Success Beyond the Score
As our Year 12 boys approach their final weeks at Toowoomba Grammar School, there is understandably a great deal of attention placed on examinations, ATARs, awards and what comes next. These things matter. They represent years of hard work and commitment, and those boys who achieve outstanding results deserve to have their achievements recognised and celebrated. Equally, we should recognise every boy who has worked hard and made the most of his abilities.
Examinations are important and necessary. They test boys and ask them to demonstrate what they know and what they have learnt at a particular point in time. For many, the results also provide an entrance through a gate to university, further study or another pathway. There is pressure in that, certainly, but I think our boys should also look forward to the challenge. Their answers will not all be perfect, nor will they remember everything they have been taught. Nobody does. The point is to draw upon what they know, make connections, think carefully and apply their knowledge to questions designed to challenge them.
I sometimes wonder, however, whether the emphasis we place on the ATAR sits a little awkwardly alongside the years of education that precede it. No examination or ATAR can fully capture what a boy has learnt over his years at school, nor should we expect it to. It measures something important at a particular point in time, but it does not measure everything that constitutes an education.
The purpose of education, after all, is to become educated. Education is not simply a means to an end; it has value in itself. It is to read widely, appreciate literature, music and the arts, understand history and culture, engage with science and mathematics, and develop the knowledge and judgement that help us make sense of the world. Most importantly, I hope it develops a curiosity and love of learning that remains with our boys throughout their lives.
I remember studying The Odyssey at school and, if I am honest, struggling at the time to understand what much of it meant or why it mattered. I suspect plenty of boys sitting in our classrooms have had similar thoughts about something they are studying. Sometimes learning is like a puzzle and you are not quite sure how all the pieces fit together. You encounter an idea, a story, an equation or a piece of knowledge and cannot quite see where it belongs. Then you learn something else and another piece falls into place. The more you learn, the more connections you make and, over time, you begin to see the world differently.
Whether a boy comes to love Homer, Shakespeare, mathematics, chemistry, music, history, engineering or something else is almost beside the point. What matters is that he is exposed to knowledge and ideas that spark his curiosity, challenge his thinking and help him discover his own interests and strengths. Education should be an end in itself, not just a means to an end.
Of course, education is about more than knowledge alone. Our boys should also expect that there will be some pressure, particularly around examinations and results, and learning to manage that pressure is itself part of their education. An ATAR may provide a direction and open a particular gate, but it does not determine the path that follows. Directions change. Sometimes unexpectedly, and sometimes because we reach a point in life and decide there is another path we would rather take. Very little in life is predetermined.
Things will not always go as we hope, and there will inevitably be disappointments and setbacks along the way. Developing the resilience to deal with those moments, learn from them and move forward is important. We want our boys to develop the judgement and character to use what they know well, to take responsibility for their actions, to treat others well and to contribute positively to the lives of those around them. Ultimately, these qualities will matter just as much as the results they receive at school.
So, as our Year 12 boys prepare for their examinations, I want them to work hard and walk into each examination determined to show what they know, what they have learnt and how well they can apply it. I hope, however, they also understand that an examination is not the sum of their education, nor is an ATAR the measure of it.
In the end, an ATAR may provide a direction, but an education is what you carry with you wherever your path leads.
