Grammar Gazette- Issue 2, 2014

AUTHOR

d Ms Jacinda Eu ler irffi Principa I

had to be made about what sublects and methods of teaching would best support this The dismissal of our Lady Principal, Miss Eliza Fewings, in 1899 was at least partly to do with competing beliefs about what constituted a grammar education. Samuel Grifflth, Chair of the Board of Trustees at the time, was, as Erica McWilliam observed 'an ardent classicist' and 'sent his children to the two grammar schools, so the keenness of his investment in their broad character and also their inner workings was undeniable'. Miss Fewings believed in the centrality of dressmaking and millinery to a young woman's education and said: 'I always wished to make sewing 'honourable'. In a letter to the Brisbane Courier, however, Griffith wrote '. . . it appeared that her ideas and ours as to the nature and scope of a girls' gtrammar school were radically different' (McWilliam, 201,3, p. 29) The introduction of Year 7 tn 2015 has opened up the discussion once again - what subjects, what curriculum (some mandated by the Australian Curriculum) and how much time is to be allocated to which subjects More importantly, how do we develop the thinking skrlls and learning habits that provide the educotir-rnsl platform for a Giris Grammar education? Latin has been taught continuousiy for 1,39 years; at times it has been compulsory, at others optional From 201,5 aIIYear 7 students will be provided with a foundation in Latin

FEDERAL EDUCATION MINISTER CHRISTOPHER PYNE'S BELIEF THAT THE STUDY OF CLASSICAL LANGUAGES IS 'A VERY, VERY GOOD THTNG TO DO' (SCOTT, 2Ar4) AND THE GOVERNMENT'S RECENT DECLARATION OF SUPPORT FOR THEM IN THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM HAS AGAIN INSPIRED DEBATE ABOUT THE RELATIVE WORTH OF DIFFERENT SUBJECTS AND DIFFERENT LANGUAGES, AND RAISES THE QUESTION ABOUT WHAT CONSTITUTES THE 'BEST' EDUCATION. participation in a broad curriculum, the development of higher-order thinking skrlls and systematic curiosity to inspire joy in learning for its own sake We prepare Grammar girls to enter the world as young women equipped intellectually with a strong sense of freedom; free to challenge prejudice and dogma, free lo assert their own views and free to wholeheartedly appreciate the great cultural grfts of our world withoul always needing to deconstruct and to gain utility from them. Since tB75 Girls Grammar has continued to offer a broad approach to education designed to nurture exceptional scholarship Yet, from its earliest days decisions have At Girls Grammar we remain committed to a liberal education that is characterised by compulsory

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