Back to School

On Friday (3/17) I went to visit one of the local schools here in Adelaide. Steve (whom I blogged about some time ago) is a teacher at Torrens Valley Christian School just down the road from the church I work at. After expressing some interest in seeing how an Australian school operated, he invited me to his classroom.

As a private school, Torrens Valley is not necessarily typical of the larger Australia educational system. It certainly gave me a good idea, however, of how schools operate here. I was very happy to go.

A few words about Australian schools in general:

1.) Private schools are a much bigger deal here than they seem to be in the States. Teachers at private schools are generally higher paid and more respected (from what I can gather). Private schools are EVERYWHERE around here. It seems every school kid is wearing a uniform. Coming from an area where private schools are generally poorly funded and poorly attended, I find this interesting.

2.) Most Australian schools operate using a four term school year. A week or so of holiday separates them.

3.) Inter-school sporting is not a big deal. Most kids participate in club sports and do not do it through the schools.

4.) Their "Reception" is the same as our "Kindergarten." After this, they also have 12 years of schooling. The first seven, I believe, are called "Primary School." Eight through twelve are known as "Secondary School."

5.) After graduation, you either join the work force, go to Uni or enter this program they have here called TAFE. TAFE is essentially a trade school. You go and gain specific training in a service trade and increase you experience and chances at a job. I think the premise is very good. I know we have similar things in the States, but these are quite popular here. The odd thing about the university culture here is how centralized it is. In America, a graduating senior can choose from any one of hundreds of schools that all send pamphlets. It is not uncommon at all to travel many states away to attend the "perfect" school. The culture here is very different. Most everybody here stays here for University. As such, there is not much need for dormitories and "campus living" and the like. Because you generally stay here for University, your choices are slim. Essentially, there are about five options for the students around Adelaide (and most of South Australia!). Uni also seems to be cheaper than most schools in the U.S.

Some things I noticed specifically during my visit:

1.) Australians place a massive emphasis on sports and physical education in school. Seriously, I went outside with the class for "gym" and felt like it took hours. That day's lesson involved track and field events. Who teaches track and field events to 6th graders? My gym experience growing up was kickball...that's about it. Apparently, much of their physical education training leads up to a big Sports Day they hold every year. This is a massive school-wide event where all the families are invited to watch their kids compete in various activities. Sport is a big deal to these kids.

2.) Their school day is actually fairly short (8:50-3:00ish for Primary school kids). Moreover, they get quite a few breaks during the day. I don't remember getting so many when I was younger (but it was a long time ago). A few hours into the day we broke for morning tea and the kids got out snacks and played on the playground for about 20 minutes. Lessons resumed promptly after that and lasted to lunch.

I am not saying that Australian schools are easy. Actually, it appears as if they use their time a lot more effectively than my grade school did.

I learned quite a bit and enjoyed my time. I'll have to keep going when I have the time. The kids liked me a lot too (which was nice).

In Christ,

Chris