Grammar Gazette- Issue 2, 1997

we are doing in our schools remain valid for today's world, the following is food for thought. James Belasco likens organisations to elephants, they both learn through conditioning. Trainers shackle young elephants with heavy chains to deeply embedded stakes. in that way the elephant learns to slay in its place Older elephants never try to leave even though they have the strength to puU the slake and move beyond it. Their conditioning lintts their movements with only a small metal bincelet around their foot - attached to nothing condiiioned restraints. "We've always done it this way", is as limiting 10 an organusntion's progress as the uriatiached chain around the elephant's foot. Success ties you to the pasi. The very factors that produced today's success of Ien create tomorrow's failure. (Belasc0,1990,2) This brings us to the second major challenge that faces us. k relates 10 the way in which our students learn and the way in which our teachers teach U powerful elephants, many institutions are bound by earlier

To be part of this new leadership paradigm is not easy. 11 requires a commitment 10 and an acquisition of kilowledge, as well as the development o and an appreciation of the value of the changing rol of education To fully participate, we must take lime to will ourselves to become more independent. autonomous thinkers; we must be prepared to think lateralIy and to question; we need to set an example as life-long leanters, an abov all be prepared to act and be prepared to work and serve within a team structure, so that we can lead our schools forward with vision

things they never thought they could do. He hen ves that the into unation technology era will lead to one of the most creative eros in the history of the world

There are good redso, us for $1,88es!ing rim, the modem age flag ended. Many Ihings indicate rimt we ar going Ihro, ,gh a transi!tonal period. iphe, it sea"s Ih", something is on file way o"I a, ,d so, reini, 18 else is being p@I, !lidlly boni ...

For example, just asking them how and why they arrange their classroonrs in the way they do c often lead them to consider other ways of doing so. Another strategy Is to We therefore need to enthuse our staff so Tile Gem!,@IPO"tiedl task of then"@! that they can develop strategies which can years of this centi, ,y tile". is th creation help their students readse their potential. of a PIei","odelqf co-e. r's, e, ,ce a, "0, ,g rl, e various cum, res. peoples, races. @, ad religions spheres lullhi" a single mrerco""ec, ed Education and civilis@, ion (1994) especially curriculum decision making must not fall into the hands of those who simply equate formal education dyadq",, ad revol"lion. with. vocational training Similarly, Professor Phillip Hughes describes our eru as e lime

As I reminded a group o senior students encourage our staff to last year, this is no easy mantle to assume. consider how they can it is far easier to emulate the traditional improve their manager-leader, establish a rigid studenis' previous liter arehy and above all o control ruther be , rather than than to facilitate. it is much harder 10 holding to nomaiive embmce the new ino flexible and models, and to adveniurous concept consider how they

Hugh Mackay, the

might develop inclusive rather than exclusive classroorus in which the preferred learning styles of the students are appreciated

eminen Australian commentator describes our lime as 111 Age of

To do so also risks bringing down upon one th wrath of those who believe that the old model is the only right model and that any other fom of leadership is "weak"

Redqii"trio". Markay notes that during the last 20 years fliere I'ds napdly been a, , furs, initio, I or a collve, lito" of A1, sira!inn

Of course this often involved a major shift lire INhich Inns ,, o1 bee, I s"^feel to serious in pedagogy, a shift which many only endlle, ,ge or radical endinge. Tile social. slowly achieving. As State schools cull, ,mr. puff 'cal a, Id eco, ,or"it become more like independent schools. hind, "",*s I"filth IPe 11nve frodi, ,b"allv parents will be able to make choices on 113ed as reference pointsfor deft, ,i, ,g the such issues and choice notjusibeiween Aidsi, tilia, way off!fe nave either sectors. but also between schools and vanis/, ed. bee, I eroded or sinned .. sectors We $11"11 nav to keep remindi, 18 With greater choice available to parents ourselves tl, ai rl, e most precto, ,s reso, ,Fee there is, how vet. the danger of increasing w frov for coping will, life in a, I

in our schools there are leaders who have been able to project and identify future understanding of the nature of learning and some understanding of the \, alue of directions. They have moved quickly to develop strategic approaches, to address Gardiner's research into niultiple intelligences. There is mounting evidence the issues and have appreciaied tha the that with the impact of technology, young dynamics of leadership are constantly people learn differently from the way Ihe changing We have developed a far greater

majority of us did when we attended school and this requires a major shin in teaching practices

They have accepted that others can

conrribute positively 10 the development competition among schools in an era

I, "slable. disco, I'm"o1" a, Id re, o1"'10/1@rv world is 1101 intor, ,inito, I. 0"r ,"o31 precio"s yeso"Fee is each other. The begin, ,ing of wisdom is not to bejb""d in a dafu bas b", in tl, experience offI'mg Ih life of th JIM"re, , herd dadi" absorb, }, g Ihe lessons rimr dyerie"co reaches "s @60"t wl, o we are. (Muskay, 1993, PI7)

when we

of their institutions lineugh geater

endeavoimng to train our

delegation and Into ugh letting people with young people 10 co-operative team

How do we put the research into practice in our schools?

good ideas be allowed to give them a go. players

E", poiven"cor has become the effective I would like to conclude with the key to creating lasting change. They have following reflections. I was recenrly energised, inspired and mobilised - all involved in discussions of a paper by hanmarks of the leader in the new world Varlav Havel tonner president of How we share their best preenc and Iann Czechoslovakia entitled in O"r from it. will be an important issue for the POSimoden, World, a Sea, tillbr Seff-

How do we accept the challenges that John Abbott first put to us in Adelaide and others continue to bring before us, in restructuring oar schools? I do not intend to even try to am wer these questions, but ruther to suggest a timely pause in order to review some of the broad issues and consider the implications they have for us, our schools and their communities

Within our new world there are many paradoxes and how w approach and

ongoing development of our schools and

Transcendence. Havel chos to use his education to wise an awareness of

the Association.

attempt to resolve them becomes not only injustices and then became, unexpectedly, a personal but a corporate chainenge an accepted Iea er of his people We need to use the tone ahead of us in ms example as a teacher. a tacititator, a this conterence 10 reflect on how we can designer, a man of hunt"ty, a person enthuse others with our vision for our prepared to question. prepared to an and school coloniuiitties, how we can be above all to serve his tenow men and proactive rather than reactive, women in a quiet but persistent manner, is constructive rather than passive but above one which exemp"ties the qualities w an delemntne how we can help our

One of the biggest morivators for many, was the release of the 1989 Notional

As heads of our schools, we can make a difference and of course niany of us are. Reporr o, , School, }, g which included the

Hob@rt Deciam, io, I. For the first time in the history of Australian education an

Leaders for today's schools are best described by Peter Senge when he promotes the concept that all

effort was made 10 identity the

expectations of schoofuig

We must take time to train ourselves to become more independent, autonomous thinkers

The agreed goals now

need to develop and cherish in our young people. Havel surnmed up our present

communities to face this new and changing world in such a way that they appreciate the value of our humanity

include

aclmowledgement of the world in the following way

basic attributes which all young people should

develop during the compulsory years of schooling: self-esteem. re -confidence, opiimism, respect for

References: Beare, He diey, Caldwell, Brian J, Millikan, Ross H (1989) Great ing an Excellent School. Routledge, London and New York Belasco, James A (1990) 7^aching the Elephant to Dance: Empowering Change in your Organisation. Century Business UK

organisations need 10 be considered as learning environments. Tile pieit, view of others, self-motivation, self-re"rulee, self directed leaniing and personal exceUence leaders/, ip in learni, 18 ore""13,110, Is They also include callres o, , s"biler a, ,d ,"ore i, ,"rind, ,, attainment of a frisks. Jin a learnt, ,g organisation, leaders number of key competencies which relate 10 educaiional outcomes are desig"e, s, slew", ds cmd reache, s Tiley are r'spo, ,sib!efo, buildi"g

Bentamin, J (, 939) The Sabre-footh Curriculum. McGraw Hill New York

These are nor mother hood gritsments, but positive ways in which we can equip our young people 10 become creative, independent and autonomous thinkers and doers. The challenge is 10 provide the opportunities for our s to move from

@, g""tsari@"s .,/, ere peopl coll, I'llm!Iy e. TPO"of fileir copnbilii, ts to 14, Idersin, ,of cor, platry. cmr!13, visio, , a, ,d i", prove Sha, td ,, JarM1 "10de!s - 1/1ej, are ,', spo"siblejt, r leanii, 18 (The Fifth Discipline, 1993, p340)

Fernandez-Armesto Felipe (, 995) Millennium History of Our Last Thousand Tears. Black Swan, London

Where do we in in relation to these coneepis? Are we simply managers of our complex organisations. or have we taken the time 10 work with our sinff 10 delemtine conimon doals, which win help As Timoihy Brighouse, chief education officer, Birmingham. England, us 10 make our schools the very best leanting and teaching environments which commented at the recent ICP Conference. we need to surprise youngsters into doing we as leaders can help to make them? subjeci-centred alld 'dactic teaching models, to SIudeni-centred creative classroom environments in which Ihe teacher is facitiiaior and litenior

IBM Advertisement reproduced with permission from IBM AUS tralia

Mackay, Hugh (1993) Reinventing Austinlia: The Mind and Mood of Australia in the Nineties. Angus and Robertson, NSW

Senge, Peter (, 994) The Fifth Discj:, line. Nicholas Brealey.

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