Principal's Reflection
Three quick questions:
- What do you consider to be the most difficult part of being a parent?
- What do you consider the most difficult part of being a son/daughter?
- What do teachers consider to be the most difficult part of being a teacher?
I believe we would all have variations on the following theme when answering these three questions: balancing our needs with our wants; balancing our needs and wants in the context of our relationships with others. As parents and as educators we appreciate the value of education in the context of the future. The conundrum for we adults is that children live very much in the ‘here and now’, and our vision for them by their engagement in education is based on their future. Arguably one of our most important tasks is to tap into the child’s greatest gift; their appreciation of the here and now, in order to try to maximize their education for a preferred future.
If you were given the opportunity to ask the person beside you, whether it be whilst shopping or waiting for an appointment, to spend 3 minutes summarising their dreams and aspirations, their redeeming and not-so-redeeming habits, we would undoubtedly find that we share some common ground, whilst recognising, hopefully, that we also have our differences. However, one thing would be common in our summaries; we have all been, and continue to be, influenced by educators and we all should accept our own important role as educators. We all influence others, none more so than a parent’s influence of his or her child. Intrinsic to any educational process is change, hopefully positive and affirming. Guiding and facilitating change, as any parent would attest, can involve times when one’s patience is tried. However, when we frame a challenge as not being an obstacle, we are teaching resilience. At such a busy time of the year where many of us find ourselves ‘juggling many more balls’ than we had expected, our own efforts of framing an ‘obstacle’ as a ‘resolvable challenge’ provides our children with appropriate modelling for their own growth of resilience.
I take heart from the following passage from the book of Psalms, “Test me, Oh Lord, and try me; examine my heart and my mind”. Our actions and decisions do not always bring about happiness for all, however, if we recognize a need to reflect from both our ‘heart and head’, hopefully others can come to understand the reasons for decisions that may be difficult for some to accept, and allow ourselves and others the opportunity to appreciate that some essential ingredients of resilience are exhibiting perseverance, being informed and being compassionate. A key value of our school is being thankful, the big ‘T’ in ‘WEST’. It is timely as we enter the beginning of the middle stage of term 1, that we stop, look and appreciate those who add to our collective sense of self that comes from being part of a community, in this sense, the St Patrick’s School community. As such:
- I thank the many members of the wider community who assist our school so readily in our efforts to continue to make a positive difference in the life of our students, which then hopefully extends a positive influence on the wider community.
- I thank the many parents for trusting us to provide some aspects of their child’s education. I especially thank those parents who complement what we endeavour to achieve in the formation of character, as well as the formation of intellect; the effectiveness of our policies and many programs owe their success to the support from parents and care-givers.
- I thank our staff who have often worked tirelessly in their individual and collaborative endeavours that have the intent of truly engaging children in quality learning opportunities; the success of our whole-school initiatives is very much a reflection of our staff support and commitment.
- I thank our wonderful group of students who are generally so cooperative, courteous and considerate in their appreciation of what it means to be a student at St Patrick’s Catholic School Latrobe. I am certainly proud to be part of such a learning community. Our WEST & PBS programs can only be successful if we have students ready to accept their part in its implementation.
Regards,
Rod Linhart
(Principal)