Schools as text looking at the whole

school
Understand the importance of effective communication with students
and colleagues to develop positive relationships.
Graduate Standards AITSL 6.3 and 7.1
Describe the school in
terms of its
demographics,
appearance and
resources (be general
here and do not name
the school).

The prestigious independent public high school is situated in

a small Western Australian city overlooking the ocean. It has
a population of approximately 1500 students, 90-95% of
whom gain entry through one of the schools specialised
programs for gifted and talented students: contemporary
dance, ballet, drama, visual arts, music theatre, music and
media arts. The school also offers a specialised soccer
program. The programs are based on a differentiated model
and students can study their arts or soccer course alongside
their academic core subjects. As a public school, however, it
is still obliged to admit student from the local area; these
students constitute the remaining 5-10% of the school
population.
While the school has a strong focus on the Arts, but also has
an impeccable academic record, often placing in the top five
of high schools in WA. In addition, it also offers Vocational
Education and Training courses.
Initially, I thought the students were of a middle to higher
socioeconomic background. This was based on my
perception of the prestigious gifted and talented programs,
the schools impeccable academic record and the its
abundant resources and facilities. Aesthetically, it is an
impressive school to behold. However, I discovered that any
student can apply for a specialised program and every
student is given an equal opportunity to flourish. There were
wealthy students as well as students in my mentors class
who could not afford the items on their booklist. In general,
the school is made up of a diversity of students from across
Western Australia, many of whom can board if they are far
away from home.
As I mentioned, in terms of appearances, the school is
visually appealing. The double-story buildings are spread out
across a square kilometre. The site is heritage-listed,
therefore many of the buildings have maintained an authentic

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design and feel; however, there are new additions to the

western side of the school. These new buildings have
modern, almost futuristic designs, and are bright and open.
They mostly contain science labs and math rooms; however,
there are two fully furnished dance studios overlooking the
Indian Ocean and a study space for students to use if they
have a free period. Whilst I was in this area, I noticed solar
panels across many of the old and new rooves, which
suggests that to me that it is also an environmentally
conscious school.
There are two theatres; the first is a large pavilion that seats
nearly 500 people. The second seats over 100 people. The
school hires out these venues to the community. The school
is home to several drama studios, music rooms, a Health
Centre (one room), Student Services building, a gymnasium
and a fitness room equipped with exercise equipment, a
large oval, a canteen that is split up for different year levels
and a media centre (including television and radio studio).
The school also hires out these facilities. I discovered that
there are various study rooms scattered across the school
and computers within and outside of the library. The library
itself is home to reading and viewing rooms, as well as a vast
collection of books and resources for students and staff alike.
The different faculties are organised effectively and logically.
Every faculty has its own office and the classes for the
subject in question are clustered in the same space. My area
was English, so I was situated in the English Office on the
second floor. On either side of the English Office were
approximately fifteen English rooms. Directly beneath the
English Office, on the ground floor, was the large staff room.
While it was such a big space, it was only full on Friday
morning tea when the majority of staff members would gather
for a raffle.
In the morning daily notices, I discovered that the school also
offers many seminars on technological devices. A seminar
they were offering while I was there was on Apple products;
namely, how to use a MacBook and iPad. As every teacher in
the English Office had an iPad and a Mac, and students are
permitted to use tablet devices in the classroom, this seminar
sounded helpful for staff and students to maximise their use
of their devices.
Also worthy of mention is the schools program for identifying
students that need maximum academic assistance. The
program uses a variety of approaches to provide students
with strategies and opportunities to excel at school and in
life. The school was reluctant to use the term special needs,
and I understand that this is because the phrase has
negative and often derogatory connotations. The program
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supports gifted students who are underachieving or

underperforming (even if they are intellectually gifted),
students with dual exceptionalities, students with mental
health issues or physical disabilities and culturally or
linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. The premise is
that, as the classroom cannot always adequately address
individual needs, this program seeks to assist the teacher
and the student by providing the student with strategies to
cope so that they can take control of their learning.

What were the roles and

responsibilities of the
teaching staff you
observed?

I mostly observed the teaching staff in the English Office, but met
many teaching staff over the duration of my professional
experience. I will just describe the four main teaching staff I
observed.

Relief Teacher this lady was the first teacher I observed.

She had a variety of classes to teach that day and had
been given lesson plans by the schools relief coordinator.
It was her role to follow the instructions of the teacher/relief
coordinator and deliver the material to the classrooms. The
relief teacher did not need to do any lesson planning
herself, but she had to be creative in her delivery. For
example, the instructions for one class consisted of two
bullet points on a post-it note: 1. Read students picture
book. 2. Have students compete the corresponding activity
in their exercise books. The relief teacher had to ensure
that these activities lasted the whole lesson, and devise an
additional plan if they did not. Another role of the relief
teacher was taking the roll, notifying Administration of any
absentees and briefly noting what had been covered/who
had misbehaved and so forth so that the returning teacher
knew where to pick up where the relief teacher left off.
Careers Coordinator this lady was often in the English
Office, but she was actually part of the Student Services
team. She mainly advised students and families about
course selections and other options (e.g. tertiary or
perhaps vocational). In the staff room one morning she
explained to me that she is involved with upper high school
(year 10-12) and her role includes planning, developing as
well as coordinating course advisory programs. She was
occasionally a relief teacher when the school needed as
well.
Head of English I met this lady on my first day. I did not
know her full role until a few days into my professional
experience. I discovered that she was the Head of the
English learning area. She taught various classes, but
much of her work concerned overseeing the English
curriculum. In particular, her role entailed ensuring that it
was delivered appropriately to the English students (from
year 7-12). This lady was responsible for the educational
outcomes of her English colleagues and worked with the
schools Curriculum Board. I also observed her drafting
reports, rubrics, I heard her advising English teachers and
discussing and justifying students results to parents. One

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What did you observe

non-teaching staff doing
to support teaching and
learning in the school?

of her main roles was ensuring that the assessment policy

was readily understood by students, teachers and parents.
I observed her nurturing the development of seasoned and
new staff. The new graduate teacher was often asking for
her advice.
Graduate English teacher I met this lady on her second
week of teaching. She had so recently been in my position
and was now an accredited teacher. She had a supportive
English team to mentor her and a copy of the AITSL
standards to guide her. Her main roles included: designing,
planning and implementing lessons that met the
requirements of the curriculum, interpreting student
assessment data, evaluating students work, reflecting on
and modifying her practice, managing student behaviour
and liaising with staff. Additionally, she was required to
manage her time and tasks (grading work, attending to
emails, communicating with parents etc.). She taught
several English classes and had was already showcasing
her teaching strategies. It seemed that the classroom side
of teaching was beginning to fall into place, but she was
still finding her feet in terms of navigating the world outside
the classroom.
My mentor, a Highly Accomplished English teacher there
were ten English teachers in the English Office, all with a
range of Academic Excellent and General classes. My
mentor also taught a combination of these classes. She
had worked for the Department of Education for many
years and had experience teaching in different countries.
She was currently completing a Masters in Teaching
Leadership. My mentor constantly sought professional
development and kept up-to-date with the latest
developments concerning English. The majority of her
conversations with other staff members concerned effective
teaching; specifically, how to improve ones teaching
practice. She worked with the Head of English to plan and
evaluate teaching programs. This was her unofficial role,
but she was highly regarded and knowledgeable, and I
observed that the school often called on her to help
improve student learning and educational outcomes. She
was a team-player insofar as she actively collaborated with
her colleagues and was the epitome of a reflective
practitioner. Reflection was often the operative word in her
conversations with me. After every one of her classes, she
considered how she could reflect on and modify the
lessons to maximise student learning. Finally, my mentor
was highly skilled in examining student assessment data.
She had downloaded every one of her students results
from the previous year so that she could tabulate and
examine their results. Once she had analysed the data, she
could devise a plan to help the individual student.

There were many maintenance and groundskeepers

on the school grounds. On the first day, I bumped into
a man who had come to clean the graffiti from the
bathroom walls. Their roles concerned maintaining the
aesthetic and functional purposes of the school.

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Costume designers as the school prizes the Arts

and hosts various dance and drama productions,
these non-teaching staff are required to design the
costumes (garments and accessories) for all of the
students. I encountered two of these ladies in the staff
room one morning after they commented on my
blouse. I learned that they work alongside other
creative personnel in the school (director, lighting and
sound designers etc.).
Librarians - the school has three librarians. They
were all warm and welcoming when introduced myself
on the first day. Besides running and maintaining the
library, I learned that if a teacher needed a book or an
article, they could organise it via phone call or email.
(There are similarities to my Universitys subject
librarians.)
Relief teaching coordinator this was the first person
I met at the school. I arrived just before 8am and this
gentleman greeted me before the Administration
workers arrived. He introduced himself and briefly
explained that he was involved with organising and
managing relief teachers for the college. He came into
the English office later in the week to sort out some
possible relief work within the office before seeking
outside relief help. If teachers are ill, they can email
their daily lesson plan to the relief coordinator before
7am and he will take care of it.
Maintenance there were often a variety of
maintenance and workers around the school. I met a
maintenance person who was assessing the ceilings
of ever classroom in the English area. Rather than
disrupting the classes, he performed his maintenance
work on the weekend so that it would be done before
school returned on Monday.
IT support the IT workers were not the most popular
crew among staff members. However, they were
always a phone call away when technology
malfunctioned or failed. In the English office, for
instance, there were many internet connectivity
problems and printer issues. The IT workers always
came to assist. Sometimes the issues were not
resolved, but they offered temporary solutions to the
problems.
Psychologist and nurse I did not observe them per
se, but I briefly met them as I took a tour of Student
Services and the Health Centre. The psychologist
provides support to meet the emotional, social,
psychological and academic needs of students. The
community nurse is on school grounds for non-urgent
health issues and advice. Students need to make an
appointment to see the psychologist, but can see the

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school nurse at recess or lunchtime. If they need

medical attention during class time, they are given
permission to go to Student Services.
Worker from the schools special needs program I
met this lady at a morning tea. She explained her role
as helping students with their homework, re-teaching
individual students certain concepts and providing
students in the program with strategies to help them
succeed socially and academically.

Students
You will have observed
the diverse nature of your
classes. How was this
diversity supported?

The high school I attended for my practicum responded to

the diverse needs of its students. It prized a specialised
differentiation approach to learning, which meant that
diversity was supported in the school at classroom level.
My mentor helped me to think about diversity when planning
my lessons. She advised me to think about the class using
three questions as a guide:
1. What can all students achieve?
2. What can most students achieve?
3. What can some students achieve?
This is how my mentor plans her lessons. She researches
her students so that she has an understanding of their
backgrounds and histories. She also gets to know her
students. Essentially, she learns about them so that she can
tailor her lessons and activities to her students. Using this
three-step model, she can plan for the whole class, as well
as the individuals within the class. This might mean creating
additional or different activities for some students. In effect, it
is about having an awareness of the diverse personalities,
needs and styles of the students in the classroom and
creating inclusive lessons to accommodate everybody.
The school has a differentiated learning model. As an
Independent Public School, they also have a level of
autonomy that other public schools do not. This means that
they have more flexibility with the curriculum (and thus more
control over what is taught). The school also streams from
year seven. I was able to see the Academic Excellence year
seven students and general classes. (The higher streamed
students were exposed to extension activities) I know that
there are many debates about the rationale behind grouping
students of the same level together. Is it equitable, or does it
just increase the gap between different learning levels? I can
only speak from my experience. From what I observed,
streaming the students made teaching more effective

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because the curriculum could target particular levels. The

year seven Academic Excellent group flourished under my
teachers instruction. I had never seen students so eager to
learn and quick to grasp ostensibly complex concepts. The
general classes namely, the year nine class I observed and
taught received the standard curriculum.
The school and classroom also supported diversity in its
support for the LGBT community. There were posters up on
every classroom wall stating that it was an ally. This meant
that the classrooms were a safe space for people with
different sexual orientations or gender identities. My mentor
informed me that there were transgender students in the
school and that teachers needed to be sensitive to their
needs and wishes. I was pleased with the schools
progressive attitude.
The program for special needs (as I previously described)
also caters for diversity. I will not go into detail again, but I
will say that it caters for students with: learning difficulties,
mentally illness and physically disabilities. It also caters for
cultural and linguistically diverse students.

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Function of Schools
Did you observe the
connection of your
schools with the broader There were several occasions where I observed the connection of
community? How did this the school with the broader community. My mentors year seven
class had spent the first three weeks of term focusing on the
happen?
elements of picture books. The longer-term plan was for the
students to create their own picture books for a Childrens Book
Association competition. My mentor was able to contact a
renowned author and illustrator and he agreed to take a seminar
with her year seven students.

The school also has connections with the community through its
theatre hire. The large theatre can seat 500 people, so community
organisations and the general public can book the theatre via the
schools website to use at night or on weekends. On my first day,
the Deputy Principal took me on a tour and I was able to observe
the lighting and sound people testing the equipment for an
upcoming community performance.
On the topic of drama productions, the family and community are
heavily involved in the schools productions. I did not get to sit in
on a workshop, but I often passed drama studios and observed
student dance rehearsals. With so many performances, parents
are encouraged to actively involve themselves in the schools
productions (such as volunteering in the box office). There were
students in my English classes who were from the Drama
program.
I also learned that the school has a partnership with the states
performing arts institution, as well as a local arts centre. The
school collaborates with this institution/centre on different projects.
I was able to see a collaboration between the centre and the
school. In the foyer of the main theatre, there is artwork from the
centre and the school lining the walls. There is scarcely any white
space left. This is a place where local artists and students can
showcase their work.
The P&C takes responsibility for the canteen. On my first day I
was on yard duty in the canteen area at lunch time and my mentor
explained that the parents have total control over canteen matters.
I notice a system that the P&C devised to make the canteen
accessible: every year level has their own canteen line. This
means that there needs to be six windows open, with 1-2 people
manning every station. I thought that perhaps this was somewhat
excessive; however, owing to the population of the school, I can
imagine that one or two long lines of hungry students would be
chaotic. While it was over 40 degrees when I observed the
canteen operations, I realised that the P&C had devised an
effective and efficient system.
On a final note, the school also has partnerships with tertiary
institutions and industry institutions. This explains much of their
funding and resources, although I did not personally observe this
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school-community connection.

What do you think the

function of school is?

I have learned that everybody, including teachers, have a

different opinion on the function of school. There are always
going to be contentions (freedom vs. conformity, change vs.
tradition, preserver of culture vs. tool for transforming
culture). There is at least consensus on the importance of
education. I am going to describe what I personally believe
the function of school is (or should be).
On the surface level, the function of school is to help
students develop literacy and numeracy skills, to teach them
their civic duties, to group students together in their age
groups to provide standardised education and socialisation,
and to assist them in developing vocational skills for the
workforce.
From my observations on my professional experience, I
believe that the function of school is to provide a safe space
for the physical, emotional, psychological, intellectual and
creative growth of students. An imperative point here is that
schools must not only recognise these diverse needs, but
must be responsive to them. The school must acknowledge,
respond and accommodate the diverse needs, styles and
rates of learning. Schools should provide all students with
opportunities to develop and excel in their lives. This is a
truism, and may not always be reflected in reality, but this is
what would make a successful and inclusive school. Schools
need to be inclusive.
The function of the school is to be inclusive. Some
schools claim that they are, but are in fact quite selective
with whom they support or include (note the
contradiction). I think that my school is progressive in the
sense because they support the LGBT community. They
are leagues beyond the Australian Commonwealth.
Additionally, the teachers I conversed with felt that the
curriculum did not dictate to them, nor undermined their
objectives. Essentially, the school understands and
appreciates that they do not need to put as much
emphasis on standards and disseminating particular
content. They are fortunate, however, because they are an
Independent Public school, which means that they have
more control over the schools operations. Other schools
are more closely monitored by the government.
Schools are responsible for the continuity and preservation
of culture, but I also believe that todays schools are adapting
to changes. Schools do not just encourage students to

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reproduce or regurgitate knowledge, attitudes and values of

the Australian culture anymore. The function of school is to
make a child think. This is evident in the classrooms. There
may be a curriculum to follow, but the teacher-learner
dynamic is not what it was fifty years ago. Students are no
longer passive recipients of universal and essential truths,
but co-learners. I think that, while we are not there yet, the
school should play a role in reshaping the culture we live in.
The function of todays school is also to provide academic
balance. My school recognised this, which is why they
offered such an extensive range of courses on top of
academic core subjects. They prized creativity, imagination,
problem solving, innovation and collaboration. These are
skills that some might relegate to the Arts, but I believe that
they work hand in hand with academic performance and
ability. There are parallels between the school I attended and
the kind of education system Sir Ken Robinson describes in
his TED Talks (2010). Robinson describes the importance of
fostering creativity in young minds so that they can reach
their full potential. This is the philosophy of the school I
attended for my practicum.
Overall, the function of school is to promote well-being.
Resources and funding are often issues. Not all schools
have excellent facilities or support programs for their
students. That is why I believe that the function of the school
is to utilise what they do have in a way that benefits the
learning outcomes of all students. Schools need to create
the conditions and opportunities for students to reach their
full potential. Funding and resources certainly help, but the
teachers, school and wider community are also key players
in fostering productive school environments. In Assignment
2a, I noted that the function of school is to be sensitive to the
needs of todays young learners. I stand by this.

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