Templestowe College

The Templestowe College Vision for 2014-17 is "to be a supportive community, empowering students to manage their individualised learning and turn ideas into reality.” Whilst the vision does not officially come into place until 2014, there will be a significant amount of preparation and planning required over the next year for developing individual learning plans (ILPs) for all our 2014 Year 7 students and for our existing students and their families who wish to be involved. There will also be a number of new initiatives trialled in 2013 such as developing opportunities for students to be involved in the establishment of their own school-based businesses, the development of Learning Bites and the implementation of our online Learning Management System (LMS). We will, of course, continue to support students to personalise their own learning during this time. Our new vision encapsulates the key philosophical difference of a TC education, compared to schools which operate on a traditional basis. TC is not a school where education is done "to” students, but rather where they have the opportunity, in consultation with their parents, to genuinely drive their own learning. It will not be a laissez-faire, unstructured model of education where students do as they please, come and go as they please with no accountability measures. Rather we seek to allow the learner to take increasing responsibility for their own direction & decisions as they grow in age and maturity and acknowledge that each person is an individual with a unique set of relative strengths and weaknesses, interests, ambitions and passions. It is a core belief at TC that given the right information and guidance, students are capable of making good decisions in their own best interests. All of us must eventually stand on our own two feet and take personal responsibility if we areto live great and satisfying lives. Why not begin this process in early secondary school, where the consequences of mistakes through poor choices are not as grievous, where students can be more closely monitored, and they are more open to adult guidance, albeit sometimes not from their parents? The news is littered with examples where older teenagers have been given responsibility too late and they engage in potentially life-threatening risk-taking activity. Likewise the percentage of students who drop out of university during their first year, when the intense support previously provided by their schools is withdrawn is staggering. Neither of these scenarios are outcomes we want for TC students. Learning should be a challenging and enjoyable experience. It is also true, that we feel more comfortable and committed when we are in control of our circumstances. This is true whether we are students, staff or parents. By giving students greater control over their learning, it means that staff and parents must inturn relinquish some control that existed under an adult controlled model of education. This can at times be uncomfortable as we see students occasionally make choices that we might not have made for them. This is however the cost of raising confident, independent, free thinking, creative young adults who will enter the next stage of their life's journey confident, prepared and experienced at making good decisions and with a skill set which will allow them to thrive independently in a rapidly changing world. Find out more by visiting http://tc.vic.edu.au/about-us/tc-vision-2014-17.aspx