What is an Average?

How many times do you hear a report in the media and it refers to an average?
How many times have you used the word Average?
How many times do you hear others referring to an average?

Averages are something that we use in mathematics, school, economics, production, sales, marketing and numerous other places…… Whether we talk about Average Wage, Average Income per capita or referring to a norm, we tend to use the term average without much thought….. Are you aware that the there is more than one average?

Though a statistician or a mathematician will tell you that there are many definitions for Average I am going to keep it simple and go through three methods to calculate an average. If you look up average in a dictionary you will see a definition such as

“A number that typifies a set of numbers of which it is a function”

In layman talk we consider an average to be about the middle (ie a set of numbers) or the normal (ie the average Australian….).

However when dealing with numbers I am going to go through three methods of calculating an average:

• Mean
• Mode
• Medium

The Mean is the most common way that average is calculated. The Mean is adding up the numbers and then dividing them by the number of numbers. This number will be the Mean.

The Mode is the number that appears the most in the set of numbers.

The Medium is the middle number. The Medium is calculated by lining up the numbers in ascending order and then picking out the middle number.

For Example:

• Number series: 0, 1, 1, 2, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6
• The Mean is 3.22 (The numbers added together and then divided by 9)
• The Mode is 5 (number that appears most often)
• The Medium is 4 (the number in the middle)

As you can see from the example each of the methods for calculating the Average gives a different answer. There are advantages and disadvantages to each of the methods and they suit different purposes. This I may cover in a future blog. However I hope this has you thinking that next time you hear the word Average…. Stop and think about how they calculated the average and what this means.

Today our son missed the bus from school to get home. And that is where the adventure began….. I was on the way to the bus stop to wait for the girls to get home when I got the call. My wife was a little concerned, so I called my son. My son in his usual way seemed quite relaxed with the situation. So Kim is at work, my son is at school and I cannot drive due to my operation…….

• What would you do?
• Would panic hit you as the parent?
• Would panic hit you are the child?

Well the story ended up all good. Our son walled to another bus stop and caught a public bus home. Thank goodness for iPhones. All the research as to the bus timetable was done on the iPhone. What did we do before iPhones? So late and a little more tired, our son ended up home….. And he viewed the whole saga as an adventure. I must admit that his view of the situation was pleasing. It is good to be able to turn what some would see as a negative experience into a positive experience. May be there are some lessons for us in the story. The key lessons I got from the story was maintain a cool head and when thing go wrong, look for a solution. Just like the old saying “When given Lemons, you can either get bitter or you can make Lemonade.”

• So what lessons did you take from this?

Is it important to you what other people think of you?
Do you wonder what other people think for you?
Do you ever do things because of what others will think about you?

Answering these questions honesty can be difficult. I think that most of us consider what others think at some point. However some of us place more importance on what others think than what others of us do. What is the difference?

Last week this came home to me when there was an out of uniform day at our girl’s school. Angela decided to wear her uniform anyway, as she was proud of it. When she was told that some of the other students may pick on you or make fun of you she just shrugged it off. Even one of the other girls was very surprised…. She was concerned with what others would think if she was in uniform. Two girls with totally different views about what people think of them.

After school I had a chat with Angela about her day. When I asked Angela whether anyone made fun of her because she was in school uniform that day, she replied “not really”. I questioned her further and found that she was the only student in her class in uniform and some people made a small comment at the start of the day, however her reply was that “she likes her uniform”. With this comment and the self confidence that she has, other students realised that it would not be fun to pick on her.

I found Angela’s insight interesting. It got me thinking about how many times I have cared more about other people’s thoughts than my own. It is interesting that when we back ourselves we often discover that people really do not think too much about what we think or do. Think quietly to yourself and ask….. Do you back yourself or do you care too much about other’s thoughts of you?

It has been a big week for International Scouting in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The week has included everything from the Scouts International Student Exchange Program (SISEP) to the Norwegian Jamboree. It is weeks like this that makes one proud of what International Scouting achieves.

On Sunday three venturers from the region headed off to England as part of the SISEP. They will experience a few weeks with a host family over in England. In addition to the cultural exchange through living with a host family, the Venturers will be attending school and scouting in the United Kingdom. What a great experience for teenagers.

Also on Sunday I meet with a Scout Group in the ACT that will be attending the Norwegian Jamboree next year. They have a good plan for the Jamboree and are in the process of placing the plan into a document for the final approval of the trip. This will be a great trip with a post tour in China….. What an awesome experience.

I will also be meeting in the next few weeks with some Scouts about a Project to the Solomon Islands next year. The ACT Branch has a strong Scouting relationship with the Solomon Islands and I look forward to this continuing next year through this project.

We also have another group looking into a project to the Philippines next year. What can I say, International Scouting is alive and well in the ACT. I look forward to International Scouting continuing to play an important role in Scouting in the ACT.

On a side note, tonight I am very proud of my daughters. Two of them earned their Bronze Boomerang at Cubs tonight…… In the end, scouting is all about the young people and the development opportunities that they are exposed too.

Last night was my daughter’s Year 6 Graduation Mass and Dinner. It is hard to believe that two of our four children will be in High School next year. It was a great night to reflect back on the last seven years of her schooling. She had done up a scrapbook with photos of her schooling career. There was pictures from all the years…. It has been an eventful seven years. Mostly at the one school here in Canberra, Australia. However she did get the opportunity to study for a year in Bogota, Colombia.

I must admit the photos and the memories did bring a tear to my eyes…. What am I saying I am tearing up writing this blog post too. Time does fly, we only have the children with us for a short period of time and I have been reflecting on this time.

• Am I doing the best I can for the children in this time?
• Am I doing the best I can to be an example for the children in this time?
• What will the next few years bring?

As I reflect on another year coming to an end. I also reflect on what next year will bring… Two children in high school and two children in the last two years of primary school…

• How will the children grow up?
• What will the children do with their lives?
• What am I going to do with the rest of my life?

It is not just the children growing up, it is also me…. Each year I learn more and develop more. Each year I also am growing up….

As I discussed in my blog post yesterday I talked about how on Monday night I attended a year 7 information night at my children’s high school. During the principals speech he talked about shared responsibilities. He talked about how the school focused on shared responsibilities rather than just rights. Expanding on the topic he talked about how there is an expectation in the school that it is a safe, caring and educational environment. While at the same time each and every student had a responsibility to also live by the schools values.

I am not sure about you, I am hearing a lot about rights these days. There seems to be less talk about responsibilities. Yes, I agree that there are basic rights that we should all have and in most western societies we seem to have it pretty good…. Okay there may be an exception, but overall. I know that there have been times that my children have demanded things as if they had a rights beyond their basic needs. For example internet access at all times…. However, in the past they have been reluctant to help out with unpacking the dishwasher or mowing the lawn. I am happy to say that as my children are reaching their teenage years, there tune has changed and they help out around the house.

You can call me old fashioned, however I believe that respect and responsibility is the first key to rights. Unless we actually respect each other and are willing to take responsibility for making things better then the rights of individuals are not going to improve. I am proud that the school is teaching values and responsibilities as part of it’s development of young people. I believe that when we respect each other and take personal responsibility then we will truly have a world where everyone’s rights are respected.

This week it was a great honour to be able to pin a school parliament badge on my youngest. At the school Assembly all the the elected students came up on stage and had a parent pin their student parliament badge on them. I was proud of her not so much because she got elected, but more so because she gave it a go.

She spent time to prepare her speech and after many delays got to pitch herself to her peers. What a great leadership experience to be involved with. I think it is great that the school provides this peer leadership opportunity to the students in their last two years of primary school.

In addition to the election process the school then has the elected parliamentarians fulfill different portfolios. These portfolios have practical application around the school in terms of the School Community and leadership of peers. My daughter got the Sustainability portfolio so she will be leading in the area of the garden that the school has.

Last week I attended my Children’s School for an awards ceremony. My son received a Community Award. Yes, I was very proud of him. He received the award for the way he happily helps out around the school. It was great to have the opportunity to be there as see him receive his award.

The Awards Ceremony was a celebration for the school of these students that had achieved during Semester 1. They recognised students excellent academic results, for doing a great effort in their students and also for being community minded around the school. In the Principal’s words every student has an opportunity to achieve an award.

There was great involvement from the student body in the ceremony, including the School Captains and the entertainment. I was very impressed with the themes throughout the ceremony. These themes included leadership, opportunity, service, excellence, community and professionalism. The awards were very much about expectations while also being understanding of each students needs.

Some thoughts I had during the Ceremony:

• Do I have high enough expectations for myself and others I deal with?
• Do I have a caring and understanding attitude towards others?
• Am I there to support others to meet the expectations?

Tonight I was at the Canberra Theatre watching the Wakakirri performances for a number of schools including two of my daughters. All the performances were fantastic. I admired the way the young primary school children could put on such a professional performance. Each school that entered had to give a performance with a story and was sustainable in production. It was heartening to see schools deliver messages about pollution and bullying among other things.

I was reflecting how at their age I was not comfortable near a stage, yet they delivered a very professional performance. Then there was the socially aware messages that the children were apart of. This gives me hope that the world will become a friendlier and better place. What great lessons to learn outside the classroom while building self confidence for young people.

• What is something that you are proud about young people these days?

Around the world there is much talk and action about cutbacks by governments in order to bring budgets in line after a period of economic downturn. Canberra is the capital of Australia and the main employer is the federal government. This has meant that many of the cuts that Australia is experiencing, in order for the Federal government to get back to a surplus, is occurring here in Canberra. This has made it hard on some people.

My children go to a school that recently paid off their debt. This has enabled the school to not increase any of the school levies and fees for 2015. This is a great help to the families at the school and shows what can happen when you are not chained to debt. The school has been able to pass on the savings to the families during a belt tightening time in Canberra.

• Imagine what you could do with no debt in your life?

• Imagine the investments you could make?

• Imagine the giving you could do?

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Yesterday I attended my son’s school before work for a meeting about his selection of subjects for the last two years of High School…. Then I had the opportunity to have lunch with him later in the day. After being away for two weeks it was good to catch up with him and see him in action.

I was impressed at the school in the meeting in the way he had done his research on available subjects and thought through his options. He led the meeting with the teacher adviser, while his mother and I mostly observed. He communicated clear reasons for his decisions around his subjects while considering some of the longer term effects of these decisions.

Then at lunch we further discussed his choices and the happenings of the last two weeks. I was impressed during the conversation at the way he took responsibility for things in his life and had thought through reasons for his decisions moving forward into the future.

I know that there will be challenges in the future and life is not smooth sailing. While at the same time I look and see how fast my son has grown up. I am proud of what he has achieved and the way he is moving forward.

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As the year comes to the end I have children finishing up their school year. My son finished the other week and this week had his Year 10 Graduation. My youngest daughter finishes next week and last night had her Year 6 Graduation Mass and Dinner. It is rewarding to see the children all grow up and achieve milestones in their education.

So as Anna wraps up her primary schooling she is heading into a new phase in her life. High School is a different environment and is the next step on her road to adulthood. So next year I will have all the children in High School…. It will not be long and they will all finish school….. Then what? I do not know. But I am confident in each of the children’s futures are bright…..

So Congratulations to Anna for completing Primary School and I look forward to the adventure of High School….. May your dreams come true and you be empowered to follow your passions.

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