What's happening in our country schools and what can we do about it? The final episode of Season 1 of the Galah Podcast is out today.
We've just released the final episode in season one of the Galah podcast and this one tackles a subject that I feel deep discomfort around: education in the country.
I wanted to record this episode ever since reading journalist and author Gabrielle Chan's excellent piece Australia's education class divide in Galah a few issues ago.
"Education is just one element of rural stratification," wrote Gabi. "If we want to talk about hierarchy in country towns, we have to talk about the C-word: class."
For me, nowhere does class play out more overtly than in education in small country towns, particularly when high school starts. That moment when children who've played together since preschool get sorted – like Harry Potter's sorting hat – into different educational paths. Some stay, some go, and suddenly a community fractures.
So I asked Gabi to join me on the podcast and together we responded to listeners’ voice notes about what it’s really like at country schools in 2025, from the impact that boarding schools have on small towns to myth-busting about homeschooling, and AI in the classroom to the looming extinction of male teachers.
I'd love to hear what you think.
Find "Galah" on Apple or Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Annabelle x
