Curios of the week #43

Clippings, endnotes and other ephemera

Image via AI

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Christmas day started early for me at 5am. I had to light the chimney to start the charcoal burning for the smoker. Unusually for this time of year, it was belting down with rain so I had both the smoker and the barbecue under the carport (again). Anyway, once we eventually sat down to lunch, the general consensus was that it was a success. I had perhaps under-catered the potatoes — which is unusual for me — but the other accompaniments, such as the buttery caraway carrots, were a hit. And the turkey was moist — a feat achieved without brining but by sitting it on carrots, potatoes, celery and stock and catching the steam in foil.

Since then, I have mostly been relaxing and taking some time out. I have read books, drafted an academic paper, listened to some podcasts and drank some lapsang souchong blend tea. In this post-Christmas, pre-New Year hiatus, I was expecting little education activity to report upon. Nevertheless, this week’s Curios include a controversy, a good news story, an interesting take on an ongoing issue, stuff that agrees with what I already thought and much more.

High school graduates of the week

Laynhapuy Homelands School, a school in Australia’s Northern Territory, is celebrating the fact that seven students completed their Northern Territory Certificate of Education and Training (NTCET) this year. This may seem underwhelming until we consider that just 212 Aboriginal students completed the NCTET in 2023.

The key to the success of Laynhapuy appears to be the boarding facility that allows students to study while staying on Country. Connection to Country is a key issue for Aboriginal students and so it makes sense that this would be a factor. The Northern Territory’s education minister, Eva Lawler, explained:

“This model allows students to who live in the most remote parts of our country to stay on Country, while receiving an education which will see them become valued and respected contributors their communities.”

Laynhapuy has 30 students enrolled for 2024.

Controversy of the week

Twitter may now be called ‘X’ and owned by a comic-book character, but the holiday controversies of old are still alive and well.