QUICKLINKS
QUICKLINKS
QUICKLINKS
The example of Mary and helping us walk together in Reconciliation
The month of May is a special time in the Catholic Calendar, as we celebrate the life of blessed Mary, mother of Jesus. In her example of life, we are reminded of two powerful journeys: one of her faith and devotion to her mission as the mother of our Lord, and one of justice and healing as she nurtured and loved her child and her God.
Mary is a guiding light of Faith, Acceptance, Compassion, and excellence. At our College, we look to Mary as a model of courage and love, especially through her acceptance and faith in honouring God’s call.
As Mary stood beside her son, we are reminded to stand beside one another with empathy, grace, and solidarity, especially as we support one another during the highs and lows of life.
We currently acknowledge and celebrate National Reconciliation Week, a time to reflect on the relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the wider Australian community. This year’s theme, “Now More Than Ever”, calls us to action; to speak the truth, to listen deeply, and to walk together toward a more just and united future.
Our commitment to reconciliation as part of our Gospel mission is very important as a community of Christians. We are called to walk in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in making our college a safe and inclusive context for learning and celebrating diversity.
Mary’s love was for all people, especially those suffering, forgotten, and broken-hearted. As a College rooted in Catholic social teaching, we recognise that reconciliation is not just a national issue, but a spiritual responsibility that we must embrace.
May this week be a time of compassion, reflection, and renewal, particularly as we honour Mary, and commit ourselves to truth-telling, healing, and justice.
Social emotional learning in times of societal change
In recent months, there has been a lot of discussion in the media regarding the absence of resilience in our youth. Although I disagree that our young people are less resilient than in past generations, it is also important to acknowledge that in the emergence of the technological revolution, we must embrace the explicit teaching of social emotional skills for our children. We are living through one of the most transformative periods in human history, in a time when artificial intelligence (AI) and rapidly evolving technologies are reshaping every part of our world, from education and work to ethics and daily life.
The educational platform is changing as we now have more adaptive instructional platforms, AI continually provides the scope for instruction and feedback, and educators question academic integrity in relation to digital literacy. While we recognise that the emergence of AI is not just a technological leap and rather considered it as a societal shift, we must identify that that wisdom, responsibility, and imagination are values and skills needed for the successful use of the technologies. We live in times where we are challenged to ask: What does it mean to be human in an age and future of artificial intelligence?
It is here that social emotional learning, specifically in resilience building, comes to the rescue. As parents, it is important that you continue to support your child through their personal development more so than ever. In essence, understanding how setbacks are normal, and in fact, opportunities for reflection and growth helps young people thrive in times of uncertainty. We must ensure that they can normalise failure and disappointment as part of life because the changes we now experience will lead to greater changes to the future, impacting on work, careers, opportunities and our sense of control.
Since the 1950’s the education landscape has experienced great change. Education was built on the notion of standardised rankings to predict success and development. The Intelligence Quotient (IQ) was used to develop learning experiences, and such methods discriminated the scope of growth across holistic personal development. In the 1980’s Educational Psychologist Howard Gardner proposed the theory of the multiple intelligences, and such notion continues to underpin pedagogical frameworks today. However, AI has had a notable impact on Gardner’s theory, both in how it is understood and how it is applied, particularly in education. While Gardner’s theory is human-centered, the rise of AI invites both challenges and opportunities across the different intelligences which continue to challenge thinking.
Due to the technological influence and young people use of such systems, we could argue that relationships and connections are different to what we experienced as young people ourselves. Leading psychologists like Michael Carr Greg and Andrew Fuller argue that in the absence of control, resilience is vital to enable growth and prosperity.
The relevance of “Emotional Intelligence”, as noted by Daniel Goleman, is crucial as we learn to make the most of the opportunities of AI. Success is shaped by our character, happiness, life-long learning and capacity to relate and be resilient. These are all emotions which empower us.
To support your child to exceed, I recommend that you teach them to use setbacks as part of life. Building resilience means asking them to consider:
“What do you think you could try next (when something has not gone to plan)?”
“(acknowledging that not everything is always going to go to plan, ask) I know that was tough. What do you think you’ve learned from it?”
Be consistent, calm, and emotionally available, listening without rushing to fix things, offering praise for effort, and not just results. Resilience grows in relationships where young people feel safe, where the promotion of the idea that abilities and intelligence can develop through effort is upheld. Praise perseverance and problem-solving, not perfection, and in doing so, help reframe negative self-talk (“I can’t do this”) into hope (“I can’t do this yet”). This forms the basis of Dr Dwerk’s renown Growth Mindset theory.
Letting your child struggle within reason will also assist their development. Avoid shielding them from all discomfort as some struggle builds coping skills. Support them to solve their own problems rather than stepping in, which can be hard to do.
Helping your teen build resilience isn’t about making life easier; it is about helping them to become stronger, wiser, and more hopeful in the face of challenge through reflection and a sense of control. With your love and support, they can learn to thrive through anything, irrespective of the world in which they function while making the most of the opportunities and challenges that technology and the AI era will throw at them. Their strong emotions will help them build the capacity to relate to others in being compassionate, forgiving, accepting and loving. This is what the world needs.
Dr Napoleon Rodezno
College Principal
