There's something fishy about this article!
You have probably had more success at catching fish than I have. I have watched Rex `kiss and throw `em back', studied ET's, Bushy's and Steve Starling's bait (these are all Australian fisherman on a TV show) and casting methods, read books, bought magazines and a boat with a `fish finder' that obviously doesn't work! I know the `theory'- (science) of catching fish but had problems with the practice, (the `art)' of fishing. So... I decided if I couldn't catch `em I would farm them.
I stocked our backyard above-ground pool with 7cm. trout fingerlings (they were delivered all the way from Lithgow) and, needless to say, the next day we had a perfect opportunity to view all the fish eating birds as they circled overhead in Toukley. We fed the trout special commercial pellets and then harvested 30cm. trout. Fifty trout went in and fifty six trout came out? l think we and the hatchery counted wrong! Even the one that jumped out of the pool was rescued by `Jack' (our dog). Now try this... arrive home from work, dig a worm from the garden, sit by the pool with your rod, throw in a line and catch a trout!
We did try to `swim with the trout' it was mental as anything - but the nips kept getting bigger and we gave up.
After 6 months we had a party. A few friends, a pool full of fish and a nice red wine. We were able to eat smoked, barbequed, fried, baked, and grilled trout... we felt a bit like Forest Gump and the `shrimp'! Now if I can only fit grape vines into the backyard!
At this time of the year parents are hoping that their children will be in the care of a particular teacher, a good teacher that they trust and has a proven record of care and achievement.
So how do we know what a `good teacher' is'? We all draw on different school and teacher experiences in our lives, both good and bad to enable us to form a judgement! You'd think that by now someone would have a precise formula to design a good teacher? However, even today serious studies by university academics and researchers continue to attempt to distil the qualities of `good teachers'. Teaching is both a `science'.... with learning theories taught and learnt at university over 4 years.... and an `art' where the craft of teaching can take a lot longer to learn. Some peoplr are even lucky enough to be born with inherent teaching skills and some of these people never become teachers!
We must have the need, the need to farm. Just look what we do to even the smallest amount of space we have! Recently our school discovered that we had extra land and so we have developed the ARC (Aquaculture Research Centre).
And if you haven't heard of WETcam, our schools introduction of Aquaculture Technology will involve experiences of the'wet kind' for all our students K-12 when we grow cat fish, yellow belly, trout and study other aspects of the aquaculture industry. We have plans to fix WebCams to the tanks to allow everyone to check out what's so fishy at Wadalba. This will compliment a number of other WebCam projects that you can read about in the next edition.
Cartoon by S. Solomons
Glenn has a website showing his fish (swimming pool) exploits from the link above
He is currently Head Teacher Computing at Wadalba Community School. He has been both a K-6 (Primary) and 712 (Secondary) Teacher in the local area, Computer Consultant K-12 for the Department of Education, National Microsoft Product Manager and Technology Advisor with the Department of Education and Training. He has also contributed to a number of books dealing with computers, children and learning. He is now farming fish at Wadalba and his wife Helen wants him to sell the boat!