An explicit character curriculum, however, is new. Some may question whether it is necessary to dedicate time to teaching character, inferring a belief that character is primary caught from a person’s surrounds, rather than taught in a classroom. While those involved in Barker’s new Character and Enterprise program largely agree with this sentiment, we also see the value of bringing character to the front of a student’s mind. By giving character time to be the primary focus, we believe it can help students to process and give unity to the multitude of experiences that they receive during their time at Barker.

The great opportunity therefore, and great challenge, is this: How do you get a teenager to think about, and then articulate, matters of personal significance? Anyone who has ever tried to ask a sixteen-year-old, “How was your day?” will understand this challenge.

So in the last 4 years, what have we learnt about how to help a teenager to Look within?

What I have loved most about my involvement in the program has been the opportunity experiment and iterate on how to best achieve this goal. We have done small group week long camps, large group camps, over-night programs and day-time programs. In the last 2 years, we have taught fortnightly classes, with the occasional excursion day to augment that experience. Over this time, I can think of three principles that have emerged that encourage introspection in young people: Experience, Space, and follow-up.

One cannot reflect before having something to reflect on. An experience that shakes up prejudices, or provides a challenge, or has led to a significant moment of failure or success, causes a young-person’s previous belief about who they are to be squared up in-front of a new reality. I have found that students are more willing to talk about themselves when they have done something worth talking about first.

There are two experiences that have been present in the program from the beginning. The first has been the Engagement and Discovery Day, where students visit a socially conscious organisation and come face to face with the daily challenges of real life. Here students may meet and work alongside people from different backgrounds and life experiences than their own. They also are exposed to the complexity of running an organisation in the real world.

The second experience is the Pitch Event, where students stand and present an innovative idea they have developed to improve the organisation they have visited. Here they are confronted with the challenges of public speaking, the movement from idea to implementation, and the usual social dynamics that exist in any group work. They learn to be confident in their speaking, that ideas are cheap but execution is hard, and reflect on what kind of group member they want to be. Incorporating further experiences like these would improve our program even further.

It is hard to reflect in the middle of doing something. It is also hard to reflect when you have a million other concerns buzzing around your head: What class do I have next? When is my homework due? What team will I get picked in this weekend? The quality of a fortnightly lesson of Character and Enterprise is directly proportional to how busy Year 10 is at the time. When your English assessment is due the next day, exploring your values and virtues becomes less of a priority.

Designing moments removed from a student’s usual context has resulted in the best quality introspection. It is an aspect that has been lost in the transition from a week-long camp program to fortnightly classes. As we continue to iterate and improve upon our formula, I believe the program will benefit from finding more opportunities for students to pause. It is from a solid stationary basis of reflection that students can then begin again and Go beyond.

It is one thing for a student to have a significant experience, or space to reflect. If these learnings are not revisited, however, they are not reinforced. We know through cognitive science and through our academic curriculum the importance of spaced revision. It is the same with character. It is so easy to lose sight of insights and intentions that come out of big moments in our lives once routine kicks in. A character curriculum, therefore, needs moments of connectedness between each of the significant components of a student’s life at school.

I believe continuity of relationship is a key part of doing this well. Significant moments are often made in the presence of a good friend, or a trusted adult mentor figure. This occurs to some extent through our House pastoral care system. I believe the Character and Enterprise program could be improved if we can weave this principle across the multiple years a student travels through during their time at Barker.

So, the character curriculum will continue at Barker into 2027, and we will continue to incorporate our learnings to adapt to the present moment and improve our practices. I am personally grateful for experience, space and follow-up the Character and Enterprise Program has given me to reflect on my career as a teacher. My hope is that when our students finish up their time here, when prompted as to how their experience at Barker has been, they will be able to come up with something more than just, “Good.”