Geelong school tries to re-engage students by incorporating a food truck into teaching

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The rate of attendance at schools across Victoria has dropped, still below pre-COVID levels. But one school in Geelong has gotten creative, attempting to re-engage their students through a food truck, taking lessons out of the classroom

Transcript

00:00A food truck disguising a school lesson, teaching numeracy and literacy in a less traditional

00:09setting.

00:10I've learnt how to make coffees was one thing that I do.

00:17My people skills, I interact with people so my people skills have improved.

00:22Before moving to MacKillop Education in Year 8, Daniel didn't think he'd ever graduate.

00:28He was diagnosed with autism and began skipping classes.

00:32He says he received little support from his last school.

00:36It was an internal struggle and it was also an external struggle, like, because I wanted

00:42to learn and I still want to learn and I just couldn't.

00:48But he's now in Year 12, confident and learning life skills through practice.

00:53Chocolate slice please.

00:54The Bittersweet Cafe and Food Truck One program helping to re-engage dozens of students, teaching

01:01them to create menus, research the market, work as a team and develop social and problem-solving

01:07skills.

01:08Attendance rose.

01:10We saw student confidence in themselves and their sense of self-worth also improved.

01:17School refusal is an ongoing issue in schools across Australia with attendance rates falling

01:22over the past decade.

01:24In 2014 Victoria's school attendance was at 93%, falling to 92% in 2019 and 88.6% last year.

01:35We see social impacts if not finishing school.

01:40We see health, mental health outcomes.

01:43It's more than just fun.

01:44The students are also completing an industry certified course through the program, re-engaging

01:50students through flexible learning strategy identified by the Victorian Government's Education

01:55inquiry.

01:56Back to school in a different kind of classroom.

Category

Transcript

Recommended