the extraordinary. It is part of the tradition of Girls Grammar — a collective wisdom that has built up over 138 years —to be leaders in education and we must continue to take our girls to higher places — these lofty and timeless ideals are only attainable if we have invested deeply in learning, in connection and in relationship. There is continuity in humanity, in civilisation — things seem so new but we are still dealing with some fundamental goals of education. When we are bombarded by the tyranny of the new — it tricks us into thinking we have to keep up — we can find ourselves treading water rather than diving into the depths of learning, into the depths of life. To return to Bertrand Russell, there is no such thing as ‘unimprovable wisdom’ or ‘static perfection,’ and only by thinking deeply, connecting deeply and strengthening our relationships can we sustain an environment where, in the words of our own School Song, we encourage you, girls to ‘set your goals and strive, dare to let your dreams take wing and soar’ (Hadgraft, 2000). I congratulate all girls for their achievements this year and thank all staff for their professionalism, expertise and accomplishments in support of our School and, as you fly on your way Year 12, we all wish you well.

Year 12 girls have established deep roots that are grounded in their years at this School. For some of you, the depth of these roots makes it hard for you to leave, but as you do venture out, you will find they will also give you strength and hold you steady. The importance of the teacher/student relationship in student learning is well documented. Our teachers still fulfil an essential role in education, with their deep knowledge and expertise in their disciplines, despite cries from writers such as Christopher Bantick in The Australian on Saturday (I assure you I have read more widely than last Saturday’s paper!) who claimed that ‘Google has deposed the role of the teacher’ (Bantick, 2013). It is true, as Bantick says, that students can now go straight to a required fact, provided by Google, get the answer right, and yet have no understanding of what development of ideas has led to a fact. But it is within the deep learning connections and relationships with teachers that students develop the understanding that ‘is beyond the power of Google’ and as Jennifer James, a cultural anthropologist from Stanford University has said, ‘you can’t lie to adolescents with access to the internet’ but in times of great change teachers must help to establish new wisdom traditions and be ‘honest brokers of the truth’ (James, 2011). Popular culture is not entirely vapid and vacuous but it has its limitations. It is appealing, exhilarating, even addictive and technology allows us to access and to do what, not very long ago, was unimaginable. It can, however, be shallow. Social media has made it possible, even obligatory, for each and every one of us to have an opinion and to share it. We are inundated with stories of the superficial and need to think critically about how we absorb it and provide students with the tools necessary for them to critique their culture. While popular culture largely celebrates the ordinary and the average we must continue to laud the extraordinary

REFERENCES Bantick, C. (2013, November 9-10). Lessons for life lost on kids when facts are just a click away. The Australian . Gemmell, N. (2013, November 9-10). The Weekend Australian: Magazine. Gill, R. (Composer) & Hadgraft, S. (Text). (2000). Nil Sine Labore . Unpublished composition. James, J. (2011, August). Keynote Address presented at the 10th World Convention for Principals in Toronto, Canada.

Mackay, H. (2005). A sense of place. The Age . Retrieved from: http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/a-sense-of-place/2005/10/13/1128796652520.html Sweeney, S. (2011). Truth, beauty, goodness: Howard Gardner probes the enduring values that matter . Harvard Gazette. Retrieved from: http://news.harvard.edu/ gazette/story/2011/05/truth-beauty-goodness/ Watson, P. (2001). A Terrible Beauty: The People and Ideas that Shaped the Modern World. London: Phoenix.

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BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL 2013 Annual Review