'Here's a remarkable thought: Among the world's children starting grade school this year, 65 percent will end up doing jobs that haven't even been invented yet.... 

The certainty of change, coupled with the complete uncertainty as to the precise nature of the change, has profound and complex implications for our approach to education. For me, though, the most basic takeaway is crystal clear: Since we can't predict exactly what today's young people will need to know in ten or twenty years, what we teach them is less important than how they learn to teach themselves.'

From The one world school house by Salman Khan pages 179-180.


This week my girls will head off to school.
This week will be Miss Indi's first at high school.
And Miss Pepper's first few days at school (sob).

This week I am questioning the school system like never before. The methods by which we are taught, the hours and hours spent in a classroom, the time wasted on discipline and admin, the classes grouped by age, the stresses that routine puts on my family and probably most importantly, the lack of not-tired hours left over for things like farming and family.

It seems that we are too far into the system to get out of it for now. My girls want to go to school. I guess it's up to us to find creative ways to deal with these issues and get around them.

I can tell you one thing for sure, and that is that my kids will not be the winners of the iPad prize for best attendance record.

Wishing you a wonderful learning year my friends.
May there be lots of time for getting our hands dirty and learning by doing.

xx