Tabor Adelaide 2013 September Newsletter

Liberamentè Student News | Issue 9 2013

Tabor Adelaide Open Day, August 17th 2013 In This Issue: SALA Art & Soul Exhibition Research Benchmarking Assesment Moderation Helpless Hope - A Story

By Yvonne Smuts

Key dates to remember!

Remember to make note of the following dates:

Every Thursday

Prayer from 1:00 - 1:30pm In Room 3

19th September

Youth Work Information Night

30th September Semester 2 holidays

On Saturday 17th August, the Tabor Adelaide campus filled with eager, prospective students as we hosted our most successful Open Day to date.

Many braved the dreary weather with 86 groups of people attending, our largest ever turnout. Each school was well represented and passionately guided their guests through the intricacies of their courses.

The Tabor Hub was buzzing as people stayed on for a warm cup of coffee, chat, free henna art and sausage sizzle.

A big thank you to all the staff who contributed to the success of Open Day! A special mention to Mike Lonsdale for his efforts with set up / pack up and the girls from the Tabor Hub Coffee Shop, not only for their service but for sharing their positive experience at Tabor with prospective students.

If you were unable to attend Open Day and would like some more information, please contact Student Services. If you are considering studying a Youth Work degree then come along to the Youth Work information night on Thursday 19th September at 7:00pm.

02 | Liberamenté. “freely, with liberty” SALA Art & Soul Exhibition, hosted by Tabor Adelaide On August 8, 2013 paintings, sculptures, drawings, photography and digital artworks flooded the Tabor Adelaide Chapel and Library, as we hosted our second SALA Art Exhibition. Showcasing the best of the Tabor Adelaide creative community, the exhibition compiled an impressive collection of over 40 works by our students and staff.

The Opening Night was a wonderful evening. The Chapel was filled with beautiful art, talented artists, supportive families and friends, great food and a warm atmosphere. Margaret Davidson, Deputy Principal Operations gave an official welcome and introduced the guest speaker, Deanne Gray. Deanne has a long history with Tabor Adelaide, as our previous artist in residence and lecturer in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. She spoke of the whole person being a part of the art that is created, and that the art is an extension of who the artist is, both spiritually and practically – she referred to herself as a “slash artist”, that is social worker/artist, mother/artist etc! In Margaret’s words, “It was a privilege to be able to listen to Dee and hear some of her story. She encouraged and thanked each contributing artist personally for their work, a sentiment that was shared by all,” Many of the artists attended the opening and mingled with the crowd, and we thank them for not only giving their precious works of art to be displayed, but also for the time they took to talk to the audience on a one to one basis.

Over the course of the exhibition hundreds of students, staff, families and community members visited the show and voted for the Tabor Adelaide SALA Art Show People’s Choice Award. First place was awarded to Lara Cooper for her outstanding painting entitled Do I fit? Lara is studying a Bachelor of Intercultural Studies at Tabor Adelaide and finds that her learning feeds into her art, influencing her cross-cultural theme further.

“Painting is a unique way to express the joys and concerns of my spiritual and personal journey – I’m grateful that God has given me this privileged method of expression of ideas and also feel a sense of responsibility to move viewers beyond what they presently engage in,” says Lara Cooper. Her award winning work has been inspired by empathy towards immigrants and boat people who now call Australia home.

A special mention to Kath Wilshire and Patricia Blucher who were awarded second and third place respectively.

Third Prize, Patrcia Blucher

Second Prize, Kath Wilshire

First Prize, Lara Cooper

03 | Liberamenté. “freely, with liberty” Research Benchmarking Assesment Moderation Approximately a year ago, Tabor Adelaide in collaboration with three other higher education colleges, successfully secured a substantial grant from the national Office of Learning and Teaching (OLT: http://www.olt.gov.au/ ) to support research into developing and testing models of benchmarking and moderation of assessment for private higher education providers.

Dr. Juhani Tuovinen, Tabor Adelaide (Project Leader)

Dr. Peter Dobson, Tabor Victoria

Dr. Terry Dachs, Christian Heritage College

Dr. Jane Fernandez, Avondale College

Why is this important? Isn’t assessment and moderation therof a dull and boring subject? No! Fair and valid assessment is a vital ingredient of any worthwhile higher education qualification. The qualifications provided by private higher education colleges depend on credible evidence that demonstrates equivalence with the standards in Australian universities. Thus, a Bachelor of Education from Tabor Adelaide, Christian Heritage College or Flinders University must provide the same level of credibility for entry to teaching. One of the ways of ensuring that the Christian higher education providers are providing the same level of qualifications as the Australian tertiary institutions is by benchmarking and moderating various aspects of their programs with others, and understanding how to do this effectively. This is what this project is about. Learning how to provide high quality assessment which underpins key teaching and learning.

During phase one of the project, interviews of staff across Tabor Adelaide, Tabor Victoria, Avondale College and Christian Heritage College were conducted with Education and Theology Faculties. With phase one of the project now complete, the project has moved from the data collection to the data analysis stage. The research team, led by Dr Juhani Tuovinen from Tabor Adelaide, has designed a framework for the data analysis, which will provide a structure for the evaluation of the data which will be fed back to the faculties of the four colleges. They will have an opportunity to design improvements to assessment moderation and implement the revised methods of assessment moderation at the next stage.

A number of presentations dealing with benchmarking and assessment moderation have already arisen from the project. The interviews and the preparation of the project dissemination have already provided information found to be useful enough to be approved for presentations in conferences and professional group teaching and learning seminars, such as Education Research Group of Adelaide (ERGA) and South Australian, Northern Territory Professional Education Network (SANTPEN) sessions in SA and NT in 2012. The project team is currently working on a paper titled: “Assessment Moderation – Progress Report on OLT Benchmarking of Assessment Moderation Project” to be presented at Higher Education Research Group of Adelaide (HERGA) conference presentation in Adelaide in September 2013.

More information about the project can be found on Graeme Clark Research Institute section of the Tabor Adelaide website (http://taboradelaide.edu.au/home/ root/aboutus/graeme-clark-research-institute ).

04 | Liberamenté. “freely, with liberty” Helpless Hope - A Story of Yvonne Smuts experience in Costa Rica 2011 Every Thursday morning at 9.15am during semester time Tabor Adelaide holds a Chapel Service. This semester we have been hearing from members of our community about the impact that Jesus has had on their lives. Last month Yvonne Smuts (of the Professional Experience Coordinators in Teacher Education) shared one of her experiences in Costa Rica with us...

Amongst all the helpless, hopeless Homeless I passed by daily, he stood out - his ‘lostness’ - so apparent, so stark, so raw. I glimpsed him often from my bus seat, wandering apparently aimless, trudging to who knows where. I saw him up close on occasions, crouching in the shop entrances, watching as fluids streamed from his mouth and nose as he sniffed deeply at some concoction in a plastic bottle seeking to transform the pain in his soul. I passed him by often, this man devoid of any shred of human dignity. And would ask in my helplessness, “What am I to do Lord, how will I wash him and give him clean clothes and care for him?”

Finding myself hopeless…. I would turn and walk on to catch my bus home.

As the blueness of twilight transformed slowly to indigo on a San Jose evening, I saw him stumbling through the park, oblivious to the cries of the vendors selling tamales and hot coffee. I noticed even in the fading light as he hobbles along, the deep red gashes in his heels, where the hardened skin had split wide open. I saw the agony in his face a reflection of his inner and outer pain.

Again I say, “ Lord what am I to do?”… there is nowhere to take him, nothing I can do.

The reply came clear and formulated in my head –from a seemingly irrational source. “Take a foot file and some lotion and attend to his feet”. Ludicrous! This man could potentially be dangerous as he sniffs and swallows a myriad of toxic substances. He could lash out in violence and rage if I even approach him, let alone touch him.

The thought persists as I gaze into the darkness of the San Jose streets from the bus, and will not leave me. In my casita that evening I pack the foot file and a small bottle of lotion into my bag, I am in disbelief even as I do it. Feeling foolish I find myself saying “Lord if I am to do this thing, bring this man across my path, tomorrow, as I go to work.” I take comfort in knowing the likelihood of seeing him, is remote. My observations of him have always been in the afternoons or evenings.

The bus comes to a lurching halt at the final stop in San Jose. I join the surging humanity stepping off the bus and into the day ahead. As my feet reach the pavement, I look up - and there he is. Directly in front of me, filthy hand outstretched for money, staring back at me – his eyes locked on mine. The words “OK Lord here we go” form in my head.

I shake my head and tell him “no tengo plata” (I have no money) - motioning him to step out of the path of the surging crowd, and sit down against the wall of the nearby shop. As we settle down side by side on that filthy, cockroach-infested pavement I am vaguely aware of the people swirling around above our heads on their busy life journeys. I point to his grime covered feet “Tiene dolor?” Do you have pain? He nods his head and gazes at his feet.

05 | Liberamenté. “freely, with liberty” I pull out the foot file and move to kneel at his feet setting to work on the rough skin. It is impossible to make any impression on those hardened calloused heels. I take the lotion and pour some on to his foot, subconsciously noticing how it does not lose it’s sweet perfume as the green colour turns a grimy grey.

The man is gazing intently at his feet now as though seeing them for the first time. I instruct him on what he needs to do daily, to try to heal his feet. ‘Si ,si”, he says nodding.

Then he unexpectedly lurches towards me, and I start in fright as he grabs the plastic bottle out of my hand. He squeezes every last drop on to his foot, throwing the empty container into the gutter where it lands amongst all the other garbage. He helps me rub and massage the lotion into his feet. I turn my attention to his face and move back alongside him. As he turns to look back at me, I notice he is smiling.

His face is calm, and peaceful, his dark, eyes shining. And they are - the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen.

“Jesus te ama” (Jesus loves you), I whisper, and I am compelled to reach out and touch the beard on His cheek. The silky softness takes me by surprise. He continues to look into my eyes, smiling at me. His face is serene and free of the torment I have seen.

Then the essence of what has happened starts slowly to sink in. I am looking into the eyes of the ‘least of these’ and they are the eyes of Christ himself. I feel a sense of incredible Peace and my shoulders relax. We stay engaged that way for a brief moment in Time, and then I rise to leave. The moment is over. There is nothing more I can do. Glancing back at his seated form I see him watching, his eyes locked on mine, still smiling.

I have for a fraction in time slipped the bonds of this realm and encountered the manifest Christ, who has reached out and in Mercy and Grace – and touched me. I begin to comprehend in my spirit that where I perceive hopelessness, is exactly where the very Hope of Christ is embodied. I ponder the truth that has just been conveyed - that the character of the eternal, awesome, indescribable Creator of the INFINITE Universe is encapsulated in the Name Immanuel – God with us, exactly where it seems least likely that He will be found.

And in the remaining year of my 3 years in Costa Rica, I never saw that man on the streets again.

06 | Liberamenté. “freely, with liberty”

2014

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