22 Jun 2017
Recently two former Dubbo College students Chayan Deb Nath and Aidan Shields received their Duke of Edinburgh International Gold Awards for work completed while at Dubbo College.
Both began their Duke of Edinburgh journey with teacher Paul Woodhead at Dubbo College Delroy Campus where the program features as an elective in Years 9 and 10.
Mr Woodhead who is perhaps best known for his Circus West program, was asked to deliver a speech during the awards ceremony, which took place at Government House in Sydney.
His speech follows:
Your Excellency General, The Honourable David Hurley, Governor of New South Wales, Mrs Hurley, special guests, ladies and gentlemen and Gold Awardees, I am both honoured and humbled to be asked to speak on behalf of our young Duke of Edinburgh program at Dubbo College Delroy Campus.
A number of people, parents, students and other teachers, have asked why it is that we give our students the options of camping, spending time following their own pursuits, volunteering their time in pursuit of an award, and playing fire fighter and rescuer with NSW Rural Fire Service and State Emergency Service equipment. They ask in much the same manner that they query the offer we give of a Circus elective at our school, with a small dose of initially uninformed annoyance and a larger dose of wistful envy in their eyes, the "I wish my school could have done this" look.
It is our view, based on observation and many years of teaching in many different ways, that these offerings are really investments, investments in the future of our students, our nation and indeed, our world. But more on that later ....
We have been immensely fortunate in the manner in which we were able to create this opportunity, and in which it has been supported. To meet the need for leadership opportunities expressed by many of our students six years ago, we offered The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award, and cadetships in the NSW RFS and SES. This initiative had a working title of ‘Beyond Yourself', expressing succinctly what we were hoping to achieve.
The College supported this initiative with start-up funds to ensure no student who wanted to participate was left out because of financial difficulties. The NSW Duke of Edinburgh office helped us by advising which of the Award requirements could be melded with the requirements of the Board of Studies. The program, which is predominately practical in nature, allowed us to complete the administration and training for the awards as a group, while still completing all of the section requirements out of class time.
With the school's financial support limited by budgets, the second of three fortunate events occurred. The NSW Duke of Edinburgh office negotiated on our behalf to acquire national funding assistance. This ensured we were able to manage on-going efforts to be truly inclusive of our student body ... no student willing to partake being left out.
The third fortunate event came out of the blue with a phone call in February of 2015, again from that bastion of support, the NSW Duke of Edinburgh office. The question was whether or not I wanted to take Delroy Campus Duke of Edinburgh students on the Kokoda Track in six months time, like that was a real question! After giving an immediate yes, then seeking permission from our principal Debbie Head (who is present today), yet another amazing opportunity was offered up to our vital young people. However, comments on this journey must remain the subject of another time.
I am very sure the NSW and national staff in the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award offices are well aware of the impact their program makes on our young people, but I would finish by revisiting the concept of an investment in society, which is how I believe all education should be viewed, as against a cost to society! Our joint investment in the youth of Dubbo College has already seen a return in social skills like empathy, commitment to community, compassion and cooperation; in personal attributes like perseverance, resilience and courage; and in virtues like fortitude, prudence, justice, and patience.
It will of course take time, perhaps years, to see if the city of Dubbo, NSW, Australia or indeed the world functionally benefit from the growth in our youth that we have witnessed. But I believe we are already the richer and wiser for their efforts, and for the time and resources we have put into them and this Award program. For these results my principal Debbie Head, our staff, our students and their parents and guardians thank you.