it takes a village.

I did not plan to blog about my experiences in the Australian schools, but after one particular visit, I just can't help myself.

I really believe in my heart that the success of a school is not solely the responsibility of the people inside of it. Sure, we trust that our teachers love, instruct, and discipline the kids just as they would their own. Of course, we encourage our kids who attend the school to work their hardest and never give less than their best. However, it has been demonstrated in numerous studies that authentic transformation in a school hinges on the community growth, opportunities, and support in which it is situated. This is why we see urban schools and schools trapped in poverty struggle year after year. Many of the social ails from the community infiltrate the schools. Don't get me wrong, there are pockets of excellence. We can and should learn from those.

This is not a post about standardized testing.

That is an entirely different battle.

I honestly have no clue about the governmental testing imposed here.

That's not what matters to me.

What I am writing about is what I see that works. Teaching practices that inspire creativity and that spur students on to think and reason beyond the a, b, c, d choices on a worksheet.

Teaching is not characterized by incessant talking. Learning is not submissive listening.

I will call this school the "it takes a village" primary school. From the moment I arrived, I was impressed at how this mentality is put into action.

Point from earlier. Schools are often a reflection of the community in which it is situated. What it boils down to is not a responsibility or reflection on the teachers, students, or schools. It is a reflection and evaluation of the community. Kids or no kids, let's do something about this. Colin often reminds me that people are the best investment. We have bought socks, jeans, shoes, weekend meals, gift cards, and even underwear for some of my littles. My precious in-loves have donated ipads to my sweet ones. My mom has donated many books and things that she finds from her notorious closet clean-outs.

All of that is great.

All of that meets a need.

But they will grow out of those jeans. Those socks will get holes in them.

They will never forget the people that invested in them. I expect all of my littles to make changes in their world.

I arrived about 15 minutes early to just observe the school. I like people watching. Teachers were outside mingling with parents. Parents were bringing in plants and shopping bags. When the kids began to file into their classrooms I went to the school office, where the secretary informed me that the principal I had been emailing with couldn't be found and usually she mingled with the parents every morning. About 5 minutes later, she went to find her.

((cheerful office space))

She was in the garden. Wearing an apron. Helping a mother unload some plants for their veggie patch.

She brushed her hands off, and took me around the school introducing me to the staff members, which was 1 teacher per grade level - a relatively small school of about 130 students, giving me the freedom to mingle in and out of classrooms. 

I settled for a year two (second grade) classroom starting spelling. Using Words Their Way, she called each group individually, introducing their spelling pattern and then sending them on their way to complete a sort while she pulled a different group.

While the classrooms were tidy and cheerful, children's work adorned the walls. There wasn't a theme in each classroom and things didn't always match. But it was beautiful and genuine. It was a classroom the children were clearly proud of. 

Within the first two minutes of me sitting down in this classroom, the art teacher I met earlier came in, checked on a few littles who needed some extra grace, agreed to get the work together for a child who was absent, circled the classroom again, and left. Another aid came in and got right to work with those extra-grace-required littles while the teacher conducted small groups. It was seamless. The art teacher didn't feel like she was stepping on the classroom teacher's toes. The aid didn't tiptoe around what the teacher was doing, or stop to ask permission about what she could or couldn't do.They were everyone's kids. Everyone in the school acted like it.

More great experiences in the kindy (kinder) and art classroom. Parents were pulling kids out of classrooms to plant. Oh, and the principal, she had her apron back on planting and popping in and out of classrooms.

((how cool are these "puppets?)) 

It takes a village, remember?