Ms Hien Dang

 

Principal

 

Ms Hien Dang is a fully qualified high school English teacher with nearly 18 years of teaching experience. She has taught English and History at a number of prominent high schools around the Sydney metropolitan area, including St Dominic’s College Kingswood, Patrician Brothers’ College Blacktown and Patrician Brothers’ College Fairfield. She also has experience in English HSC marking and assessment preparation with the New South Wales Board of Studies.

 

Ms Dang’s passion for and dedication to English is demonstrated in her unique teaching style as well as the interest and enthusiasm shown by her students. Ms Dang's philosophy to balance the 5 Fs of teaching -“Be firm but fair, friendly, flexible and fun”-  reflects her commitment to ensuring her lessons are always conducive to learning while also highlighting the importance of having students engaged with and participating in the learning process.

 

Holistic Education

 

Ms Dang is a strong advocate of holistic education. 

 

"Holistic education is based on the premise that each person finds identity, meaning, and purpose in life through connections to the community, to the natural world, and to spiritual values such as compassion and peace. Holistic education aims to call forth from young people an intrinsic reverence for life and a passionate love of learning.

 

A holistic way of thinking seeks to encompass and integrate multiple layers of meaning and experience rather than defining human possibilities narrowly. Every child is more than a future employee; every person's intelligence and abilities are far more complex than his or her scores on standardised tests.

 

By fostering collaboration rather than competition in classrooms, teachers help young people feel connected. By using real-life experiences, current events, the dramatic arts and other lively sources of knowledge in place of textbook information, teachers can kindle the love of learning. By encouraging reflection and questioning rather than passive memorisation of “facts,” teachers keep alive the “flame of intelligence” that is so much more than abstract problem-solving skill. By accommodating differences and refusing to label children, for example, as “learning disabled” or “hyperactive,” teachers bring out the unique gifts contained within each child’s spirit."

 

Source: www.pathsoflearning.net

 

"We know that treating schools as if they were factories turning out workers to compete in the world economy does not work. It fails to connect with what is highest and best in the child. We know that standardisation, excessive testing, and narrowing the focus of education to measurable intellectual performance does not work. It leaves out too much of what it means to be a complete, spirited, fulfilled human being."

 

Source: www.educatethewholechild.org/