A Conversation with Mike Hopaluk and Rick Odum: Canggu Community School and What Lies Ahead

We have four core values at CCS; respect, learning, engagement, and balance. We like to tie everything we do here to at least one of those core values. That respect, really, comes down to how we speak to each other – whether that’s me speaking to a child or a parent speaking to a teacher – it should be done with respect. The more that we can model that for the children and use that language of respect, learning, engagement, and balance, the more it becomes a part of the student’s understanding of the world. I definitely like how those are our core values, and it’s pretty easy to align with a lot of what we teach here.

Absolutely. I want the school to be a place where students are safe to be themselves, to essentially learn how to be self-advocating adults. They know that they’re going to have a highly engaging, highly fun learning environment. They can take intellectual, and academic risks and succeed, fail, and then grow through that process. Part of becoming a respectful, competent adult is building that resiliency and I think that’s an important part of our program.

We’re consistently talking to our teachers about working with this lens with the children and making sure that they know they’re safe and supported, that our expectations are clear, that our assessments are aligned with what they’re being taught in class, that their feedback is growth-oriented, and really modelling this sense of how to be a competent adult because we’re with them throughout the day. We’re that adult, and that’s an important responsibility for our profession. So in terms of plans and grand schemes and such, it’s the actual on-the-ground work of reinforcing and remembering that our responsibility is to model these values for the kids on a daily basis.

From your personal observation, how do you think the pandemic has impacted the younger generations in terms of learning as well as social behaviour?

I think it’s a little too early to say exactly what has been affected. Overall, more research is still out there to be done. In my opinion, one of the big conclusions that people have had about the pandemic is that it has accelerated the pace of change in the world. Another thing in terms of facing an increasingly complex and confusing world is learning where and how to focus one’s attention. Being able to maintain a particular control over your perception because this world can overwhelm you. Unfortunately, this world can lead you towards Nihilism. You need to learn how to focus on things that are points of positivity and growth rather than simply looking for problems. That’s something that I think is lacking in the world and I would like to encourage it in education.

What’s next for you and Canggu Community School?

I think in five years, you can come back and talk to us. You’re going to see a school that is – what you would call in the education world – a destination school. That is a school where parents choose where to live because of the school, people choose where to move because they want to teach in the school. That’s where I see us in five years. I think all the pieces are in place for that to happen.

I agree. It’s not necessarily about where I want to be, but hopefully, where the school is. Last year was a very productive year as far as being our first post-COVID year. Great things were happening and the amount of support from the whole community just means that we have the pieces so we can continue to find where they go and really use that leverage and capacity to grow.

How can our readers get in touch?

Pay our website a visit, you can find all our contact information there. Including our telephone (+62) 361 844 6391. You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram @canggucommunityschool or email us at [email protected].