ABSTRACT
The author offers a contemporary recasting of Aesop's fable as a narrative of identity, border crossing and the power. The physical, relational and spiritual places and spaces of the author's doctoral research were: a regional university, and an alternative and play-informed school. Research in and between the two worlds of alternative school and university gave life to a greater critical awareness for the author, and reportedly it did so also for those pre-service teachers with whom the author worked. The birds' vision was of a family-friendly and child-emergent education where children learned in a natural environment, without the anxiety of tests or the pressures of formal curricula. Their Reggio-informed primary school opened in 2006 with ten enrolments, gaining full accreditation through the Office of Non-State Schooling (ONSS) late that year. John and Meg re-framed the school as a resource centre for 50 home-schooling families. The majority of parents began home schooling, finding new confidence in their own knowledge and skills.
