Pioneers and common sense

‘It makes my tastebuds cheer with happiness!’ - pupil

‘It’s a world of pioneers from Alice Waters’ Edible Schoolyard in the States to Collingwood College in Melbourne.’ Collingwood College was the site for the first kitchen garden established by the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation – http://www.kitchengardenfoundation.org.au/

The foundation which began in a Melbourne school pre-dates and inspired our own positive UK work by Jamie Oliver and is about real food planted, prepared and eaten by kids – light years away from the sausage roll and cookies that we as parents recently got used to seeing as part of Food Tech.

Inspired by foodies in the states and a belief in the joys and benefits of growing, harvesting, preparing and sharing food, this programme aims to provide edible, aromatic and beautiful resources for a kitchen.

Stephanie Alexander’s ‘The Cook’s Companion’, first published by Lantern in 1996, is the Australian food bible. It is an A-Z of lovely food - thankfully for the book they call things witlof and zucchini over here ! The bibliography is bigger than an academic treatise and testifies to this woman’s generosity of spirit. This book is the melting pot that is this country – influenced by every wave of immigration. Within its beautiful and lyrical pages are gifts of recipes from friends met and passed away. It reminds me of the fantastic Elizabeth David cookery books….

But, it is this book: ‘Kitchen Garden Cooking with Kids’ by Stephanie Alexander with Anna Dollard, Penguin Group, that proves a love of food has to be taught and nurtured. Buy it for the school or the cook you love or the Chair of Governors who doesn’t know why they are one….

As they say at St Kilda’s Community Garden, ‘Veg Out’, ‘Gardening is an act of faith in the future’.

Teachers, pupils and volunteers first built the Collingwood College garden in 2001 – now it’s a national model curriculum and international inspiration. This book sets out how we in the UK could also benefit from a kitchen garden as part of every school.

We don’t need heaps of money but hope, faith and charity.

My weekly telephone calls with Ian Fordham at the office and e-mails with members testify to the success of the recent SEN conference and the BCSE ‘Transforming Learning Environments Masterclass’ events. Throughout Britain, BCSE associates, Dr. Kenn Fisher and Sharon Wright have met a passion for creating great schools, a thirst for knowledge and an expertise from teacher to constructor that makes you proud. This movement is providing solutions and celebration.

Schools are special and the more we make them part of our everyday lives the better. Some say they can be the ‘village greens’ of a new generation- they are also ultimately the place where we begin to really develop relationships with ourselves and others outside of ‘family’. They are our ‘third teacher’.

The Victoria State Auditor-General, Des Pearson, reports on his overview of school investment. Despite praise-worthy investment efforts from the Victorian State Government, we’ve got similar resonances as back home.

He says, ‘The level of investment in school buildings has not been sufficient to renew and maintain facilities to provide the type of environment needed to develop students’ learning potential’

I like what Cheryl O’Connor, Australian College of Educators, says, in Melbourne’s, ‘The Age’ Newspaper - ‘ All students deserve capable staff, a safe and suitable school to attend, and conditions that allow them to learn if they are to build on, or compensate for, the quality of parenting and community support they receive from birth.’

Aren’t we all trying to define the new school?

As the world changes language, media and environment, let’s not throw out all of the ‘old’ to define the ‘new’.

But, also don’t be trapped by the, ‘ it did me no harm ’ syndrome.

A key question in private or public sector innovation is – why do new ideas fail? Is it always because they are actually not very good?

As ABC Learning’s, enormous Australian private-sector network of Early Years Centre’s, go bankrupt we are now bailing out babies not just bankers.

Yet, somehow nothing is ever more certain – wise and brave leaders invest in education and they do it ‘with’ people not ‘for’ people. New times demand new responses; but it’s also time that we built on what our Mum’s and Dad’s knew was important.

Great schools – it’s common sense.

Happy Christmas.