Scott Alterator's Podcast

International educator and consultant Karen Blume recently spent some time in New York City. Karen spoke to the Principal of Brooklyn Latin School, Jason Griffiths.

Jason cites his Latin teacher, Father McGraff, as being supremely influential. Father McGraff was able to give detention, but not just any sort of detention. Mr McGraff administered JUG: Justice Under God. This detention involved an hour of Latin. Despite the seeming severity of this measure Jason believes it was personal connections and passion for particular subjects that had an impact on him as a student. This has clearly shaped his work as a Principal.

During a transport strike in late 2005 Jason walked from the West side of Manhattan to the East side (and back again) in order to make an interview for the Principalship of the Brooklyn Latin School. This journey by foot proved worthwhile as in early 2006 he was appointed the school’s first Principal. Jason has set about establishing a student-centred liberal arts specialty school that also offers the IB.

Jason wants his students to be ready for any of the challenges that life may throw their way. He believes that a liberal arts education provides resilience and skills that mean students are capable of tackling all of life’s obstacles. Jason throws a challenge to his students, their families and the teachers in his school to work hard, be disciplined, and demonstrate industriousness to achieve and be successful at the Brooklyn Latin School.

Bulla is a small community more than 50kms out of Timber Creek. This is about 400kms past Katherine along the Victoria Highway. Bulla has 120 people and 35 students. This isolated community shares a long history with large scale cattle properties and there is a still a strong association between the locals and nearby stations.

Marjorie teaches pre-school to students from the community. One of her challenges is to ensure students see the value of education such that they are prepared to leave town after Year Seven. The school does not teach beyond this point. This presents problems of isolation, continuity, cultural separation and loneliness. Such obstacles exist alongside those associated with the cultural divide between Indigenous and non-Indigenous curriculums. Traditional and white-fella ways must co-exist for education in places like Bulla to be successful.

Marjorie reflects on her life in education and considers the possible solutions to some significant problems. She believes her time away at school, for instance, was an asset. This is not the common view. Her son travelled to Darwin for school but was not successful. His later efforts in vocational training yielded great results. He now works at a local cattle station and his story is shared with pride in the community; three people had told us about him before we got to speak to his mum.

Marjorie reflects on her own success and that of her son in considering local issues.

Jabiru Campus is one of two campuses working under the title of West Arnhem College. These two campuses draw students from all of Kakadu National Park and surrounding communities. Tess Hennessey has been Principal for three months and faces considerable challenges. The school’s numeracy and literacy data is low, both in Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. The nearby mine means that much of the student cohort is transient. The school is also culturally mixed. Jabiru is also isolated, sitting some 300kms East of Darwin.

Tess’s passion for education is clear. Her understanding of the importance of technology as an expression of self is a key driver in her work to establish personable and meaningful relationships with students and the broader community. She has a clear moral purpose with strong views on the conduct and approach required to be effective in the teaching profession.

This refreshing and energised principal shares a range of insights that draw on remote teaching, Indigenous cultural connection with curriculum, connecting with community, and technology. Listen to our conversation here.

Phakamani 'PK' Ndlovu has overcome considerable obstacles in graduating from High School. After PK's mother had to move town for work, he and his brother had little choice but to look after themselves. PK did not let this this serious challenge deter his drive for education. He graduated in 2006.

He is still passionate about education and the power is brings. He is a facilitator at Kwabazothini High School, in the Valley of 1000 hills. He is faced with problems of the greatest concern. His community is suffering at the hands of widespread HIV/AIDS. PK also faces the significant issue of poverty. He believes education is the key to making progress in these communities.

You can learn more about Oaktree and the fantastic work they do to promote education and help communities at www.oaktree.org

Andrew Douch is an innovator and teacher. He is inspired by computers because they allow him to do things he couldn't otherwise do. Technology does not exist for its own sake: it is a tool that can make any classroom engaging and relevant.

Andrew teaches Biology and is ICT Innovations Leader at Wanganui Park Secondary College, Australia. In 2008 he was recognised at a national and international level for his excellence in education innovation winning the award for the Microsoft Australian Innovative Teacher of the Year and Victorian Education Excellence Award for Curriculum Innovation. In the same year he was awarded the Microsoft Worldwide Innovative Teacher Award.

Andrew authors the extremely popular blog: Douchy's Biology Blog. This resource is followed by thousands of students across the globe. Such a scenario is just one example of the sort of practice that Andrew believes is the next step for education. He asks: why wouldn't you listen to the best physics teacher if you had a webcast a mouse click away?

Yalmay Yunupingu is a Yolngu woman from the Rirratjingu people in north-east Arnhem Land, Northern Territory. Yalmay is a strong leader and an award-winning educator. She is passionate about her culture and concerned about the future. She is an inspiring educator.

The enormous challenges facing remote communities across the Northern Territory mean that for leaders – particularly those in education - the stakes are ridiculously high. The future of individuals, communities and cultures are at risk. It is to leaders such as Yalmay that we turn.

Yalmay has felt these pressures through her time as a senior teacher at Yirrkala Community Education Centre. On announcement of the sweeping changes to the bilingual program in late 2008, Yalmay’s response to the Minister of Education was this:

I'm saying now (I will) continue to teach Yolngu Matha next year, regardless of what the Department are saying or doing to us. I don't care if I get sacked. I don't care if I get into trouble. All I'm doing is just fighting for my rights, our rights - it's the best thing for kids.

Yalmay is acutely aware that the current set of circumstances places pressures on her and other leaders. Her strategies for effective leadership under such tense conditions centre on being informed and drawing from her strength: her culture.

This ‘strength’ is not a glib Discovery Channel phrase, it is a clear strategy that could be employed in the change obsessed institutions of mainstream Australia. Yalmay is a ‘Yesterday’s Leader’. A yesterday’s leader is capable of considering (as important), acknowledging and responding to the actions of the past in making decisions for today. It is not possible to have a conversation with the future. It is critical that we converse with the past.

Helen Musk has a job that didn’t exist in the 20th century. And it’s in education! Helen is the Medical Educator with Bendigo Health. Her job is to help graduates of medicine become excellent doctors. She oversees the programs that support interns and registrars in the high pressure workplace that is a 21st century hospital.

For a long time, patients have complained that doctors are ‘not human enough’ and don’t communicate well. Universities have slowly responded to these complaints by including in their courses subjects that focus on these areas: teaching students to be good listeners, to understand the need to build a relationship with the patient. A consequence of this, though, is that senior clinicians – who do not necessarily value the ‘new’ approaches – now feel that graduates have significant gaps in their clinical skills and knowledge. It is the role of the hospital-based medical educator to design programs that address the complexities of these issues.

Can a profession concerned with people’s health and lives afford the time to support an education program? To put a finer point on this sentiment: can a profession concerned with human lives not afford to integrate education?
In this free podcast Helen reveals her inspirations and the serious challenges facing the provision of ongoing education in the medical profession.

Gwen Warmbirrirr took up teaching more than thirty years ago. She started teaching when Gough Whitlam was Prime Minister. Her career has endured the tenure of many Prime Ministers since. It is clear from talking to her that it will surely outlive the current one as well. Likely his successor too.

Gwen was educated at Milingimbi CEC and it is where she teaches now. Milingimbi is about 400kms east of Darwin. It is an island on the southern shore of the Arafura Sea. Like many remote communities, Milingimbi faces multiple challenges centred around isolation, identity and place. As a Yolngu woman at the school Gwen recognises the importance of education in starting to address these, and other, issues. Education is not the single answer, however it is a central player in providing the skills necessary for improvement.

Gwen tells of her childhood: sitting down with the old women and being motivated to go to school. She reflects on inspiring people and explains the challenges in getting young Yolngu to engage in school. Her legacy is clear: be a leader that inspires others to lead. Lead in a way that is strong, honest, inspiring and calm.

It would be handy to know a few Yonlgu words: Yolngu matta is Yonlgu language and Ballenda is European.

Ganygulpa is a leader at Milingimbi. Milingimbi is a community with a population of about 1200. It is a small island at the top of Arnhem Land, about 400kms east of Darwin. This remote community faces many challenges as it works to maintain traditional culture and give Yolngu children a the opportunities that come with a Western education.

We sat in the school grounds of Milingimbi CEC as classes gathered for the end of term full school assembly and the crows queued up for the school yard scraps. It is all in the interview - it provides a striking audio picture.

Ganygulpa is determined to lead in such a way that honours her history and those who have led before her. She carries the wisdom of her mother and grandmother and uses their wisdom, as well as her own, to make decisions. Her drive for better outcomes and in being a role-model herself is clear: she is a Yolngu woman doggedly adding another chapter to a long history of leadership.

Djapirri is a leader in the Yirrkala community just outside Nhulunbuy, 600kms east of Darwin. She was the first woman to be Vice-Chair of the Yirrkala Dhanbul Council. She is currently the Manager of the Yirrkala Women’s Resource Centre, a board member of the Yothu Yindi Foundation and is involved in the Women’s Healing Centre. She was instrumental in setting up the Night Patrol at Yirrkala. This service sees community members monitoring the streets during the evenings to ensure the the young people in the community are cared for. In 2008 Djapirri was appointed to the board of Reconciliation Australia.

Djaprirri shares her ideas on leadership and the particular circumstances of her context. Her challenges are immense. Yet, it is in this context that her leadership strategies find their shape. Djapirri finds power in her Lirrwi (the homefire, meeting place, charcoal spot). Djapirri talks about teh power of taking her culture with her where ever she goes. She draws on her Lirrwi when in meetings or talking to large groups of people.

Balancing a life that traverses two cultures is now a reality of Yolngu leadership. Djapirri meets this challenge not by separating her lives but by taking her Lirrwi with her as she navigates balanda (white fella) culture. Her Lirrwi was a source of strength during her time in Tonga at the meeting of women to promote the Night Patrol across the Pacific.

Like many educational leaders, Djapirri is determined to improve the outcomes for students and school leavers. Her leadership on a local and national level ensure that Yolngu children have a role model of the highest calibre. This on its own is bound to impact children for many generations.

Thomas Amagula is the Senior Liaison Officer with the Anindilyakwa Land Council in Anuragu, Groote Eylandt. Anuragu is a small, isolated community off the coast of East Arnhem Land, Northern Territory. You can look to the Western shore of the Gulf of Carpenteria to locate it.

This indigenous community faces a range of challenges not unlike those found in many remote communities. Thomas' role is a highly respected one and comes with much responsibility. This is particularly so given the recent release of a report into education in the Groote area entitled 'New Ownership New Responsibilities'.

Thomas shares his inspirations as a young boy. He reflects on how, as a young leader, he is assuming more responsibility for the development of his community. He has a clear focus on making a difference to those who wish to follow him and he sees education as the key to their success.

Cyclone Paul was bearing down on us as we sat on Thomas' verandah and the audio includes some pretty serious rain for the first few minutes. It does calm down after 3 minutes.

‘Why aren’t people angrier?’

Steve Hawkins – Senior Teacher at Alyangula Area School, Groote Eylandt.
Steve is reflecting on the findings of the report into Groote Eylandt and Bickerton Island education.

Steve is based on Groote Eylandt, off the East Coast of Arnhem Land, and on the western fringe of the Gulf of Carpentaria. This is Anindilyakwa country. Steve articulates the challenges facing education in this remote community. He believes the situation requires innovation in the classroom and at all levels of leadership.

In 2009 a report was published by the Anindilyakwa Land Council reviewing education in the Groote Eylandt and Bickerton Island region. The report’s title encapsulates the central tenet of it’s findings: ‘New Ownership. New Responsibility’. Steve reflects on methods for achieving success in the areas the report outlines. He is candid about the limits of his cultural understanding yet is hopeful that appropriate supports can help new teachers. He, like many others, sees community ownership as the answer to achieving sustainable success. The steps to this long term outcome may not be clear, but with energized educators like Steve we are sure to find a way.

'Getting the sun. moon and stars to align, that doesn't happen very often'
Ron Lake

We talk with Director of the Loddon Mallee Region, Ron Lake, an educator operating at system level in Victoria, Australia. Ron has been involved with public education for more than forty years and is currently overseeing one of the most comprehensive and ambitious secondary school revitalization projects in the state, the Bendigo Education Plan.

Ron shares his insights on building a culture of innovation: 'know the other crazies'. Whilst he states that teachers are the centre point for improving student outcomes he also shares Richard Elmore's idea that the most underutilised resource for school improvement is to be found in the students.

Ron's values are very much focused on the student; he talks about the need for a clear moral purpose in the work of teachers and the opportunities afforded to those in leadership in schools, particularly principals.

Ron began his career as a Chemistry and Maths teacher in rural Victoria, moved to Ouyen in the mid-1980s as Principal where he helped establish the Mallee Secondary Colleges Cluster and from there to be Principal of Bendigo Senior Secondary College (Victoria's largest VCE and VCAL provider with nearly 2000 students). In 2001 he moved to Adelaide where he oversaw the founding of the Australian Maths and Science school. Following this he was manager of the Innovations Unit of the Victorian Education Department and has been a Regional Director for a number of years now.

Nick is the General Manager of The Oaktree Foundation. Oaktree works to alleviate global poverty. At Oaktree everyone is under 26.

Education without action is a missed opportunity
- Nick Allardice

Nick speaks of the moments that have inspired him and how Oaktree plans to use education to shape the future.