Principals Reflection

I usually pray for three things when reflecting during Mass: courage, compassion and wisdom - three traits that I believe are integral in allowing me to contribute to the various communities that I belong, and three qualities that I too often lack. The quality of ‘wisdom’ is particularly vexing - it is the foundation of our joint roles as parent-educators and it relies on our informed response and energy. Confucius summed up the enigma of this term when he said, “By three methods we may learn wisdom: first, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” As a school that promotes WEST values and asks all in the school community to reflect daily on ‘Spirit of Jesus Moments’, imitation is certainly appreciated as a critical element of the development of making wise decisions or ‘good choices’ at St Patrick’s. Similarly, we acknowledge that children, by virtue of their relative inexperience, may have to be involved in an occasional ‘bitter experience’ as they grapple with the consequences of poor choices.

However, it is frustrating that of the three methods that Confucius highlighted as a means to learn wisdom, the noblest method that involves reflection often appears to be the most elusive for us; our list of daily tasks often lamentably are added to the next day’s list as our energies are focused on new and emerging demands. Pope Francis made the following statement that has significant resonance for all reasonable people who may be reflecting on this more noble manner of gaining wisdom: “I am always wary of decisions made hastily. I am always wary of the first decision, that is, the first thing that comes to my mind if I have to make a decision. This is usually the wrong thing. I have to wait and assess, looking deep into myself, taking the necessary time.” Wise reasoning involves dialectical thinking - appreciating different perspectives, recognising the limitations of knowledge, making flexible predictions, and searching for compromise. We require sufficient detail and time in order to decide wisely our course of response.

Research undertaken in 2012 (Kross and Grossmann, Journal of Experimental Psychology) demonstrated that wise reasoning increases when participants take a self-distanced perspective. Students and staff of St Patrick’s are in the second year of a three year ‘Visible Learning’ initiative in which we are collaborating in our joint endeavours to incorporate feedback that makes learning visible, which is based on a synthesis based on John Hattie’s research of more than 800 mega-studies covering more than 80 million students that revealed particular educational variables that have the biggest impact on student learning. Our aim is to ensure we have a growth mindset that implies students know what they need to learn, how to learn it, and how to evaluate their own progress. I thank all our staff who continue to support this initiative, our students who are similarly responding with a positive mindset and in particular, Mr Atkins who is leading many aspects of the implementation of this initiative which should lead significantly to enhancing student outcomes and respecting staff welfare.

Our school-based Visible Learning initiative is hopefully a wise choice, the product of considerable reflection and, intrinsic to the process, an openness to considering others’ perspectives. Thank you to all in our school community who strive for wisdom by taking the time to discern, seek detail from reliable sources and make decisions that reflects a respect for ‘the person’, ‘the process’ and principle.

Regards   

Rod Linhart (Principal)