An offer too good to refuse, right? Well, it might be.
Prince Alfred College has just advertised two positions, for a Mathematics Teacher and for Assistant Head of Mathematics (Theoretical). Presumably it is the mathematics that is theoretical, rather than the position of Assistant Head, but the school can clarify. Anyway, for those who don’t know of it, PAC is a strong and well off private boy’s school, sort of Adelaide’s answer to Melbourne’s Polo Grammar. I wrote briefly about PAC battles last year, and long ago I gave a couple talks at PAC: the students were lovely, if unnervingly respectful. The key point, however, is that PAC’s current Head of Mathematics is Anthony Harradine.
For those who don’t know of Harradine – pronounced “dine” rather than “dean”, by everyone but me – where have you been? Anthony is a legend of Australian education, having devoted decades to bringing sense to maths ed. He was the force behind MathsCraft, he built Numerical Acumen in his garage with his comp-sci mate, and has made untold other contributions. While I’ve spent my years yelling for someone to do something, Anthony has been doing many somethings. Now Anthony is doing something at PAC.
A couple years ago, Anthony decided to put some work into fixing his own backyard, and set about reforming the mathematics teaching at PAC, from K up to 12. “Think globally, act locally”. Anthony put his hand up to be Head of Mathematics (again, after twenty years’ holiday), including doing a heavy dose of teaching. He has been working himself, and everyone around him, ragged, and there is now the opportunity to join him.
The advertisements offer the usual instructions for applying, and also note,
Please contact the Head of Mathematics, Anthony Harradine, on (08) 83341200 should you wish to discuss the role in more detail, or your own specific circumstances.
Please apply by Wednesday 2 October 2024, and include a cover letter and a current CV.
For those teachers in a position to be able to be there, it could be a great thing. Anthony is a great teacher, a great leader and a great guy. And yes, the food in Adelaide really does suck. But it would be compensated by the easy opportunity to get pissed at the very good wineries.