Ross Farrelly

Published in the Heckler column, Sydney Morning Herald , 27th January 2005 Stop reading this article now! Turn immediately to another section of the paper or click on the nearest hyperlink. I have no idea what I am talking about. I have been told this since the age of five and I recommend that you cease reading this column immediately. For those of you who have been foolish enough to ignore my warning, let me explain. “Maaaate, you have noooo idea…” The phrase is with me still. As a teenager, as soon as I showed the any hint of an interest in the opposite sex, I was promptly told by anyone who was more that a couple of years older than me that I had “noooo idea” what I was in for. “Girls, they’re a different species, nothing like us. Forget it. It’s a minefield. They’ll have you for breakfast, gobble you up, make mincemeat of you and for dessert, spit you out in little pieces.”  Strangely enough, no doubt by sheer good fo...

Published in Threshold Magazine , July, 2004. At a time when the divorce rate is at an all time high and fewer Australians are getting married, we may be forgiven for thinking that the institution of marriage is terminally ill and that it is only a matter of time before it gives up the ghost completely. Despite this rather gloomy prognosis, marriage continues to show that it is the most beneficial living arrangement for men, women and especially children - and there is one priest in Sydney who has dedicated his life to seeing that as many people as possible are aware of this fact and experience it for themselves. Fr Peter Quin, parish priest of the North Sydney-Lavender Bay-Kirribilli parish, has found a formula which results in only 3% of the couples he marries terminating their marriage in divorce. Fr. Quin's example shows that with a single minded commitment and an intensely pragmatic approach to human relationships, healthy marriages are possible. So how does he do it? Firs...

A review of Zen Tails by Peter Whitfield, illustrated by Nancy Bevington. Published in Education Today , October 2004   Zen Tails is a unique series of children’s books aimed at ages 5 - 8. It sets out to convey to young readers some of the profound wisdom contained in the vast store of traditional stories of the East. The Zen Tails are enacted by nine animal characters who are grouped into three group: the teachers, the students and the fools. The teachers (a St. Bernard, a wombat and a turtle representing action, love and knowledge) are the enlightened ones. The students (a beagle, a hippo and a beaver representing courage, compassion and studiousness) are striving to emulate them. The fools (a cat, a monkey and a bear representing laziness, agitation and anger) are living in selfish ignorance. In case you don’t get all this from reading the books, it’s spelt out for you on a three bookmarks which comes with the series. Nancy Bevington’s illustration...

Published - Sydney Morning Herald - 21st March 2004 My heart sank when I read of Paul Allen's pledge to the search for extra-terrestrial life and to establish "what other civilisations may exist elsewhere". At a time when the human race can't work out how to feed itself, live peacefully together or establish harmonious, lasting relationships between men and women, could the money not be better spent seeking to establish a little more civilisation here on Earth?

Published in  Sydney's Child,  August 2003 Many of us have mixed feelings when we think of studying Shakespeare at school. Such recollections can range from the depths of boredom and anguish to the heights of sublime joy and intellectual awakening. But regardless of our opinion of Shakespeare, we speak his language everyday. It is estimated that Shakespeare added around 1500 new words to the English language. Whenever we use our mind’s eye, to find method in someone’s madness, as they eat us out of house and home, because we thought they had a heart of gold and a spotless reputation but we were actually living in a fool's paradise; whenever we decide that discretion is the better part of valour or detect something in the wind; whenever we remark that brevity is the soul of wit, that  love is blind or caution someone that all that glistens is not gold or advise someone to be neither a lender nor a borrower;  from the salad days of youth, throu...

Published in Sydney's Child,  April 2003. Reproduced on http://www.goodtherapy.com.au/ February, 2006. The unexamined life is not worth living. - Socrates Amazing isn’t it how much faith we put in our schools. Right from the tender age of five when our children are so impressionable we send them off day after day to be taught by a teacher we have hardly met. How much do we know about the teachers who will educate them, the friends they will meet and the ideas they will be fed? Very little I suggest. Nevertheless with very little knowledge of what they are about to receive we gaily send them off the school trusting that they will learn something of value and not come across anything too horrific. What do we expect our children to learn at school? The list is long and  varied depending on who you talk to. It normally includes: literacy and numeracy, art and music, sport, languages, history and geography, discipline, social skills, perhaps religion  and...

Books I've written How to become a Primary Teacher , published by Australian Associated Publishing House, March 2007. Zen Tails Primary Values Teacher's Guide , published by New Frontier Publishing, March 2006. Zen Tails Primary Values Student Workbook , published by New Frontier Publishing, March 2006 Books I've edited Zen Tails: Happiness is Sharing - A First Book of Happiness Zen Tails: Love is Helping - A First Book of Love Zen Tails: Wisdom is Listening - A First Book of Wisdom all published by New Frontier Publishing, 2008