Dan McNeill, OAM, is well pleased. He has just read the analysis of Kilvington’s 2005 VCE results. He closes the file, leans back in his chair and smiles thoughtfully. The McNeill mind is in overdrive and the creative juices are running.
"You know," he says, patting the papers gently, "this is a culmination of 13 years of learning for these girls - each year as important as the one that’s gone before. It is a wonderful thing for teachers to see their students celebrate and enjoy their successes and move on to their next adventure."
The "adventure" that McNeill mentions is not just for students; he has a "next adventure" of his own this year. As the new principal of Kilvington Girls’ Grammar in Ormond he has - to use his words - the privilege of leading one of Australia’s best schools for girls.
"A school like Kilvington does more than teach subjects," he says. "I am a great supporter of Professor Howard Gardner’s concept of multiple intelligences where a range of activities can hone skills and develop the whole person.
"I am a great supporter of school sport and recognise that a wide range of activities must be offered and not just those that rely on eye/ball coordination," says McNeill. "Sport and games keep people physically fit and mentally alert. They teach teamwork and tolerance and the grace to win humbly and lose graciously."
McNeill welcomes vital minds and creative thinking that lead to better outcomes and inspired learning. Dull is not a word in his vocabulary. He values color and movement. Vibrant campuses. Students dancing. Flags and flagpoles. Spirited discussion. Exciting partnerships. Fine music. The significance of the arts.
"Music, dance, visual arts and drama develop kinesthetic and mental skills, the ability to improvise, move outside oneself and build confidence," he says. "They also introduce the creative world and the richness that that implies. Debating and public speaking teach us to think on our feet and build confidence in voicing an opinion.
"Show me a girl who is fully involved in the life of Kilvington and I will show you a girl who is achieving academically."
"I find that it is this kind of environment that parents are increasingly seeking today - a place where their daughters will not get lost in a sea of faces, kilometres of corridors and a continuum of classrooms that create the perception of education factories rather than pleasant schools. Kilvington is not an education juggernaut with a marketing engine-room and it doesn’t aspire to be."
McNeill sees Kilvington’s alumni as testimony to Kilvington’s teaching excellence and its learning environment. They are, he says, women making their way in the world as Kilvington ambassadors – some as leaders but all pursuing their individual dreams and ambitions – from horticulture to haematology, from nursing to naturopathy, from law to linguistics.
McNeill believes that girls’ schools should be looking at opportunities to include boys in some activities - but only some. "Girls do, I believe, have equal opportunities with boys in the world at large and girls’ schools constantly reinforce this."
The girls at his previous school, St Michael’s Collegiate in Hobart had a nickname for Dan McNeill: Dan the Man. It doesn’t bother him - in fact he probably quite likes it but it carries the subtlety that he doesn’t let problems lie around. ("Don’t worry, Dan the Man will fix it…"). Indeed he enjoys a reputation for searching for solutions for the greater good. This personal quality is borne out as we talk about the craft of teaching and the need for staff to have their ‘whingeing detectors’ switched on.
"I always encourage parents to bring any concerns or worries to the school," he says. "Often they are in a better position to notice a change in their girls and things noticed early can often be nipped in the bud.
"Ideally there should be no such thing as a whingeing parent at Kilvington but there will be a whingeing principal if early behavior is not brought to our notice!"
While McNeill is indeed passionate about his profession and has high regard for educators who take their craft to heart, he does have a word to say about teacher training and he flags a personal concern - but doesn’t let it sit there as a grumble. A solution is offered:
"Student teachers don’t spend enough time in school during their training years," he says. "There is definitely something to be said for internships. Situations can arise in classrooms without warning and being equipped to deal with these comes from being in a classroom not a university lecture theatre.
"I wonder how many lecturers would know or remember these things. With internships the lecturers could spend more time in schools as well. In Tasmania I had experience with partnerships with the University of Tasmania and TAFE and with the need for tertiary institutions to be progressive there may well be possibilities for such linkages here."
McNeill likes that partnership word. He allows it to slip from time to time as we talk about Kilvington’s strengths and position in the family of Victoria’s independent schools. In much the same way as he believes in Howard Gardner’s premise that there is not one single intelligence, McNeill believes that a school can not operate as a single entity that refuses to explore opportunities that will contribute to optimum performance. This may mean a school generating relationships with other schools, corporations, clubs, associations or institutions locally or anywhere in the world.
"Schools are communities with the hub made up of students, staff, Board, parents and old scholars," he says. "And I mean ALL staff – teaching and non-teaching," he says, nodding at Peter Woolfrey who is now tending the roses.
"All exist together, work and live as partners. Such a community should be built on discernment, relationships and Christian love. William Barclay (the Scottish theologian) speaks of community as "the spirit of generous sharing as contrasted with the spirit of selfish getting. Parents should be encouraged to share the community experience, enjoying being with one another and their girls.
"Unfortunately with both parents working, often to pay the fees, they can be starved of time. Schools need to devise ways that maximise input. Dads driving their girls to school can soon find that they are able to share precious time with them daily and this is something to be encouraged. Old scholars have their place too - they keep the rumor of the school alive!"
The BPW syndrome is very real – and McNeill’s tone is gentle and empathetic. He knows the sacrifices that parents are making to send their girls to private school and he understands the need for two or more BPW incomes from Both Parents Working. Kilvington has recently introduced a fixed fee schedule for the Primary years (P-6) for girls entering Prep this year, thus giving parents known fees for seven years. McNeill is keen to investigate other ways to achieve genuine access, opportunity and equity for students in what has become, sadly, a fiercely competitive environment that has seen the ‘education factories’ engage in latent (or even blatant) student poaching and scholarships dished out like proverbial steak knives on morning commercial television.
"Being an honorable educator or principal comes down to leadership," he says. "Leadership can take many forms. I will articulate my vision for Kilvington, listen, encourage then act. People will know where I stand and hopefully, will embrace my aims and objectives. I want a vibrant community of many types who have much to give and share, who have a concern for all, a social conscience, a sense of noblesse oblige, who have a love for and feel a responsibility for the marginalised and will welcome them.
"My school – that is, the school in my head - is a fun place, free of bullying and harassment where girls look forward to coming to school, where success is celebrated, the broken lifted up and everyone prepared to go the extra mile.
"Worship, RE classes and a valued-centred curriculum are vital. Adolescent girls, in particular, are at their most spiritual. Nurturing this, distilling it and having them recognise it takes all our attention and wit.
"Education is not cheap but it cannot be done without," he says. "It is the key to a happy life and most of us get only one chance at it. A good education is the greatest gift that we parents can give to our children. I am aware of parents who go to great lengths and make enormous sacrifices to see their children receive the best education that they can afford. I admire them greatly.
"I have never met one that had regrets."