Australia, Day 5

Today, we met with three different groups of educators -- first, we spent a couple of hours at the Hobart College.  College in Tasmania is grades 11 and 12, giving students the choice between 165 subjects to get prepared for college or the work force.  The art work was amazing; they were getting ready for a heavy metal performance, building the set for Westside Story, working on complex Math problems and Science issues, and they had an amazing Sustainability Center for outreach efforts.

Learning Space with Student Art work

Sustainability Center

Sustainability Center

Student Art work

Hospitality Studies

Single Sex Bath Rooms

I think we need to consider adding more of our student accomplishments throughout our learning spaces to showcase what students can do.

The second stop was essentially the local branch of the Department of Education, with the superintendent and an Ueber Prinicpal level that oversees a number of schools, giving the local principals the opportunity to learn with them, to develop and implement strategic plans, and to allow teachers to come up with solutions to perceived problems, be it problematic students or problematic policy implementations.
The third stop was Rosebay High School, covering grades 7 through 10, an amazing maze of stairways leading to various concentrations in Art, Sciences, Shop, Cooking, physical education, Maths, Literature.  Students offered us a taste of Veggimite (not for the faint of heart), and the atmosphere was very positive. 

Sliding doors for the classrooms at Rosebay High

The shop

Recycled keys on a wall

And finally, a couple of impressions from Hobart at night:  The ArtMob, a store/gallery emphasizing aboriginal art:  http://www.artmob.com.au/, real and metal wild life and what the folks in Hobart think:

Cormorant with penguins

And the local wines are rather nice...