 |
| The Carillon, Canberra |
Had an impromptu trip to Canberra last week. Although I had originally said no, because I still wasn't in great shape, I found myself on the 6.25 a.m. flight out of Hobart and in Canberra just in time for morning tea on Grandparents' Day. While I was resting on a bench, another grandma doing the same remarked how shocked she was that the children weren't doing more writing exercises and rote learning of tables and so on, as we were doing in Grade 2 (does anyone remember getting pen licences?), and were instead building mini shelters and, in one granddaughter's case, writing about foxes.
I tried to explain that many schools now teach through hands-on projects alongside the basics, on the assumption that children learn and remember more by doing and learn to write and research at the same time. In the course of her exposition about the fox, my littlest granddaughter had really come out of her shell too, having usually been in the shadow of her older sibling, and the writing is coming on as well.
In the other classroom, her older sister had been discussing "Survival Skills" and had designed an all-purpose bone tool like an axe and sawing blade. I couldn't help thinking of the movie "Tomorrow, When the War Began," where teenagers have to save themselves from an occupying force. While we hope they never need it, there is an immense amount of creativity to be tapped in primary school children, and they had such fun doing it.
Fashions in education certainly come and go. I suspect a good many children missed out in the days of flashcards and whole words approach, before phonics came back into favour. When my sons were small I had to learn the new maths, and in Canberra it was primary school children who taught me the Japanese way of multiplying, which is much faster once you know how. Not for me, though. It's like my two-finger typing. It gets me there, and I'm too busy to change. Perhaps the real lesson is that children will cope with whatever fashion comes next, and sometimes end up teaching us.
Spring Fever
It was a lovely time to be in Canberra. The weather was perfect while Tasmania had mostly still been in the grip of winter. Indeed, I took perverse delight in watching the Tasmanian weather forecast at night, "Small hail expected, strong winds and snow above 700 metres."
Birds sang everywhere - I blame all those trees, and there were all kinds of events and festivals. There was Floriade of course, which my oldest granddaughter took me to last year, but there were plenty of other things happening as well. Kites were flying high above the Arboretum for the Kite Festival. There was an international music festival, a Writers Festival, a Handmade market, an Italian festival, a Japanese film festival, the Canberra Art Biennial, a Japanese Candle festival would soon follow and there was also a NightFest and several sporting events including the Canberra Marathon.
While we were waiting to go into the Portrait Gallery for a family holiday program I was really intrigued by what was going on next door. This was some kind of obstacle course involving lots of mud called Tuff Nutterz, which apparently also takes place in Brisbane and Melbourne. Alas, my mobility still being somewhat limited, we continued on to Portrait Play instead. This included a band in rabbit costumes, lots of craft work, being allowed to draw on the walls, a book swap and a very long queue for an author signing. I couldn't help thinking I how glad I was that I didn't have to clean up the mess which was left behind afterwards.
 |
| Imagine being allowed to do this in your local art gallery |
A Different Perspective
The next day after the birthday breakfast, we enjoyed a glorious afternoon and a picnic on Lake Burley Griffin. I hadn't even seen this part of Canberra before. Called Trevillian Quay, on the Kingston Foreshore, it looked positively Venetian, with a narrow canal crossed by small bridges and lined with cafes, wine bars, apartments and pedestrian areas.
 |
| The Venetian end of Canberra - that looks like our little boat just below the railing, but ours had a canopy on top. Great that they are all electric |
We all clambered aboard a small electric boat -not bad value, given that there were five of us and we could have brought three more people with us for the same price. Then we moved slowly and quietly around the Lake at 25 km/h. The boat had a little canopy to keep out the sun or rain and was so easy to steer that even the youngest grandchild took turns at doing it. It offered a very different view of Canberra, with no traffic or houses, lots of green space and glimpses of many of its famous landmarks such as the National Gallery, the Carillon, the High Court, Parliament House and the Australian National University. Here and there were little jetties with opportunities for refreshments of various kinds, and we also passed a wetland, duly guarded by a large number of cormorants. There was no wind and not so much as a ripple on the lake.
Along the way we passed other watercraft - more electric boats, a larger vessel or two and a kayaker. There's something quite weird about such encounters. Everyone waves and greets you like long lost cousins or as if you were all members of some secret society. It was so peaceful it was like stepping back a century or two. All we needed were straw boaters and a jaunty sailor's suit or two.
The following days passed very quickly with family meals, more outings and a few science experiments. We made cabbage water litmus tests to check for acids and bases. Everything was going as expected, with lovely jewel colours ranging from pale pink to deep purple, when to my surprise the container with soap powder in it turned a murky shade of green. ChatGPT told me this is most likely due to the whiteners and brighteners used in modern detergents. You learn something every day. I also enjoyed a few late-night movies with my son after everyone had gone to bed, an illicit pleasure from days gone by.
I am glad I came. Those children grow like weeds and I was starting to feel as if all my chickens had flown the coup. This time they read to me at bedtime, instead of the other way around. While the youngest was showing me how easily you can do cartwheels anywhere, anytime (I wish!), the birthday girl, who had been given a small ukulele, jumped straight onto the internet and taught herself a few chords. By the time I left a couple of days later, she was serenading me with the song "Sunflower," so I think overall the kids will be alright. They simply learn from and absorb everything around them like big thirsty sponges, though a bit of quality control might be in order until they are mature enough to think critically for themselves.
PS. I've added a few sections to last week's World Animal Day post, if you have already read it.
Comments