If you are a teacher in an Australian primary or secondary school, there’s a good chance you’ve received an email from me.
Understanding violence
As the new school year unfolds, many parents are grappling with the spectre of bullying threatening their children. Indeed, with Federal Education Minister Jason Clare initiating a nationwide review into school bullying (late 2024), efforts are under way to establish a national standard for dealing with the problem. The statistics are stark. Previous data suggest … Read more
As a young boy, Aidan Phelan was relentlessly bullied. His father, who had been involved with violent gangs in Melbourne’s suburbs as a youth, taught him the best way to handle conflict was to fight back. That mindset shaped much of his childhood (the photo above is of Aidan at six years old, learning to … Read more
“You know, I got right in his face and just gave him a kiss and said: ‘Dad’s here.
Ben O’Toole is one of the “lucky ones” when it comes to the roughly 3,000 cases of traumatic brain injury that occur in Australia each year. Amazing his surgeon with his recovery after suffering a single coward punch attack in 2007, Ben is acutely aware of how many others whose lives are tragically altered after … Read more
