Recent Senior Education and Training Plan (SET plan) interviews with Year 10 have been a heart-warming and uplifting experience – for me – not sure this is how the boys would describe them though. These interviews are aimed at helping our boys consider, with their parents, their after-school lives so that together we can plan their academic pathways. And achieve these goals.
The boys’ excitement was palpable as they talked about getting out into the real world, being cardiologists and carpenters, doing Diplomas of Project Management and Business, what it would be like to be a naval architect, the joys of studying in Glasgow, and how to get into ADFA. We talked about procrastination, time management, and part-time work. Then one of the Dads said to me, “This feels important and urgent. How do we know we’re doing the right thing for our son?” My heart skipped a beat – great question. And the love of a father was made abundantly clear.
My Dad was a pharmacist who loves learning and passed that on to my brothers and me. In Grade 1, Dad walked me into my classroom across the endless bitumen playground dotted with Bottle Trees every day – until Sister Mary Terrance said I was old enough to walk in by myself. I was five! When a boy was annoying me at school and I asked Dad what to do while he was filling prescriptions, he distractedly said, “Tell him to drop dead.” The next day I proudly told him what I’d done! Dad was mortified. He sat with me and gently told me I couldn’t say things like that because “His mother loves him just as much as yours loves you.” I got it – that kid was precious, he was loved, he mattered. I was top of Maths in Year 8 but by the end of Year 9 I’d convinced Dad to let me drop to General Maths. It took him about six months to realise I had done that to be with my friends. And three years of Maths tutoring after school became my lot, but hey, I more than passed the equivalent of Maths Methods! On my wedding day, I asked him what advice he had for me, and he said, “If I haven’t taught you now…” And I felt calm. When I became a Mum, Dad reassured me that he has been an apprentice Dad and that Mum who was a mid-wife and nurse had told him she knew how to look after a baby for ten days and had no idea after that. Dad let me know it was fine to not know all the answers. Just keep learning.
One of the Year 10 Mums said, “I don’t want the boys thinking Senior School is a hell hole.” And the love of a mother was made abundantly clear.
Year 10, Senior should be a time of balance – work hard, play hard, remember the roles you have that make you you. Enjoy these two years where you see your mates daily and where your relationships with your teachers are developing through shared experiences and inside jokes. Enjoy this special time where your parents are your biggest cheer leaders and look forward to you conquering, healing, teaching the world in the best way you know how.
As parents, we do our best. But learning is the key to success in life. And goals can be achieved through many different pathways. As Steve Biddulph says in Raising Boys in the Twenty-first Century, “Enjoy your boy, love him well, and set him free to fly in his own special way.”
So in the lead up to Sunday, I extend my thanks to all MBBC Dads and wish you a happy Father’s Day. We are blessed to work with Dads who love their sons and want the best for them. Thank you also to our Mums who go above and beyond to support your sons – even though we might secretly want them to hold our hands just a little longer. Sometimes I ring my beautiful parents as I walk down the hill in the morning just so Dad can walk me into school again. Why? Because I still can.
The Moreton Bay Colleges are seeking families to warmly welcome international students to Australia.
Hosting international students can be an enriching cultural exchange opportunity for the whole family. Being a homestay host also has generous remuneration, with qualifying hosts receiving a weekly payment for each student.
Learn more here.
Our local Athlete’s Foot Store at Capalaba is moving from Capalaba Central to Capalaba Park Shopping Centre as of Friday 3 September. Don’t forgot to visit the Athlete’s Foot Stores at Capalaba, Carindale & Mt Gravatt for all your footwear needs and be sure to drop our name so our school can benefit from your purchase through the Community Rewards Programme.
Click here for PDF and here to book.
Click here for PDF.
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