NAME:
Michael Parker
COMPANY:
Newington College
POSITION:
Headmaster
LOCATION:
Sydney, Australia
Michael Parker remembers all too clearly the day he failed a class. Not as a pupil, but in his current role as Headmaster of Sydney’s Newington College. He was teaching when his lesson in fake news took an unexpected turn. Somehow, he’d managed to convince a quarter of the Year 7 class that it was possible the world was flat. “I walked out thinking, ‘How did I achieve that?’” he recalls.
Michael’s seemingly impossible achievement emerged after using American basketballer Kyrie Irving’s infamous flat-Earth comments and pointing his class to a “ridiculous” website that backed up the claims. “I went, ‘Ha, ha, ha, look at the way the website is twisting the idea,’” he says. “Anyway, they had a bit of a browse through it, only to turn around and say, ‘Actually, there’s something in this.’
“I’m going, ‘No, no, no! Don’t think that!’ But I took a poll at the end of class and a quarter of the kids thought not that the Earth was flat, but that it was possible the Earth was flat. It was a case of fake news spreading faster than real news. Probably my most failed lesson ever.”
This story is from the April 2021 edition of The CEO Magazine - ANZ.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 2021 edition of The CEO Magazine - ANZ.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
There Were No Unknowns For Us
Putting discipline at the core of figurehead construction helped it survive both the global financial crisis and the covid-19 pandemic, says managing director Joe Grasso.
The Future Is Digital
We are watching a lot more television as a result of the pandemic, but as the senior vice president, head of streaming for 10 viacomcbs Liz Baldwin explains, the way we view it has totally changed.
The Ultimate Investments
With the global economic recovery from the pandemic underway, many analysts are suggesting now is the time to invest – but will whisky, soybeans or bitcoin find a way into your portfolio?
Once in a LIFETIME
CO-FOUNDER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR OF INTEGRITI PROJECTS ANDREW STENOS IS BUILDING MORE THAN BESPOKE HOMES. HE’S ALSO BUILDING DREAMS FOR CLIENTS WHO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY WANT.
PUTTING FAMILY FIRST
COUNTRY LIVING HOMES MANAGING DIRECTOR MARK RAVENSCROFT HAS OVERSEEN IMPRESSIVE GROWTH, BUT NEVER LOST SIGHT OF WHAT MAKES THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS SUCH A SUCCESS.
“A SAFER COMMUNITY IS MY MAIN PRIORITY”
ULTIMATE SECURITY CEO NASSIM SAID HAS BUILT A HIGH-TECH SECURITY ORGANISATION FROM THE GROUND UP, ALWAYS WITH COMMUNITY SAFETY IN MIND AND AN INSISTENCE ON FAMILY VALUES.
We Did It Our Way.
WHEN STEVEN SIMEONI FOUNDED TAS CITY BUILDING, HE KNEW HE WANTED TO DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY.
FROM PRECISION TO PREZZEE
A COMMERCIAL PROPERTY BARON AT 24, PRECISION GROUP BILLIONAIRE SHAUN BONÉTT HAS BUILT HIS CAREER ON UNDERSTANDING THE RETAIL MARKET. NOW HE’S INTRODUCING PREZZEE, THE DIGITAL GIFT CARD PLATFORM THAT’S CHANGING THE WAY WE GIVE.
HIGHWAY STAR
IN REGIONAL AUSTRALIA, WHERE TRUCKS ROUTINELY NAVIGATE VAST STRETCHES OF HIGHWAY, THE ROAD BETWEEN AGRIBUSINESS AND COMMUNITY IS SHORT. DENILIQUIN FREIGHTERS IS AN OLD HAND AT THAT ROUTE, WHICH CEO VICKI MEYER SAYS IS ITS MOST IMPORTANT ONE.
BENEATH THE SHEETS
A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP GOES A LONG WAY TOWARDS MENTAL WELLNESS, AND AH BEARD CEO TONY PEARSON BELIEVES THE OFT OVERLOOKED MATTRESS IS THE ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT.