Mr. David Loader

• 
  www.peterslattery.com/whatsup/ - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 10/6/2008    Last Visited: 2/28/2008  

  Australia's own David Loader has a lot to say about this as well.I posted something about him earlier.David thinks classrooms are out of date and we should rid ourselves of them.
  ...
  The above quote comes from David Loader, who has some interesting things to say about schools and education.David says that schools are a thing of the past.He refers to the idea of ‘island schools', things separate from and yet surrounded by the world as it flows on past.And this he reckons is just not good.
  
  David's website reminds me of a pleasant primary school classroom…and that's not a bad thing.And this similarity not withstanding, he says that:
  
  'Stepping into a classroom is like going backwards in time.'
  
  He is not a big fan of the classroom.
  
  (Ta to Flickr for this pic)
  
  And David has been a principal for some decades and so has what can reasonably be considered an informed opinion.He argues for use of the internet and computers and finding ways of educating that fit better with the here and now than a time gone by.For him, sitting in the classroom is ano longer the way to go.I think David might be onto something.
  
  He also does not argue for learning in a social-less vacuum.In fact quite the reverse.He thinks being with others is important.But it does depend on the nature of the contact.In response to the argument that schools are about social learning and that personal contact is important, he says that:
  
  ‘A lot of our kids come out of school having learnt to be rebellious…be aggressive…be unhappy…to have low self-esteem.'
  
  So social contact in itself does not equal whiz bang development.As someone who works with young people doing it hard, I can only agree with him.
  
  Of the idea of a uniform curriculum David asks why are we so scared of difference?Why should all students learn the same thing?And this too has its appeal for me.
  
  David reckons we need a radical shift in thinking about education…we need to embrace where the world is up to…take the best of the past AND the present and use it all for creating a better society.
  
  (Ta to Flikr for this pic)
  
  He says that we need to do a lot better in schools to develop a more healthy, respectful, supportive society.This comment seems fairly consistent with what I read in relation to social determinants of health.So David, not bad at all really.

• 
  www.districtadministration.com/viewpage.aspx?pagename=/ - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 7/1/2002    Last Visited: 7/23/2007  

  Australia's Wesley College Principal David Loader will explain it all, and tell you what he plans to do next

• 
  www.stager.org/articles/forkids.html - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 4/23/2006    Last Visited: 5/26/2008  

  The laptop initiative inspired by Liddy Nevile and the MLC Principal, David Loader, was never viewed as traditional educational research where neither success or failure mattered much.
  ...
  Loader, D. (1993), "Restructuring an Australian School, "The Computing Teacher.March, 1993.

• 
  aspa.asn.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6 - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 3/24/2007    Last Visited: 3/24/2007  

  David Loader, the Principal at Wesley urged us earlier this year to consider public education to be something beyond that which is run by government and says that depending on your perceptions, situation and value systems we can end up with division and a simplistic picture of them and us in the two education sectors.He argues that there is as much difference in quality within government schools and within the non-government schools as is supposed to exist between government and non-government and he points out that many of the great advocates of public schooling make sure their children go to good government schools.
  ...
  David Loader concludes with the plea that we send packing the dangerous myth that the main thrust of the curriculum should be vocational when in fact it will need to be communal and personal.

• 
  wiki.saikore.com/display/edu/Integrating+Technology - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 10/14/2002    Last Visited: 7/26/2008  

  So we're saying to teachers, "You need to specify the outcomes you want, the content that has to be covered, and you give the students a chance to say, 'Well, actually, I can do it this way.'" Interview with David Loader, Former Principal Methodist Ladies College, Victoria, Australia http://www.newcurriculum.com/2002/int9-30.htm  30/9/2002
  
  "In the early years the technology people had a large voice because they were the only ones that understood the environment.And so we gave them a lot of authority.But at some stage we had to take it back again and put it into the hands of the educators."
  
  Interview with David Loader, Former Principal Methodist Ladies College, Victoria, Australia http://www.newcurriculum.com/2002/int10-14.htm 10/14/2002

• 
  AFR BOSS - Magazine - On the learning curve - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 3/15/2002    Last Visited: 11/25/2002  

  Principal David Warner of Eltham College, Melbourne, and David Loader, former MLC Melbourne principal, make education relevant
  ...
  Principal David Warner of Eltham College, Melbourne, and David Loader, former MLC Melbourne principal, make education relevant
  
  David and I have collaborated, sharing ideas, over the past 30 years.We first met in Orange, NSW when I was at Wolaroi College and David was the young, 30-year-old principal appointed to Presbyterian Ladies College.The schools were going co-ed and I switched across to work with him as his deputy.At the same time the Uniting Church decided to combine both schools – David was appointed principal, I was appointed deputy.The school (became) Kinross Wolaroi School.
  
  Did I find David inspiring then?Yes.Do I find David inspiring now?Yes.David as a principal was before his time.When he retired this year he was probably still ahead of his time.He's prepared to be an innovator and a risk-taker, to see the bigger picture and make decisions to achieve that.
  
  We were strategic thinkers and we gelled.We both believe passionately that schooling and the world at large need to be in sync.However, schools don't understand the labour market and are not preparing kids for it.The world is about part-time, casual and contract work.Schools still see the world as it was – jobs for life – when there are six, eight, 10 careers for every person.The future of work for most young people is being a small business enterprise, a contractor.
  ...
  I've asked David to come in and work with us.I trust him as an educator and believe in his big-picture thinking and passion for schooling and for kids.
  
  My card says principal/ CEO.I'm probably one of the first.The Australian corporate world is not much different to the Australian schooling world.It's not into taking risks – not a big encourager of innovation and creativity.We don't have a strong emphasis on knowledge work.The corporate world looks at performance appraisal, but in schooling, we're restricted by the emphasis on assessment.
  ...
  David was responsible for my coming back into schools.Now we can do some exciting things again.It's a genuine friendship.
  
  > David LoaderMy earliest memories of David are his disagreeing with me over something I'd done.It was a vigorous interchange and that's the way our relationship has always been.We are still trying to change this perception about what is right, recognising that we don't know what is right but we can see that that's wrong and this is better.It was my first principal's job.It was a small school in Orange and it was a very exciting learning time, some of the best years of my life.It was a lot of fun and there was a lot of idealism about creating a new world.Even way back then we were experimenting with things like videos.
  ...
  David in some ways treads two worlds – he travels into that business one.I don't want the school to be only seen as a business but you can't ignore that it is.Wesley College (Melbourne) had a turnover of more than $50 million.I would never put CEO after my name, though (as the principal) I was.I want to be seen as an educationalist rather than as a business person.We're caught up in a middle-class set of values of what we think education is about but it's very hard to break out.You've got to be more relevant, to talk about market trends.
  ...
  David and I disagree on the laptop.We haven't had the argument yet but we must do that.It will be good and it will be over a glass of red wine.That's part of the excitement of the relationship – anticipating the arguments and enjoying them.I don't care what David thinks in the end but having the debate will sharpen my perception of where I'm going – and hopefully will sharpen his.My view is that it's a personal environment, so you must have your own.It's a knowledge space, your own little world.

• 
  CoachCorp® - Mentor Partner Program - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 1/9/2004    Last Visited: 10/1/2005  

  You work with your facilitators David Loader (immediate past principal, Wesley College) and Ross Gillespie, senior coach and mentor from CoachCorp® and 20 of your peers for eight months.
  ...
  David Loader
  ...
  David Loader, immediate past principal Wesley College
  ...
  David Loader

• 
  District Administration: I'm Outta Here - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 12/24/2003    Last Visited: 12/24/2003  

  Australia's Wesley College Principal David Loader will explain it all, and tell you what he plans to do next
  
  The news is replete with tales of teacher burnout, student dropouts and a rise in the number of school principal vacancies.However, it is rare when the resignation of one school principal generates national media attention.Then again, David Loader, principal of Australia's Wesley College, is not your ordinary principal.
  
  An examination of the past 13 years gives a sense of Loader's accomplishments during his 31-year career.In 1989 he committed his school at the time, the Methodist Ladies' College, to giving every child in grades 5-12 a laptop computer.This bold act instigated a learning revolution that is just beginning to ripple across the United States.
  
  Loader built a residential campus for ninth grade girls in an Australian rainforest, constructed a state-of-the-art music center, traded a dated tradition of compulsory Saturday intramurals for a new physical education center and challenged his teaching staff to rethink the nature of teaching and learning.His last two schools created a learning community that includes everyone from toddlers to business leaders interested in personal growth.
  
  An accomplished entrepreneur and consensus builder, Loader was not afraid to "stir the pot" when he thought it would benefit kids.
  
  Loader continued to innovate and spark controversy at Wesley College, the largest independent school in the Southern Hemisphere.He granted autonomy to his three campuses, convened a process where students could help redesign middle-school education, constructed an early childhood center, established time for weekly staff professional development, and "built" a town (see Clunes sidebar).
  
  Loader's creativity, intellect and candor have paid off time and time again.His schools have been recognized as being among the best in the world, and his 1997 book, The Inner Principal (Student Outcomes and the Reform of Education) by Library Binding, is a revealing account of the loves, fears, work and dreams of at least one school principal.
  
  Editor-at-Large Gary Stager interviewed Loader about his career and his decision to leave his current position.
  ...
  Loader fears the loss of healthy initiation rituals in Western societies.

• 
  District Administration: Speaking Out - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 11/22/2004    Last Visited: 11/22/2004  

  MLC Principal David Loader understood the "personal" was at the core of any efforts to make his school more learner-centered.He was not shy in his desire to radically reinvent his school.Bold new thinking, epistemological breakthroughs, sensitivity to a plurality of learning styles, increased collaboration and student self-reliance were expected outcomes of the high-tech investment.
  ...
  Somewhere along the line, the dreams of Kay, Papert and Loader were diluted by what Papert calls the "idea aversion" of school.

• 
  GayNet News - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 2/21/2002    Last Visited: 6/27/2008  

  Wesley College principal David Loader said counselling was now available for students, although those on the website had since left the school.
  
  "I can't access it because the school has it blocked off," Mr Loader said.

Page:  1 2 3