Total Education Blog

A couple of weeks ago I attended a lecture by Professor Fred Durvin at the Education Faculty of the University of Southern Queensland. Professor Durvin is from the University of Helsinki and his area of study is multiculturalism, linguistics and communication. He is a visiting scholar to USQ at the invitation of Professor Patrick Danaher, the acting head of the faculty. Read entire post

On 27th May we were treated to two engaging presentations by leading Australian Psychologist, Dr Michael Carr-Gregg, on student well-being — one for teachers and one for parents. The talks were organised by Medicare Local and were open to the general public. Read entire post

It is interesting how being involved in something can make you blind to its unique qualities. I sometimes feel this about core aspects of the School of Total Education. Read entire post

When a school is working well, there is a natural creativity and growth happening that seems to transcend all the programs and plans and organised activities in place. Read entire post

In 2012 we put a lot more energy into raising the school’s profile in the general community. Read entire post

I have been watching the developing debate about the future of schools as the hub of the community. It follows the line that with the dismantling of traditional community frameworks, e.g. Church and sporting clubs, as a result of our changing lifestyle, one of the few institutions still standing are schools. They are naturally in touch with all families and are therefore well placed to be the focal point for community engagement. Read entire post

I attended Assumption College Speech Night recently on the kind invitation of the principal, Peter Maloney. It was a nice night. The students were relaxed and natural, if a little excited, and the there was a supportive community atmosphere from the parents. Read entire post

We had a visit to the school this week by three education research academics from the University of Southern Queensland (USQ), Professor Patrick Danaher, Dr Robyn Henderson and Dr Rahul Ganguly. Read entire post

The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has just released a White Paper outlining policy directions for Australia in the next century. As a former Minister of Education who is passionate about raising the standard of education in this country, it is not surprising that she places great emphasis on education as a key for the community’s prosperity and capacity for engagement with Asia, saying “More than ever before, it’s impossible to maintain a strong economy without a world-class education system.” A core feature of the education agenda is the pursuit of excellence.  Read entire post

There were some great speakers at the ACEL (Australian Council for Educational Leaders) National Conference, “An Inquiry Mindset”, which I attended in Brisbane recently. Read entire post