SOTE Article: Excellence Through Care

Index of Articles

BY RICHARD WATERS

The School of Total Education aims at the achievement of excellence in all areas of a child’s development; not through pushing and pressure, but through care.

In the final analysis, this comes down to how the children are motivated. In the traditional education system one could say that motivation is achieved by various external means. On the one hand there are the carrots: the ribbons, the prizes, the awards, the cups and the honour boards. On the other hand, there are the sticks: the fear of failure, the punishments, the detentions and the overall emphasis on results rather than effort.

What we have tried to do at SOTE is to generate intrinsic forms of motivation. This starts with making learning enjoyable. Small children always have wonder as they discover new understandings about their world, and teachers try to generate this in classroom situations. An important part of this is generating interest — and there is interest in everything if you can connect it to the child’s world.

A desire for excellence itself is generated through the role models provided by senior students and visible outcomes such as music and drama performances, science and art exhibitions, and in the general attitude to learning. Finally, there is the idea of satisfaction in learning — that we learn for ourselves primarily, not because others expect us to learn.

This approach has generated excellence in student outcomes in a wide variety of fields. In the academic area, we see Year 12 students consistently achieving high “OP’s” and gaining entry to preferred tertiary courses. We see excellence in artistic achievements which are recognised beyond the School. Examples include consistent achievement at the Queensland New Filmmakers Awards, where the School last year reveived an award for encouraging creativity, initiative and effort. There is excellence in understanding of technology and students find themselves ahead of their tertiary colleagues in areas of computer-aided design, etc.

We also see this excellence in the confidence and self-esteem of our young people and in their levels of responsibility and job readiness where they are able to show initiative and achieve success in their various endeavours. Character development is the most crucial area of all to the achievement of excellence.

Finally, in the area of Health and Physical Education, we find our young people are fit and healthy, aware of the importance of good diet and not involved in the destructive habits of substance abuse. A number of senior students are also achieving sporting excellence representing their district and the Darling Downs region at statewide championships in cricket, basketball and equestrian events.

The Formative Years

All this is a consequence of care in the input to the children in their formative years. The small student-teacher ratio allows the teacher to get to know and nurture the talents of every child. The non-competitive environment fosters positive values and lets all the children be winners. The cooperative nature of many activities emphasises that you don’t have to achieve at the expense of others and that often more can be achieved when people work together.

The teachers’ dedication and commitment to the children in their care provides for a unique learning atmosphere. Teachers are interested in helping children understand how to learn and to be self-motivated and independent.

Also, by supporting parents in their parenting, the School fosters the basis of cooperation between home and school and helps parents reflect on their role in the children’s development. Finally, a balance between work and play means that children don’t get burnt out before they have had a chance to achieve their potential.

Care is part of the School culture and is reinforced every day in the three-way relationship between teachers, parents and students. The model that has been established by Vijay has been vindicated time and again through the comments from graduates which let us know that they have been prepared by the School to more than hold their own as they progress in their life beyond School.



		Richard Waters has been principal of the School of Total Education since 1978. He has taught at both primary and secondary levels and has a particular interest in parent education and the training of teachers. He is also a teacher of senior Study of Society and History.

This article is based on an address given at the School’s open day and was originally published in the October 1998 edition of the SOTE Newsletter. (Published on web site: September 2001)