Education is often seen as an individual journey, a personal quest to grow, achieve and make a difference in this world.
So often we are asked to demonstrate our knowledge by repeating, reviewing and rewriting the ideas of others. To state what we have read, memorised and listened to at exactly the right moment in time. From standardised tests to Timely Feedback tasks and semester reports, the education system often focusses on individual achievement against predetermined standards and a measurement of our growth compared to our peers. All these reference points do fulfill a function in our individual educational journeys and provide us with ways to measure growth and track development. However, true education that fills our hearts and shapes our minds is more than just a solo endeavour of marks, ticks and comments. It also should champion the transformative power of collaboration with others – for education is more than just a solo endeavour.
At Carey Junior School we value individual growth and achievement, and at the same time we believe in the power of learning with and from each other. When we share our ideas, observations, perspectives and imaginations, we enter a new educational space – one that is not yet defined, not found in published books, nor within the minds of even our educators. When we collaborate with our peers, when we join our ideas with those of others something new often surfaces. When we lean into the encouragement of others, when we face a fear – when we are unsure of how to proceed, we can uncover a hidden strength unearthed by the support of the voices around us. When we truly believe that the next advancement, the next social change may not already be in the textbooks we read, in the exams we study for then we can design a new and unique future, formed not solely alone but within the community of others.
For education should be more than a solo journey – if we create space for collaboration within education and the world beyond anything I truly believe is possible.
Mel Brown
Deputy Head of Junior School Kew – Student Learning
