Engaging in discussion on an Einstein Project with my 10 year old Grandson has been really enriching for me. Go education! I probably wouldn’t have known whom Einstein was at his age and certainly would never have known his famous equation E=MC2.But my Grandson was right into it and with a passion. Two features about the very interesting Einstein are his creativity and his infectious ability to share his ideas with others. As I write this the lights start flashing, for these are two of the really important characteristics of a good, effective Principal. 

Teaching is more often than not stimulating, and it is surprising how much you continue to learn as a teacher. In fact it is said the best way to learn something is to teach it. Furthermore, you only need to look at the faces of those you are teaching to see how effective you are.

It had rained in Alice for several days and the rivers and creeks were up - always an unusual but exciting event. I had just finished a major task (for me), the annual report for the Country Education Foundation of Central Australia. I had just dropped it off at the Government Office and felt I needed a little “air” before the next project. So, I headed out of town up the North Stuart Highway until the turnoff towards Wiggley’s Waterhole and Gorge appeared. I turned right and plunged into the bush, into the potholes and through the washouts. The short journey had been cathartic, and I turned my mind to my weekly Principal’s Thoughts to engineer a relevant topic. I found one in my busy head and started to piece things together. It was serious stuff but then I was struck by the beauty of the rain-soaked bush which seemingly started to green before my eyes and then, before I knew it, I was drawing up beside a swiftly flowing Todd as it passed though Wiggly’s gorge, forging its way south through the bush towards Alice Springs. What an exciting bush scene which affirmed, as it always does, how much I Value the bush and though I’ve seen this over 38 years heaps of times, it is still super special for me. 

It didn’t take long for me to discard my original plan for this week’s Principal’s Thoughts and to move onto a new tac which you are reading now. Yes, a good teacher knows when they are not “cutting the mustard” and then changes what they are doing so the faces of their students may indeed light up with enthusiasm and interest. And a Principal must do the same when addressing both students and staff. You know, when you have lost them, you have lost them! Staff will switch off with a boring talk and you are kidding yourself if you think they are listening.

So ‘What is the Value of Values’ comes shining onto the agenda. On my journey through this invigorated bush, I came across a pile of rubbish that had been dumped there. Like any of you, this infuriated me. It was an “I don’t care” message and an “I’ll do whatever I want, and no-one can stop me” signal. Whoever dropped this obviously didn’t Value the landscape I was looking at. What a pity! 

Values are extremely important to us as Principals and it is always good for both staff and students to know what you Value, given example is such a powerful teacher. Blandness achieves nothing. The big challenge is for these Values to become a known and an accepted part of the school’s culture. You and the School must stand for strong ideals, and these should be displayed regularly in all manner of creative ways. 

I started teaching with an idealist who believed in anarchy, the philosophy where people have the right to do as they like. I’m not sure how long he held this view, but years later I met him again and clearly, he had changed philosophies, particularly as life had lead him up the path of becoming an acting Principal. Though I was friends with him I was very happy that the road of life had caused him to Value some valuable Values. 

I love the bush around Alice and it is indeed very special to me and I love taking visitors for journeys along many of the interesting winding tracks. I love taking my grandchildren out into it, identifying the vegetation, understanding the landscape, looking out for wildlife and searching the trees for birds’ nests. I want my grandchildren to really know how much I Value the bush and for them to Value it as well.

I am so impressed with the colossal work of the Alice Springs Mountain Biking Club who have spent thousands of hours building trails through the bush so others can gain Value themselves from what the club really does Value. Yep, Value is indeed extremely Valuable and is worth a pot of gold. 

I’ve mentioned before that I loved putting up story boards which underpinned the school’s Values. Occasionally someone might say they don’t agree with a board. However they must realise this is an example of some of the Values the school stands for. On the school Hall I had a large sign made which says “Look towards the Rising Sun”. I wanted students to really appreciate how the rising sun was positive, producing a new day with new opportunities and new hopes. There are few places better than Alice to be able to truly Value the Rising Sun. 

If as a School you have obvious, strong Values then as Principal you can continually refer to them. There are plenty of examples in this world displayed continually on TV, of cruelty and in fact we are over exposed to it. If it is clear that the School Values not being cruel then when dealing with a student who is being cruel, perhaps guilty of bullying, this can be clearly shown to the student- “We don’t believe in treating people like this.” Usually with students it is best to be simple, explicit and definite.

So what is the Value of Values. It is enormously Valuable. Values are indeed the corner stone of your school’s culture. Things work best with students if these are obvious and can be repeated and it is easy to do this with stated Values. It is much harder if you have to make it up as you go along. Time moves on, aspects of the world change, new issues come to light all the time, but core Values maintain their credibility and Value. Sadly there are so many examples in the world where Values have been lost or discarded. It is sometimes easier to accept this as the norm which is a pity. 

Linked indelibly to Values is the action of Caring, defined as an action because it is important for people to show it and not just think it. It is a pity when people say “I couldn’t care” or “who cares” about something of Value. Manners are a way of showing consideration to others. Not caring about these is ignoring this consideration. 

People can insulate themselves from the feeling of caring by convincing themselves that they don’t care. The understanding of caring is so important that at St Philips we included it in the new motto developed in 1988 - “To Strive , To Seek, To Care. We wanted the new school to have a focus on “Caring”. By the way, the value of a motto is that all in the school, staff and students, will know it and it can be referred to regularly, emphasising something of the School’s Values. The motto I had at school was in Latin - it would have been better in English.

Finally, the school’s Values can be profiled by a school song - if you haven’t got one it is rewarding to create one and teach it to the School. 

HELPFUL QUOTES ON VALUES FOR THE WEEK:

“Strive not to be a success but rather to be of value.”

- Albert Einstein - Famous Scientist.

“Time is more value than money. You can get more money, but you can’t get more time.”

- Jim Rohn - American Author and Entrepreneur.

“The value of life is not its duration, but its donation. You are not important because of how long you live, you are important because of how effective you live.”

- Myles Monroe OBE - Evangelist from the Bahama.

“Your words become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your Values, your Values become your destiny.”

- Mahatma Gandhi - Indian iconic leader.

“Do your little bit of good where you are; those little bits of good put together, overwhelm the world.”

- Archbishop Desmond Tuti - South African Anti-Apartheid Leader.

Josiah Wedgwood famous British Potter and Entrepreneur. Wedgwood made his commitment to getting rid of slavery by using his craft to make an anti-slavery medallion. On the medallion is the image of a kneeling slave in chains speaking the words “Am I Not a Man and a Brother”. These medallions became an international symbol of the abolitionist movement. Wedgwood used his pottery to speak his values. 

Written by Chris Tudor,

Principal Liaison & AISNT Historian