Talking out of school
Being a school principal is the best job in the world, but it's not for the faint-hearted. It takes a huge amount of technical acumen, resilience and emotional regulation, and most importantly, the ability to maintain a work-life balance. Experienced principals, leaders and experts come together to share their experiences, stories and advice, designed to help principals, assistant principals and aspirants stay ahead of the game....
Episodes
33 episodes
Principals, refuse to be afraid......
'Principals, you can control the emotional temperature of your schools by not buying into the desire of those who employ you to make you afraid.....' says Jane Caro, a woman known for saying what's on her mind. Her low-boredom threshold level h...
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Season 4
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Episode 33
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34:53
The Victorian education system, schools and who's influencing the decision makers?
Why is it that we have this compulsion to fix things in our schools that don't need fixing? Take the early years, for example. Victoria is the highest performing state in Australia when it comes to reading. Naplan tells us this. Misty Ado...
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Season 4
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Episode 32
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35:40
The graduate teacher who has a powerful message about the job.
Rosie hasn't been teaching long but she knows it's not a job that promotes work-life balance. And university didn't prepare her for the administrative tasks, curriculum planning, and challenging relationships. She loves the work with stud...
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Season 4
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Episode 31
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34:51
The education system and the class teacher who is expert at filing.....!
Experienced teacher Rob McDonald loves teaching, loves his kids, and knows his craft. But what he doesn't like are the endless administrative tasks, the never-ending collection of data and the things that take him away from what he needs to do ...
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Season 4
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Episode 30
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37:24
Schools, principals and transforming the teaching of reading Part 2.
I call Diane Snowball the reading guru. With more than fifty years experience under her belt, which includes a lengthy consulting stint in New York, her knowledge about how children learn to read is outstanding. In this second episode, Di...
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Season 3
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Episode 29
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38:57
Classroom libraries: schools, principals and transforming the teaching of reading. Part 1
Kids just love books about bums and farts! They also love to read about dinosaurs, planets and animals. This is why the humble classroom library is a must in all schools. Reading expert, Diane Snowball, talks about the importance of expos...
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Season 3
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Episode 28
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31:04
The principal, no bullshit and the importance of knowing your alphabet.
Retired principal, Deborah Patterson, calls it like it is. If her recently published book 'Passion, guts & leadership: an A-Z for the unconventional educational leader' is anything to go by, she can teach us a great deal, not just about the...
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Season 3
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Episode 27
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35:11
The principal, school improvement, and making sure the numbers add up.
Teaching mathematics is no simple task. It requires some real shifts in pedagogical thinking and making sure students are at the centre. According to Peter Sullivan, educational consultant specialising in the teaching of mathematics, ...
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Season 3
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Episode 26
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28:02
The principal, low SES school and who wouldn't have it any other way.
Whilst equity funding to disadvantaged schools is a god-send, the work involved is huge. Principal Phillip Banks doesn't shy away from his tough gig. The Victorian education system puts an unrelenting emphasis on PISA and Naplan results, ...
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Season 3
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Episode 25
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33:45
The principal who has always done it his way....
36 years is a long time to be in education; but even longer as a primary school principal. This principal has 'given back' in many ways, not just to his Dandenong North community, but to state education generally. Kevin Mackay...
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Season 3
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Episode 24
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40:02
The principal and no sign of a rotting head.
School improvement comes in many forms and can be likened to fishes with rotting heads- unfortunately I can't take the credit for this great metaphor! The big question is: do principals major in majors or major in minors? This principal k...
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Season 3
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Episode 23
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36:30
The principal, school improvement and drawing a line in the sand.
School improvement comes from aligning staff, students and community. Former principal, David Finnerty, shares his story about how he went 'incognito' into the school he was appointed to, and how drawing a very deep line in the sand was t...
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Season 3
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Episode 22
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36:44
The principal and building school culture from the ground up.
How do you put the foundations in place when your students, staff and community have nothing in common and come together for the first time? For founding principal Pauline Kubat it wasn't hard because she worked with stakeholders to develop the...
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Season 3
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Episode 21
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35:38
The principal creating great learners, fabulous citizens and distinctive school culture.
In building a strong school culture, there are many overlapping and cohesive actions that a principal needs to consider. But it all begins with connections, core beliefs, behaviours and effective communication.
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Season 3
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Episode 20
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31:36
The principal, school improvement and valuing expertise above experience.
'We're actually very good here in Australia with kids who start below average. But that's often not recognised because there's more money in arguing that we're doing a bad job.' Professor John Hattie and I talk about school improvement an...
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Season 3
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Episode 19
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33:54
The principal and the conditions for school improvement.
What started out as a set of four preconditions for achieving school improvement in 2008 is now a major framework that includes a further two stages linked to the teacher. We now know that leadership, along with its overarching influence, is wh...
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Season 3
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Episode 18
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31:58
School improvement, the principal and becoming skilled observers.
'If we could get every teacher to move every student in their class up at least one competency level, the overall impact on the system, on the country, would be enormous. Just one level of competency....' Emeritus Professor Patrick Griffi...
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Episode 17
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35:34
School improvement, regions and the principal somewhere in between. Part 2.
'Get this region out of the Herald Sun.' These were Minister Lynne Kosky's pleas to newly-appointed Northern Metropolitan Regional Director, Wayne Craig. What happened during the next eight years involved developing and implementing a cou...
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Season 3
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Episode 16
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35:53
School improvement, regions and the principal somewhere in between. Part 1.
'Listen girlie...' A former Regional Director recalls the challenges associated with lifting standards. In six years, Katherine Henderson took the Western Metropolitan Region from basket case to the highest performing in the state o...
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Season 3
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Episode 15
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33:14
The principal, authenticity and the glass brimming over.
My 'partner in crime' opens up about his somewhat problematic relationship with the Department of Education. But he will always be authentic and honest because that is the person he is. This philosophy has stood him in good stead because after ...
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Season 2
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Episode 14
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37:11
Resilience: the principal's best friend. Part 2
Are we on the verge of the next paradigm shift with the building of wellbeing in people? Active resilience is the 'looking forward' movement that incorporates taking care of ourselves and focusing our own health. Maria Ruberto talks about neuro...
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Season 2
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Episode 13
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28:41
Resilience, the principal's best friend. Part I
What are the behaviours we need to engage in to keep ourselves well? Why are these behaviours so important? Psychologist, Maria Ruberto, talks about her work with the Department of Education, and the impact of teachers that can remain for a lif...
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Season 2
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Episode 12
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30:08
The principal who paid the ultimate price.
He was a giant in education, a respected school principal and dear friend, and a great family man. I keep a photo of him on my desk, to remind me that there is nothing in this job as school principal that I can't walk away from.....
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Season 2
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Episode 11
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36:37
I love being a principal, but I think it might be killing me. Part 2
Professor Philip Riley shares his thoughts about our education system, the unmanageability of the principal’s role, how it affects our health and the need to have conversations nationally where there are high levels of collaboration and trust. ...
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Season 2
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Episode 10
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26:00
I love being a principal but I think it might be killing me. Part 1
'Under-resourced, mistreated and overburdened with red tape, principals report that, compared to the general population, their job demands are 1.5 times higher, and they experience 1.7 times more stress, 2.2 times more difficulty sleeping and 1...
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Season 2
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Episode 9
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25:42