Grammar Gazette- Issue 2, 2016

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FOR THE LOVE OF LEARNING

What drives a secondary school teacher to pursue doctoral study? The immediate answer is madness! A deeper examination uncovers a broader array of reasons. Working at a school in which scholarship is the most fundamental driver of learning generates an unbridled sense of inquisitiveness, questioning and wonder. Teaching generations of students, with an infectious quest for knowledge, does much to instill a sense of drive, determination and mastery. Ultimately, doctoral study is nothing more than learning for learning’s sake, representing everything that is good about robust endeavour. Its rewards are multifaceted and revolve around a creative satisfaction associated with posing a problem and understanding its many intricacies. The thoughts of Parker Palmer are apposite. In his famous work The Courage to Teach he notes: Every academic discipline has ‘grains of sand’ through which its world can be seen. So why do we keep dumping truckloads of sand on our students, blinding them to the whole, instead of lifting up a grain of sand so they can learn to see for themselves.

AUTHOR Dr Bruce Addison Dean of Curriculum and Scholarship

BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL IS A LEARNING ORGANISATION FOUNDED ON THE IDEAL OF EXCEPTIONAL SCHOLARSHIP. SCHOLARSHIP, IN ITS MANY GUISES, FORMS THE KERNEL OF OUR EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE. THERE WOULD BE VERY FEW SCHOOLS IN AUSTRALIA BOASTING THE NUMBER OF STAFF WITH EITHER RESEARCH OR PROFESSIONAL DOCTORATES OR STAFF WHO ARE COMPLETING SUCH STUDY AS HERE AT GIRLS GRAMMAR. THIS RESEARCH IS USUALLY A PART-TIME ENDEAVOUR OCCURRING ALONGSIDE THE DEMANDS OF THE CLASSROOM. SUCH RESEARCH IS INDICATIVE OF DISCIPLINE STRENGTH AS WELL AS SELF-CONTROL, DETERMINATION AND PERSEVERANCE.

GRAMMAR GAZETTE