Alarming

School could feel the edges of herself spread graciously over the undulating landscape. Corners to be revealed, airflow that revitalized, places to stand in the sun and relax in the shade. Water bubbled through her core; peaceful, invigorating, inspirational. And now she lay in calm repose for those who would join her. Those she already knew intimately. She loved them and longed for them. School knew that Ava would dance barefoot across the grass most likely singing while Tommy would stick to the paths and enjoy the quiet corners with his book friends. She knew at some stage Ava would entice Tommy onto the grass with an incorrect reenactment of some historical event, and they would find a new dance in their difference. The anticipation was excruciating!

Over in the sandpit, School had hidden fossils for Leon to find. Some of them he would be able to identify, and some would further fuel his curiosity and then he would be able to capture all of his passion in the recording studio without overwhelming anyone else. There was a high likelihood that Dave or Johanna (or both) might be caught up in fossil mania too and with Johanna’s passion for music, there would be ‘Fossil the Musical’ before they knew it! Although, Johanna was just as likely to compose the next ‘Les Miserable’ with Tommy and Ava.

School was particularly proud of her library. A carefully curated collection she considered conscientiously inclusive. There were plenty of books, recordings, podcasts, documentaries, and visual displays to invite young minds on a thought journey. School’s careful curation did not stop at considering the needs of the children, it also extended to the teachers. It was going to be perfect, School would provide the content and the teachers would provide the connection.

School knew as much about the teachers as she did about the children. Amy loved technology (her and School were going to get along REALLY well), she was a skilled pedagogue able to draw out children’s ideas and weave them together. She was as attentive to one child as she was when working with many children. She trusted herself and she trusted children. Most importantly, Amy took her coffee very seriously and for that reason School would have the perfect cappuccino with a sprinkle of cinnamon ready for her every morning. School’s drone delivery system not only took care of drink orders but also delivered AND RETURNED all resources as needed. There would be no more mysteriously missing fine tipped paint brushes or fighting in the PE shed to find what was needed.

Amy would share a space with Soju and Tim and as a team they had the curriculum covered. School couldn’t wait to watch them working together and to be part of it. She had imagined Soju having a wild art idea to support the science learning that Tim had been doing and School could magically deliver what they needed. School would manage the technology interface making sure that all devices were charged and connected for when they were needed and that the sound ALWAYS worked on videos and Zoom calls. School would also take care of passwords through voice recognition rather than arbitrarily requiring a new password every 3 months! Sensory needs would be taken care of with quiet spaces and monitoring of lighting levels and air flow. There was nothing that they couldn’t do together.

School would take care of all the admin and assessment of that which could be easily assessed, and the teachers would handle the more nuanced aspects of being human. School would record the teaching collective’s comments about children as they worked and through thematic analysis synthesize the comments and suggest report comments for parents. School would also keep track of all extracurricular activities, special projects that the children were involved in, remind them when to go to their music lesson, and deliver school notices straight to their parents School synaptic interface including adding calendar reminders for sports days and sausage sizzles. Huzzah! Finally the ideal of being a teacher sold by movies had come into line with reality.

School’s resource system connected with other nearby Schools, and they would share resources that were often under-utilised. The Schools could also occasionally share teachers and students when particular expertise were needed. The drones were licensed as micro-transport able to complete the transfers. Alternatively, the VR suite was able to host students and teachers from further afield, although they wouldn’t be able to partake in School’s incredible coffee that way. School would have the coffee advantage over other schools by serving drinks in keep-hot cups, no more lukewarm or cold cups of coffee for her teachers. Team teaching meant teachers could go to the bathroom whenever they needed to and School’s staffroom would never run out of forks – it was practically paradise!

Just then the fire alarms started screaming, what was happening? Paradise was burning! Perfection was on the pyre and not even the cinnamon topped cappuccinos could quench the conflagration. The alarms kept screaming telling everyone to get out, get out, get out, get out, get up, get up…and then she woke up. Amy really needed to change that morning alarm to be not so, alarming. As she got ready for her day, School drifted amongst her thoughts, and as she made her cinnamon topped cappuccino she was disappointed that it would be cold before she would finish it.