The end of term 1 of 2018 sees the completion of my first year as Head Master of this incredible institution. The journey has certainly been a blur of activity punctuated with many highlights, too many to mention even in précis form.
Transformation in education is a worldwide phenomenon as it has been recognised that traditional education practices and theories are outdated. In education, Henry Ford’s assembly line one-size-fits-all philosophy, is redundant.
I believe that School has taken its first steps in taking the lead within the educational space in preparing our boys for the rapidly changing environment influenced mainly by the accelerating pace of technological change. Schools need to become multi-nodal so that they cater for far more than the medium. As subject content starts developing shorter life spans, so other aspects such as relevant future skills (ie. creativity, problem-solving, critical thinking, collaboration, etc) becomes far more critical.
In today’s world, Google allows content to be available at anyone’s fingertips. Knowing how to process that content, interact with it, develop it, improve on it, analyse it critically – this is the essence of future education. While our steps have so far been small, I believe that just as Neil Armstrong stated, “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”, our autonomous learning environment, our Cambridge international curriculum class and our extensive (but still growing) electives programme are already a giant leap for our school.
There is obviously still a place for the traditional classroom – after all, change needs to be managed – but we need to recognise that the learning space in fifteen years time will be very different. We intend to lead this change, as we always have. In this fast evolving climate, the role of the teacher becomes even more critical, as a more facilitative role requires a far more complex set of skills. Being a baby boomer myself, this is a difficult reality to wallow in. However, I believe that our staff is our biggest asset in driving this change as I have seen in most, the requisite complex skills required to be able to lead our school and our boys into the future. Their commitment to the boys, to the changes and their energy and willingness to lead the changes, has humbled me, but at the same time, made me proud to be a part of this journey. I congratulate the boys too for their support and keeping me young. I thank the parents for entrusting your sons to us. Thank you to the outgoing Governing Body for all your commitment and sacrifice to the school and at the same time, I wish the new Governing Body all the best for their tenure. Thank you to all stakeholders in the DHS family for the journey so far. Have a safe and blessed Easter holiday.
A D Pinheiro
15th Head Master
