The weather is starting to get colder or I guess more comfortable by most standards. Cooler weather is a sure sign of autumn. It also has been raining a wee bit more and that is very relieveing to most Australians. This was one of their driest years on record. One big difference about fall is that on native trees the leaves to not change colour and do not drop for hours of endless raking. Rather on the gum trees the leaves stay.
The other sure sign that it is the autumnal period is Aussie Rules Football starts this weekend (not different from the states when football starts there). People get very excited about Aussie Rules Football. There are about 16 teams in the country. The ball is larger than American Football. The players do not wear helmets or pads. Shorts, kneesocks, and sleeveless jersey are it. So I guess by comparison Australians find American Football rather wimpy. I do know that the team rivalry, excitement from the fans, and betting pools are all the same as the United States, maybe more so. People cheer for their team, they no not root for a team as it has a deragatory connotation. They league has a pre-season like American Football, a regular season, and tournament play. For more information on teams and to see some uniforms visit the offical Aussie Rule Football website at: http://afl.com.au/ Hopefully we will get to go to a game. It is difficult to get tickets here as it is in the United States for a football game.
Australians are a sporting nation. It is not pluraized here by the way, sport section of the newspaper or the sporting news on television, not sports. The world championship swimming is being held in Australia this year. It has full coverage on regular television every night, cancelling all other programs. It has been fun to have the opportunity to watch the meets and have commentary by Australians. They root for a good race and are very positive about all athletes particpating. They do interview Australians more. But full coverage on regular tv, that supports a good race and not just the athletes of their country. Can we say this about the United States coverage of world championships or the Olympics?
Kim and Patrick's Travel Adventures
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Thursday, March 22, 2007
School In Australia
Australian children are required to wear uniforms. This as a teacher is a wonderful thing! Gone are the baggy pants where I can see kids knickers(underwear)and have to tell boys to pull up their pants. Gone are the days when girls will sit and the low rise is a bit too low. No low cut tops, midriffs and shorts or skirts way too short. No telling students to take their hood off on their jumpers (hoodies) or to pull their shirts down as to not see their belly. I am a believer of uniforms. I would even be happy to have a uniform as a teacher. No decisions, less clothes to buy, but probably more wash to do. The students don't mind either and most of the students I have spoken with believe it is a lot easier than having to choose clothing. I also believe it puts students at more of a level playing field. Having uniforms from many Australian teachers' perspectives puts the focus on education and creates a community feeling with students in the school. The parents I have spoken with hated the idea of not having uniforms, "ugh, the expense!" They said when we discussed some of the differences between Australia and the United States. Students express their identity, often a concern in the States. Piercings, hair styles or colors, and jewelery are still worn.
Schools are divided in two levels, primary and secondary. Primary schools are k-6 and secondary schools are 7-12. Students are required to attend school until the age of 16 by law. At 16 students can go to an apprenticeship type school or stay on until year 12 for acceptance into university. Students can choose which schools they go to, but by area in which they live, pay for a private school, or apply to a school out of their area if there is a special program such as music or sports.
Students do take a test at 12th grade to check progress and skills. They do need to pass the test to go to the University. The scores are not reported to the press, only the schools and students. The South Australian Government Department of Education understands that private and public schools are not a equal playing field, comparing schools scores does not show the whole picture. Private schools can decline any student and get rid of students not performing. Public schools cannot. The Education Department is fighting with the government for not reporting the scores. Bravo! They seem to know better than our education department that parent influence and socioeconomic status do play a significant role in how a student will do in school.
As for schools themselves, they allow the students a little more freedom to make choices, good and bad. At the secondary level there are 6 lessons a day of 50 minute each. There is a 10 minute session called care group in my school, where students meet with their care group teacher, attendance is taken, uniforms are checked, and some student issues are dealt with. Students then move to lesson 1 and 2. There are no bells to signal the start and end of a passing period or lesson. After lesson two students and teachers all get a 15 minute break. Teachers have tea. Students eat snacks they brought or food purchased from the canteen. The canteens are like cafeterias in the United States. The food is just as unhealthy. Students then go to lesson 3 and 4, lunch for 30 minutes, and then lessons 5 and 6. Some classes will run both lessons. Some will run for one lesson and students rotate to another teacher for the next lesson. In comparison to the United States students spend the same number of days in school, but do not have the same classes everyday. It ultimately equates to one less class per week for certain subjects. All students are required to have PE once a week and two electives each term.
Holidays are every 10 weeks on average. They have a 10 week term, then a two week break. There are a total of 4 terms in a school year. School starts at the end of January and ends in mid December.
Schools are divided in two levels, primary and secondary. Primary schools are k-6 and secondary schools are 7-12. Students are required to attend school until the age of 16 by law. At 16 students can go to an apprenticeship type school or stay on until year 12 for acceptance into university. Students can choose which schools they go to, but by area in which they live, pay for a private school, or apply to a school out of their area if there is a special program such as music or sports.
Students do take a test at 12th grade to check progress and skills. They do need to pass the test to go to the University. The scores are not reported to the press, only the schools and students. The South Australian Government Department of Education understands that private and public schools are not a equal playing field, comparing schools scores does not show the whole picture. Private schools can decline any student and get rid of students not performing. Public schools cannot. The Education Department is fighting with the government for not reporting the scores. Bravo! They seem to know better than our education department that parent influence and socioeconomic status do play a significant role in how a student will do in school.
As for schools themselves, they allow the students a little more freedom to make choices, good and bad. At the secondary level there are 6 lessons a day of 50 minute each. There is a 10 minute session called care group in my school, where students meet with their care group teacher, attendance is taken, uniforms are checked, and some student issues are dealt with. Students then move to lesson 1 and 2. There are no bells to signal the start and end of a passing period or lesson. After lesson two students and teachers all get a 15 minute break. Teachers have tea. Students eat snacks they brought or food purchased from the canteen. The canteens are like cafeterias in the United States. The food is just as unhealthy. Students then go to lesson 3 and 4, lunch for 30 minutes, and then lessons 5 and 6. Some classes will run both lessons. Some will run for one lesson and students rotate to another teacher for the next lesson. In comparison to the United States students spend the same number of days in school, but do not have the same classes everyday. It ultimately equates to one less class per week for certain subjects. All students are required to have PE once a week and two electives each term.
Holidays are every 10 weeks on average. They have a 10 week term, then a two week break. There are a total of 4 terms in a school year. School starts at the end of January and ends in mid December.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Aussie Cusine
Continuing on where we left off Kim and I are really having a great time so far- Australians are very, very hospitable. We have been invited over to several peoples houses for tea (dinner) and social events. We have had the pleasure of attending a couple of very nice authenic Aussie BBQ's (barbies) as they are called down under. And yes we even did have some shrimp on the barbie and some great delicious kangaroo burgers! We also have sampled some of the tasty Australian deserts such as pavlova, (an egg and sugar pie- sort of like a hardened angel food cake), tim tams (a chocolate biscuit), and of course great wines. South Austalia produces some of the best wine in the world, and there are a ton of wineries, tastings, and festivals celebrating their great world famous wines in the south Australia region. The most famous is the Barossa Valley, but there are many others such as the Claire Valley and some in the Adelaide hills area. One neat thing is you can get bottles of wine called Cleanskins which are outstanidng wines from some of the best local wineries but without the label (so you don't actually know which vineyard or winery it is from but these are 40-100 dollar bottle of wines in the US that we can get for 10-15 Australin dollars- so it is quite a good deal). Kim and I plan on doing some wine tours in a few months when it cools down some and the weather moves into fall. Drinking red wine when it is nice and cool outside seems more enjoyable then in 100+ degrees. So all things considered the food and people have been fantastic, it is a little different, but I am actually starting to prefer some of the cusine in Australian over American food- although I do miss a nice mexican meal back in Denver- but hey that's not really American food either, hmmm... well more to come later....
Thursday, March 8, 2007
More Comfortable Now
Patrick and I have been here for almost two months now. We have started to feel comfortable driving without a street guide. It is on a grid system which definitely helps. We can easily get to the grocery store and find friend's houses with limited difficulties. The traffic signs are wonderful, especially the koala, wombat, and kangaroo crossing. You know for sure you are in Australia when you see those driving.
Patrick had a go at lawn bowling this week, and is now a member of a team. Lawn bowling is similar to boccie ball, but the balls are weighted differently and slightly larger. It is relaxing and good fun. Of course it reminds me of playing horseshoes in the Midwest as you can play while drinking beer and many people do this. I do wish we had lawn bowling in the states as I think many people would like it.
We spent the weekend in the mountains at Clealand Conservation Park. The park has a large amount of acreage and an area where you can walk among the emus, kangaroos, wallabies, and koalas. There is an admission fee to the park plus two dollars for a bag of feed for the animals. This was fun for a while as the animals will eat right out of your hand. It was interesting to see all these amazing native Australian animals up close. The emus were very uninterested in humans in general and not very good looking. There are different types of kangaroos the western red kangaroo can be as big as a human. Wallabies look like kangaroos, but smaller. We also able to pet a koala and view a bottle nose echidna, wombat. Australia has many deadly animals, including eight of the ten most poisonous snakes. They were also on display, but thankfully in cages.
The school system of South Australia is different compared to the other states in Australia. South Australia requires teachers to change schools every ten years. The government assigns teachers to a school after they have completed ten years at a school. There are restrictions of about 45 minutes drive time from the home in which they can place a teacher. The theory behind the move was to open up spots for teachers at good schools. Teachers at good schools traditionally would never leave. The ten year rotation forces them to move around. It has merits in that all teachers can appreciate what it is like to be new and understand how various schools function.
South Australia schools are governed by standards. There isn't a common curriculum between all schools and grade levels. The state government has set standards and essential learnings. What teachers choose to do in their classroom to meet those standards is up to the teacher.There is only a 12th grade state mandated test. The union is currently in negotiations about releasing scores to the public. The rhetoric on television about releasing scores is very similar to the standards movement in the United States, school accountability, parents need to be able to compare schools, teachers and schools are doing their job. Little is said as to the student being accountable to their learning.
Patrick had a go at lawn bowling this week, and is now a member of a team. Lawn bowling is similar to boccie ball, but the balls are weighted differently and slightly larger. It is relaxing and good fun. Of course it reminds me of playing horseshoes in the Midwest as you can play while drinking beer and many people do this. I do wish we had lawn bowling in the states as I think many people would like it.
We spent the weekend in the mountains at Clealand Conservation Park. The park has a large amount of acreage and an area where you can walk among the emus, kangaroos, wallabies, and koalas. There is an admission fee to the park plus two dollars for a bag of feed for the animals. This was fun for a while as the animals will eat right out of your hand. It was interesting to see all these amazing native Australian animals up close. The emus were very uninterested in humans in general and not very good looking. There are different types of kangaroos the western red kangaroo can be as big as a human. Wallabies look like kangaroos, but smaller. We also able to pet a koala and view a bottle nose echidna, wombat. Australia has many deadly animals, including eight of the ten most poisonous snakes. They were also on display, but thankfully in cages.
The school system of South Australia is different compared to the other states in Australia. South Australia requires teachers to change schools every ten years. The government assigns teachers to a school after they have completed ten years at a school. There are restrictions of about 45 minutes drive time from the home in which they can place a teacher. The theory behind the move was to open up spots for teachers at good schools. Teachers at good schools traditionally would never leave. The ten year rotation forces them to move around. It has merits in that all teachers can appreciate what it is like to be new and understand how various schools function.
South Australia schools are governed by standards. There isn't a common curriculum between all schools and grade levels. The state government has set standards and essential learnings. What teachers choose to do in their classroom to meet those standards is up to the teacher.There is only a 12th grade state mandated test. The union is currently in negotiations about releasing scores to the public. The rhetoric on television about releasing scores is very similar to the standards movement in the United States, school accountability, parents need to be able to compare schools, teachers and schools are doing their job. Little is said as to the student being accountable to their learning.
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