July 22nd we boarded the plane in Cairns to head to Surfer's Paradise via Brisbane. When we finally arrived, many of us were feeling the wear and tear of a whirlwind tour so we decided to just walk about and get a feel for the city, stop for dinner, and look through a few shops.
July 23rd we were off to see two public schools in Brisbane. They were certainly different from the schools we visited in NSW, both of which were private Catholic schools. It's hard to know whether the differences were due to being in a different state, or due to private vs. public funding. The first school was a far cry from what we'd hoped a school should and could be. The haves and have nots were very evident, not in dress (as uniforms are worn everywhere here), diet or language; instead children were admitted to special programs based on their 'giftedness'. Those who were deemed gifted received the extras, others did not (i.e. extra gym, instrumentals).
The second school we visited was leaps and bounds better. The administrator had some very forward-thinking initiatives he was undertaking, such as solar water heaters, 2 hrs./wk. of team-meeting and planning for each teacher (outside of normal prep time), special programming for most.all students, such as knitting, robotics and more during school hours, a new gymnasium (rare finds in Aus.) with excellent drama and music programming (instrumentals for all who wish) and more! The administrator has also decided to stop purchasing non-fiction books for the school library and is choosing to spend that funding on Kindles and tablets for children to use as books and research tools.
All together another informative day!
July 24th we were due to go whale watching (I was planning to stay back - haven't found my sea legs) but the winds were too strong and it was cancelled - yeah! Instead a group of us headed to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and it was amazing! Spent about 4 hours there and still didn't see all the animals. Would help of next time I didn't spend an hour + on just koalas...
Fed kangaroos and emus, held a koala and saw at least 30 others. Also saw crocs, a cassowary, tree kangaroos, wallabies, lizards, snakes, tree frogs, a platypus, parrots, kookaburras, and we fed the lorikeets!
No comments:
Post a Comment