A staff member at Emerson has described the students at his school as a shining example of kindness and compassion, an example the whole of humanity would do well to adopt.
Tristan Hope, who has worked at Emerson for the past sixteen years as Drum Teacher and, more recently, Media Technician for the Senior Digital Studies class, says the world would be a far better place if we could bottle and share the care and support shown by students and staff.
“There seems to be a universal understanding by our students, not only of their own challenges, but also an awareness of being surrounded by others with challenges and vulnerabilities,” Tristan says.
“This awareness sits within an amazingly supportive environment that offers care, time, patience and support, most importantly without judgement.”
The supportive setting at Emerson allows students to open up to each other without fear and provides them with the ability to offer compassion to fellow students in a non-judgemental atmosphere. “You will see Senior students holding the hands of Juniors to help guide them to the right place when the younger students aren’t sure where to go,” he says. “There is a level of care within the school that isn’t always as evident in the wider population.”
Tristan says the Adoption of Responsibility is one of the most powerful ideas in practice at Emerson.
This idea involves putting some of the most challenging and challenged students into positions and roles of responsibility that test, and often push into, their personal issues.
“This idea has been transformative for students in the most positive way,” he says. “For example, one student who was acting out in a destructive manner, was given the role of Kindness Captain, a move that led to a total transformation of that’s student’s behaviour into something incredibly positive.”
Tristan has been playing music for most of his life and has worked as a professional drummer since the age of 16. He studied jazz at the Victorian College of the Arts, then a Bachelor of Music Performance at Box Hill Performing Arts.
He has played both original and cover projects and recorded albums with prominent folk musician Khristian Mizzi over a period of seven years. Khristian was named Folk Alliance Australian Solo Artist of the Year in 2021.
Tristan says he has stayed at Emerson for so long because of its friendly, communicative culture.
“The staffing cohort is strong, loyal, long-tenured and willing to be flexible to support one another,” he says. “The current principal, John Mooney, has fostered and educated a team of staff over many years who have gone on to become leaders and entrepreneurs in the field of special education.”
Tristan is also involved in the Learner Driver program at Emerson, where Senior students are taken out for driving lessons to assist them in becoming independent. He commented on the fact that many Emerson students have no opportunity for this type of support outside school.
“It’s just one example of where Emerson offers far more than just classroom learning for its students.”
Outside Emerson, Tristan works at Red Drum in Prahran, where he has taught drums five nights a week for the past twenty years.
He is also a professional photographer and licensed drone pilot. Some of his work graces the pages of Emerson School yearbooks as well as the school website.
[interviewed March 2026]
Feature image in this article supplied by Tristan Hope
