High hopes for Term 2
Mrs Janet Stewart | stewartj@mbc.qld.edu.au
Welcome back to Term 2. We hurtled with unexpected speed to the end of the first term, as the lockdown surprised us all, and was powerful reminder that the pandemic looms ever close. Yet, with the successful management of the March COVID-19 cases and the vaccine roll out moving forward, it seems that a shift in perspective is emerging as we begin a new term at the College; there is a tangible energy of hope in both this community and across Australia.
Hope is a critical human emotion and psychologists Charles Snyder and Shane Lopez (2005) have contributed considerably to our thinking about hope, how we cultivate it and how this relates to motivation and goal attainment. Their work on hope particularly emphasises the role of ‘agency thinking’ - that sense of ‘can do’, and how this imbues a belief in our ability to see pathways to achieving a future goal.
This idea of agency is fundamentally important in 21st century learning, and therefore we have prioritised this in our new teaching and learning approach. We want each student, whether in our early learning centre, in primary or in secondary to develop their agency in guiding their own educational pathways. Agency comprises several key components: confidence in our abilities and so we associate optimistic outcomes with our actions; self-awareness of our values and priorities, and an ability to articulate these; and, self-regulation to make positive choices to realise goals.
Thus, a student with a strong sense of their own agency will regularly communicate their level of interest and express preferences, asking for a voice in how problems are to be solved. They will work intentionally and set goals which involve reaching out to teachers for resources or other learning opportunities, seeking clarification or assistance. They will contribute to lessons by offering suggestions or contributions, asking deep questions, and sharing their thoughts and opinions. In short, students who develop a sense of agency are advocates for their own learning and formulate their own opinions, share their voice, and take action.
We hope in Term 2 our students, staff and parents will have a voice in some significant surveys being conducted. In Week 2, our Parent Survey will be shared with all families in our community, and we look forward to collecting and understanding our parent opinions, perspectives, attitudes, and perceptions towards the College. At MBC, we welcome these parental insights as they enrich our partnership and inform the strategic direction of the College.
Similarly, we will be surveying our students and staff with respect to wellbeing. As part of our ongoing professional partnership with the University of Adelaide and Professors Matthew White and Faye McCallum we will be inviting students and staff alike to have a voice in the evaluation of our Hearts and Minds Wellbeing Framework. For our students and staff, it is important that they feel valued, heard, and respected and know that their agency will shape their wellbeing.
During the Easter break I was inspired by the agency of Malia Knox, a nine year old who started a campaign to get more statues, pictures and plaques of women in public places across Queensland. Her campaign is called FemaleFaces4PublicPlaces and her research uncovered that only three per cent of statues in Australia honour real women; in Brisbane, there are only three statues of successful women. Thus, her goal is for laws to be passed, similar to one that was put in place in San Francisco in 2018, that require equal representation of men and women in public places.
Malia was mesmerised by the book, Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls (a particular favourite of mine!) and by the story of an extraordinary Queensland woman called Aunty Recheal Daley - the first, First Nations female train driver in Australia. Recheal dreamed of being a train driver as a little girl but was told this could not happen because women were not allowed to drive trains. But Recheal Daly never gave up on this idea and later, when she became a train driver, she fought for fair maternity conditions, female uniforms, and female staff toilets.
Malia said in an interview in The Courier Mail, “By reading about these women, learning about them, and most importantly SEEING these women, I feel inspired by them. They give me courage. The courage to keep fighting for what I believe in. The hope we can make the changes needed. Young girls like me need to SEE strong female role models, to learn from their stories and their strengths, to inspire us about who we are and understand our potential.”
Malia’s agency is driven by a desire to ‘see’ more role models and I reflected on how blessed we are at MBC. We have been inspired by generations of courageous and hopeful female role models. Women like Miss Oriel Handley, who epitomised the values and traditions of the Greene sisters, and shared their unwavering belief in a holistic education which nurtures young women with voice, choice and ownership of their future. We are indebted to Miss Handley, to her strength of courage in challenging times and her unfailing hope in a belief that girls ‘can do’ anything. As we honour and remember Miss Handley this term, may we hold fast to the inspiring role model she was, and is, for thousands of Bay girls.
Hope is a powerful force, and this term may we all harness this light within us and use it to set goals, find our voice, and take action.
With Courage and Hope,
Janet
