Education | Principal Speaks – Michael Muscat
From left – The principal team: Nalini Naidu, Michael Muscat, Keith Perry and Joanne Wastle
The story behind the Revolution School The recent ABC documentary series Revolution School was a ground breaking event in the Australian education landscape.
Why did we do it? Early in 2014, I was approached by the CJZ production company about the possibility of participating in a “landmark series” on education in Australia. They were searching across the nation for an ‘average’ suburban secondary school, neither significantly privileged nor underprivileged, that had shown significant improvement. It was at once a tantalising and frightening suggestion. Extensive consultations followed with the leadership team, staff, school council and the Victorian Department of Education. In the end, with some trepidation, we agreed to participate for the following reasons. Firstly, we believed that Kambrya College had a good story to tell. There is abundant evidence of ‘root and branch’ school improvement in recent years. Secondly, we were convinced that the ABC and the CJZ production company were serious about creating an insightful, ‘non-tabloid’ series with an understanding that neither
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the school’s, nor any particular individual’s reputation would be damaged. Yes, there would be depictions of every day roughand-tumble, but the focus would be on the positive outcomes. Thirdly, we would have the opportunity to work closely with a number of luminaries from the University of Melbourne Graduate School of Education.
Cameras everywhere It was a prerequisite to have
signed release forms from all staff, students and parents who would appear in the documentary. Obtaining these releases was a big job in itself. Over 90 percent of students and staff were willing to provide signed releases from the outset. It was certainly understood that cameras could enter classrooms only when prior agreement had been made with the relevant teacher. Staff and students grew accustomed to having the cameras around
very quickly. Where sensitive issues were captured on film, the production team showed themselves to be responsive to requests I made. One great outcome for the staff was the fantastic collection of ‘bloopers’ collated by the production team strictly for the enjoyment of staff at our 2015 end of year break up. It was hilarious, and indicative of the trust and friendship that had been built up between the very talented production team and the staff. But I must also say that there is a lovely sense of freedom in 2016 – without the cameras!
The role played by University of Melbourne Graduate School of Education (MGSE).
Michael Muscat with a year 11 student
The MGSE runs a number of networks of schools, which are made up of cross sector, metropolitan and regional schools, keen on improving teaching and learning. Kambrya College became part of one of these networks at the beginning of 2015. There is no doubt the MSGE, ranked in the top ten internationally, is a brilliant organisation to work with, but this point needs to be made clear. The reality was that Kambrya College had already embedded significant