Why Ways of Being?

Much of the current debate around education in Australia at the moment is centred on the issue of what really matters. Government policy (driven by economic imperatives) and much of the media commentary seems to suggest that what matters most are academic outcomes, as measured by NAPLAN and ATAR results. Yet most educators (and many parents) would argue that the most important outcomes are not these numbers, which indicate academic progress at a particular point in time. Rather, most of us subscribe to a more holistic ideal of education, in which we focus on who the child is becoming, rather than simply what knowledge and skills they have acquired. We want our children to live good lives. We want them to flourish.