The second "Survivor" TV show was set in the Australian outback, reminding us that there’s a vast, rugged country in Australia once you get away from the civilized edges. It’s a harsh, unforgiving land, and so sparsely settled that there aren’t enough children in any one locale to justify building schools. But there are some children living there nonetheless, on lonely sheep stations, Aboriginal communities, camel farms, mining camps, road houses, remote police stations and the like. In fact, in an area of nearly 400,000 square miles, there are at least 140 school-aged children. We know that because that’s how many are enrolled in the School of the Air.
This solution to the educational needs of kids living in the remote outback began in 1951. Based in Alice Springs, the School of the Air originally broadcast lessons via two-way radios to children in this far-flung area, with the children, wearing earphones, responding from their end. Today, of course, there are additional transmission means, including telephones, faxes, e-mail and video.
While most of the work is done in the form of correspondence lessons mailed to the student and supervised by an onsite adult, the kids do have a 20-30 minute radio lesson with their teacher three times a week. There is a teacher assigned to each grade and the same teacher prepares and scores the correspondence, conducts the radio lessons and communicates when necessary by phone, fax and e-mail. There are even after-school programs, such as one called Junior Rangers, offered by the School of the Air. At least once a year, the teachers go out to visit each student in his or her home.
According to all reports, the children using this s
