Where Being Smart Is Cool
The Age
Thursday December 20, 2001
The principal of Mount Scopus Memorial College, Hilton Rubin, thinks for a moment when asked why Jewish schools consistently perform well in the VCE, with high study scores, high ENTERs and strong standings on the improvement and tertiary preparation indexes.
He talks about quality teaching, about a sense of community, about an ethos that encourages inclusion and engagement in all aspects of school life.
And then he said: ``In our community, it's cool to be an academic high achiever."
It is this culture - where it's hip to be smart - that many educators at Jewish schools point to as an explanation for their students' excellent results.
The head of the secondary school at Leibler Yavneh College, Vivienne Wenig, agreed that learning was accorded high value in the Jewish world.
``The highest compliment you can pay someone is that they are a scholar," she said.
Jewish schools again performed well in the VCE this year.
Bialik College, Mount Scopus, Beth Rivkah Ladies College and Leibler Yavneh Secondary College were all listed in the top three bands of the tertiary preparation index (TPI), with Bialik, Mount Scopus and Leibler Yavneh again near the top on the improvement index.
At Leibler Yavneh, 73per cent of students achieved an ENTER score of 95 and above, with 30per cent of students scoring 99 and above. And at Bialik, nine students in the VCE group of 74 scored more than 99, with 10 scoring a perfect study score of 50 in a particular subject.
The head of mathematics and statistics at Melbourne University, Tim Brown, who compiles the TPI and the improvement index, believes the strong sense of community, and the sheer hard work, encouraged by Jewish schools is another key to their students' success.
``Students work incredibly hard and the whole school functions very much like a family," he said.
Mr Rubin agreed. ``The partnership between home and school is strong and dynamic."
The curriculum also plays a role, pushing students in their academic work.
And in the small Jewish community, Mr Rubin explained, families seeking a Jewish education for their children were never turned away on the basis of their ability to pay school fees.
© 2001 The Age
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