NBEC Conference

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

The 9th National Boys’ Education Conference, held at The King’s School in June, featured a dynamic range of keynote speakers and workshop presentations to support the conference theme: Strong Men, Soft Hearts & Sharp Minds. Our keynote presenters raised crucial questions about what it is to be a strong, compassionate and informed young man in contemporary society, while offering research and strategies to underpin teaching and learning aimed to achieve those outcomes. The keynotes were complemented by a range of conference workshops, many presented by King’s teachers, that focused on the themes of resilience, rigour and relationships.

The conference opened with Reverend Tim Costello, one of Australia’s most respected community leaders and a sought-after voice on social justice issues, leadership, and ethics. Reverend Costello shared his insights and experience from decades spent working with communities around the world to highlight how we can build the foundation and set the framework so that boys can grow into strong men, ready to contribute to a more just and equal world.

Mr Andrew Fuller, clinical psychologist, researcher and educational consultant, spoke on the concept of the Resilient Mindset and the three main components of resilience: connect, protect, and respect (CPR). Mr Fuller’s presentation dovetailed nicely into the keynote by Dr Lea Waters, psychologist, academic and researcher, who focused on the advantages of taking a strength-based approach with students to facilitate greater levels of happiness at school, higher student engagement, smoother transitions from kindergarten to primary school, more successful adjustment from primary to middle school, and higher levels of academic achievement.

Mr Simon Brooks, educator, facilitator and change-agent who currently works with educators and schools to facilitate “Cultures of Thinking,” introduced delegates to curiosity-based-learning, a practical pedagogy that enables teachers to awaken and sustain their students’ epistemic curiosity in the service of powerful learning. Again, there was good synchronicity between keynotes, with Dr Jared Cooney Horvath, academic, researcher and author in the field of Educational Neuroscience, exploring the foundational workings of the human brain and how these principles can be applied to student learning and skill transfer. Dr Horvath also took a close look at the issue of gender within schools to explore underlying differences relevant to boys’ education. Ex-Commando, Damien Thomlinson brought the Conference to a close with an engaging and moving reflection on the importance of resilience and relationships in helping his recovery after losing both legs on a tour of duty in Afghanistan. For many delegates, this session was a highlight and a good reminder of the strength we must call on to overcome adversity.

Looking ahead, preparations are already under way for NBEC 2021, which will focus on eLearning to foster creativity and curiosity.

Dr Di Laycock Chair, National Boys’ Education Conference 2019