SENIOR SCHOOL
Guildford shines at Harvard University in Boston:
Catalyst in the international spotlight
January 2008 seems like a lifetime ago.
Little did I know back then that the work that
both Guildford Grammar School and I were
about to embark upon would result in the
incredible and innovative Catalyst curriculum
we have today. In recording the process
undertaken, the product we designed, along
with the thoughts and theory behind the
Junior Secondary model of learning, in March
this year I found myself speaking at Harvard
University in Boston in the United States of
America, sharing Catalyst with the world.
Catalyst has been my professional,
intellectual, weekend and school holiday
life for the past six years. My invitation to
the 21st Century Academic Forum followed
the submission of my Doctoral thesis to the
University of Western Australia late last year.
Like my thesis, my presentation outlined both
the theory and the results of our Catalyst
curriculum.
So, what to report? The conference days
were full and busy. It was an honour to chair
the first session of the conference. As well
as those, like myself, who were speaking, the
forum was attended by representatives of
government, policy makers, academics and
private industry all keen to get a glimpse of
the “next big thing” in education. I spoke
on three key areas of Catalyst, centred
on the development of a skill set built
upon over three years. I talked about the
Mr Clayton Massey
focus on challenge in two different ways
– providing rigorous tasks that demanded
boys attempt new skills and new ways of
thinking. I showed how boys responded to
this challenge, growing in skill, confidence
and developing resilience. In conclusion, I
illustrated the complex way in which skill and
challenge, school community and curriculum
can come together to educate boys for the
demands of the 21st century.
Guildford Grammar School stood alone
at Harvard University - for all the right
reasons. Almost without exception, every
other presentation illustrated the limitations
or disappointments of some technological
initiative. Whilst the online and virtual world
has promised a world without borders, it
seems it has also created learning spaces
without connection. During breaks and
lunch, I spoke with educators and researchers
from around the world. The overwhelming
interest was in our ‘toolkit’ approach, the
value of social skill development, and our
students’ strong connection with their
learning. The idea that we had set out to
equip our boys with a wide range of diverse
skills and abilities, that they could draw on
to help them succeed, seemed marvellous
to them. That we teach boys to know
themselves as learners, to develop key 21s