On the subject of education, Joyce Fitzpatrick says, "I left school - for the second time - at fifteen. This was mainly because I found it difficult to accept the context in which education was 'done to me'. My positive education began when I joined the WAAF in 1941. After working for the Chief of Air Staff (because of high proficiency in shorthand!) I made my way to Intelligence Organizations and eventually became a Sergeant in what is now known as 'Z-Force'. Then for the first time I realized that I possessed intelligence of at least a good average standard.
"Married to a teacher in country schools, with three sons, I realized that the country children approaching secondary school age were not getting a fair deal. With the 1970s and the setting up of the Commonwealth Schools Commission and its Equity Programs, my writing career set off.
"I researched, formed peer pressure groups within parents' organizations, and gradually used all the Equity Programs to change the nature of the Area and Rural Schools, and the upgrading of non-contact educational initiatives. It was with pleasure - and some irony - that in 1988 I received the award of the Officer of the Order of Australia for my services to education." (Personal correspondence.)
She participated in various educational committees and organizations and presented a paper at an international conference on the Education of the Isolated. Now in what she calls her "seventh age" she enjoys writing for the Sand Writers writing group and editing the Sand Writers magazine.
