Matthew Brown

Many years ago, when Methuselah was completing his HSC, Matthew commenced a B.Ed. at the Canberra College of Advanced Education. He always wanted to be a teacher and found that his professional expectations were wholly met when he commenced teaching History (his first love) and English (his discovered love) in rural NSW. After some years, he was promoted to Head Teacher in a large (1250 students) regional high school, where he became more actively involved in all levels of his profession. He began writing textbooks, became the chair of a regional theatre company, and initiated a local professional teachers’ association, which has been in operation for over thirty years. His whole staff nominated, and he was awarded The Minister’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2000. His active interest in his profession led to his being invited to represent the Department in writing the new Stages 4-5 (Years 7-10) and Stage 6 (Years 11-12) English curriculum for all NSW schools, followed by the setting and management of the marking of HSC English in NSW. Concurrently, he was promoted to the position of Deputy Principal, but he always maintained a keen interest in English curriculum and pedagogy, speaking at International, National and State English conferences. In 2010 he was presented with a Professional Teachers’ Council Award for his work supporting teacher professional learning in regional NSW. His work with theatre and schools, led to his being invited by John Bell to become part of the artistic panel for Bell Shakespeare Company and as a National Education Advisor for the Company; a role he held for eight years. At this time Matthew was also teaching English Method at Charles Sturt University for five years. He held both relieving and Principal positions, prior to being promoted to the position of Director Educational Leadership, leading and managing 34 public schools in a network near Canberra, followed by a stint as Director, Secondary Education. He finished his Department career as a R/Executive Director leading and managing 433 schools: 16,000 staff and 120,000 students. Matthew commenced working as a consultant in 2020 for the Department as well as UTS, and Nous while undertaking a Master of Education at his alma mater, which he successfully completed in 2020 (GPA 7). In late 2021 he was offered the position of Clinical Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Canberra. Now there is symmetry for you!