Academic Visit from Education Professors

Dear Faye, Philip, Fitzroy Community,

We are at a loss of words to share with you our gratitude for allowing us into your world. What you do for education, for Australia, is remarkable. We have learned much from you and will share it with our American students in classes to come. We have been talking about our Fitzroy experiences, and we are really happy to see what a lasting, changing impression our stay with you has made on our girls. Please let your students know that they have made a lasting impression on us. Thank you for nurturing our minds and souls.

Warmest regards,
Sonja & Donna

Sonja Varbelow, PhD
Assistant Professor, Teacher Education
Angelo State University

Volunteer from Germany

My name is Carolina Köppel. I am a 20-year-old high school graduate from Germany who came to Melbourne to volunteer for two months at Fitzroy Community School.

When I first heard of the Fitzroy Community School (FCS) I was quite curious. I had visited regular public schools for my whole life, and during all this time, I had always collided with obsolete and rarely questioned rules. It is almost unbelievable, that while all social institutions changed rapidly in the last 200 years, the educational one barely did at all. Surely, teachers are not allowed anymore to physically hurt students, but besides that punishment and hierarchy are still commonly applied. In most cases, schools decide to stick to conservative principles like strictness and pressure, although research on education informs us about much more effective and beneficial teaching techniques.

However, the FCS stands out in the way it imparts its idea of knowledge and social competencies. The teachers function as respected role models but never pretend to be superiors. Here, children learn independently, at their own pace, actively and efficiently. Although they are never put under pressure to do exercises, the kids are naturally motivated and enjoy their workbooks, which all have been compiled and created by the founding members of the school. In math classes, for example, the children work independently and most of the time without help while being completely responsible for themselves for their own progress. Help, however, is never far since the teachers are around offering support in case it is needed. Due to the small class sizes and a lot of personal contact, it is actually possible for the teachers to keep an overview of the progress, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of each student.

I remember very well one of the younger children coming up to me during free time because he wanted me to help him continue his workbook. While I was helping him, I had to think constantly about my younger self and my classmates cursing math classes and their existence. I believe that the playful and free daily life at the FCS evokes natural curiosity and encourages the children to develop an interest in learning new things. In this way, children develop excellent academic skills and, even more importantly, good communication skills and social interaction. When you see the social interaction at the Fitzroy Community School, you would not think of a school but rather a home with a huge family. Most mornings begin with a gathering where teachers, students of all ages and parents, if they wish, can come together to share stories, experiences, and wishes, to listen, or simply to connect. At every point, the children are taught to be “excellent to each other”, to take everyone’s feelings and wishes into consideration and never hurt or exclude anyone.

Another extraordinary aspect worth mentioning is the creative and fun timetable. Besides fundamentals, such as Maths, English, Chinese, Sciences, and Spelling, the children have a lot of creative and sporty classes such as Arts and Crafts, Music, Sports, Swimming, Dancing and Drama classes, in which they rehearse for a wonderful and a professionally staged theatre play, which is presented each year by all the children from the school together. Additionally, French classes and Piano lessons are available.

I wish I had more time to spend at the FCS. During my time, where the teachers and the children won my heart and the school will always remain a really special place for me. I have learned how well individuals learn in groups with flat hierarchies and democratic values and how children can be encouraged to develop and express themselves while being respectful to each other and happy. I will take these principles with me as I gain more experience in teaching.

Words written by John Marsden

The first time I walked into FCS, I found myself at a beautiful round wooden table, sharing a class with Faye and her students. I sat there thinking, 'Of course! A round table! What a perfect configuration for a class- all these years I've been teaching, and I never thought of that!'

That pretty much sums up my experiences with FCS. Everything is so innovative, yet so obvious. Everything is so progressive, yet based on enduring values. Everything is so radical, yet solidly based on common sense. Time and again, I found the same refrain running through my head: 'Of course! Of course!'

When the philosophies and practices of FCS are adopted by every school, the work of Philip and Faye and Tim and their extended families will be done, but it's a safe bet that at least forty more years will pass before that day comes!

Thanks for inspiring us all, for contributing so much to progressive education, and special thanks from me for Candlebark and Alice Miller Schools. We currently have 240 students at the two schools who are experiencing an education that they would never have accessed had it not been for the leadership provided by Fitzroy Community School.

Everything is so progressive, yet based on enduring values.

FCS Philosophy

Letter from Hong Kong

Dear Tim,

Thanks again to your family for giving opportunity to our kids having a short visit on your fantastic school. Just finished a busy month for preparing Issac to primary 5 and Emma go to new school on primary 3.

Issac and Emma really enjoy their times in FCS. They told me the school don't have modern facility and small compared with the school in Hong Kong, but all the people are nice and the place fill up with happiness, fun and a wooden cabinet with a lot of fruits. In the school, they can try anything they want, they got free time to play, sport lesson in a beautiful big garden. They can try everything in free and all the others are helpful.

I can't describe in word but you can't believe that they are still singing "Let's go fly a kite" and "A Spoonful Of Sugar" in every night before bed. Both often are asking for help us to prepare the lunch after they back from Melbourne which is not allow to use knife of themselves in the pass. But now they can doing well on it.

We are very grateful for you and your team for educating our children is just like the lyrics of the "Let's go fly a kite", [Let's go fly a kid, Up to the highest height! Let's go fly a kid and send them soaring, Up through the atmosphere.] and I believe your team will really make it. I hope everything goes well with you and please convey my best wishes to Philip and Faye, your family and your team.

Sincerely yours,
Tomy & Hilda

Camp – a reflection of a student teacher

The camp gate swung open and the children were unleashed into the tree farm like a scurry of ants on a picnic blanket. The first moments were a blur. The bags were flung out of the car and into the cabins; the children quick to get to their work, the work of unbridled play. I couldn’t help but be swept up into it. The primary school child within me was alive and I sought to do exactly what I wanted, which was to wield an axe! Before long I had eager helpers, wanting to show off their skills with the woodsman’s tools. I took delight in coaching the boys on their technique and by the end of the camp they had created a large pile of useful kindling. Of course there were disagreements but they were quickly resolved and most of the time without myself or Jo knowing anything about them, just the rumoured mutterings remained.

The children created 3 seperate mock cafes with the most successful being the cafe in the tunnelled dugout. Before long the whole squad of children combined their efforts into this one cafe and seemingly the other 2 went out of business! The flying fox was a great hit, especially on Hallowe’en when Iron Man, Harry Potter, a skeleton and a witch all came whizzing towards me!

I believe this adventure to be of the upmost importance toward the building of friendships, independence and imagination of healthy young boys and girls. I am thrilled to say that as a student teacher, I was exhausted; the level of play, energy and inquisitiveness that I was involved with will stay with me and I look forward to seeing more adventures like this in the future.

Craig

Reflections from a Student Teacher

I just wanted to take the time to thank you for my time at FCS.

Thank you firstly for taking a student teacher on her first placement on the first day of the school year. It was a busy time to take on another responsibility, but you did. During the first week of placement I was met by staff, students and families with such an overwhelming warmth, it was like walking into a big extended family, a wonderful community.

I have tried to think about what I enjoyed most at FCS; it has been a hard decision. To say I have enjoyed my time in English would be an understatement. Watching Faye and Nick at work with the Fitzroy Reader program with the Tinies from ground zero, then having the opportunity to see the older children working further ahead, gave me an excellent appreciation for the program and how it makes sense and gives the children a solid foundation. Grammar with Nick was amazing; watching grade 5/6 students punctuate paragraphs better than many adults could was a reminder (one that I will take into my own teaching) that I should never underestimate my student’s abilities. Science, cooking and craft with the children was just plain old fun, getting to know the children during this time was wonderful. Outings with Nat were an adventure; watching young children so at ease navigating their way around the city, ready to have fun wherever they could, was totally exhausting but a great time. Then there were the lolly shop visits; watching the children here, I found it fascinating; the absolute seriousness with which negotiations were approached and the anguished thought made me smile every time.

At the end of the day, though, what I enjoyed most at FCS was the children. Every little thing the school does seems to be with purpose, and the children are the result of this. They are confident, resilient, considerate, articulate, and well-adjusted. Your children shine bright, and I hope they realise how lucky they are to spend their first seven years of schooling in such a great environment.

Thank you again for a great placement that I will never forget.

Kind Regards,

Leanne

We understand the role of educators as having a clear purpose… the structure of our day is informed by our vision.

FCS In Essence

Student Teacher from University of Tasmania

My first day of placement completed and I have to say that I am positively buzzing from the experience. Fitzroy Community School is like no other school I have seen. If our job as teachers is to create positive learning environments then this school succeeds in this in every capacity. One of the most notable and I think successful features of the school are the smaller class sizes. Every individual child in every class is given the time, focus, attention and teaching that they deserve and need. The way that the classes are structured is another effective feature. Having specific subjects with different teachers and alternate classroom settings keeps the energy levels of students charged and works extraordinarily well to maintain student's interest, attention and focus. Also, having various classes that integrate students from various year levels provides a lovely opportunity for students to work alongside, assist and learn from students of diverse skill levels and abilities.

There is something to be said about sitting down and sharing food together, and the kitchen at the Fitzroy Community School allows students, teachers and even parents to do just that. This central communal space is yet another remarkable highlight of this fabulous school. The school day begins every morning with a whole school meeting. This is generally led by an individual teacher who facilitates open discussion, inviting and encouraging students to explore and express their ideas and answers to specific questions. These open-ended questions are really effective as they call on students to self-reflect, enquire, analyse, observe and explain their responses. In each class that I was invited into, I observed teachers who taught for understanding. Always pausing to clarify and explain anything that was unknown or unfamiliar to the students. These same teachers also seem to create whatever opportunities they can to relate what it is they are teaching to other subject areas. This way of constantly creating opportunities for new learning and understanding allows students to see the relevance of what it is they are doing and how it can apply to everyday life. In every subject and every lesson, I observed teachers’ intentions to get the students to become detectives, to become critical creative thinkers who question and understand the why of what they do.

It has only been a single day and already I feel I have learnt so much. The energy and excitement of the school is infectious. What has struck me most about being at the school is the happiness, friendliness and openness that defines these kids. They obviously love coming to school every day and seem to have a genuine interest in learning and participating. The school’s motto is ''people before things,'' and this certainly lays the foundation of everything that happens there. I feel tremendously privileged to be at this school to not only learn and grow as a teacher but also to bear witness to what appears to be a truly successful and progressive model of authentic education.

Jak

Visiting Teacher from Poland

Dear Fitzroy Community School!

I had a lovely two days with you all. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of your school and felt at home there. I also loved the idea of organising meetings with new kids one year before they start at the school. The excursions that I saw were a great idea and the children seemed to love it. It was great to see your connection with the community and the lady who we met in the nursery was so friendly!

I would like to take some ideas with me to Poland and to connect more with the community around my school. The idea of preparing food with parents and students is also great and I will try to start this when I get home. I'm very happy that I was able to meet you all. Thank you very much for being so friendly and welcoming! You are also very welcome to come to our school in Poland. We have beds in a chill-out room where you could sleep.

Warm regards,
Anna Maria

Gratitude from a Teacher

Dear Amy and all the rest of the wonderful team from Fitzroy Community School and the Fitzroy Reader's Office,

I just wanted to thank you for the donation of books to Conviven that you have offered. I am very excited about going to volunteer at this centre as it embraces strong community values like the Fitzroy Community School.

I hope to have the same kind of wonderful experiences at this centre as I had at your school and am really looking forward to sharing aspects of your teaching program with them. My teaching experiences last year were very disheartening. I had a contract to teach drama two days a week at the local school, and it was the hardest job I have ever done. The behavioural problems in our school are 30% above the average, and the students don't care about learning. My time with each class was 45 minutes, and it was a challenge to produce much in this short time frame when students have no respect for themselves, each other or their teachers. I can understand why teachers drop out of their profession in the first few years because of behavioural problems.

I don't want this to happen to me, so I am going away to refresh my love of teaching in a completely new environment. When I return, I would love to visit your school and share my experiences if the school would like that. The Fitzroy Community School has been one of the most inspiring teaching and learning experiences in my life, and I would like to retain some kind of connection with it. Thank you once again for the donation.

Yours with love and sincerity,
Sally

“The energy & excitement is infectious.”

Prospective Parents

Six years On

Dear Tim, Faye, Philip, Jeanette, Keith, Jeremy, Cathy, Sean, Nikki, Scott, Sam, Pauline, Warren, Mary, Jono and Helen,

I don’t think you realise the massive impact your school and Phonics Program had (and continue to have) on my life. When I met you all on my placement in 2006, I was suffering a rather bad bout of anxiety (so bad that I often found it difficult to get out of bed). Despite that icky feeling, your school gave me great hope and comfort, a reason to wake up each morning. I learnt so much from you all.

Nowadays, your Phonics Program has given me the skills I need to teach struggling readers. I use your Program with some of my grade-five students. I have to confess, I sometimes illegally photocopy pages from them to save on costs. I think fondly of the time I shared with you all and am so grateful. My prayer is that you all will be blessed abundantly.

Love,

Carly

Spirited Away

Pick a number between 1 and 12. Double it. Add 18. Double again. If you began with the number 12, you have the amount of kilometres required in order to reach the destination for Bike camp and return from it. The base was Meredith. Dubbed the Tour de Tree Farm, I hadn’t anticipated the joy that would accompany a 42 km ride one way to the tree farm, paired with the 42 km ride back a day later! Had I ridden the entire 84km’s on a bike with the grade 5 and 6 boys (I drove the bus too), I may not have had the opportunity to witness, in its entirety, what I did…. The display of tenacity, resilience, will and the pride in achieving a common goal. What was abundantly clear on this bike camp was the very essence of Fitzroy Community School; the SPIRIT with which each experience, in the three days, was received.

The surroundings were serene. The oxygen-filled space provided the perfect backdrop for the boys. 18,000 trees planted on a farm that housed a makeshift kitchen in a shed full of food and fun supplies, 2 log cabins hand-built by none other than Tim himself, a yurt, a sheltered eating area and a hammock. This is the place you go to get away from it all and where you rely on the creativity and resourcefulness within to create your own experience. This is exactly what the boys did.

The boys opted to spend their first night camped out in the bus, despite the cosy log cabin that awaited them. Of the seven boys, three slept on the front seat of the bus, leaving a roomy backseat vacant all night! Weary eyed the next morning, they built the fire that fed them for three days, ate their breakfast and then began their activities; none of which were planned by anyone other than themselves. This time away was the perfect opportunity to showcase their independent and creative spirits. War games ensued with carved sticks, and the tree farm became a battleground….albeit, a friendly version. Three hours later was snack time, and then activities continued, as they did after every mealtime. Bike riding (yes!), tennis, cricket, chopping trees, then wood, and a ride in the back of the trailer to clear a row of logs. It was explorative, adventurous, and fun.

At all times on this camp, I was in awe of the interactions between the boys. The comradery, the inclusion, the compassion and the strength of each individual culminated in a joyous and inspiring time away. The spirit of the boys made this camp, and it’s what makes them who they are….young, adventurous, boisterous, strong, resilient and proud to be part of a strong, nurturing and stimulating community.

Tanya

Student Teacher RMIT

Letter from the Principal of Tapawera Area School, New Zealand

Dear Phillip, Tim and Faye,

I wish to express again my gratitude for your time and welcome during my recent visit to your school.
During the two weeks I spent in Victoria, I visited nine schools in all. Four were independent ‘alternative’ education schools, one was a state school, and the other four were private schools in extremely wealthy environments. It always intrigues me that conference organisers seem to think that visiting principals only want to see how the wealthy do things!

In my opinion, your school stacks up extremely well against all of these schools. Sure, some have very posh facilities and equipment, but their ability to provide for the learning needs of their students is not really enhanced (in my opinion) by these trimmings! Indeed, some of the social pressure aspects must surely be made worse by wealth.

You have created an environment that clearly promotes attitudes of acceptance and inclusion. It was evident to me that staff have a deep awareness of student needs and an ability to create an environment within which students are valued for their individuality and can thrive. It was clear that creativity is highly valued and that the development of creative traits is given priority. These were common traits I observed in all of the alternative schools, to a greater or lesser extent, which makes me wonder about what that says of state school systems!

Your use of ‘Meeting’ and democracy were also common threads across the alternative schools. Paramount in this setting was the observably high level of trust between staff and students. This seemed to be a vital and common ingredient. The use of the opportunity to share material that promotes healthy community attitudes was powerful. Many tend to assume that students need only ‘modern literature.’ However, this leaves a large body of powerful material unused!

Your students demonstrated a high level of engagement with their learning and a depth of understanding of their purpose and the value of the tasks. This level of engagement is to be highly prized since it generates such a high level of learning. I also observed that your programmes incorporated a high level of conversation. Recent research has shown that conversation lights up the brain like few other things.

On a practical level, I particularly appreciate your ‘Green Sheet’ as a means of setting out the lie of the land, so to speak, prior to upsetting some parents. I congratulate you for the courage you have displayed to develop your school in such a unique environment and with such a special philosophy. I am sure you have impacted many students over the years who could otherwise have opted out of education, their special gifts and talents never to be developed.

The challenge for me now is to see how I can use some of these concepts within a New Zealand state school environment. Certainly, the power of these ideas, as I saw them, would make the effort worthwhile. I have had time to reflect upon the structure and design of the Fitzroy Readers and believe that there is potential for these to complement what we already do in New Zealand. The structure of the readers could be particularly helpful for students who struggle to assemble knowledge of the language in an orderly manner by themselves. I also see potential in your remedial maths programme for some of our students. I wish you all the very best for the future in what is a very challenging political environment.

Yours faithfully,

Kelvin Woodley

“You have created an environment that promotes acceptance and inclusion.”

Connections

Letter from Student Teacher

My first days at FCS were sort of nerve-wracking. The timetable didn't make any sense to me, ; wasn't asked for lesson plans or a daily woworkpadand everyone was everywhere. I was really nervous about doing the right thing because ever since I began the education degree, I had wanted to come to FCS and now that I was here, I wasn't quite sure how or where I would fit in. Everyone was very welcoming and happy to help, but I didn't really know what questions to ask in order to make sense of what I was seeing and feeling happening within the school. It was as though everything I had been thinking about education for the last four years had come to life in front of me.

After the first few days, it became clear to me that what I needed to do was bring something of myself to FCS and that understanding allowed me to feel a part of what was happening. The responsibility of having to bring me to the table rather than scaffolded programmes and lesson plans had the effect of making me focus on my teaching practice. How am I teaching? How am I connecting? What do these children need? It was the first time during my degree that I had been expected to rely on myself rather than the 'props' of teaching.

There was a part of me that doubted whether I was really able to do what I thought I wanted to do – to focus on student centred learning and being flexible in such a dynamic environment. But it was almost entirely impossible not to do what I needed to do because FCS is such a supportive environment. What I will take away from my learning during my time at FCS is that the ideals that I have about teaching can work – they do work – and that the 'right thing' is being myself. I know that my time at FCS will continue to inform my teaching practice because it was during my time here that I really realised that teaching, above everything else, makes me want to be the best person I can be.

Jacqueline
Murdoch University

Letter from Student Teacher

I loved spending the day at your school!  I found the atmosphere to be very welcoming and was surprised by how eager the students were to engage in conversation with me.  My previous conversations with children of primary school age haven't been as engaging, and I've always found young children to be hesitant to engage in a conversation with a teacher (especially one they didn't know) that isn't directly related to school work.  Thinking about it I've never been in a situation when teachers aren't seen as figures of authority and I believe this directly contributes to why your students are not intimidated by teacher figures, because none of you are authoritarian.  I really liked that the teachers of your school are seen by the children as taller friends with a little more knowledge and I found it so refreshing nobody raised their voices and behavioral problems were not existent.

My favorite part of the day was spending the afternoon with Nick.  I thought the way he taught comprehension was engaging and loved that there were no boring worksheets involved.  I couldn't think of a better way to finish the day than to spend some time playing in Edinburgh Gardens! Looking forward to seeing you again,

Maddy

New Schools Starters in Malaysia

We are so thankful for all the hospitality given during our visit. It was a resourceful visit, and we learned a lot just by observing how the school treats all students with respect and love. Your family has put a lot of energy, effort, and love into setting up a school from scratch for your children, but now it benefits others in the community. Congratulations!

We have just finished visiting three other schools, Candlebark, Preshil, and Alia College. We will be leaving for Malaysia tomorrow morning and will keep you posted on our progress. Hope to work together again in the future. Thanks for the books & everything. Take care & regards.

From,

Redzuan & Engku
Terengganu, Malaysia

Feedback from Student Teachers

Kerry from Victoria University

Being in the midst of the school’s wonderful community since mid-August on a part-time basis and then full-time during October, gave me a substantial boost in confidence in relation to my knowledge and practice as a (student) teacher.

The generosity of spirit provided by all at the school, the students, teachers, volunteers and parents has allowed me to view education through a unique and beautiful perspective.

I have gained a better knowledge of myself and have glimpsed the diversity of where my future career as a beginning teacher could lead and am enthused and excited for my continued learning and development; with positive thoughts of what lays ahead.

FCS is a wonderful example of well considered practices of learning and teaching and of the possibilities of making an educational difference. Once again thank you for this opportunity and I look forward to keeping in touch in the future.

Johannah from Melbourne University

The experience has broadened my awareness of how a different approach to education can and does have significantly wonderful outcomes. An approach that not only supports and encourages academic achievement: but one that fosters the child as a whole.

I experienced that allowing students freedom and flexibility within the school day, also promoted a motivation and willingness to learn. I found that the unique structure of the school, allowed the children to express themselves entirely, whilst learning to do so in a responsible manner. It was obvious that the individuality of each student was not only freely accepted, but nurtured and encouraged.

The homely, relaxed feel of Fitzroy Community School allowed me to confidently execute my style of teaching, whilst also being able to identify weaknesses in my approaches and skills. I gained insight into the possibilities of teaching diversity and will use this experience to build upon my own educational philosophy.

Erin from Monash University

Previously I had been doubting my desire to become a teacher within the education institution but this placement has really made me realise that my opposition has been not to teaching but the kind of schools I have been placed in that don't really fit well with me. Fitzroy Community School is exactly the type of schooling environment that I hope to be a part of some day. The emphasis on community is evident throughout the school: the students, teachers and parents all work together and create such a happy positive learning environment unlike anything I have seen previously.

Everyone at FCS was very friendly and inviting and I learnt a lot speaking with Faye about teaching styles and catering for different learning abilities. The children I observed in the morning, the "Tinies" were really ambitious, had a genuine interest in learning and were really engaged with what they were learning. In the brief time I visited FCS I had the most positive experience of any placement I have had so far.

Visiting Teacher from Korea

Thank you very much for your hospitality when my assistant teacher and I visited your school. We had a wonderful experience, observing classes and talking with teachers and students. You provided us with a lot of new ideas and information about independent education. It was very inspiring. I would like to keep in touch with you to learn more about your school and furthermore about alternative education. The Fitzroy reading books that we bought from you safely arrived in Korea. Our school teachers and I will teach English based on the books next year. This is very exciting. Thank you again for all your help.

Best wishes,

Song-Ae

Biggies Camp From a Visitor Perspective

I am a visiting student teacher from the ACT, and I think I’m one of the luckiest student teachers around… I have to go to camp! Being part of the Biggies Grampians Camp last week was both a pleasure and a privilege. The Biggies students' maturity, pleasant natures, and lease on life make them a credit to their school community, their families, and themselves. I thoroughly enjoyed camping, cooking, cleaning, climbing, and chatting with them, and I thank them for having me along.

 At first, the idea of a camp with few formal, structured activities was quite intriguing to me. My background is in school camps with very formal activity structures, which provided lots for kids to do. I wondered if they would bicker or get bored, become destructive or distracted, and what exactly they would be learning. Well, it turns out they were never bored. They didn’t bicker, and they were never distracted or destructive. Instead, they were highly engaged with each other as people and friends. They were creative about their play options, their explorations, and their discussions. 

It seemed to me that they learnt a lot about how to be: how to be with each other, how to be in the bush, how to be with adults, how to be in the local community, and how to be content without the comforts and mod-cons of day-to-day life back in Melbourne. Fitzroy Community School slows things down on camp. The pace of life changes, and pleasure and learning experiences are embedded within the simplest of things.  Thank you to the Biggies and Tim B. for inviting me along and reminding me to slow things down and to ‘stop and smell the roses.’  The camp was GREAT!

Kirrily

Placement Experience

I will start with answering the question asked of me before starting my placement: “Why do you want do your placement at FCS?”

I wanted to do my placement at FCS to give myself a broad set of experiences as a pre-service teacher. I hoped that FCS would live up to my expectations, particularly those around the issue of being a community school offering an authentic alternative to mainstream education. This was because I find it all too common for the terms community and alternative to be bandied about.

Fortunately for me and those families lucky enough to experience FCS my fears could not be further from the truth. I must confess that in the first couple of weeks I was trying to find some points of noteworthy criticism. Then I found myself in this weird state of feeling like I was being too gregarious in my enthusiasms when describing the school to friends. At one stage, I wondered if this is what it could be like for those who find the bosom of religious fundamentalism. After much reflection and thinking, I decided I had not been converted by some nefarious education cult. Instead I witnessed vigorous community and teacher practices which put on show an active love of their roles as educators.

From a professional perspective, the practicum provided immense teaching diversity and serious educational thought. I have recently read the many FCS web pages, and instead of groaning with frustration as I have regularly done when reading school web pages, I instead found a consistent bond between the written word and the philosophies I saw in practice. As I was reading some of the pages I could visualise the person speaking them in the meeting room or to the students.

On a teaching level I have found the experience close to transformative. I now have a framework in which to develop and approach my next placement. A key aspect of the experience was that here I felt truly valued, trusted and empowered to teach. It was the chance to teach across the year levels and the opportunity to be involved in all areas.  In regards to my learning as a teacher, the freedom I was allowed, in conjunction with being thrown into the deep end, enabled me to test, tweak and experiment with my approach to teaching. By using the term teach I mean more than just facts and talking. It was the finding of a voice and physical position from which to teach (still in development). I also found the challenge of working with minimal resources a satisfyingly difficult learning exercise.

Some stand-out moments are as follows.

- The bingo lesson that fell apart before me
- The quotation lesson that was a disaster
- Doing ball drills with Rowdy and Thea; their smiles were wonderful
- Hearing a student repeating some comments I made about team participation
- My first lesson with the tinies, fantastic chaos
- The ridiculous amount of time spent thinking about dynamic maths lessons
- The support and input from all staff, particularly when bailing me out
- In the second lesson on graphs, I experienced a real sense of accomplishment and taste of what it will be like to t each when the mind is calm
- Tim’s response to parental fears
- Faye’s comment about being smart enough not to have an accident
- A clear, and achieved, respectful atmosphere
- Tea parties
- Seeing the tinies and littlies take down opponents in animal ball
- All the food
- Kids with no shoes
- No bloody junk food
- Of course, the children

On a very practical note I must give my appreciation to all who assisted me when it was quite clear I was lacking in areas of knowledge. The manner in which I was assisted never left me feeling stupid or deterred in continuing. On an organisational level I found the constant moving of children from room to area to room to be wonderful. I was also greatly impressed by the timetable system. As well as the teaching of explicit literacy & numeracy were the classes balanced with free time or creative activities. Finally, I would like to thank Tim, Nick, Faye, Philip, Nikki, Jeannette, Pauline, Sam, Viktor, Natalie, Jono and all the wonderful young people of FCS for making my experience so wonderful.

Many Thanks

Alex

Visit by a Prospective Teacher

I just wanted to send you a note to thank you for allowing me to visit your school and spend the morning with you on 4th September.  I had the pleasure of sitting in on Nick's wonderfully entertaining English class and Tim's maths class. I loved the vibe of your school and the real sense of community that can instantly be felt when you enter the house. It is so refreshing to see such passionate and interesting people working together.  The children seemed to thoroughly enjoy their classes and were genuinely happy to be at school. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly, and my experience at your school helped me write a great application about why I want to become a primary teacher. A special big thank you to you, Tim, for being so welcoming and allowing me to come along on the day. Thanks again for allowing me to join you; I hope to see you all again soon.

Regards,

Lesley (Nat's friend) 

Visiting Academic

Hi Tim! Thank you again for the time you gave to me in your busy day when I made my visit. I had hoped by now to have made time to speak to Faye by phone, as I would greatly value her insight on teaching. Please convey my apologies for not saying goodbye to her on the day but I did not like to interrupt her class at the time I was leaving to do so. I have been telling many colleagues about the tour your students gave me of the school. Such aplomb and thoroughness! They were only Year 2 were they not? The two young students were definitely poster examples of the independence and confidence that your school aims to instil in its students. Please pass on my thanks and praise to them.

I was certainly reminded of many of the ideals of the community school movement that I recall from my own training in the ‘70s, ideals whose durability is proven by the longevity of your school and its popularity with staff, parents and students over so many decades. From the point of view of education in general, I am not certain how the flexibility of your structure and program would transfer to the larger schools that exist in more formal education. However, that was precisely your own point in the discussion we had about larger schools often being impersonal and rigid! That is not to say that teaching in more formal structures cannot learn from the teaching practices of a school such as your own. I suspect the dilution those ideals would necessarily undergo in the process might somewhat complicate the end result of what remains of the ideal if school structures remain large! I found your views on teacher training thought-provoking. How far personality drives good teaching, as opposed to professional training, is something that I have been thinking about for some time in the context of the topic of my book about the essentials of teaching. I am not sure that we are in full agreement that personality trumps training (if I interpret your view correctly?). However, since I am still in the process of exploring that issue, we may yet come to a point of closer agreement further down my writing track, who knows! The discussion about the relation between the two factors is, however, at the core of who and what a teacher is, of that I am certain.

Thank you again for all your time. Tell Faye I will definitely be in touch when I get back if that is okay with her.

Gwyn

At the front door

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