Reflections and news

A big day today

Shortly after I posted to Substack this morning, I received some news from the University of New South Wales. I want to reflect briefly on that post before sharing the news.

I think the post slightly missed its mark. Perhaps it was too abstract. In trying to make a point about change, I touched on some complex issues in a way that did not show enough respect to those issues.

For what it’s worth, I am in favour of a First Nations voice to the Australian parliament, I am in favour of Australia becoming a republic and I am against banning school exclusions. I did not make these positions clear and you probably need to know those positions before evaluating my argument.

I was trying to make the point that enthusiasts for change tend to focus on big principles and that sceptics focus on details. Advocates for change are at a disadvantage as a result.

I used the example of ATSIC when discussing the voice to parliament. I was not in Australia when ATSIC was in existence and the subject deserves more than a few lines — based on internet research — deployed in the service of making a wider argument. I mentioned it because I’ve already seen it referenced in anti voice materials and because I suspect it will be raised in the coming discussion. Anyway, it was a clumsy foray into territory about which I lack expertise.

And perhaps I should know better.

After I had posted, I received an email from the University of New South Wales informing me that my revised PhD thesis has been accepted and that I had therefore completed my PhD. However, don’t go calling me ‘Dr’ just yet. I don’t think that’s official until my confederal on 28 July.

I mentioned it on Twitter and have been overwhelmed by congratulations. It’s sometimes easy to forget that the vast majority of people on social media are positive and well-meaning because they usually stay so quiet. When my PhD research has been raised on Twitter in the past, it has often been as a vehicle for criticism deployed by people who dislike my views on education. Why is it taking me so long? Am I really a PhD candidate? Etc. Either that, or it will be someone with a PhD offering condescending advice. I hope I don’t turn into that person.

Of course, thanks are due to my school for supporting me, the University of New South Wales — not least for nourishing my soul on every visit — my brilliant supervisors John and Slava, and my wonderful family.

As my grandmother used to say, “Plod on.”