Education for What?

Extract

Let me first explain my situation. All the people in Duchess are involved in some way or another with the Queensland Railways. Duchess is a railway town, supported by the Queensland Railways and existing only because of them. The majority of settlers are Islanders, with a few Aboriginals. These people live harmoniously side by side. All the fathers have jobs. The children thus have the necessary monetary backing to encourage development. These people are not poor, though their conditions may indicate otherwise. All the children are clothed reasonably well, and fed reasonably well. Most of the children are scrupulously clean.

It is wise to keep in mind the fact that regardless of what my successes and failures are, each one of us has a special situation, which differs vastly from everyone else’s. It is therefore necessary for us to be continually trying, adapting, and changing, in order to achieve any measure of success.

In the small school, the teacher is faced with a number of problems which perhaps appear unique or magnified by virtue of the fact that he is on his own. Multiple grades, voluminous workloads multiple cultures, remoteness and lack of finance are amongst the greatest problems facing me personally, and no doubt many of you at present. But the small school also offers unique opportunities to teachers to experiment and implement new ideas and methods. The relative freedom of working alone offers unlimited scope for development in every field. Numbers are fewer, and parental contact is more practical and rewarding. In every field our freedom to work is limited only by our capacity. I believe that the small schools are more effective amongst these people, simply by virtue of the fact that contact and discussions with both parents and children are more intimate, and therefore more successful. Of course, initially they are shy, but eventually we can reach them, and once their confidence is gained, they will make every attempt to help us. This is a big advantage to have, and very necessary if any program is to achieve success.