With regards to the public/private discourse, I think that far too much emphasis is placed on 'results'. Far too many schools, from what I've seen, revolve their school's spirit and nature around VCE results, induce parents towards their schools because of their seemingly exceptional VCE results, and have forgotten the true essence of what Australian education should be. As a result of this, private schools (and their students) are inadvertently left feeling far more 'superior' over public schools (and their students).
I spent a fair bit of last year tutoring young kids in the new learning environments at my school. My school definitely isn't VCE-results-oriented, and I don't ever think it was or is going to be. It's located in a low-socio-economic area and a majority of the students have suffered a plethora of personal issues, migrated from war-torn countries, have had both parents pass away due to war and the list goes on. However, the school prides itself on the diversity of its student body - and this is the point at which VCE results, MySchool rankings and national school ranking lists all become highly irrelevant.
I say this without exaggeration or amplification - the dedication, diligence and conscientiousness of these young students, who have come from heavily disadvantaged backgrounds, is truly inspiring. To me, these students have definitely proven that education should not be evolved around competition or rankings, but about one's ability to reach their full potential, breathe an air of opportunity and work hard, regardless of their hardships. To see these kids happy, working together in state-of-the-art learning facilities, reaping all the benefits that the school has entrusted on them, definitely beats private school students' quests to beat that Asian kid in the next maths test, or other students' endless attempts to cheat the system and rally for a high ATAR, against the good will of their fellow peers and teachers.
And it comes down to this: this year, as school captain, I will be making it very, very clear to the school community, that it doesn't matter if you go to a public school or a private school, for hard work and success is universal. I have seen so many junior students being bogged down by the negative public perception of our school, which then has a severe impact on their motivation and self-esteem - believing that they cannot do well in a school in such a locality. But it definitely is possible, and I'll be making this very clear to the students. Our school has undergone a serious redevelopment, and I think this will most definitely improve student outcomes. I'll be drawing upon each and every individual to dream big because they will achieve big... and I think this is the very quintessence of what education should be all about.
I didn't plan this 'essay' so it's sorta all over the place.
Home
Help
Search
Login
