In his 2019 song “Wikipedia”, Israeli artist, Hanan Ben Ari, opposes the stereotyping that dominates much of the discourse around the various sectors and groupings in Israeli society. In a rapid stream of lyrics, Ben Ari raises long-held reductive stereotypes such as “all of Tel Aviv is vegan”, “that every Mizrachi is discriminated against“ and […]
This week I returned to School after my sabbatical leave. The majority of this time was spent in Israel where I had the opportunity to visit innovative schools, meet with outstanding educators and to explore some of the unique programs and experiences that Israel offers to promote the Arts, culture, entrepreneurship, and coexistence. The backdrop
Science fiction has often presented new technology as something with both great promise and the capacity for menace. Whether it was Hal 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey, the replicants in Blade Runner or the Terminator, we have often seen depictions of what might happen when artificial intelligence grows to match the capacity of humans.
Over the past weeks a debate has resurfaced regarding the merits of the ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) as a measure of student attainment in the final years of schooling. Last week, a group of principals from both the independent and public systems wrote to the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) and the Victorian
I’d like to share with you an excerpt of the speech I delivered at this week’s Back to School Service: The Back to School Service is our acknowledgement of the promise of the new school year. It is also a chance for our community to celebrate the contributions of extraordinary staff members and students who
I’d like to share with you an extract of a speech I delivered to students in our opening assembly at Magid Campus: Students, did you know that every year the world’s most significant dictionaries nominate a word or a phrase that characterises the year that has passed? Last year, the Oxford dictionary chose “Goblin-mode” as
I would like to share with you an excerpt from the speech that I gave at Presentation Evening. “To our Year 12 graduates, as I look out at you now during your last official King David moment I am taken to something very personal. Some of the staff would be familiar with some of the
I’d like to share with you an extract of a speech I delivered to the Class of 2022 at their Graduation Dinner: Class of 2022, are you aware that the German language is famous for its employment of unique compound words? Mark Twain wrote in his famous essay The Awful German Language, that this means
I frequently meet with adults who warmly remember their school days as amongst the best times in their lives. I loved my childhood growing up at The King David School in the 1980s. I also remember those times through a nostalgic haze. That said, when I see the extraordinary learning opportunities that our current students
In just under two weeks, we will be sending our largest ever cohort of students and staff to Israel for their fabulous Yesh experience. “Yesh” has a dual meaning. It literally translates to “have” but is used in Hebrew as a celebratory exclamation akin to “awesome!”. Its second meaning is as a compound of Yisrael