ALLENDALE East Area School has adopted a revolutionary educational approach which could transform traditional learning subjects and curriculum components.
The Personal Pathways Program, introduced this year, allowed students to decide career pathway skills they would like to develop for themselves and their future.
With 24 students involved from Year 8 to 10, school support officer and chef Adam Hodge guided a group of four students through culinary classes.
Mr Hodge said the program helped students adapt faster to a professional environment.
“I think it is brilliant and an opportunity to start developing some skills while they are quite young,” he said.
“The program is part of their general education, with a focus in them driving what they are choosing as opposed to the school dictating what they want them to learn.
“It is an interesting subject and we have people from across the school exploring a broad range of different things.”
The experienced chef said he had taught a few apprentices through his professional career and was glad he could put his skills to good use.
“We try and vary our recipes so they are then exposed to different tools, explore different ingredients, as well as the opportunity to try new techniques,” he said.
“We mix up what they are asking to do to give them as much exposure as possible in short of time frame.
“Obviously I have a passion for food and doing this gives me a chance to keep involved in that area.”
Mr Hodge said he enjoyed creating ideas and recipes to inspire students to walk away with useful information.
Mr Hodge said he had seen many students explore their desired pathways through the school’s program.
“We have one student who is interested in pursuing a career in rock lobster fishing, during the program he has gone out and got a boat license and made a cray pot,” he said.
“We have some people who are interested in music, so they are basically teaching themselves how to play guitar, drums or keyboard.
“We also have had somebody has been off working with some livestock.”
Mr Hodge said students were tasked with creating an idea and the school then supported making that happen.
” I think the logic behind it is, say in 15 to 20 years we do not know what careers are going to be available,” he said.
“The world is changing and students have the skills to source information and learn things themselves.
“If they are in a role somewhere and it begins to change, then they will have the skills to find the information on their own.”
Mr Hodge said the year had been about experimenting with what worked best with the students.
“With people going off site and bringing things on site we had to make sure we could still assess the students on what they have done,” he said.
“As the year as gone on, it has certainly been a bit more of a refine process.
“We have been able to narrow down and push the students to achieve something.”
Mr Hodge said the school had combined the school’s leadership in the community subject with the new program’s cooking class.
“The leadership program involves students being tasked to come up with their own idea to do something to better the local community,” he said.
“We have recently completed a food drive where we have made a range of individual meals and sold them in the school and outside the school.
“We are using the money to benefit the families of the school community through various projects.”
Mr Hodge said the program was something the school considered running again next year with around 50 Year 7 to Year 10 students interested.
As part of the school’s creative way of getting students to think outside the box, the facility also recently opened the Kingsley Community Garden which is an outdoor area for students to learn using all five senses.
