I go to school in the world's biggest classroom.
My classroom is more than double the size of the United Kingdom, more than one and a half million square kilometers.
I only see my teacher and classmates a few times a year!
I am a student at the School of the Air.
The School of the Air is in Australia, and it teaches around one thousand students nationwide.
Many students, like me, live in isolated places in the vast area of Australia known as the outback.
The outback is the huge desert-like area in the middle of Australia, away from its coasts.
Very few people live here. My nearest classmate is a four-hour drive away, and the nearest town is a six-hour drive.
I live at Pine Creek Cattle Station, Northern Territory, Australia.
Outback kids are different from city kids—
I am 12 years old, but I ride a horse, work on a farm, and drive a motorcycle. I don't have a license though!
When I am 13, I will leave home and go to a boarding school in Darwin.
Until then I will study at the School of the Air. How do I study?
The word "air" is a clue—the School of the Air uses the radio.
Monday to Friday I turn on the radio at eight o'clock.
First up is the assembly. During assembly we sing the national anthem and the school song.
Then we listen to other students do something special, like play the flute, read a poem they've written, or tell some jokes.
After the assembly there is lesson time for two hours.
Mom or Dad sits next to me during lessons and helps me with my homework.
After lunch there are extra activities. I am in the choir.
At first it's strange singing into a radio microphone by yourself, but you get used to it!
On Wednesday I learn the flute over the radio, but Friday is my favorite day.
After class is finished, I have a Girl Guides meeting—also on the radio! We are the Guides of the Air.
But how do I study over the radio?
First, I use a two-way radio, which means I can talk and listen to my teacher and the other students.
Second, I use the Internet to email my teacher and look at websites for information and research.
Third, every two weeks my teacher sends me books and homework through the mail.
Fourth, I attend a school camp a few times a year, where I meet my teacher and my classmates face-to-face!
Finally, my teacher comes and stays at my house for one week a year.
Fifty years ago the School of the Air was very different.
In those days the Flying Doctor was the only radio contact for people living in isolation.
The Flying Doctor service is made up of doctors and nurses who fly to people in remote areas who need medical care.
They give people medicine and medical advice or take them to the hospital.
The Flying Doctor's radio, however, wasn't used just for medical news or advice.
It also broadcast local news with its weekly galah session.
A galah is an Australian bird that chatters a lot, and during the galah sessions, people talked to each other on the radio.
Adelaide Miethke was a teacher in Alice Springs.
She listened to the galah sessions on the radio and recognized that outback kids were very shy
because they didn't get to meet other children very often.
Adelaide Miethke suggested to the government that they start the School of the Air.
The first broadcast was from Alice Springs in 1951, using the Flying Doctor's radio.
Now there are more than 16 Schools of the Air around Australia.
Mom said that back then, the radio didn't sound so clear.
There were often breaks and strange noises.
The teacher even had to power the radio with her feet!
Of course things have changed. The Internet and satellites mean that radio lessons may disappear altogether.
In the future I will probably use an electronic whiteboard and receive my lessons via satellite.
In the meantime I enjoy my lessons over the airwaves.
Over and out!