Somewhere New

I've discovered there are lots of advantages in going somehwere new.  They are, in no particular order:

• you can wear the same clothes you've been wearing for years and as far as everyone else is concerned they are new
• you learn to really look at your surroundings - each tree, corner, shop and face is new
• every conversation is new, as is the person you are having it with, and you have no idea what you might learn
• it's fun arguing with other people's stereotypes e.g. I like living somewhere where you can smile at people when you walk past them.  (Apparently people only smile in country towns, and absolutley never in Sydney!)
• simple things like catching a bus, which drives the locals crazy, is fun.  I actually appreciate not having to walk 10 kms to work, whereas other people are annoyed that the bus is late, there are not many of them, and they are probably late anyway.

Today's high point was when I was walking home from Target with my rather bulky purchases, a young girl from north of Cairns was walking past me, and offered to help me carry them home.  We chatted all the way, and it's fun sharing journeys.  She is working at Kings Canyon resort and hasn't seen an apple since last time she was in town, and has some plans for her next job - on the high seas with any luck.

So today's words of wisdom - take time to have a conversation with someone you haven't spoken to before - your journey can start without you travelling too far from home (and without having to carry bulky parcels) :)

School of the Air (and Internet)

Last Saturday I met a family from Tanami Downs, a station out on the Tanami road.  The 9 year old girl studies by School of the Air, another of John Flynn's projects.  These days it is more School of the Internet, as they use computers for their lessons, and a Skype type program for chatting with their teachers.  Twice a year they come into town and have a week with the teachers and other kids, where they get a chance to do group work and do a bit of sightseeing.  This time they stayed at the Old Telegraph Station, and recreated what school would have been like for children in the 'old days'.  The girls wore bonnets and they addressed the teachers as they would have 100 years ago. Here is a link the Alice Springs School of the Air.  The first transmission was made from the Royal Flying Doctor Base.

http://www.assoa.nt.edu.au/index.html

My new friend spoke animatedly, non-stop about the week, the songs, and what she had been learning.  She also introduced me to some words from the two languages of her family - two quite different Aboriginal languages.  It put a whole new perspective on multilingualism, for here is a young girl who lives 12 hours away from Alice Springs on a dirt road, and yet she is fluent in English and is being taught 2 other languages. 

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My work is interesting and every day I gather information from my colleagues (in fact anyone I meet), which will better prepare me for meeting my students next week, and for delivering my courses through workshops and online delivery (the modern distance education).   For many this is new and confronting, just as it is for anyone being introduced to technology and university study simultaneously.  There are the added complications of Internet access and speed in remote areas.  I'm sure I will find out more about the problems next week.

I am lucky that everyone I meet is so willing to share what they know, and we are constantly learning from each other.  At the moment I am preparing a course in Classroom Management, and I am most impressed that this is actually taught these days.  In the past, teachers learnt more by trial and error, and observing what did and didn't work for other teachers.  I'm a strong advocate of anything which reduces the pain a teacher needs to go through in the journey to being a great teacher.

The McDonnell Ranges rise unexpectedly from a very flat landscape dotted with salt lakes, random tree lined riverbanks with little water, and the odd cratered hills. I’d remembered the beauty of the ranges, but the view and the colours still took my breath away as I flew into the airport.  Each day I have walked into town using the bridge over the river.  There is no need to, as there is not a drop of water to be seen, but everyone seems to use the bridge - except for the locals sitting in a circle in the shade on the river bed, just as their forbears did for centuries before the bridge was built.

I have already learnt a little of the situation regarding education in the Northern Territory and beyond, especially in the Aboriginal communities, and am eager to learn more.  The next 16 months should be more than a little interesting.

 

Sunday 26 August 2012

I went to John Flynn Memorial Church this morning.  1n 1977, on a Teachers’ College trip to the Centre, a busload of us descended on the church.  It was communion, and we had doubled the congregation, so they had to hurriedly fetch some more wine.  This morning there was no busload or wine, but there were a number of visitors.  The Minister was in Sydney, so a couple from the congregation led the service.  The sermon was delivered by a pilot of the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), which was fitting, as John Flynn was at the heart of many of the services provided to the folk of this area.  He was known as ‘Flynn of the Inland’, a Minister who initiated health care services, the RFDS and the School of the Air, an education service for children in areas so remote that they may otherwise have been deprived this basic human right. He lived his faith rather than preaching it, and today people are still reaping the rewards of his dedication.

The pilots of the RFDS have to undergo intensive re-accreditation to ensure they are able to deal with any situation which may arise in the arduous circumstances which are their norm – these areas are prone to high winds, sandstorms, flooding, and very often the flights are made in response to accidents or illness on roads or properties in areas where landing strips are a wish rather than a reality.  The re-assessment is rigorous and fortunately he passed.  May he and the other pilots and RFDS team members continue to be safe in the air and on land.

 

 

http://www.flyingdoctor.org.au/about-us/our-history/the-john-flynn-story/

Today (Sunday 1 September) I went to the RFDS Museum with a Sydney friend who was visiting with Sing Australia.  It's hard to believe how much has been achieved from one man's vision and the hard work of so many.  It's possible to get a casualty from the alice Springs area to Adelaide or Darwin in 3 hours flying time - with expert medical care all the way.

Elsewhere, I also heard the story of someone who some 40 years ago drove a car in Lae in Papua New Guinea.  There were numerous rivers, but only half of them had bridges.  One was too deep and they managed to push the fan into the radiator - making a hole the size of her thumb.  What did they use to stop the hole? Bread!  It only needed replacing once, and got them to their destination. 

Resourcefulness.  That's one of the points in the workshop I'm preparing for my teachers. I think I'll use this story as an example.