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Is our current education model fit for purpose?
Scott Thomson
From cotton fields to classrooms: Principal Scott Thomson reflects on how innovation in agriculture mirrors the evolving needs of education.
As an early career school teacher, whilst living on a cotton farm near Toowoomba for two years, I was fortunate to visit a boarding family just outside Moree in northern New South Wales.
We embarked on an eye-opening tour of the massive property, which highlighted the latest in agricultural innovation. I realised the immense chasm between the cotton farms I knew of in the early 2000s and the ones I know now. The use of technology, artificial intelligence, regenerative agriculture, and sustainable land management, and the ability of families to manage staff, machinery, and finances was indicative of what school graduates in a contemporary world require.
This title question is often posed in education circles, usually involving a stimulus picture of a classroom from the 1920s compared to a modern classroom. It is important to understand just how far education has advanced, not just in the last 100 years but particularly in the last 10 to 15 years. In these contemporary times, students are often blessed with the ability to find their way into higher education courses that help fill their bucket and fuel the passion and fire that lies within. In much the same way that I had seen incredible advances within the cotton industry, Australia’s schools of the past display a similar level of redundancy. Just as cotton farmers align their tasks, roles, and decisions toward achieving the highest yield per hectare, schools must align their mission, vision, and values to ensure meaningful outcomes for students.
As an education leader, I see a few key points as being vital to ensure schools are at the forefront of education that draws a parallel to my observations near Moree.
A mission statement is often well-written and intended but hard to remember and articulate. TedX has a very simple mission: spread ideas. My personal favourite is liberate hearts and minds. Every organisation strives for alignment, and knowing the mission helps achieve this alignment.
If the mission is the what, the vision for a school is the why, and when this is articulated, great things happen.
Internationally renowned business leader Simon Sinek championed starting with the ”why”; a clear and robust vision will hook people in and give them a reason to invest in the organisation's direction.
The ”how” needs to be transparent with all stakeholders. Schools should communicate values in ways that guide decisions, interactions, and expectations, ensuring staff, students, and families understand their role in achieving these outcomes.
In implementing such principles, school communities can navigate through change and ensure that the school experience for the students remains life-giving and fulfilling and bears much fruit. Ultimately, schools are trying to produce quality young men and women who know how to make a positive contribution and impact on the world in which they find themselves.
Mr Scott Thomson is a devout Catholic father of four and Nudgee College Principal.
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Trace minerals are required for optimal growth, reproduction, and immunity. Optimising trace mineral status relying solely on oral supplements across a herd may fail because of variation in individual intake and reduced absorption due to antagonism of other ration components and minerals. The use of injectable trace mineral supplements has been associated with positive reproductive outcomes including improved conception rate, increased odds of pregnancy and greater final in calf rate. A study conducted on 2,168 dairy cows, administered injectable trace minerals, four weeks prior to calving and again four weeks prior to the start of mating showed treated animals had a 3.3 per cent greater final in-calf rate, and a reduced time from start of mating to conception, compared to control animals 1 . The Importance of B12 Dr Carl Eden, Technical Services Veterinarian with Boehringer Ingelheim says “Vitamin B12 is sometimes referred to as a ‘super vitamin’ because it is only required in very small amounts but vital to many essential metabolic pathways. However, demand for B12 can vary considerably during the year and we see serum levels of B12 fall at critical times, such as the first few months after calving.” Vitamin B12 contains cobalt, so deficiency in cobalt can lead to deficiency in vitamin B12 because ruminants get most of their B12 as a byproduct of ruminal fermentation where the bacteria in their rumen assemble B12 from cobalt for use by the cow. Sub-optimal trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at calving, mating, and drying off has been shown to negatively impact growth, reproduction, and immunity. Using a trace mineral injectable containing vitamin B12 can improve trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at these critical times. Marks-Min with Vitamin B12 – The Evidence In the largest trace element study to date, Marks-Min Injectable Trace Mineral with Vitamin B12 demonstrated remarkable results when compared to a reference trace mineral injection. “Given the differences between Marks-Min and other products on the market, we wanted to generate a compelling data set to demonstrate how effective it was compared to the pioneer product. We entrusted this work to a third-party research company” says Dr Eden. “We chose farms that were at the top of their game from a reproductive perspective. We made sure that the farms had no evidence of trace element or vitamin B12 deficiencies or excess.” Across all outcomes of interest, Marks-Min demonstrated clear non-inferiority when compared to the reference product. Outcomes measured included submission, pregnancy and conception rates, and six week in-calf rate. Marks-Min demonstrated it is highly suited as an alternative treatment to the reference product. Reference: 1. Hawkins, D., and B. V. S. Franklin. New Zealand Dairy Veterinarians Newsletter 24 (2007): 12-16 Company website: livestockfirst.com.au Company email address: CustomerCare.Australia@boehringer-ingelheim.com Company video: https://vimeo.com/1138807630?fl=pl&fe=cm
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