There are some qualities that are unique and somewhat foreign to a great many people.

In my thinking, unique people demonstrate and practice the following qualities.

They listen.

They think of others before themselves.

They will spend their money for the good of others.

They exercise the niceties of politeness.

They never make ugly comments about others verbally or on social media.

They are respectful to their elders.

They hand out bouquets and use brickbats sparingly.

They bring out the best in others.

As leaders, their authority is acquired rather than being ascribed.

They put people first, rather than for possessions and material things.

They focus on i,ssues and never shoot messengers.

They walk the walk as well as talking the talk.

They look deeply into issues rather than giving them superficial consideration.

It cost $13.00

A hat,

A black hat,

A black felt hat,

A black felt hat worn,

A black felt hat worn by,

A black felt hat worn by Taylor,

A black felt hat worn by Taylor Swift,

A black felt hat worn by Taylor Swift at,

A black felt hat worn by Taylor Swift at her,

A black felt hat worn by Taylor Swift at her Sydney,

A black felt hat worn by Taylor Swift at her Sydney Concert.

The hat,

The hat given,

The hat given to,

The hat given to an,

The hat given to an eleven,

The hat given to an eleven year,

The hat given to an eleven year old,

The hat given to an eleven year old girl,

The hat given to an eleven year old girl who,

The hat given to an eleven year old girl who is,

The hat given to an eleven year old girl who is a

The hat given to an eleven year old girl who is a number

The hat given to an eleven year old girl who is a number one,

The hat given to an eleven year old girl who is a number one fan.

The hat,

Which cost $13.00,

Is now conservatively valued,

Watch,

It appreciate,

In value with,

The passing of time.

Around the turn of the century, the Mitchell Centre, a 14-story complex, was built in Darwin. The Northern Territory Department took a long-term lease on the top four or five floors of the building.

Two rooms on each of these floors were designated as meeting or conference rooms. The department decided to name them after ten people who had contributed to NT Education.

I was honoured to have my name attached to one of these rooms.

Based on observation, I believe that there are millions and millions of dollars worth of tattoos walking around our city. They are engraved on the toes, feet, shins, calves, knees, thighs, and every aspect of the front, side and back of torsos. Also, fingers, hands, wrists, forearms., upper arms, necks, faces, ears and craniums.

The collective value of tattoos inked into people, often in full colour and graphic detail, must be astronomic.

The mind boggles.

Good old-fashioned humour makes me laugh. I need instances and quirky outcomes that are non-sexist and do not involve putdowns.

Modern-day humour I do not find it funny because it is often hurtful. I would no more about going to a modern-day comedy show than fly in the air.

For me, it’s situational humour and some of the good old-fashioned comedy shows that are now archived which I find give me plenty of laughs.

Drugs are awful,

Drugs are bad,

Addiction to drugs,

Is really sad.

Drugs cost lots,

Keep users poor,

Then hard to keep,

Wolf from the door.

Be wise, take care,

Do as I say,

Shun wicked drugs,

Keep them away.

Don’t waste your dough,

All drugs please spurn,

Spend with care,

The cash you earn

They like to contemplate the arts,

To hide from real world demands,

Pretence and facade obscure the facts,

Keep reality from our hands.

We sing and dance, cavort and play,

And hide from the demands of life,

Thinking that pretence and games,

Will hide from us the strife.

The world we’re in, what we should do,

Is help make all things right,

Instead we hide from days so harsh,

By escape into the night.

Change the world by working hard,

And showing that you care,

Thought bubbles ’bout what is unreal,

Will burst and leave you bare.

MIRAGE

‘Jerry building’?

It’s all over Australia.

Behind the facades,

Crumbling premises,

Which cost the earth,

And now worth paltry dollars.

Jerry buildings

Look okay,

Behind the outer shell,

Vacuums of neglect,

And crumbling structure.

Jerry buildings,

Pumped up with Botox,

Smooth outer skin,

Hiding cracks and crumbling innards.

When the building is gone,

The mortgage,

Will still be,

Ever pressing.

Consideration of this topic and reminiscing on the past of so very long ago, makes me feel chronologically enhanced, almost to the extreme edge of age.

When I was five, it was as a tiny, weeny boy with a one-year-old sister and a Mother and Father who were, as I discovered years later, far older as parents than I had ever imagined.

Shyness and naivety spring to mind as remembered traits. I led a sheltered life and was on the verge of going to school.

Our farm was situated just off a gravel road. Every three or four months the road was graded by a grader driver. He had a donga on wheels towed behind the grader.

The grader operator would park his home on wheels just off the road, then grade a section of road of around ten kilometres on both sides of his residence.

At the end of the day, he would park the grader, rest the night, and then carry on the next day.

When grading the section was complete, the grader driver would hitch his house behind the grader and move on to the next location.

As a five-year-old boy, I was fascinated by this occupation and wanted to be a grader driver when I grew up.

Well, well, well,

Fancy that,

You KNOW Australia’s,

A copy cat.

Yanks say ‘jump’,

Aussies say ‘how high’,

We’re commanded by Yanks,

Like pigs in a sty.

Holt once said,

To LBJ,

‘With you my mentor’,

‘We’ll go all the way’.

Slaves to America,

With no mind of our own,

We surrender our birthright,

Your will be done.

We’ll join in your wars,

And fight overseas,

For it is you Big Brother,

We aim to appease.

Keep you arm around us,

And guide our way,

Forever and always,

Your servant each day.

Putin rules with iron rod,

All Russians grumble,

Putin will prevail,

Resistance will tumble.

There is only one answer,

And it never will be,

In essence all Russians,

To Putin bend knee.

Protests are all show,

Nothing they mean,

Kowtowing they kiss,

The road where he’s been,

They simper and crawl,

To buy life and space,

And fail always to see,

The disdain on his face.

Putin says ‘jump’,

People acquiesce, their heads nod,

In Russia Putin’s not human,

In Russia he’s god.

Google is wonderful,

Google is good,

Google’s our helpmate,

Focuses us as it should,

We’d be lost without Google,

The app is our friend,

We are born into Google,

‘Twill be there at the end.

Our guide and our helper,

The light of our way,

Without Google we’re cactus,

Hear what I say,

Take Google with you,

Wherever you go,

You’d be lost without Google?

You don’t want to know.

Poor Old Henry

Thoughts on President Biden

Joe is my hero,  

I’m not on my own,  

In asking that people,  

Leave Joe alone.  

He is in his office,  

Doing great good,  

Overseeing his nation,  

Just as he should.

He’s leading the world,  

That’s plain to see,  

In upholding the virtues, 

Of democracy.  

His age and his wisdom,  

Will mean some pain,  

As he shows how, 

To make things great again.  

Out of the doldrums, 

An onto cloud nine,  

But he cautions that people,  

Must tow the line.  

They must pull together,  

As they all should,  

Uplifting America,  

To make the place good.

I thank you Joe,  

For showing the way,

And being the best of leaders,  

Day after day

Henry Gray – with tongue slightly in cheek

Far too many people, more and more it seems, have lost the ability to listen. Listening is a skill that is becoming less and less pronounced, dying for want of practice.

Speaking on the other hand is being overused with more and more having more and more to say about less and less.

In these modern times, there is a surfeit of talking and a dearth of listening.

Oh for equilibrium and balance between oral utterance and aural reception – but I fear we will never see that again.

Coaching

As Socratic Discussion becomes ingrained within a group or class, it is wise for the teacher facilitator to coach students so they can take on facilitating roles. This might be with the whole class, or with a sub-group of class members.

Summarising Socratic Discussion

* Socratic Discussion is ‘issues honest’.

* Socratic Discussion is ‘anti scandal’.

* Socratic Discussion works to open the ‘Johore Windows’ of participants, so they share by giving of their feelings often held back and not revealed.

* Socratic Discussion allows sharing of information, opinion and belief.

* Socratic Discussion considers the presenter and participants.

I urge you to try Socratic Discussion. It takes a little time to set up but it is a conversational method that works. The model is appropriate for children of all ages, primary and secondary. It even works with adults.

Concluded

Fortunately, I retired at a point in time that was just before the tsunami of technology that has rolled over us all.

Technology with its social extensions, has created mayhem in schools along with discord among students.

Mobile phones were just coming in when I retired. At our school, there were no issues because I banned these devices from being used by students during the school day.

I am astounded by the way young people use technology to shame others, and abuse peers including starting fights and creating conflict situations to film and post.

Thank goodness I escaped the disasters social technology has been unfurled in our Australian schools.

In these modern times,

I muse and suppose,

We have to be happy,

That anything goes.

Uniforms are out,

Other dressing is in,

To express pride in one’s school,

Is now a sin.

Neat, tidy hair, be

NO we loudly say,

To be unkempt and untidy,

Is the new, modern way.

School is a chore,

With each passing day,

Students find learning a bore.

Academics are out,

Good times are the go,

And it’s no longer true,

You reap what you sow.

Deep learning has gone,

Fluffy subjects are in,

Too much pretending,

Where study has been.

We keep on with the pretence,

Modern schooling is good,

Replace fine traditions,

‘Fashion’ says that we should,

But fret not or worry,

All will pass for sure,

Because the word ‘fail’,

Is an issue no more.

The Facilitator’s Role

The facilitator:

a. Sets the group in a circle ready for the discussion.

b. Reminds of basic rules including courtesy and politeness.

c. Offers a reading or discourse to stimulate interest.

d. Asks a focus question, repeating it twice.

e. Monitors the conversation and pros and cons that follow.

f. Asks follow up questions if necessary.

g. Allows the conversation to follow a natural course, including variance away from the original question – with a refocus as necessary through a supplementary question or questions.

h. Calls ‘time’ at the end of the discussion period.

i. Sums up the ‘ebb and flow’ of the conversation including the time the group was involved in dialogue.

j. Invites participants to debrief, with each person in turn (working around the circle clockwise or anti-clockwise) invited to share something learned or something appreciated during the conversation.

k. Concludes by thanking participants and looking forward to the next session.

Key Elements

* When facilitating, ensure the following:

1. Children do not put their hands up in order to ask to speak. They wait for a pause in dialogue, and speak.

2. If more than one child begins to speak, encourage a process whereby one withdraws voluntarily, allows the other speaker to input, then enters her/his contribution.

3. Without undue intrusion, work to encourage recessive speakers while trying to reduce the impact that dominating speakers can have in group discourse.

4. If necessary and if there is a babble, call ‘time out’. First offer praise and advice. Then name the speaker who will continue the discussion when you call ‘time in’.

5. If necessary, call ‘time out’ and remind children that the focus needs to be on the issue not the person speaking. (In time self realisation will cause participants to recognise that fact automatically).

6. As a facilitator call ‘time out’ for coaching purposes as necessary. As the group becomes more engaged in the process, the need for this intervention will be less frequent.

7. When participants are doing things right, it can be useful to call ‘time out’ and offer praise for the modelling.

To be continued

In the right space, NO

Can sweep away obstacles

Can be a definitive response

Can offer clarity out of confusion

Can make the utterer stronger

Can earn respect for the user

Is often hard to utter the first time

Can earn respect based response from peers

Is often sparingly enunciated because it is easier to go with the flow

Is, sadly, often discounted

Is a word that should be central rather than peripheral to vocabulary.

The fees being charged by universities are out of this world. Fees for a full-time domestic student undertaking a bachelor’s degree are $5,000 Australian a semester. A six-semester (three-year) degree will set students back around $30,000.

If students have to defer payment until they begin work, the debt appreciates at the rate of the cost price index (CPI) each year.

At the end of 2023, a $30,000 accumulated debt increased by a CPI factor of 7.1%; $30,000 grew to a debt of $32,130 and that compounds with each CPI increase.

Degrees these days in Australia cost huge dollars. The above is for domestic students; for International students (often regarded as ‘cash cows’), costs are far, far higher.

Key Considerations

* Discussion leaders are facilitators.

* All participants have a chance to lead if the group is sustained over time. As skills and understanding are acquired, participants gain in confidence and are prepared to accept the challenge of facilitating.

* All group members are equal. There are no hierarchical constructs.

* All participants get to speak. All have a right to question the opinions of others. Everyone needs to be prepared to justify their beliefs, but no one is ridiculed for holding particular and ‘different’ opinions on issues.

* Listening and considering the opinions of others is obligatory.

* De-briefing takes place at the end of each segment and session.

* Seating arrangements enable participants to sit in a circle facing each other. The facilitator is part of the circle. Standing is discouraged because seating places everyone on the same level and negates individual ‘shortness’ or ‘tallness’.

* Equal opportunity and equity are promoted by the process.

* The quality of ‘consideration’ is developed, including respect for each other and looking to draw others into the conversation.

* Discussion is open-ended. No belief is necessarily right, none is necessarily wrong. Commitment to a position and willingness to share, defend and modify stance is a key element of socratic method. Influencing and being influenced by others is part of the group sharing process.

* Confidence in speech and verbal presentation are underpinning aims.

* Participants offer feedback, sharing what they learned with each other. Feedback is sought and must be willingly given. Group members have the right to pass during these personal response sessions if that is a preferred option.

To be continued

The most telling skill I wish I had, was the ability to play a musical instrument. I’m told I have a reasonable singing voice and can hold a tune. I can also make up songs and sing them. But all that has to be without musical accompaniment.

The instrument I most wish I could play is the guitar. Sadly, I can play nothing at all and that to me is a real deficit.

If I had my time over again; but it’s altogether too late for that.

From a futurism conference.

Setting up for Socratic Discussion

A round of Socratic Discussion might follow the following plan.

Remember the leader is a facilitator and a participation encourager. Before starting, remind the group of listening and discussion procedures.

1. Choose a piece of literature and read it to the group or introduce a topic and briefly speak to it.

2. Ask an open-ended focus question. Pause. Ask it again.

3. Make sure Socratic Discussion procedures are followed.

4.Carefully control the time allocated for the session.

5. Offer each participant the opportunity to debrief.

6. Focus on issues, not personality.

To be continued

My favourite kind of weather is cold, cold, cold. Do we have what’s called a wet and dry season? The weather is hot and humid, and when it does rain it’s often accompanied by 100% humidity.

The dry season of the year, when it doesn’t rain is still hot but with sometimes less humidity.

The dry season is also the smoky season because it soon as the rain stops bushfires start and for months we have smoke every day. Sometimes it’s bearable and sometimes not. It also gets to be very windy and the wind is hot.

I fancy that I would like to live in Invercargill on the south of the South Island of New Zealand. I rather fancy that I would be cool – something I do not experience here.

I’m retired. But if I wasn’t, I fancy I would like to work during the trucking season on the Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay Road. It would be nice to be a tracker on the Dalton Highway also known as the ice road.

To be cold and to experience cold temperatures is something I would love and really only ever imagine.

How the Socratic Approach helps Children

I believe Socratic Discussion is of benefit to children for the following reasons:

* It dissuades from the old fashioned ideal that ‘children should be seen and not heard’ but in a way that encourages structured rather than an unthinking and garrulous approach to conversation.

* It helps persuade children that ‘all mouth and no ears’ (over-talking and under-listening) need not be a perception held of them as individuals.

* It is a process that balances the skills of speaking and listening in a positive educational manner.

* It is also a process upholding the rights of children to hold and express opinions; it reinforces the value of youthful points of view.

* It highlights the honesty and impediment free factors generally inherent in the speech of young people.

* The value of student voice is reinforced, with children who participate appreciating the fact that worth and value is placed on what they and their peers say.

A Starting Point – Understanding the Model

Socratic discussion focuses on analysis of thought and meaning conveyed by text or information.

The beginning can be an analysis of text messages (as interpreted) to us as individuals.

‘What the text conveys’ is the focus.

Viewpoints and perceptions are debated and defended.

In modern argument issues are often neglected. The presenter rather than his or her message becomes the focus. It may be gentle chiding, regular teasing, serious lampooning or outright derision. The end result is that of people being discouraged from putting forward their opinions on issues. This leads to ‘dominant’ (as in dominating the agenda) and reticent group participation.

Socratic dialogue encourages speakers to bring their own authority (through knowledge) to debate. All opinions on the subject are sought and welcomed. Issue focussed shared participation is the aim.

Reflection is part of the socratic process. Saying what we have to say (rather than being reluctant and holding back) is part of the dialogue process.

Socratic discussion is enriching. It is a method through which respect for others is built.

A key outcome is the development of critical thinking skills, together with an appreciation for the viewpoints of others.

More to come

In my handwritten diary, I keep tabs on many things, including:

Rainfall day/ month.

Percentage of pages in local newspapers devoted to advertisements.

Days until elections local/territory/ federal – next NT. Election in 154 days.

Parliamentary sitting days.

Number of Days since Russia invaded Ukraine (on my birthday).

Number of days since Hamas infiltrated Israel.

And so on.

Today is the 759th since Russia entered Ukraine to extend war beyond the Crimean takeover,

Today is the 170th since Hamas violated Israel.

I wonder if I will have to start recording the days since China began physical conflict (war) against Taiwan, and if so, how far into the future from March 23 2024?

SOCRATIC DISCUSSION MY CONNECTION

I first learned of ‘Socratic Discussion’ when attending an Australian Education Union summer school program in Canberra during the 1991/92 school holiday.

The program was one of a number offered as workshop options for participants. The presenter was Nancy Letts, an educator and facilitator from New York, USA. I enrolled in the workshop out of curiosity.

The deeper into the workshop participants were immersed, the more convinced I became that this discourse and discussion methodology would work well in classroom contexts. It had worried me for a long time that children tended to be ‘all mouth and no ears’ when speaking and listening. The ‘kill space’ syndrome manifested part of this. If someone was talking, listeners heard only for a brief pause. That pause was a licence to verbally jump into the space, whether the speaker had finished or was merely pausing for breath.

Children, along with adult models, tended to criticise peers for holding viewpoints rather than appreciating speakers for putting forward particular views on subjects.

Socratic Discussion offered an alternative whereby students could be trained or developed as respectful participants, appreciating peers and considering points of view provided in discussion.

The workshop was one of the very best I have ever attended because it had applicability. During the years since I have done quite a lot of work around the model.

* It has been applied since 1992 in class contexts and for all year levels from transition to Year Seven ( when the sevens were still in Primary School).

* I ran workshops for students drawn from several primary schools who came together weekly at Dripstone Middle School as those ‘enriched’ and need to be challenged by extension. One student was James Mousa, whose commentary about Socrates is reproduced elsewhere.

Part of this was an evening culmination when students presented and modelled Socratic Discussion to their parents, running the evening from start to finish.

* It has been modelled for teachers who have taken the approach on board in their practice.

* I have conducted six or seven workshops with groups, outlining the concept and having the groups practice the process. Feedback has always been appreciated, and many attending have taken the approach on board.

How the Socratic Approach helps children

I believe Socratic Discussion is of benefit to children for the following reasons:

* It dissuades the old-fashioned ideal that ‘children should be seen and not heard’ but in a way that encourages a structured rather than unthinking and conversational approach to conversation.

* It helps persuade children that ‘all mouth and no ears’ (over-talking and under-listening) need not be a perception held of them.

* It is a process that balances speaking and listening skills in a positive educational manner.

* It is also a process upholding the rights of children to hold and express opinions; it reinforces the value of youthful points of view.

* It highlights the honesty and impediment-free factors generally inherent in young people’s speech.

* The value of student voice is reinforced, with children who participate appreciating that worth and value are placed on what they and their peers say.

In a Nutshell

Socratic Discussion is an ISSUES-based BASED APPROACH to thinking and speaking.

The essential element is the process. The issue is a means to understanding that end.

The process is issues-focused, not personality-directed: It aims to build, not destroy.

Listening, thinking and speaking are all essential skills appealed to and developed by the process.

More to come

At the end of each day, teachers should reflect on their successes and plan for what lies ahead. Reflective, ‘feel good’ times are essential and help build confidence. That can help alleviate the stresses and anxieties that too often build up within the mindset of teachers who feel they have no right to rejoice.

I hope that teachers become more valued and appreciated by the community, by their employment systems and by politicians who set educational agendas. Equally, I hope that educators working in our schools feel professional joy from within.

One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is a vital element for the growing plant and the child’s soul.

Carl Jung

Appreciation is the highest form of prayer, for it acknowledges the presence of good wherever you shine the light.

Concluded

A ‘giving’ profession

Teachers and school staff members should not be knocked. They are selfless, giving and caring. Most teachers are there for others, and without the work they do, our society would be poorer. I believe teaching is the most vital of all professions. It is one of society’s linchpin professions, and those who work within it deserve to be valued and appreciated.

A Rejoicing Profession

I hope that school-based educators will come to feel good about themselves. A distinct worry is that our teachers under-sell and under-appreciate themselves. It is almost as if they expect to be put upon and criticised, accepting this as normative behaviour. That should not be the case. There needs to be a place for joy and rejoicing in the hearts of our teachers, who contribute so much to so many.

To be concluded

After-hours commitment

A drive past many Australian schools before and after hours, on weekends and during holidays, will reveal a growing number of parked teachers’ cars. Staff members are inside working on many tasks that embrace the teaching profession. Salary recognises teachers for around 37 hours per week. In real terms, many work upwards of 60 hours during the same period.

Teachers are among the few professional groups not eligible for overtime payments to recognise extra hours at work. Police, firefighters, and nursing staff work to fixed rosters and are reimbursed

if extra hours or shifts are worked. This does not happen for teachers in schools. The only person entitled to compensation for extra work may be the school janitor, and only if a pre-agreement has been arranged.

These days, there are more and more meetings in which teachers and staff members are required to participate. Staff and unit meetings, moderation meetings, performance management meetings and many other gatherings have proliferated. Most are held outside the scope of the typical working day and week.

Teachers organise extended excursions. They coach and manage teams and groups involved in sporting and cultural exchanges of several days’ duration. Preparation for their regular classes before going is part of the deal. They are part of fundraising activities, school council committees and school improvement planning groups. The list goes on.

To be continued

A criticism heaped on teachers, support staff, and school leadership teams is that teaching is an easy job, generating far too many rewards. I have heard people say that teachers should go and get themselves a ‘real job’. Letters to newspapers regularly decry teachers as being too well rewarded for the tasks they undertake.

There are some, of course, who appreciate the in-depth nature of teaching and education: sadly, the view that teaching is superficial appears to be held by many people.

Many students and parents appreciate ‘their’ teacher. However, in media releases and public statements about schools and teachers, there are far more brickbats than bouquets. Criticism is often harsh and strident, with acclamation of teaching positives being restricted to acknowledgement on World Teachers’ Day.

What is entailed

Teaching is far more than what is visible to the public. In fact, ‘teaching’ is a small part of the educational equation. Detailed planning, preparation and programming, taking many hours, precede classroom teaching and direct engagement with students.

Beyond teaching, there is the recording of outcomes (testing, measurement and assessment), review and then the considerations of revision and extension. These educational elements go well beyond teacher and pupil interaction in the classroom.

To be continued

I used to write comments on issues under pseudonyms on various topics from 2018 until 2022 when the paper changed this feature—a sample page.

There are many things about teaching as a profession that are misunderstood by the public at large. Neither are these elements considered by the Departments of Education and those within systems that set teacher expectations. The long term confirms this, and the current differentiation of ‘them’ and ‘us’ describes the connection between school-based staff and system administrators. The hardly respectful term ‘carpet-land’ is used by many teachers to express the lack of proximity they feel to those developing curriculum priorities and setting teaching agendas. Departments set school curriculum agendas to meet government whim and societal pressures without considering how this will impact teachers and students.

What they see is the iceberg tip

The work of teachers (and school leaders) reminds me of an iceberg. Only 10% of an iceberg’s mass is visible. The other 90% is hidden beneath the ocean, seen only by marine creatures. In the same way, the work done by teachers and support staff is 10% observable and 90% unseen.

Many believe that classroom teachers work six hours daily, five days a week. This 30-hour working week, reduced by public holidays, is complemented by 12 weeks ‘holiday’ each year. Regarding occupational comparison, our teachers are considered people on ‘Easy Street’. Letters to newspapers and callers to radio talkback programs frequently slate teachers for lack of commitment and care for students. How wrong they are.

To be continued

Classroom teachers, the most vital of all educators when it comes to interfacing with students, feel the weight of expectation because it all comes down to them.

In 2024, the teaching profession was under more pressure than ever to deliver for students.Expectations have been building for years but have never been more pronounced than now. Classroom teachers, the most vital of all educators when it comes to interfacing with students, feel the weight of expectation because it all comes down to them. They carry the prime responsibility (outside the home) for teaching and developing children.

Appreciation is well-hidden

Double-edged expectations are held for teachers and classroom support staff. The system and school leaders anticipate that those working with students will do an outstanding job, reflected in NAPLAN outcomes, PISA results, TER scores, TAFE/VET achievement and a host of other measurable objectives for primary children and secondary students.

On the other hand, parents and the community expect that teachers will teach in a way that results in students achieving quality outcomes, regardless of social and environmental pressures. The constant observation and scrutiny under which educators are placed adds to their burden of accountability. The expectation is front and centre, with appreciation for their actions rarely expressed.

While teachers are celebrated on World Teachers Day each year, this positive recognition is a brief pause in the heavy load of accountability placed squarely on their shoulders. The profession is heavily weighted with expectations, and bouquets are few.

To be continued

My respect to all Territory, Australian and world police. You are all so much under the pump and that is just so wrong.

Without stating the obvious, it seems to me that our police force in the Northern Territory is increasingly lumbered with responsibilities to counter crime, which makes their load almost an impossible one.

They are increasingly responsible for domestic violence issues (which seem to be growing at an exponential rate), countering public violence, and managing what appears to be an increase in traffic violations. They must be aware of potential injury to people and wanton damage to property being levied against our community.

I have personally witnessed on many occasions how police do their jobs and do them well. I’m also well aware of how they are treated by members of the public, with insult, attempted assault, taunting, racial vilification of them in their work, and so on.

One of the difficulties for police is that they must be so cautious in carrying out their duties, lest they even minimally overstep the mark. It seems that perpetrators of wrongdoing have so many rights that even the slightest policing misstep violates their entitlements.

Requiring police to be doing evermore in policing and demanding they be ever more vigilant in terms of the way they react to wrongdoing must be frustrating to the extreme. It is no wonder that many police leave the force.

I wonder, too, whether it is wise for new police who have just finished their training to be given first-up appointments to crime hot spots and remote areas around the territory.

I have a massive respect for our police force, and that stretches ck over decades in the Northern Territory. However, for them to be disrespected and treated like baggage and have to minutely monitor every action they undertake lest they cause offence or impose upon the entitlements of perpetrators of wrongdoing is just not right.

Children need their parents, but in these modern times and all too often, parental responsibilities are handled by care agencies and schools. There is no substitute for parental love and nurture. Parents owe their children, but many fail to honour their prime responsibilities on the home front.

Written a number of years ago, the need for children and young people to find hope and purpose in an ever deteriorating world, has never been more urgent.

Written a number of years ago, this situation is now exacerbated by artifical intelligence and further drift from what worked in the past

Once upon a time, when educational management in the Northern Territory by the Northern Territory was new, our first Director called all Principals and school leaders to a conference in Katherine. Katherine is a regional town 300 kilometres south of Darwin. Our Director, Dr Jim Eedle spoke to us all about our newfound responsibilities. Dr Jim had a personable and inimitable way of speaking to people. he was a thinker, somewhat elitist in ambition for a system that delivered well and a man whom I thought was always humble in disposition. He always spoke with sincerity and conviction.

I was a relatively new principal. “Ladies and gentlemen”, Dr Eedle said, “always remember schools are for children.” He went on to explain that structure (process) should always support function (delivery of education to children). Schools should never become institutions where ‘structure’ took over, the providers becoming more important than the client group. Wise words and wisdom I cherished for the whole of my career. How far we have grown from that simple challenge, into a world of complexity where it often seems children and their education is really the last thing on the system’s mind.

I hope sense and sensibility prevail. We do not want media constraints that will impact on press freedom to go into place. There are already enough constraints on people and we at individual level are often too frightened tospeak up because we are cobbled. Thank God I often think that authority cannot read my mind because the rest of my private life can be sourced through the processes in place that strip privacy. I can’t say what I think and neither can countless peoiiple because to do so would not be ‘politically correct’.

In the face of this deprivation, the freedom of media to comment and invite response has been paramount in our lives and for us to have this freedom curtailed would be a bad thing. I would bet that one of the first things to alter would be the right of media to comment on political issues and government initiatives. This would be the thin edge of the wedge on the last of our institutions to be unfettered.

We already have myriads of people working for both government and private organisations who are frightened to speak out for fear of retribution. We are already a nation of frightened souls acquiescing our heritage to the tsunami of ‘modern’ cultural change

AVOID PLAGIARISM LIKE THE PLAGUE

It seems that plagiarism is becoming a lucrative industry. Buying assignments results and presenting them as one’s own is becoming normative among students. We MUST teach students to shun this ‘lie’.

DON’T BOW DOWN AND HAIL

Reports on educational trends, directions, and how they should be are rarely ending. We would be foolish to ‘jump’ at every movement. We need an education that is steady, predictable and reassuring.

THINK OF STUDENT WHEN ASSESSING

When assessing student work, I try to think of myself as the student. How would/will I ‘feel’ when checking the assigned grade? Will I be pleased, happy, relieved, disbelieving or despairing?

KNOWING WHAT’S GOING ON

We should take a few minutes each day to make ourselves aware of initiatives being contemplated and changes being mooted on the educational front. Awareness prevents us from being wrong-footed on change.

ALWAYS A LEARNER

No matter how ‘new’ we are or how long we have been in the field of education, there is never an end to learning. Are you like me, a person learning something new every day? We should always learn.

MOTIVATION SHOULD BE A MEANS, NOT AN END

Be careful with rewards. Don’t offer them so regularly for work outcomes that children and students are motivated ONLY by this Pavlovian notion. Inner, intrinsic satisfaction should be a key driver.

Much is said and written about the obligation of universities toward students. Often, students feel empowered to complain about lecturers and organisations if things do not go their way.

But there is a counterviewpoint, and that is the responsibility that students should have toward their studies and commitment to university education.

If students absent themselves from lectures, tutorials, discussion boards and online sessions, then they can hardly turn around and criticise universities for their failure. Commitment is a two-way process.

To gain the most from their education, students have to approach their tertiary studies and training with due diligence. University is not a cakewalk

We do well to contemplate the ethics and values that underpin educational motivation and drive us as educators. One of the smartest things our Federal Government ever did, was to put on schools the need to develop values statements.

I took this very much to heart and canvassed staff, students and the parent communnity. The response from students and staff was above 90%. High level returns (in order of 60+%) came from our community. All responses were ranked and scored, then published as a supplement in our newsletter, ‘Leanyer Links’.

From each group the first response was RESPECT. For me it is the most important value and deserves to head the rest. What do readers think?

Retired teachers are seldom invited to take a backward look once they depart their schools on the last day of their teaching or leadership careers.

Wise Education Departments, schools and universities involved with training the upcoming generation of teachers, do well to invite retirees to share their knowledge with continuing and future educators. To do so, enables valuable inside knowledge based on their experience to be shared.

While teaching, for teachers, is always a process of discovery, it ought not be a process of re-discovery. Sharing learning by coaching can help to avoid regurgitation. My suggestion is that retirees be invited to coach, thereby enriching those of us who remain or who will be our next generation of teachers.

There is undoubtedly a need for principals and leaders new to school-based leadership to be nurtured, supported and given assistance when adjusting to leadership roles.

It is not easy to be a school leader, particularly when one considers that expectations held for schools require the consideration and melding of many expectations.

Support for Principals that leads toward the building of their confidence and assurance is both necessary and vital. Over time, countless stories, albeit anecdotal, have done the rounds on the vulnerability school leaders feel in confronting issues. They want to make the right decisions but feel there may be matters requiring consideration they have not considered or
overlooked.

”

I have 50 or 60 episodes of “Dad’s Army” episodes on the memory of my television box.

Most nights, the last thing we watch on television of the night time, it’s a replay of one of the episodes. You can never see those episodes too frequently. I have been watching reruns of this series for the last three or four years. I never get sick of watching always laughing at the spectacles created by each episode.

Some people these days might be offended by various other jokes and quips made by characters. But for me, that humour is understandable and appreciated. It’s comedy but maybe quirky certainly not way out like some of the modern comedy stints these days.

So for me, it is “Dad’s Army”. It’s been the case for quite a few years and if all goes well, will be my favourite comedy series for years to come.

There is an increasing dump of accountability and compliance on schools.

I asked an eminent person who was close to Australian Government sources whether Federal Leaders (who set policies) know that many students were deliberately disinclined (intentionally unmotivated) who came from families where parents were anything from passively to actively aggressive toward teachers and schools.

The answer “.. They know but they don’t want to know!”

How ostrich-like!

All power to man’s enterprise in terms of efforts to overcome environmental adversity and adapt to geographic and topographical (and reptilian) challenges. We generally do well regarding (somewhat) mutual co-existence with challenging forces. I do wonder whether, around our earth’s cover of atmosphere and stratosphere, there is a blanket covering of both dust and disease. May our ingenuity and capacity to co-exist with natural forces continue into futuristic eons.

Cometh the crocodiles

The encroachment of crocodiles on our city is not really amusing. It is becoming both sinister and relentless. These front running incidents may be the forerunner of a crocodile assault by land and water. What might happen if at some time (God forbid) there is a natural disaster that loosens the security around Crocodylus Park, the Crocodile Wildlife Park and other places. Should that happen the word ‘swarm’ might apply to any resultant reptilian outbreak.

I am bemused.

It happens locally, at state and territory level, and in westernised countries around the world.

Why

When a politican is talking during a media conference, why do one or two politican peers stand behind him/her and in full camera view.

Why do they look vacant, with expressionless faces, while periodically nodding their heads.

I do not understand.

Many children are not brought up at home any longer.

They are brought up by child care, long day care, after school care, vacation holiday care and early childhood workers and educators. They are brought up by institutions.

They go home to sleep and to spend some time on the weekends at home.

It is sad that children grow up by behavioural and social rules set by institutions and not by parental rules

When in opposition, politicians promise to walk the walk with the rest of us to help meaningfully overcome the escalating problems confronting our community.

But when elected to government, all that goes sideways and reduces them to politicians in power talking the talk without the actions promised.

Accountability is one thing. “Have you a monkey on your back that I can own” is totally another – and a misplaced priroty with which educators unnecessarily saddle themselves.

Regarding educators meeting learner needs, we must stop the self-flagellation and breast-beating accompanying educational accountability. “Are schools and teachers meeting the needs of children and students?” is a question that needs repositioning.

Rather than schools and educators being dumped with loads of accountability for educational inputs and outcomes, it’s time for quizzing to turn to children and their parents. Self-responsibility on the part of students and their parents should be the challenge. Are we meeting the needs of learners? It needs to be examined in terms of “Are children and their primary caregivers doing their bit toward the development of our next generation?”.

I once had a conversation with a Principal colleague who told me of a meeting with parents over their child who was particularly and negatively challenging his school’s culture and ethos. The parents upbraided the Principal for his lack of care and concern. They demanded he and the school do more for the child. The principal offered a conditional response. He and the school would do better for the child for the eighth year the child spent at school if the parents would commit a more significant effort for the remaining seven-eights of the year – the time he was in their care.

This story goes to the nub of the issue. Schools have a role in child and student development, a matter educators have never neglected. However, parents are the primary caregivers, and over time, the gradual off-loading and dumping of rearing responsibilities onto schools is misplaced and alarming.

The notion of school being a place where fizz has to be applied to every learning situation to engage learners is equally annoying. Schools need to be fun places, and learning needs to be underpinned with enjoyable experiences. However, there are vital aspects of knowledge that are repetitious, mundane and focussed toward cognitive appeal. Not everything can be bubble and froth because learning is not about fizz but substance.

Metaphorically, schools add the yeast to the bread to make learning rise in the minds and souls of young people. That means biting onto key issues and chewing on the meat of learning opportunities.

The thought that the ‘best’ education has to be about froth and bubble to appeal to young people is a sad commentary on modernity. It also suggests that deep learning is unimportant.

Motivation and Inclination

There seems to be a belief held within society and certainly implied by Governments that all students are inclined learners. Nothing could be further from the truth. Deliberate disinclination is an ingrained element within the psyche of many children and students. Non-respondents may reject learning opportunities by passive resistance or by more belligerent defiance. All rejection is hostile, confirming that while you can lead a horse to water, you can’t make it drink.

If children come to school with attitudes of deliberate disinclination and defiance, it is hard to move them from negative to more positive attitudes without parental awareness and support. That is not always forthcoming, and parents often take the side of children, being in no way prepared to support the efforts of school staff.

It is accountable to children and students to recognise and accept responsibility for their actions. Educators are often too quick to excuse children and parents and too slow to recognise that the onus for change and development should be vested in the home as much as on the school front.

Sadly, in this day and age, with parents compulsorily committed to work and earning, the upbringing and development of children, in almost total terms, is thrown at schools. I mean this quite literally because the social/government and system imperative plants this responsibility on and into schools. Many school educators feel they are being ‘commanded’ to raise children. When societal failings become apparent, schools and their staff members are held up as significant contributors to that failure. Parents, prime carers and students themselves are home-free.

That is wrong. The wrong people and institutions are being blamed for shortcomings when the responsibility belongs to those who are excused.

I wrote this published paper in 2012. It is still very contemporary and reflects understandings that certainly helped me as a leader.

Educational organisation within schools is many things to many people. Principals and school leadership teams are motivated and inspired by many different stimuli. The elements and influences that press upon schools are poured into a metaphoric funnel above each place of teaching and learning. Community, hierarchical and government clamour rain can come down like the cascade from the end of the funnel onto schools in almost waterfall proportions.

While Principals and leadership groups can take, analyse, synthesise and consider how the school can and should accommodate demands from without, it is easy for a sense of proportion and a perspective on reality to become lost. The flood of seemingly insatiable demands heaped on schools can result in destabilisation and disequilibrium.

This is especially the case in situations where Principals and leadership teams feel that everything demanded of the school by the system (and of the system in turn by the Government) has to be acceded and put into practice. These reactions, best described as knee-jerk, cause an inner disquiet within staff who are often reluctant to change without justification but are pressured to make and justify those changes anyway.

In metaphoric terms, schools that comply with demands so made remind me of a frog hopping from lilly pad to lilly pad on a pond’s surface. Sooner or later, the frog will miss in its parabolic leap from one place to the next and do a dunk into the water. I believe we need, like a duck, to do a lot more deep diving to ascertain the rich life at the bottom of the pond. Too often, we are urged, and in turn urge our teachers, to skim the surface of learning without exploring issues with children and students.

Beneath the educational topsoil, there are rich substrata of understanding that need to be explored. Too often, depth learning is overlooked. Educators know that depth learning is disregarded because of the imperative that we drive on, rushing from one initiative to the next.

This approach does little to positively enhance the way those working within schools feel about what they are doing. They become ‘focussed on worry’ and internalise feelings of discomfit about what and how they are doing. They can feel both disenfranchised and destabilised. They wonder whether they are valued and appreciated. While they may not talk about feelings of insecurity in an ‘out there and to everyone’ way, their expressions of concern and disquiet are certainly expressed to trusted colleagues in an ‘under the table’ manner.

Teachers may maintain a brave face to what they are doing, but beneath the surface, they suffer from self-doubt. This leads to them becoming professionals who overly naval gaze, generally in a very self-critical manner. Teachers can and often do become professionals who feel there is little about which to self-congratulate and rejoice.

Establishing Priorities and Building Toward Positive Atmosphere

In this context and against this background, empathetic school principals and leadership teams must offer reassurance and build confidence within their teaching and support staff cohorts. They need to help staff understand that ‘frog hopping’ is not essential and that ‘deep diving’ into learning, whereby children and students are offered the opportunity of holistic development, is encouraged.

If this is to happen, Principals need to take account of two critical considerations.

• They need to act to deflect as much downward pressure as possible away from staff. They need, as I have previously written ( ), to be like umbrellas, open to diffuse the torrent of government and systemic expectation, keeping change within reasonable boundaries. This will ensure that schools, students and staff are not overwhelmed by cascading waterfalls of macro-expectation. Principals and leadership groups must maintain as much balance as possible within their schools. Despite what system leaders may say, random acceptance and blind attempts at implementing every initiative will lead to confusion at the school level.

Principals have to have the courage to say ‘no’ to changes that come at them giddyingly and often in a poorly considered manner.

• The second critically important consideration, largely dependent upon the ability of school Principals and leadership groups to be selective in terms of their acceptance of change invitations, is that of school tone, harmony and atmosphere.

The way a school feels is intangible. It cannot be bought as a material resource. Neither can it be lassoed, harnessed or tied down. The ‘feel’ of a school is intangible and generated from within. It develops as a consequence of feelings generated among those within the organisation.

I often feel that the atmosphere of a school, which grows from the tone and harmony within, is best expressed as a weather may which superimposes that school. When I was Principal at Leanyer School, I had a rather clever staff member take an aerial photograph of ‘our place’ and photoshop a weather map over our campus. This I kept close for it was necessary for me to appreciate the ‘highs’ within our school. I also needed to take account of the ‘lows’, being aware that we needed to make sure they were swiftly moving and not permanently affecting the people within our borders.

Learning about Atmosphere

My awareness of the atmosphere did not come about by accident. In 1994, while at Leanyer, I was asked to act as our region’s Superintendent for six months. At that time, Leanyer was somewhat struggling when it came to material resources, and that was a worry. Other schools seemed to have a lot more in material terms. Although not jealous, an inner aspiration was to be like better-resourced schools.

During my tenure in the acting position. I visited each of our region’s schools, some on more than one occasion. I contacted Principals and took every opportunity to go into classrooms, meeting and talking with children and teachers. I also visited Leanyer School as an ‘outsider’, not as someone presuming ‘insider awareness’. (I wasn’t there; someone else was acting as Principal, and I needed to accord leadership space and respect).

The most critically important thing I learned as Superintendent was appreciating the organisational atmosphere. No matter how good schools looked, no matter how many material resources they held – if they did not ‘feel’ good, they were lacking quite decidedly.

Part of my learning was predicated on appreciating Leanyer ‘from the outside in’. Having been Principal for two years at the school before temporary promotion, I was used to viewing the school from the inside out. The opportunity to look at the school from a different perspective, along with comparative opportunity, helped me appreciate the blessing and joy abounding within the school. It felt good! The atmosphere within was second to none!!

The organisational atmosphere is both precious and fragile. There is no guarantee that this intrinsic quality will remain constant. The way people within schools act and interact changes regularly.

Atmospheric Challenge

Within schools are three key groups of people – students, staff and parents. Watching overall is the wider community. Personnel and client changes are familiar with the arrival and departure of children and staff. Systemic demands and government priorities are hardly constant. This opens schools up as being organisations in a continuous state of flux. Just as weather patterns change, so too do pervading atmospherics within schools. Those feeling on a positive ‘high’ today may find that feeling of well-being eroded by something that unfolds tomorrow. Contrariwise, circumstances causing despondency (‘low’ points) can be changed by events, becoming ‘highs’.

It is up to Principals and leadership teams to ensure that a positive atmosphere, precious yet fragile, is built and maintained. It is easy to lose the feeling of positivism, which is necessary if an organisation grows and thrives based on its human spirit.

I learned a long time ago about the importance of atmosphere and recommended to readers that we all constantly work to build the spirit within our schools.

Women are key players at all levels. I believe the following attributes to fit their character as ‘the invaluable group’.

1. Women are all seeing, all knowing and able to join in fifteen conversations at once.

2. Women are aware: They have 360 degree vision.

3. Women have clear goal orientation and crystal-like focus.

4. Women cut to the chase and don’t dither around the edges of issues.

5. Women are careful synthesisers and succinct summarisers of situations.

6. Women are adept at timetabling and planning; they are meticulous plan followers.

7. Women have awareness.

8. Women show empathy to those who are under the pump.

9. Women excel in engaging others in planning and organisation.

10. Women have excellent leadership and participative perspective. They are both on the organisational balcony with all-encompassing vision and on the dance floor with and among those engaged with endeavour.

11. Women make an extraordinary contribution in going forward.

12. Women contribute proactively to staff endeavour and leadership balance within schools and systems.

THE IMPORTANCE OF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP ROLES

WOMEN

There are increasing moves toward establishing quotas. These have to do with roles at occupations in business, industry, commerce, politics, and in all aspects of life. It has to do with the fact that seemingly women under represented in key areas of leadership and decision-making.

Well some organisations have “seen the light“ and established quotas that have to be filled by ladies, This is by no means universal. In order to introduce fairness and parity more and more people are saying quotas need to be put in place in order that women fill positions in key roles.

I recall that many years ago, a pretty prominent politician who had travelled to America and then came to visit us at Angurugu on Groote Eylandt hoped that Australia would never get to the point of filling positions by quota. He felt the role should always be filled on the basis of merit and the gender should not come into the picture.

In the 30 odd years since , we have moved more and more toward a quota driven system of filling positions in all walks of life. The emphasis on political preselection offering a percentage of positions to women is just the latest In the long saga that is ever gaining momentum.

A number of years ago I was asked to talk to a group of Country and Liberal Supporters on women in leadership positions. I came up with the following and have kept that in mind ever since.

Interestingly, when I’ve published about the subject online, I’ve usually be been canned and generally by women for being “patronising” and not meaning what I’ve written. The suggestion has been that I have absolutely no proof of what I’ve written and I’m therefore just pandering to a fashion. I’ve been told what I’ve written is insincere and not meant.

It’s not my place to be the judge and jury on how people may think or feel about what I’ve written or said. However, over many years, I worked with both men and women in leadership positions in my schools. A good deal of my perception is based on the evidence of my experience with people in these positions

I fed in ideas. Goatchat came up with this.

THE PEDAL POWERED BOFF

In a world of innovation and skill,

A senior engineer of indisputed value.

Returning to work after holidays,

His presence, a treasure, we long to see.

A swimmer of distinction, he glides through the waves,

With grace and strength, he conquers the tides.

In the gymnasium, he finds his solace,

An enthusiastic user, his fitness never subsides.

A runner of consistency, a perseverance rare,

Over middle distant lengths, he leaves others in awe.

In their early 50’s, they aspire to his fitness,

His dedication and determination they deeply adore.

His cycling prowess, a force to behold,

Envy and admiration surround his every ride.

Among his peers, he rises as a leader,

His skills and talent, they cannot hide.

As a leading engineer, he’s a careful listener,

Respected by superiors, peers, and subordinates.

Wisdom and practicality define his design,

Like Solomon, his engineering brilliance resonates.

In life’s foundation, he’s built a solid ground,

Both occupationally and as a family man.

His family comes first, foremost, and best,

A blessing to his parents, part of their grand plan.

They count themselves fortunate, blessed indeed,

To have him as one of their three children.

The Pedal Powered Boff, a man of distinction,

A remarkable soul, his virtues never hidden.

Cats and small dogs are to be given passenger status and be allowed to accompany their owners in the cabins of domestic Virgin flights in Australia.

QUESTIONS:

Is there a danger that cats and dogs will fight in the aisles?

Will the animals be given dog biscuits and cat nibbles?

What will be the fare structure under which animal passengers are charged?

Might the dogs and cats urinate and defecate in the aisles or will flight attendants have to take them to litter trays and excrement points?

Will the animal passengers be allowed to bark and meow while on flights?

Will dogs and cats be weighed before flying and disallowed embarkation status if their dimensions and weight exceed the allowed maximums?

Has Virgin Airlines management been encouraged toward this new policy because Johnny Depp and Amber Heard brought Pistol and Boo, their poodles at the time, into Australia from America?

Will cats and dogs be entitled to earn frequent flyer points?

Will owners of pets other than cats and dogs have a case to take to the anti-discrimination council because of preferential treatment and the denial of equal transport opportunities for their pets?

Will there be a first-class, business class and economy class fare structure for cabin accompanying pets?

Many children are not brought up at home any longer. They are brought up by child care, long day care, after school care, vacation holiday care and early childhood workers and educators. Institutions bring them up. They go home to sleep and to spend some time on the weekends at home.

That children grow up by beghavioural and social rules set by institutions and not by parental rules.

“We are a successful multicultural nation” Anthony Albanese, November 30 2024.

When in opposition, politicians promise to walk the walk with the rest of us to help meaningfully overcome the escalation problems confronting our community. But when elected to government, all that goes sideways and reduces them to politicians in power talking the talk without the actions promised.

Reflecting

Looking back down the years

Memory banks reworking

Pathways previously trodden.

From my Geraldton birthplace

To and through the following years.

From student to teacher,

From child to youth to family man, to grandfather,

To an old man reflecting,

Remembering what has gone before,

So many millions of memories,

So much nostalgia,

Embedded in the past.

The warp and weft,

Of the fabric of history.

What has been

Both sweet and sour,

Is within me,

For all my days

That remain.

A reflection from a long term reader and contributor to the local papers

I have read and contributed to the NT News and Sunday Territorian newspapers for many decades. I have read these papers since arriving in the NT in 1975. I have contributed letters, comments, feature articles, and opinion pieces since 1990. For five years, I wrote an opinion piece under the heading “Gray Matters“ for the Darwin Palmerston Sun, firstly as a standalone paper and then when it was incorporated into the NT News each Tuesday.

In total, this column was written weekly for five years.

From time to time, I have written to the editor with suggestions about features and what might be included.

Since Matthew Williams was Editor, I have never had a response from any of his replacements as successes in office. I have written to these editors on five occasions and have been ignored.

We pay $3.00 for each weekday paper copy, with a price increase on the weekend. The price we pay for the paper in Darwin is the same as the metropolitan prices for Murdoch papers in the other capital cities. But there are substantial differences.

The local paper is always far shorter than its interstate counterparts.

Unlike the other papers in the Murdoch stable, we do not have a cartoonist. We have not had one since Colin Wicking’s last cartoon on March 31, 2022.

The Letters to the Editor section is much more abbreviated than it used to be and certainly far shorter in terms of column centimetres than Murdoch interstate papers.

In percentage terms, a more significant proportion of the paper is devoted to advertisements, which is the case in interstate publications.

A great deal of the content is lifted from other sources and placed in the Northern Territory Papers, with there being far less of a percentage, it seems, of local stories than in the other Murdoch publications.

The content of our papers was far more varied and richer in past years than is the case these days. A casual perusal of past copies proves this to be the case.

The Northern Territory News and Sunday Territorian have a journalistic staff gaining experience for later transfer to other papers within the stable. It’s not a bad idea because people have to train. However, it becomes pretty evident to long-term territories that those writing stories for our paper do not have the depth and breadth of background on the Territory that many of us have experienced. This means that stories are often written in a way that indicates that the subject is “new” when it is a revisit to the past that is already happening.

I am glad we have a local paper, but rather sad that the elements outlined make it one that does not stand out as other papers within the Murdoch fleet.

In the Northern Territory of Australia, we don’t presently have a law of entitlement to Voluntary Assisted Dying.

We had a law in 1997 that was passed by the Northern Territory Assembly giving people the right to die. That was the first law of its kind to be passed anywhere in Australia.

Because the Northern Territory is a territory, the right-to-die law was rescinded by the Federal Parliament. Very few people had accessed its provisions.

How the worm turns! Now in Australia, every state and the Australian Capital Territory have voluntary assisted dying laws – the exception being the Northern Territory. We now have a right to develop a law, but our Labour Government is being very tardy on the subject.

We may well get there at some time but at the moment a whole process of inquiry going on about the matter.

When it happens, if it happens, the Northern Territory which was first, will be last with such a law in place.

We NEED a law allowing the right to die. We need it soon. That is my beef.

From a 78 year old

For years before and post-retirement, I have been fascinated by how educational development seems to be predicated by fashions and trends.

It often seems that systems and their schools hop like frogs from the ideas inherent in one lilypad of thought to the next.

Systems and their schools seem to quickly tire of particular practices – often before they have had the chance to consolidate and confirm their benefits to student learning.

They prefer, instead, to play the game of “out with the -not so- old and in with the new”.

Education is about ‘fashions’ or ‘hobbyhorses’, and students become the guinea pigs who lose out.

I have been a member of LinkedIn for quite a few years. Having a LinkedIn site is something I’ve appreciated because it enables me to communicate and to learn from others in a professional forum.

Facebook, X, Instagram, Tik Tok and other social accounts don’t do anything for me and I’m not interested in joining.

I regard LinkedIn as being a forum with a professional orientation and for the most part I think that holds up.

I would welcome the opportunity to become a premium member; however being a retired person does not lend itself to premium costs so my site remains as it is.

From time to time, I have enquired about whether or not a premium subscription could be available at reduced cost for retirees and others who do not have income earning capacity. I have never received any response to this query, so can only assume that the administrators of LinkedIn are not interested.

Linking my blog (henry Gray blog.wordpress.com) to my LinkedIn account has been a strategy I have found useful.

I am glad to have the opportunity to be a member of LinkedIn and have learnt many lessons from my membership and participation.

Although retired, as a life member of the Northern Territory Principals Association, I have chosen to write this in the present tense.

School leaders need to be affirmative, forthright, bold and adventuresome.

We ought not to be so worried about preserving our future that we are frightened to have counter opinions.

We do not have to agree with everything offered by superordinates. We should contribute to educational debate in a living ‘two way’ transactional manner.

We ought not be people who respond with ‘how high’ when told to jump.

Often, the command to leap comes from those who would not know and have not been anywhere near schools for eons of time.

We need to participate in healthy and robust educational debate, not be weakly acquiescent to the opinions or demands of others.

One of the sad transitions that has occurred over the past forty years has been the gradual turn of student performance issues back onto teachers.

It used to be that genuine (real) non-effort on the part of students became a concern shared by teachers with parents. Together then would exhort students toward greater engagement.

These days, the minimal outcomes achieved by students with such dispositions is blamed back onto teachers in an almost sole fashion.

Teachers are hammered if children don’t achieve, notwithstanding the commitment of the child and the support of home.

Teachers are handed few bouquets but are regularly clouted about their heads by figurative brickbats. Small wonder the joy of teaching is so short-lived and so full of dissolution for many classroom educators.

OUR ROADS ARE BREAKING DOWN

Sadly, it’s true to say that Darwin‘s roads are breaking down and breaking down badly.

Every time we have a decent fall of rain during the wet season, the road becomes littered with potholes. They just break out everywhere.

A lot of that has to do with the fact that the sub-servicing of our roads puts very little depth into the underside of the road surface.

Not only have our roads deteriorated to the point where potholes are now men’s placed upon the top of potholes that were previously fixed, but many of our road surfaces are becoming crazed or jigsaw-like with the surface breaking down.

Driving on many of our roads is now like driving on a macadamise set of corrugations. The undersurface of the road is so broken down that fixing is becoming almost impossible.

A great deal of responsibility for the breakdown of our roads, even our newer express words is because insufficient attention has been given to consolidating the undersurface before the roads are laid.

Maintenance is constant and the need for maintenance is growing and growing all the time. This is very economic but the minimal way things are done is not only in the Northern Territory but around Australia.

Compare this with the way motorways and major roads are laid in many parts of America, where there is a substantial base of concrete upon which the road surface is laid. That is even more the case in Europe where huge amounts of money are spent on laying down cubic metres of concrete upon which the roads are laid.

The beauty of this methodology is the maintenance becomes negligible by comparison to Australia

So many things in Australia are built on the cheap it’s not only roads but other infrastructure and major buildings as well. They begin to break down into maintenance needs almost as soon as they constructed

Another example of AUSTRALIA getting it wrong.

Applicable to education and to all fields of leadership and management endeavour.

As a principal over close to 40 years of time, it seemed to me two things (among others) were important.

1. It was of critical importance to separate the personal from the professional in terms of relationships.

I felt it impossible to be a good boss or empathic leader if those one is leading are one’s personal ‘buddy’ friends and mates. Separation can enhance respect and make leadership easier.

2. I felt it important to be a person who lead by doing and not by saying.

Directing others without being prepared to go there oneself does little to enhance leadership. It is far more important to be respected than liked.

People need to speak up and speak out with confidence.

I worry greatly that too many with deep experience and salient viewpoints remain silent lest they should suffer some sort of reprisal for contributing to debate on issues.

Through all my working life I spoke up on matters, making sure to address issues and not smear personality.

I survived and I think contributed to debate and the progress of at least some policies on matters educational.

One thing I have discovered is that the newest to a situation, are those who consider themselves to be the greatest and most knowing of experts.

One of the deficiencies in behaviour management is the fact that often school leaders abrogate what should be their responsibility and pass it back to classroom teachers to handle.

I have seen that happen too frequently and from anecdotal evidence, believe it to be an all too common practice.

Juxtapositionally and sadly, teachers who gain reputations as excellent behavioural managers are often loaded with challenging students because they can cope.

Some reward.

Alcohol

Cigarettes and vaping

Hard drugs

Gambling

Sunday used to be a quiet and tranquil day to go shopping. There were not too many crowds, you could hear yourself think, you might bump into a couple of people and have a conversation and possibly a coffee, then you were on your way home or going out for a drive or something recreationally similar.

But, people do not go to church any more. You can hardly move – that is once you get a car parking place – in the shopping centres for the crowds of people. Moving around the specialty stores and the supermarkets with the trolley puts you into a situation of crowding that requires you to be much more careful than when you’re driving a motor car on a busy highway.

It’s slow, torturous, and snail-like. When eventually you get to a checkout, you tack onto the end of a long, long queue. The length of the queue is exacerbated more than a little by the fact that many registers are not open because of staff shortages.

A shopping trip to even a nearby shopping centre sends you back in time which has to be calculated by hours. Gone are the days of a quick up-and-down from home to the shop and back again.

And the crowds on Sundays are

unbelievable. It’s true! People do not go to church any more.

Teaching comes under more external scrutiny than any other profession. This is quite aside from professional development and performance management requirements set by professional organisations and education departments. are also standards and expectations set by AITSL that teachers are urged to attain. This by u

goal setting is supported by both education departments and professional organisations.

There is a great deal happening happening otherwise that adds to observation and evaluation of teachers. Included is the development of personal plans that consider the effectiveness of each staff member. Individual plans for continual growth and development derive from these meetings. Teachers and staff members are encouraged to self evaluate, measuring themselves against these plans. Everything about these processes takes account of AITSL recommendations for personal and organisational growth and development.

In an effort to build confidence in teachers and schools, parents and members of the public are encouraged to quite minutely scrutinise what is on offer within our classrooms. I believe teachers are willing to share with parents, appreciating the opportunity to converse with them about classroom programs and children’s progress. However, this needs to be done at a time appropriate to both parents and teachers. Conversations on issues with teachers at the start of the school day, while classes are in progress and immediately the school days concludes, are not possible. Teachers are preoccupied with their students and learning at these times. Conversations work best when parents make appointments through school front offices to meet with teachers. There are also programmed parent – teacher interview sessions at least twice each year.

In the interest of fairness, parents and caregivers should initially raise matters with teachers before going higher. Similarly, if the issue is one involving school leadership, the first call should be to the principal or a member of the school leadership team. If issues raised are not able to be resolved at those levels, taking the matter up at a higher level is then appropriate.

School leaders, teachers and support staff act with the best interests of students in mind. To this end, most schools are doing a commendable job.

Rather than being straightforward, modern education has become a kaleidoscope of confusion. Many graduate teachers are quickly disappointed by the realities of a teaching profession that fails to meet their preconceptions.

Rather than finding that teaching is about “teaching”, they discover there is a huge emphasis placed on testing, measurement, assessment and evaluation, often in areas outside their teaching fields. It seems the children are

forever being monitored and confronted by batteries of tests.

It quickly becomes obvious to teachers that education is being driven by data. Teaching and teaching methods are dictated by data requirements.

Academic competence is important. However holistic education (the social, emotional and moral/spiritual elements) seem to be given scant attention. Graduate teachers have a strong desire to work as developers of children. Many are quickly disillusioned because education seems to be about a fairly narrow band of academic outcomes.

For many graduate teachers, the gloss of teaching soon wears off. They find themselves unable to cope with the ‘teaching for test’ emphasis that now underpins education. The brief years many spend in classrooms before resigning, are disillusioning. In turn, they may share their perceptions of the teaching profession with others, negatively influencing their thoughts and opinions.

The discounting of their observations is a hard reality for classroom practitioners to accept. Unless verified by formal testing, teacher evaluations are considered to be invalid.

Preoccupation with the formalities of testing and examination are not always priorities generated by schools. Rather, requirements are set by departmental administrators and schools have to comply. In turn, these priorities are not necessarily what administrators want, but are compelled by the demands of politicans.

Sadly, Australian education is deeply rooted in the art of comparing results at primary, secondary and tertiary level with those achieved by students in overseas systems. Often those students are from countries totally unlike Australia, but that is not taken into account. The fact that educational objectives are dictated by comparison to overseas systems is a weakness of Australian education.

Education should be about the needs of children. It should not be influenced by the desire of political leaders and key administrators to brag about how good Australian education is, compared to other systems. Many graduate teachers find themselves caught up as players in this approach. They quickly wise up, and quit the profession. Our students are the losers and perceptions of education in schools become sadly discoloured.

Retirement is a simple movement from one phase of life to the next.

It can be a chance to give back through coaching and mentoring to occupations in which you have been supported by others.

It offers one a chance to see things from a wider and more dispassionate focus than is possible during full time workplace engagement.

I hope in retirement to bring enrichment to others, even as I was suported by others in my formative professional years.

Governments are bankrupt and getting broker.

The best way to save and reposition money to meet priorities would be to eliminate the huge amount of unnecessary travel undertaken by politicians and bureaucrats.

With Internet alternatives, billions would be saved by meeting online.

Maximising travel opportunities to attend every tinpot conference and meeting going around is stupidness to the extreme.

There is so much waste. Governments everwhere ans at all levels are profligate.

Stock markets are up and down like yo-yo’s.

Playing the stock market is a bit like commitment to a game of snakes and ladders,

or a determination to stand on quicksand.