Pin Oak Issue 20: Term 3, August 7, 2015
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MAGAZINE PIN OAK ISSUE 20: TERM 3, AUGUST 7, 2015 ATHLETICS DRAMA HEADMASTER’S REPORT Contents HEADMASTER REPEATS YEAR 8 Last Thursday, I went back to school as a Year 8 boy. 3 Headmaster’s Report I went to all of his classes, did all of his work for him (whilst he sat beside me and relaxed), carried 4 Big Issue all of his books, and even did all of his homework. It was not some sort of riff on a Tom Hanks movie 5 Films, Music, Books or ‘Freaky Friday’- although sometimes it felt like it. Instead it was my way of getting under the skin of K - 6 News what it was like being a student in classes each day 6 by becoming one just for a few hours. I learnt more More K-6 about education in that day than I do in a typical 7 month. Feature Article The Year 8 boy - Ben Canute - was ‘picked’ at 8 random. He won a competition last term run by Deputy Reports : Learning & Pastoral the Year 12s. He wrote me an email within an hour 10 of winning saying how much he looked forward to having an afternoon hanging around Bowral whilst I 11 In the Spotlight did all of his homework. This day came. Despite several teachers insisting I 12 MusicArtDrama wear school uniform, I fronted up to Tutor Group with my blue suit and white shirt. I wasn’t going to 13 On the Branch look like Angus Young from AC/DC. Ben and I did agree to swap ties at least. He gave me his pile of 14 Gallery books, his computer and his student lesson diary for me to carry for the day. I asked for his lunch too, but 15 Calendar he refused. Period 1 was Mathematics. Now it is time for a deep 16 Sport admission: Maths was always my least strong (okay… my worst) subject. Year 9 was my least strong year. The geometry of circles was, by far, my least strong subject and I was also absent due to illness for over two thirds of the lessons back in 1982. So imagine my feelings when Ben told me on the way to Maths that he had a topic test. I asked ‘so what is it on?”. And of course his reply ‘The Pin Oak Team geometry of circles’. With a minute to spare, Editors in Chief standing outside the Maths classroom, I desperately Kaarina Allen, Cate Patterson and Heidi Bevan flicked through his exercise books as Ben showed me Student Editorial Team Alexia Cheaib, Ruben Seaton, Evangeline Larsen, some formulas to memorise. And then I was inside. Evelyn Bratchford, Ryan Tan, Maddie Thomas It was that nightmare when you are suddenly back at school doing the HSC or performing in a musical Student Photographer for which you are completely unprepared. Descartes Olivia Donovan or Neo from The Matrix would have known exactly how I was feeling. As I walked down the aisle with Designers thirteen year olds babbling on both sides of me, Emma Croker, Conor Lynch Design Assistants I actually presumed I was going to wake up. But, Dylan Whitelaw, Savannah Sandilands, Grace alas, I didn’t. I learnt in my bones something about Patterson, Bree Feary, Lachlan Billington-Phillips motivation that period. Whenever I thought to myself ‘I am interested in this question as a puzzle Head of Marketing and PR - how do I work this out,’ then I felt curious and Emma Calver wanted to go on. However, when I looked around and thought ‘What if these practised thirteen year Staff Editor olds are all beating me’ a slight sense of stomach Beattie Lanser churning would come over me. Oxley College It was the lived experience as a Year 8 student that Railway Road, Burradoo, NSW, 2576. Carol Dweck, the Stanford psychologist, writes about Ph: 4861 1366 all the time. She says that students can have fixed [email protected] mindsets in which everything is a test of how smart 02 HEADMASTER’S REPORT they are, and they get mental rigor mortis as a result. Or they can have growth mindsets in which they see things as a challenge to rise to - in which case they succeed much more. Well, after the Maths test, everything was easy. I did a double period of Geography in which I learnt about Antarctic Ecosystems and had to write a dossier about an Elephant Seal. I got to spend a period listening to our Head of Geography who, as a Cambridge Graduate, spent thirty five days with four others in a tent doing research in Antarctica. (She has also cycled from Morocco to South Africa to get to a sustainability conference, so freezing in Antarctica was a piece of cake for her!) I spent a period in Design and Technology learning with Ben how to manipulate an industry standard design programme called Inventor. I spent a period of Music analysing the structure of rock songs - choosing the songs as we went (although I was most perturbed and offended when Rock music was described as a historical period.) Mostly, I reflected on how lucky kids are to be learning One of the stranger experiences was attending a each day. I wanted to keep learning about Antarctica and ‘Cornerstone’ lesson run by Peter Ayling. I have written geometry, I wanted to explore the Design Programme all the lessons. So it was very odd sitting in a class, further, and I really wanted to join in composing music receiving a lesson you had written yourself. along with the Year 8 class this term. I wished that society was structured so that everyone could take a In the lesson we were given a random TED talk from few years off in the middle of their forty year working TED’s ‘all time top 20’ list. We had to report back on to lives to go back and just learn. What an amazing world the class. As it turns out, I picked one on motivation in that would be. corporations. The speaker, Dan Pink, talked about how bonuses don’t work in business - they just strangled I learnt so much more about lessons by experiencing people’s creativity. By contrast, giving people ‘time off’ them as a student. It was much better than making to work on their own projects had meant companies like class visits as the Headmaster and imperiously jotting Google had come up with innovation after innovation. down a few notes. And for Ben? I think he regards the Get people to do what excites them, said Pink, and give day as an unqualified success. I am sure he particularly them free rein. It was as if the Fates had chosen for me felt that later in the afternoon as he finished off his to watch this straight after my Maths test near death milkshake in Bowral whilst I finished off his homework experience. back at School. Of course there was still the matter of the homework. I had Maths and Geography - both to be done on the By Ben Canute (Year 8) computer for Ben. At the end of the Music lesson Ben had put up his hand and said ‘Miss, I’d really like some The day started off with Mr Parker meeting me in Roll Call extra homework if that was okay with you.’ So I got and reluctantly swapping ties with me. We then headed the task of writing an analysis of the structure of an off to first Period resulting in him having to complete a additional two rock songs as well. I chose Bucks Fizz’s test on Pythagoras (Mr Parker’s worst Maths fear). In ‘Making Your Mind Up’ and Black Lace’s ‘Agadoo’, which Period 2 he joined me in Cornerstone watching a TedEd the music teacher has promised to share with the class talk on motivation. After recess, Mr Parker met me in as Ben’s favourite songs. Lab 1 for double Geography, resulting in a beautiful sketch of an elephant seal (revealing a hidden talent So what else did I learn by spending a day in Year 8? for sketching…. elephant seals) and getting premium I learned, as a student, that classes everywhere are seating in a presentation by Mrs Shedden on her journey much more geared to kids than back when I went to to Antarctica. Period 5, in room 15, was spent with Mr school. Teacher after teacher was enthusiastic, kind Marnoch teaching our third lesson on Graphics tech. I and approachable (although maybe that was just me gave a 20 second tutorial to Mr Parker to bring him up being in the room). I learned how much Information to speed and soon he was building entire cities… or ice- Technology has infiltrated all of our classes in a good cream cones… In our last period Mrs Bunyan got us to way. Out of the six periods, I used Ben’s laptop in analyse rock songs which led to an eighties throwback four and each time it made the lesson better. Usually on Spotify - much like those of my dad. it meant that Ben and I could choose something that interested us, and that was different to the person All in all it was a fantastic experience and right now I sitting two seats away from us. am planning how to spend the rest of my night as Mr Parker completes all my homework. Thank you to all who I learnt a few prosaic things too, such as ‘it is easy to organised it, it was an unforgettable day with nervous miss the Maths homework when you are packing up teachers and surprisingly, brilliantly planned lessons.