Enthusiaism and Agency

‘I am more interested in arousing enthusiasm in kids than in teaching the facts. The facts may change, but that enthusiasm for exploring the world will remain with them the rest of their lives.’ Seymour Simon

It was so lovely to see the genuine enthusiasm and joy on the faces of children and staff as we embarked on the start of Term 4 last week. At the start of Term 4 I also celebrated two fabulous years as Principal of City Beach Primary School. I love leading lead a vibrant and supportive team and school community, thoroughly enjoy my work, and want to thank you all for your continued support.

Unlocking the enthusiasm for learning and cultivating kids’ inner drive to succeed by making sure their needs are met, is the key to successful teaching and our work each day at City Beach Primary School.

We know students learn best when they actually want to learn. Coupled with a word we hear often in educational circles now days – agency – it sums up our focus. We encourage our students to be enthusiastic in their approach to learning and life, and support them to develop their agency and voice to ensure they experience success at school and later in life.

So what is agency? Agency is the capacity and propensity to take purposeful initiative – the opposite of helplessness. Young people with high levels of agency do not respond passively to their circumstances; they tend to seek meaning and act with purpose to achieve the conditions they desire in their own and others’ lives.

Some of the ways we promote agency at school is by providing learning environments:

  • where students have some ability to influence or co-create the path, pace and place;
  • where students are able to show what they know and move on when they demonstrate they have mastered concepts;
  • that use project and interest based learning where students drive the questions, the process and or the product; and
  • where we encourage students work for the benefit and service of both themselves and others.

As a staff we are really enjoying the process of shaping our future directions as we use our School Development Day on Monday 9 November to fine tune the framework for our new Business Plan 2021-2023. We look forward to sharing our ideas and work with the Board and P&C over the coming weeks – enjoy the changing warmer weather and glorious sunshine.