For the love of Latin

Australia’s oldest and longest-serving practising registered teacher and Brisbane Grammar School teaching icon, Don Barrett, has finally entered retirement just shy of his 89th birthday.

Mr Barrett’s career in education spanned 67 years, having taught his first class in 1951. He enjoyed a 34-year career at The University of Queensland, including 12 years as Dean of Arts, the longest-serving Dean in the university’s history.

The UQ Office of Gender Equity declared Mr Barrett the Feminist of the Decade for promoting equal progress of men and women in the 1990s. Last year the university’s senate presented him with a UQ Fellowship in recognition of his outstanding service and contribution.

Mr Barrett began his time at BGS in 1996 and dedicated more than two decades to inspiring students and colleagues with his passion for and knowledge of the Latin language. His love of Latin can be traced back to when he was a nine-year-old altar boy at his local Catholic church. “The Latin of the Mass always had a sort of a mystique for me, even though I didn’t fully understand all the responses,” Mr Barrett said.

From his first lessons in the subject as a young boy, he discovered an aptitude and affection for the ancient language. Mr Barrett said Latin enhances student mastery of the English language and deepens their understanding of its origins. Many of the School's past duxes studied Latin. “It teaches them to be very precise in expressing themselves orally and in writing,” he said. “The fact so many of our English words are derived from Latin, students find it a real revelation.”

During his time at BGS, Mr Barrett earned a loyal student following, something the softly spoken educator puts down to his genuine enthusiasm for his subject matter and a readiness to use humour whenever appropriate.

“Kids turn off if you’re known as a grump,” he said. “If you can’t transmit to them that you’re enjoying what you do, you’ll turn them off.” At times he used crosswords, games, singing Happy Birthday in Latin and playing his signature mouth organ to engage his classes. It was an approach that left a lasting impression on many students.

Mr Barrett said his ultimate reward as a teacher was “seeing the light go on in a student’s eyes when they begin to understand something or to enjoy something”. He will remember BGS for its culture of learning that “permeates the School in a very healthy way” and as “a magnificent place to work”, with excellent colleagues who really care about students.

In his final years at BGS, Mr Barrett took on a mentor role, imparting his incredible knowledge to fellow teachers. One of his mentees, Latin teacher Grace Donaldson, said students loved having him in the classroom. “They particularly enjoyed his ‘grammar raps’ that he had written about different points of Latin grammar and would have the class read it through as a rap,” she said.

“Don would also occasionally bring in his harmonica and have the students sing along with certain songs, either songs in Latin or songs about Latin vocabulary or grammar. One that stuck with a lot of students was singing Gaudeamus Igitur as a class in their last week of Year 12. I even had students who weren’t taught by Don requesting to invite him to class so they could partake in the tradition.”

On his role as a mentor, Ms Donaldson said Mr Barrett was always willing to offer support, had a very keen eye for detail and a wealth of knowledge.