‘Why does it tick and why does it tock?’
‘Why don’t we call it a granddaughter clock?’
‘Why are there pointy things stuck to a rose?’
‘Why are there hairs up inside of your nose?’
She started with Why? and then What? How? And When?
By bedtime she came back to Why? once again.
She drifted to sleep as her dazed parents smiled at the curious thoughts of their curious child, who wanted to know what the world was about.
They kissed her and whispered, ‘You’ll figure it out.’
–Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty
I love a good story. I particularly love a good children’s story. Children’s stories are wonderfully clever at taking complex, adult problems and breaking them down into simple bites that children can understand and respond to (adults too!). You may have never encountered ‘Ada Twist, Scientist’ by Andrea Beaty but the quote above gives a pretty good representation of my first 4 weeks at BCC. I am asking a lot of curious questions that sometimes start with ‘Why?’, and they often then progress ‘What? and ‘How?’, and eventually wind their way back to ‘Why?’. My role as the College Deputy carries with it a level of responsibility of course, but I think that there is always a hope that an incoming leader can look at things with fresh eyes and find ways to add value or strengthen practices and processes. To do this well, I am working hard to understand as deeply as possible, how BCC does things. As I understand what and how we do something, the most important question to ask is ‘Why?’.
Like Ada Twist, figuring things out will definitely take time (for example getting my head around the traffic flow and buses around BCC at 2:50), but eventually I’ll figure it out. Then the real fun begins!
I’m sure you are all aware of this, but you are all a part of a wonderful school community. The welcome I have received from students, staff and parents alike has been very warm. The culture here is excellent and the staff camaraderie is a key feature of the school culture. I’d also like to thank the students of BCC for the sincere way that they have welcomed and accepted me to this new role – they are amazing!
I’m Looking forward to the exciting times and challenges ahead.
P.S. Why not borrow ‘Ada Twist, Scientist’ from the College Library this week. It is a great read!
David Holland
Deputy Principal