The student body
Early days
The first Mt Lawley College students enrolled for a three-year Diploma of Teaching commencing in 1970. They anticipated their tertiary studies to start at a newly established institution in Mt Lawley, however the building was not ready and they were temporarily accommodated on a primary school campus at Bagot Road, Subiaco. They finally moved in, in September of the same year. The campus consisted of a single quadrangle, eventually known as Building 3. To the right of the entry, was Bob Peter’s office and upstairs over this area was the staffroom.
While the building was new, it was basically surrounded by sand and light bush, with the occasional pine tree. As for facilities, there was a sandwich and drink machine, which was refilled daily. Students without a car had the choice of bringing lunch or using these machines. However, students with cars could go to the Dianella shopping centre or a sandwich and cake shop, called Cannella’s, which was nearby.
Although expectations of the 1970 inaugural students were very high, their initial experiences on the partially completed Mt Lawley campus involved many tasks traditional university students would object to. These included moving wheelbarrows full of garden soil and manure into newly built garden beds, digging holes, weeding, planting trees and shrubs and mulching. These formed a major role during the first week of moving onto the new campus from the crowded accommodation of Bagot Road. Many of these activities were shared with the second intake of students, throughout 1971.
The lack of facilities also extended to physical education. In 1971, physical education was conducted in the park opposite on Bradford Street. Students used change rooms, abutting the car park, at the front of the college. For swimming, students attended, what is now known as, the Terry Tyzack Aquatic Centre.
By October 1971, the College colours and the College crest designed by Bryant McDiven had been agreed to, following a survey of student opinion.
Studentships
Most of the first Mt Lawley students, in 1970 and 1971, had three year WA Education Department studentships, and were “bonded” for an equivalent three years after the completion of their courses. There were also a small number of private students.
The Department was still coming to terms with employment of married women as bonded students, but became more willing to accommodate those students planning to marry during their studentship days. Back in 1970 the Department did not accept married women as bonded students. Several students in the first intake withdrew for marriage, as mentioned in the Principal’s 1970 Annual Report. Employment of married women in WA schools was not encouraged, but the situation for both marriage and employment had improved somewhat by 1971 and the Principal’s 1971 Annual report, showed that the Education Department had accepted all the female married students. Interesting enough, any male students, who married during the course, received an additional allowance. At the end of the course, the Education Department provided all successful students with a job.
A studentship effectively meant that students in the scheme were “employed” by the Education Department and had to abide by the rules such as: observing the dress code, attendance in classes, punctuality and providing medical certificates if sick. Classes ran from 9am-5pm on week days and students were expected to attend camps and other compulsory organised activities in their own time, of a weekend. Class rolls were taken every day and attendances were recorded.
In the early 70’s, a university education was expensive and would have precluded the majority of students, who attended Teachers’ College. Undertaking a teaching course with a studentship from the Education Department, not only gave students a free tertiary education, but also gave them a weekly stipend. In some cases, students from outlying areas and the country, also received a living away from home allowance. There were also allowances for travelling to college, demonstrations, and practicums. These was based on bus fares, after a certain amount had been reached per day.
At the end of the first year of the course, a student could transfer to Secondary Teachers’ College, WAIT or UWA at no expense to themselves, as this was considered part of the studentship. A large number of students attending Mount Lawley Teachers’ College were women, as teaching was one of the most prestigious career options available to them. In any case, this career allowed entry to the broader field of higher education, even if the student did not wish to pursue a lifelong career as a primary teacher.
Communication
Bob Peter’s appointment as Mt Lawley’s foundation principal brought experience and creative leadership to the new teachers’ college. From the beginning he introduced a caring communicative environment where students were encouraged to be participants in the task of shaping the new tertiary institution. Through his “open door” approach he sought to facilitate communication between staff and students on campus. He expected staff to be easily accessible to all students while in their staff offices, and jokingly “threatened” staff that if he found the door closed while the staff member was working in the office he would “take the door off its hinges”.
Communication with students was important to him. If students had a problem or concern, they should be able to consult staff members. In addition, Bob introduced a home tutor system where every staff member was allocated a group of 16 students and they met each Friday morning for half an hour before lectures for the day began. To enable communication he also established G.L.O.’s (Group Liaison Officers). G.L.O.’s were the messengers between the administration and students. Each class had its own G.L.O. The G.L.O.’s attended Student Council and imparted important information to the Principal.They were also his mouthpiece for conveying his response back to the students.
The Course
Each new intake of students was subjected to compulsory IQ tests, Reading Tests and essay writing. Their entry subjects were also examined. The Leaving Certificate specified that students had to have English as one of their subjects, but some students had not undertaken mathematics or science. With all the information at hand, staff to ensure all students had the correct level of achievement in each of the core subjects. Students were given remedial assistance to address their specific weaknesses or put in an advanced group, if they showed superior ability in an area.
Initially, the requirements of continuous assessment was excessive. For example, in one department, students were required to submit three tutorial papers, gain marks for tutorial participation, submit 2 laboratory reports and sit for 4 tests. As there were a large number of study units per semester, many students felt overworked and had little time to synthesize new materials and participate in discussions with other students. As this was of concern to staff and students, the assessment program was reviewed. A semester scheme was implemented from 1970 and the 1971 Annual Report claimed that “there is no doubt at all that halving the number of subject studied while doubling their individual time allocation in a given week has enhanced the effectiveness and enjoyment of college courses from both staff and student standpoints”.
Bob Peter eschewed the traditional university style of lecture in favour of more active involvement, which included: role plays, discussions, and simulations. He was also in favour of utilising the technologies available at the time, such as AV and CCTV. He also embraced the idea of the new computers. which emerged throughout the early years.
Student Initiatives
Bob Peter, encouraged student participation. One of the first things to be established at Mount Lawley Teachers’ College was the Student Council. John Rice was elected the foundation Student President of the Student Council, which was formed to encourage student leadership, and student initiative. The Student Council was responsible for organizing successful ‘dinner and dance’ functions to strengthen awareness of the Mt Lawley College community by College students. Student initiatives with staff support resulted in a number of recreation and sports facilities, teams and groups. The students organised Mt Lawley’s participation in an Annual Inter-College Sports Carnival, firstly in 1972 and then in subsequent years with considerable student interest and participation.
A newspaper named “Mentor” was established as a student-wide stimulus for action. John Rice targeted two concerns in one of the 1971 publications: student parking on campus and prohibition of alcohol at any college function.
The alcohol question became a continuing issue for a succession of student executives and arguably, it was never satisfactorily resolved.
Other issues in the Mentor, included the provision of a college canteen, and the purchase of a college bus. The Mentor later became the mini-Mentor due to a smaller format.
The Mentor Cup was a social event which was initially run by the PE Department, though later taken over by students, particularly those studying science. Mentor Cup Day was taken from the College program to unite students as a group while providing some fun and relaxation.
The Mentor Cup became an established annual fixture by 1976, comprising five water events on the Swan River near the Ascott Pub. The day’s lectures were cancelled on the day, and after several water events an open air dance at the Ascot included a range of competitions, prizes and free drinks – first drinks only.
Late in 1970, a staff-student committee was formed to edit a songbook for Mount Lawley Teachers College. Had the size of the task been foreseen, there would have been no songbook. Over 1,300 man-hours were spent on the production of the book. The material ranged from religious and traditional ditties to more risqué offerings. The song book was entitled “Loot”. One of the notes in the song book stated:
“The lute is stringed but won’t be heard
Until the singer stirs the chords
Here is the loot to take away
So every singer has his day.”
The Formative Years
The formative years 1972 -1974 was a time of rapid change, new buildings, a new student centre, substantial growth of staff and student numbers, on-going capital investment in buildings and infrastructure and above all, nurturing from scratch the Mt Lawley College ethos.
Within this ever-changing campus the students were willingly supportive, ready to learn the skills of teaching from a talented staff. Leadership from the College Principal, Bob Peter, his deputy, and senior staff was both collaborative and respected.
By 1975, student allowances had increased: Year 1 students received $46 a fortnight ($1200 annually) and if over 21, $59 a fortnight ($1547 annually), one of the best studentships on offer to those seeking a tertiary education, and with it, a strong prospect of employment as a primary teacher. There were additional allowances too, for women with dependent children an additional $815 per year, a living away from home allowance of $385, a graduate allowance of $500, a book allowance of $55 and travel allowances. These payments, however, were only for W.A. Education Department ‘bonded students’.
The first decade took Mt Lawley Teachers College through periods of calm, growing maturity and bursts of discontent and concern, each matched by distinctive student initiatives. Communication amongst the thousand or so students on campus was emerging as a significant issue. Signs of collaboration and teamwork were apparent within the Student Council and in other student groups. Furthermore, Mt Lawley College graduates continued to support the College from the field and as practitioners in hundreds of primary school classrooms, they endorsed the Mt Lawley experience.