Australia’s oldest teacher retires after 22 years at Brisbane Grammar

AUSTRALIA’S oldest teacher has retired, after spending the last 22 years of his long career at an elite Brisbane private school.

AUSTRALIA’s oldest teacher, 89-year-old Don Barrett, hung up his whiteboard duster yesterday, retiring after a remarkable 67 years in the profession.

The Brisbane Grammar School Latin teacher said he had mixed feelings of sadness and gratitude as he was farewelled by staff and students at the prestigious private school, where he has taught for the past 22 years.

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Mr Barrett, who leaves the profession as the nation’s oldest and longest-serving practising registered teacher, began his career at Nambour State High School in 1951.

With a growing number of teachers leaving the profession after only five years, Mr Barrett attributes his longevity to his enduring love of watching students learn.

“I love when I am teaching a group of boys and they come to understand or catch on to what we are learning, when you see the light come on in their eyes,” he said.

“I simply always enjoyed what I was doing – if I wasn’t enjoying it, I would have gotten out a lot earlier.

“I have also learned, wherever possible, to cultivate a sense of humour. It is not a good idea to get a reputation for being a grump.”

Don Barrett, 89, bids farewell to Brisbane Grammar School Year 9 students Bailey Dangerfield, Roshan Shami and Harris McGaw. Picture: Tara Croser

During almost seven decades in the classroom – teaching across both university and high school – Mr Barrett has witnessed the transformation of the profession, and he says he’s amazed by his students’ expertise in technology today.

He has also seen his subject, Latin, fall somewhat out of favour in recent decades.

“I know it is not as fashionable a language as it would have been once,” he said. But he hopes there will always be a place for Latin in school.

“It leads students to be much more precise in the way they express themselves in speaking or writing. In Latin, there is no room for any sloppiness or ‘near enough is good enough’,” he said.

As for his retirement, Mr Barrett hopes to catch up on some sleep and reading.