SUN UP, SUN DOWN

The Sun Newspaper was launched as a community newspaper supported by the NT News in on July 4 2019. Initially it was published under three mastheads for Darwin, Palmerston and Litchfield. Columns were common to all three editions, with some content local to each area being introduced into the editorial space. It was later that the three mastheads became one. And later still when the Sun was continued as a stand alone paper and also added as an insert into Tuesday’s edition of the NT News. There’s variations aside, the community newspaper, which had morphed from earlier versions, has been a feature of both print and later print and online news over the intervening years.

Until today.

I had been invited to write a column relating to education for the newspaper. My first column was published on July 4 2013. Since that time, I have written a weekly column on matters of an educational until today.

Today June 25 2019, was the last edition of the Suns Newspaper. Cessation is on the day my column marks six years of weekly writing for each of the 48 weeks of yearly Suns publication. So I got close to by 300th column but never quite made that anniversary.

Post retirement, I am glad I had this sharing opportunity.

Education Goes On

I ended my final column ( a happy one on the positives of our Government and the relevant departments reinstating School Based Policing) with the following postscript.

“Thank you to those many people who have read my column and offered me feedback during the past six years. Sharing contemporary educational issues with you has been my pleasure. You are always welcome to access my blog “Education a Life Force” at https://lnkd.in/g67RzwW “

Newspapers evolve and change, often quite rapidly in this digital age. However, there is a place for print and for the sharing of local issues that go to policy and organisational prescription. That is what an appreciation of education in an ongoing and contemporary context should be about.

Naturally I am sad that the Sun has gone down. I will look to continuing my work in terms of educational commentary in other ways and through other forums.

My final point is to clear any misconception about my status as a Suns columnist. My contributions have been voluntary and not associated with any payment. My column has been a way of giving back for the advice and help I have received and the support I have been given as an educator over the years.