Editorial

In this issue our theme is Education. When we asked for articles on this theme, we did not realise that Australian Quakers had so much to say on the subject. It seems that as a group we like to learn, we like to teach, and we like to learn from those we teach.

We received so many good articles that we are unable to include them all in this issue. Unwilling to leave any out, we have decided to continue the theme in the June issue. We hope that more of you will share your experiences with us.

A number of articles were received from the Friends’ school where there is a long tradition of trying to match up our Quaker principles with a philosophy of education. But from David Carline in Queensland and from Margaret Woodward in Western Australia we read the same dedication to finding ways of teaching and learning that develop the whole person, and that find the balance between freedom and discipline. From an Aboriginal community in Queensland, the farms of Uganda and India, and a prison in Burkino Faso we hear of efforts to provide education that is culturally appropriate and useful.

Quakers regard themselves as seekers, not because we are never finders, but because each new discovery leads on to new learning. We have reports from our delegates to the FWCC conference in Peru, where Quakers from many traditions come to learn from each other. We hear from Moira Darling on a course run by Friends’ General Conference in North Carolina.

There is much to learn, yet many Friends speak of the need to come back to the silence, without which we are unable to process our experience, or to just dwell with the Spirit in love and peace.

We apologise for the late appearance of this issue of The Australian Friend. We were hoping to be able to produce it on our redesigned website, but that hasn’t been possible. Our next issue, however, will be on our new, and much improved, layout.