Today we welcomed almost 200 visitors to our Middle Cove campus for Open Day - always a wonderful opportunity to share with prospective (and some current!) families the unique educational approach that defines our school, and of course, to showcase our magnificent grounds.
Throughout the morning, visitors saw students immersed in purposeful, active learning: exploring multi‑disciplinary themes in Main Lesson, modelling geometric forms, observing scientific phenomena, discussing historical events, creating music, designing, blacksmithing - the list goes on. As I observed the richness of these experiences, a thought that has been returning to me often lately rose again with real clarity: these deep, hands‑on, tactile learning moments strengthen attention and memory in ways that screen‑based engagement simply cannot match. It becomes unmistakably clear:
when screens step back, learning steps forward.
This was the focus of the message I shared with guests today, and I want to bring it to our school community as well, because it speaks directly to Glenaeon’s thoughtful stance on technology - one well worth celebrating.
Neuroscience increasingly affirms what Steiner education has long understood: children learn best when they
do
, not when they
click
. Our slow‑tech approach supports children emotionally, behaviourally, and academically. We know, too, that social media pressures are major contributors to anxiety and distraction among young people. By limiting digital exposure in the early years, we protect childhood, nurture real‑world friendship, and create space for imagination, creativity, and stillness. Students who are less tethered to algorithmic feeds are more grounded, more socially present, and more able to engage joyfully in school life.
Encouragingly, it seems Australia may be on the cusp of a profound shift in how we think about childhood, technology, and the true purpose of schooling. Concerns about attention, memory, sleep, cognition, emotional wellbeing, and social pressures are rising to the surface, prompting schools to respond to what is now impossible to ignore. At Glenaeon, we have long led the way. Our approach places us exceptionally well to support children and young people in becoming capable, centred, purposeful individuals ready to shape their own meaningful lives.
There is a beautiful irony in this moment: the capabilities young people must need in an AI‑rich future - creativity, imagination, ethical reasoning, collaboration, and compassionate thinking - are precisely the capacities Steiner education has been cultivating for over a century. At a time when many schools are scrambling to retro‑fit creativity into their programs, it has always been the backbone of ours.
Glenaeon is proudly a slow‑tech school—not a no‑tech school.
The distinction is important.
Rather than removing technology altogether, we introduce it with intention, purpose, and at developmentally appropriate stages. In the primary and middle years, children learn through movement, story, art, rhythm, nature, and human connection. These experiences lay the neurological foundation for literacy, numeracy, focus, comprehension, creativity, and emotional intelligence. They are not luxuries; they are essentials.
When the time is right, particularly from middle High School years, technology is brought in with clarity and discipline. Students learn digital literacy, research skills, responsible online behaviour, and an emerging understanding of AI.
It was such a privilege to talk to visitors today. To hear so clearly that parents today are seeking schools that not only educate well, but also care wisely for childhood. A Glenaeon education does just that: relational, human‑centred, developmental, and aligned with the best of contemporary research.
Thank you for your trust and partnership and for choosing Glenaeon for your children. Together, we continue to offer young people an education that is calm, future‑focused, and profoundly human.
Enjoy this weekend!
Diana Drummond
Head of School