• Tidak ada hasil yang ditemukan

THE HUMAN ELEMENT

Dalam dokumen kelvin grove - forty years 1942 - 1981 (Halaman 48-55)

options which will enable attendance at all required and optional courses; this .is sometimes no small task. Under this scheme, groups are now for optional studies rather than for the core, although it is clear that social groups will form among students who study together in any subject.

Nowhere in student life have changes been more marked than in their Union. In the Forties there was a Union, and it was made up of elected representatives of the groups: but the real power lay with the Principal through his representative on the Union, and with the Treasurer, who was a member of staff. At the time of the one-year course this was perhaps necessary to preserve continuity in student affairs, and it was not a matter for strong objection when the Union was mainly concerned with the social and sporting life of the College.

The passage of time has seen this change greatly.

More heterogeneous, more mature, better educated and more socially and politic~lly conscious students have progressively won from the College administration the right to manage their own affairs and to spend their own funds.

They have even, on occasion, taken strong issue with the administration on matters where they have felt injustice. They have formed links with student bodies in other educational institutions, and with industrial organizations. Unions must still, of course, conform to the provisions of the Education Act under which they are now estab- lished, and this requires their constitution and budget to be approved by the Council. In general, however, they are free to manage a wide range of activities related to social life, sport, travel, student welfare, housing, and many others. While the Union has at times been a thorn in the flesh of the administration, its place today is much more as a working partner in the joint process of tertiary education which involves students, staff, and Council.

The Gains and Losses of Forty Years

Forty years and about twenty thousand students later, the changes have brought both gains and losses. What has been said in the last section shows many gains, which need not be repeated.

But they have not been unmixed. During the period, it has become increasingly difficult to maintain an identity for the whole College. The diversity of students, the pro I iteration of courses, the withdrawal of State scholarships, and the development of a campus of buildings designed for specific purposes, have been divisive influences calling for resistance by Council, staff,

and students alike. It is perhaps too early to see whether such resistance will be effective; indeed, to know whether the idea of organizational identity as distinct from course identity or depart- mental identity is a concept which can endure, apart from its administrative significance. Older members of the College see the loss as a real loss;

a newer generation may not see it as a loss at all.

The Other People - the Staff

This section will be almost entirely limited to general considerations. Time does not permit accounting for all staff, and to make a selection would be to offer hurt to those omitted. No names are included, therefore, unless for rare and good reason. Let us look instead at ways in which staff, like students, have changed during the forty years of Kelvin Grove's life.

In 1 942 all members of staff were also members of the Education Department and had been teachers before coming to the College. Some but not all were graduates of a University, usually the University of Queensland, but in many cases their main qualification was a reputation as a strong and skilful teacher. In the arts, practical skill rated above formal qualifications, which in any case were rare at that time. Aware that their respon- sibility was to the State Education Department, staff geared their work to what they saw as the needs of that Department.

As with students, staff felt the effects of the era of emergencies, but as the Sixties passed changes began to appear. The Education Department began to appoint lecturers from outside its own ranks, and also began to look for higher academic or professional qualifications as well as skill. As staff numbers grew, a new structure was evolved and in 1967 senior lecturers were first appointed.

This gave an additional reason for staff to seek higher qualifications, as these were often made a prerequisite for promotion.

The third stage came when the College became autonomous. As its courses were now under assessment for registration at a national level, one aspect of the assessment was the quality of staff and their suitability to teach the course for which they were intended. This was intensified as Graduate Diploma and Degree courses came into the program. The College therefore looked more for staff with one or both of two criteria as well as proven success in their field of teaching. These were possession of appropriate higher qualifi- cations, and experience outside the local system of education. These were sought on the

assumption that they would produce people who could raise the level of scholarship in the College and also widen the horizons of students. In general this assumption has been justified.

The third stage came when the College became autonomous. As its courses were now under assessment for registration at a national level, one aspect of the assessment was the quality of staff and their suitability to teach the course for which they were intended. This was intensified as Graduate Diploma and Degree courses came into the program. The College therefore looked more for staff with one or both of two criteria as well as proven success in their field of teaching. These were possession of appropriate higher qualifi- cations, and experience outside the local system of education. These were sought on the assumption that they would produce people who could raise the level of scholarship in the College and also widen the horizons of students. In general this assumption has been justified.

The Surviving Pioneers

Four members of the 1942 staff are still surviving today. One became Principal and will be mentioned later. The other three are: J.M. Corkery, who was lecturer in physical education at Turbot Street and who developed the first programs to replace the previous three-week course given by external instructors. He took periods each week in physical exercises, first aid, games, and swimming. He was also a lecturer in speech until 1947, as he held an AT.C.L in Speech and had been involved in drama.

C.M.B. Van Homrigh was actually in the army in 1942 but was nominally on staff and rejoined the College on discharge. Before the war he had been a leader in art education in Queensland, and spent much time writing, developing syllabus material, and lecturing in various parts of the State. At Kelvin Grove he became the long-time head of the Art Department During the era of emergencies his department was located in the old weatherboard E Block, where they became masters of impro- visation and noted for appropriating anything to which no one else had laid formal claim. He retired in 1 968, remaining long enough to take part in planning the new art facilities in D Block.

Charles Hall had an even longer connection with student teachers, first as teacher of music at the Central Practising School, then as lecturer at Turbot Street, and finally at Kelvin Grove until his retirement as senior lecturer in music. He too saw his department through the emergencies, but retired before seeing the new Music Building

47

opened. He was the main influence behind the annual public concerts given by the College, wrote very much material for teaching music in primary schools, and roused a love of, if not skill in, music in countless students. He initiated the Charles Hall Music Scholarship, which is given each year to a student in the primary teaching course to enable the winner to take a year's tuition in vocal or instrumental music.

The leaders - Principals and Directors

There have been seven principals and directors, including one acting appointment Each had a different background and each made some unique contribution to College progress. Two were in office before the move to Kelvin Grove, but it would be unfair not to recognize their influence.

John Shirley, D. Sc. by part time study from the University of Sydney, teacher in England and Queensland, inspector in Queensland, and prolific writer on science teaching, opened the College in 1914 and saw its university scholars and short course students through until he retired in 1920 at the age of 70. A man of strong will, he had to be directed by the Department of Public Instruction on one occasion to observe a gazetted public holiday which he did not think should be observed.

John Morris, B.A. (Qld), pupil teacher and teacher in Queensland, Principal of Gympie State High School in 1912, the foundation high school year;

head of the High School Department of the Central Technical College, which later grew into State High, became Principal in 1920 and developed the program for secondary students, first Juniors in 1920 and then Seniors in 1924. He followed Shirley in the wanderings of the College from the Technical College to the old Fire Brigade Building and then to the Old Trades Hall in Turbot Street He was a leader in educational research in the Thirties and represented the Queensland Institute at the Australian Council for Educational Research from 1930 until his retirement in 1935.

James Alexander Robinson, D. S 0., M. B. £.,8.A.

(Q/d}, pupil teacher in Queensland schools, foundation student of the University, and foundation lecturer at the Training College in 1914; left for A I. F. service in 1 914, and returned a lieutenant-Colonel; appointed Principal, Rockhampton High School and returned as Principal of the College in 1945; instrumental in making the College autonomous in evaluating its own courses. He took the College to Kelvin Grove and saw it through the first period of emergencies until he retired in 1954.

John C. Greenhalgh, B.A., 8. Ed., Ph.D. (Old), M.A. C.E., the first Principal to come through the College as a student (Senior scholarship in 1924);

taught in Queensland schools before lecturing at the College at Turbot Street and as a foundation staff member at Kelvin Grove; served as Regional Director of Education at Roma and completed his Ph.D. while in that position; returned to the College as Principal in 1954, and remained until 1967, when he was appointed Director of Teacher Training with the Education Department. He inherited the era of emergencies from the previous Principal and coped very skilfully with the problems of inadequate accommodation and rising numbers. He saw the re-introduction of the two-year Senior course for Seniors and the cessation of emergency enrolments, and shared in planning several new buildings for teacher education - Kedron Park College and the Home Economics and first Science buildings.

Archibald C. Growder, B.A., B.Ed., (Old), M.A. C. E., continued the progress of the College towards a higher sense of identity and unity of purpose. He was Principal at the arrival of autonomy, and had the extremely trying tasks of inducting the first Council, calming a disturbed staff, helping students cope with the problems of those disturbing times, and coping with the demands of the Board of Advanced Education, all of which he did with great skill and humanity.

During his period the transition from two-year certificate courses to three-year Diplomas was a further complication with which he dealt very effectively. He retired in August 1973 and in 1981 was still enjoying his retirement.

A serious illness shortly before his retirement made it necessary for an Acting Principal to be appointed, and GordonJ. Jones, B.Ed. (Hons,Qld), M.A. (San Diego, Calif.), his Deputy Principal, was appointed to fill the gap while the slow process of selecting the next Director proceeded. Gordon Jones held the position from July 1973 till May 1975, when the new Director took up duty. ln this period, while the foundation Council was still reaching full familiarity with its duties, he remained the 'anchor man' of the College. He was centrally involved in the production of the 1973 Master Plan for the site, also with negotiations with the Board of Advanced Education over course proposals and budgeting. He was associated with several large building projects, and with the initiation of the College's program of in-service education. Few acting incumbents can have faced suci') trying times.

Peter B. Batsman, B.A., B.Ed.(Melb), M.A.

(Monash), Dip.Ed.Admin.(N.E.), Ph.D.(Cornell), F.A.C.E., F.R.l.P.A., F.R.S.A., the first Principal or Director to have been appointed from outside the State Education Department, and the first never to have been a member of that Department. He was the last Director of Kelvin Grove C.A.E. and became the first Director of Brisbane C.A. E. on amalgamation. His Directorate has been marked by further expansion of the range of courses and further substantial building additions, to the point where most needs ofthe College as it is have been satisfied. It has also been marked by the extension of courses outside the field of teacher education and by very extensive developments in College- community relations. He has also involved himself deeply in organizations connected with education and the arts.

J.A. Robinson, 1 935-54

G.J. Jones (Acting) 1973-75

THE PRINCIPALS AND DIRECTORS

AC. Growder 1967-74

49

J.C. Greenhalgh, 1954-67

P.B. Botsman 1975:

The Chairmen of Council

College Councils, particularly the components nominated by the Minister for Education, tend to go unrewarded. Indeed, they tend to receive the blame for any developments which staff, students, or the less rational members of the community find disagreeable. They receive no remuneration for their expenditures of time and effort which are often actually worth a great deal of money. Their rewards come from the satisfactions arising from worthwhile tasks done well, and from seeing the results of their work.

It is impossible to write even briefly about all members of Council, but their names are recorded in Appendix 2. Let this chapter close, however, with brief reference to the three people who have taken the central responsibility for steering the successive Councils through the difficult period from 1972 to 1981 - the Chairmen of Council.

E. Dudley Summerson, 0. B. E., F. C.A., F.A. S.A., took up his position at the point where important decisions were being made at very short notice. In fact, he was on vacation overseas when he received a telephoned invitation from the Minister for Education to accept the Chairmanship of the first College Council. A principal of the large accounting firm of Hungerford, Spooner, and Kirkhope, he brought to the College an impressive background in financial administration which was invaluable when the College was setting up its procedures and making ready to take over financial responsibility for its own affairs. He ran a tight ship when this was necessary, and was meticulous in carrying out the complex duties of a chairman. When he retired in 1975, he left a College organization which was able to manage its affairs with confidence and skill.

l\fevil!e W Stin F. I. C.A., A.A. SA., A.A. U. 0., was the foundation chairman of the Finance Com- mittee of Council, and worked closely with the Chairman in setting up financial and management procedures for the College. On his predecessor's retirement, he became Acting Chairman of Council for the remainder of its term, and was appointed Chairman in his own right when the second Counci! was constituted in August 1976. He made himself thoroughly familiar with all aspects of College I ife, and is re cal led for the generosity with which he made his time available to the College whilst at the same time head of a large private accounting practice. He remained Chairman throughout the life of the second Council, and continued as a member of the last Council, appointed in August 1 980.

Patience R. Thoms, 0 B. E., B.A.. was appointed to the first Council in July 1975. She remained a

member of Council until the end of its term, and became Chairman of the last Council in August 1980. She brought to the Council long experience as a journalist, having been Women's Editor for the 'Courier-Mail' from 1956 until her retirement She is currently a public relations consultant for Griffith University.

She has spent much of her life on community affairs and professional organizations, and became the first Australian President of the Inter- national Federation of Business and Professional Women. As well as being Chairman of the last Council of Kelvin Grove C.AE., she has been appointed first Chairman of the Council of the Brisbane College of Advanced Education.

THE CHAIRMEN OF COUNCIL

Patience R. Thoms 1980-

Neville W. Stitt 1976-80

51

E. Dudley Sumerson 1972-75

Dalam dokumen kelvin grove - forty years 1942 - 1981 (Halaman 48-55)

Dokumen terkait