|
|
|
Breaking
News: Week of 30 October 2006
|
Saturday – Sunday, 4 – 5 November
- The Australian
- Teachers baulk at Howard's chaplains
by Jill Rowbotham, Religious affairs writer
"Thousands of religious counsellors will be appointed to schools that join a new $90 million federal program to fill a significant "spiritual and pastoral" gap in services to Australian students."But while church leaders welcomed the program, announced by John Howard yesterday, teachers' groups attacked it as part of the Prime Minister's "fundamentalist approach" to education and values.
"They rejected the need for counsellors to have a religious affiliation and questioned where suitable candidates would be found. Mr Howard emphasised that the three-year scheme, due to begin next year, would be voluntary and that it would be up to the whole school community to select their counsellor, who would then be vetted by the Government..."
"But Australian Secondary Principals Association president Andrew Blair said his members would have "favoured a much more open funding arrangement on a per capita basis for every school in the country, to allow them to engage the right kind of support that they might need, whether it be a social worker, a psychologist or a chaplain"."Mr Blair condemned tying such support to a religious base.
"I'm not sure that all that many schools across the country will opt to pick it up," he said.
"This kind of new fundamentalist zeal that seems to be coming out of Canberra is frankly out of step with what the education community really needs."
"Australian Education Union federal president Pat Byrne said schools should be able to opt for a non-religious counsellor..."
Full story in The Australian at link
Similar story in The Melbourne Age
See below for related story in The Sydney Morning Herald
Uni fees fuelling shortage of skills
by Lisa Macnamara
"Australia is facing endemic shortages of doctors, accountants and engineers to take the place of retiring baby boomers, leaving Canberra increasingly reliant on immigration to make up the numbers."A report to be released today challenges the Howard Government's rhetoric on encouraging students into trades instead of university, and blames the rising cost of tertiary education for placing an effective cap on the number of Australian students on campus.
"There's been a decade of neglect of higher education on the part of the Coalition, and this is now showing up in serious shortages in the output of graduates from the higher education system," said one of the report's authors, Bob Birrell of Monash University.
"All the growth in higher education training over the past decade has been with overseas students. The Government has made going to university more difficult for domestic students by tightening up on access to student financial assistance and by increasing the cost of fees." [emphasis added]
"The report, Clearing the Myths Away: Higher Education's Place in meeting Workforce Demands, says that despite an expected surge in the nation's 15-to-19-year-old age group over the coming decades, not enough young people will have the qualifications to fill the skilled positions left by retiring baby boomers..."
Full story in The Australian at link
Similar story in The Melbourne Age
See below for related story in The Sydney Morning Herald
- Also in The Melbourne Age
- Study says money matters
by Adam Morton
"Poor children fall markedly behind wealthy ones of the same ability over their last three years of school, and are much less likely to qualify for university, a study has found."Joint La Trobe and Australian National University research examining 26,000 students found rich and poor students with the same score on a year 9 test were on average separated by at least 10 points on their year 12 ENTER scores.
"But while socio-economic status affected the likelihood of students of similar talent going to university, the study found cost did not.
"Rich and poor students with the same year 12 marks were equally likely to accept a university place, despite the rising cost of tertiary education..."
Full story in The Melbourne Age at link
- Op Ed
Life enters the twilight zone
by Tracee Hutchison
Parents cannot screen out life on the internet from teenagers.
Full story in The Melbourne Age at link
- Monday Education Supplement
- The Sydney Morning Herald
- Catholics and Carr wary of school chaplains plan
by Mark Metherell
"Catholic schools have raised fears of government interference in their religious affairs after John Howard pledged $90 million for school chaplains, a move the former premier, Bob Carr, called a retrograde and divisive threat to the separation of church and state."The Catholic schools sector says a requirement for the Federal Government to vet each appointment will make it think twice about the Prime Minister's plan..."
Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
- Poor soar at university
by John Garnaut, Economics Correspondent
"Research has exploded some myths about university entry and performance - including the notion that richer children and students from private schools get better marks. They do not, sometimes by a wide margin..."
Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
- ABC News
- Pressure mounts to find teachers' pay row resolution
"Pressure is being increased for the ACT Government and the Australian Education Union to resolve the teachers' pay dispute."Canberra teachers will strike six times in the coming month after rejecting the Government's latest pay offer.
"Opposition education spokeswoman Vicki Dunne says the strikes will only add to parents' stress levels.
"We're really concerned about the impact that this really long running teachers' dispute is having on families," she said.
"She says there needs to be a speedy resolution for the sake of Canberra families.
"There's a huge amount of uncertainty and stress in the system, as you run up to the end of the year people are getting themselves ready for whatever decisions will be made about 'Towards 2020', and to have up to six rolling stoppages in the next month ... is a great level of uncertainty," she said..."
Full story at ABC News Online at link
- New research won't change schools policy, Govt says
"The ACT Government says it will not be swayed by new research provided by the Save Our Schools group, in an effort to stop the proposed closure of 39 schools."Save Our Schools has released new research from a consultancy firm in the UK, showing there was a sustained decline in student performance three years after mergers.
"But Education Minister Andrew Barr says the research is not relevant in the ACT context.
"The Government will be looking at all input into our reform of public education, and we take seriously all contributions that are being made, but we are very strongly of the view that there is a time and a need within the ACT education system, that we have too many schools, and that we need to make these changes," he said."
From ABC News Online at link
- ABC News
- Union passes no-confidence motion against Ravlich
"Western Australia's School Teachers Union has passed a motion of no-confidence in state Education Minister Ljiljana Ravlich."The motion, backed by the union's 17-member executive, relates to her position on school report cards in Western Australia.
"Union vice-president Anne Gisborne says they are extremely concerned the Minister has buckled to the Federal Government demand for a grading system for years one to 10.
"The Federal Government's demand is linked to schools funding.
"Ms Gisborne says the expression of no-confidence should act as a wake-up call for the Minister to take a stronger stand.
"I think what we're asking again is that the Minister take control of the education agenda in Western Australia and be less inclined to be subservient to the blackmailing of Federal Minister [Julie Bishop]," she said."
From ABC News Online at link [ABC News stories on the ACT teachers' strike are further down the page]
- The West Australian
- Editorial
Baccalaureate offers an escape from OBE (page 18)
"The International Baccalaureate could emerge as a much sought-after alternative to WA's dumbed-down outcomes-based education.
"The international program has obvious attractions for parents who are dismayed at the deliberate dilution of academic rigour in OBE.
"The drift to private schools, resulting from disaffection with the State system, could be expected to increase significantly if more of them offered the International Baccalaureate."
From The West Australian
- Catholic school abandons OBE (page 5)
by Bethany Hiatt
"A Hills girls’ school is to become the first WA Catholic school to introduce the globally-recognised International Baccalaureate program in a move which could pave the way for scores of Catholic schools to adopt the highly-regarded course as an alternative to outcomes-based education."St Brigid’s College, Lesmurdie, will be the third WA school to offer an IB middle-years program next year.
"Principal Amelia Toffoli denied the move to the IB in Years 6 to 9 was a reaction to problems within the WA education system, saying the program had many similarities to WA’s controversial OBE curriculum framework. But she conceded the system offered better resources for teachers.
“It has been around longer, it’s got professional development opportunities of a high quality and there are also resources that have been developed that are very attractive to teachers,” she said.
“Our mapping exercise has revealed it is very similar to the curriculum framework, though maybe it makes more explicit what is more implicit in curriculum framework.”
"Year 8 students will be the first to start the IB program, which would extend gradually to Years 6, 7 and 9 by 2009.
"Ms Toffoli said research showed students often lost interest in schooling during the transition from primary school to high school and the IB would help give them greater focus.
"If the program was successful, she would consider introducing it to the early primary years and then the upper school diploma course..."
"Scotch College and Presbyterian Ladies College also offer the middle years IB program. They are considering whether to introduce it to upper school in 2009. Kingsley Montessori School offers a two-year IB diploma course leading to university entry for Years 11 and 12..."
Full story in The West Australian at link
- Editorial
Chaplain plan part of PM's push on values (page 18)
"John Howard's plan to fund chaplains for schools is an astute political response to anxieties in middle Australia about schooling and young people's attitudes. Some of his critics have accused him of blurring the line between the state and the church.
"But that is not what the Prime Minister is primarily about. At one level, his plan is an extension of his promotion of traditional values in what some Australians fear in an increasingly value-less society.
"At another, he wants to provide an extra source of advice and care for young people, particularly those who find it hard to talk to parents and teachers about their problems. The practical benefits of this could be to stop young people with feelings of alienation from turning against society and rejecting its values.
"Of course, there is an unspoken message to be found here too of support for an Australia with values that can be described as essentially Christian and moderate, when people are worried about the emerging evidence of fundamentalist extremism being entrenched in this country..."
"Despite some criticism, Mr Howard's move has been widely welcomed. He has clearly tapped into a perceived lack in education about values in State schools.
"There is also a worry about too many parents leaving all education of that type to schools, because they do not have the time or the will to do the job at home.
"When police are moved to issue a threat to baton-charge violent and destructive youth parties around Perth, it is obvious that there is a bit gap to be filled in the awareness of good values among many young people."
Full editorial in The West Australian
- Relief teachers hard to find: survey (page 5)
"Schools are battling to find enough relief teachers to cover classes, a survey has confirmed.
"The WA College of Teaching, a new professional teachers' body, carried out the survey last month in response to growing concerns about the shortage of relief teachers.
"WACOT director Janet Rodgers said the survey proved there was a problem, particularly in the second half of the year.
"But she would not comment on what action the college board would take until after it met next month. [The new board? Web]
"The survey found that some schools were making up to 70 phone calls before they were able to find a relief teacher at short notice.
"Relief teachers employed during the survey week in the 193 primary schools that responded ranged from 261 to 298 per day. In the 86 responding high schools, it was 171 to 234."
From The West Australian
- State pupils outshine in first year at university (page 5)
by Bethany Hiatt
"Students from State schools might not get as high a TEE score as their private school counterparts, but new research shows they out-perform them in early university."The findings, in an unpublished report by University of WA economics professor Paul Miller, show public school students do about three percentage points better in the first year of university than private school students.
"Professor Miller said the study confirmed the results of a similar WA study carried out a few years ago, which found that although private schools were better at getting students into the university and course of their choice, they were less likely to do well in their first year.
"However, the differences ironed out in second and third years, with other research showing that the school effect disappeared after the first year at university.
"Professor Miller said students at private schools received more direction on what to study and had more intense resources thrown at them, but when they arrived at university everyone was treated the same.
“No one’s going to check on Monday whether they’ve done their reading,” he said. The study also found that students who went to single-sex schools did not do as well as those from coeducational schools.
"Professor Miller said one reason was the fact that students from same-sex schools took time to adjust to the coeducational university environment.
“They’ve got to learn to study and live alongside students of the opposite sex,” he said.
"Attending a bigger school also dragged down students’ marks. “There’s a feeling that with larger schools there is less control of the students by teachers,” he said.
"Work done by the Australian Council of Educational Research showed private school students did better in their TEE score by up to five points.
“So it is not the case that money spent on a private school education is money not well spent,” he said.
"Professor Miller suggested private schools offer more programs to prepare students for university life."
From The West Australian at link
- Ravlich under fire over CFMEU grant (page 10)
by Robert Taylor, State Political Editor
"That's the basis of her answer, that she didn't sign off on the contract... approve the contract."
Ravlich Spokesman
[plus photo and sidebar]
"The Education Department has granted $100,000 to the militant Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union to oversee new twoyear apprenticeships without formal ministerial approval, according to Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich."Ms Ravlich has twice told State Parliament in answer to Opposition questions that she did not approve funding for the position.
"But she wrote to the Master Builders Association this month to outline why the grants to the CFMEU and another to the Building and Construction Industry Training Fund were made by the Education Department.
“The Department of Education and Training has advised me that the grants were made to the BCITF and the CFMEU to enable both organisations to employ an officer to provide monitoring and support services to apprentices taking up new two-year housing apprenticeships,” she wrote..."
"Ms Ravlich insisted yesterday that the two grants of $100,000 for apprenticeship support positions were awarded by the Department of Education and Training and did not require formal ministerial approval. “This was reflected in my response to a question in Parliament on September 12, 2006,” she said."In Parliament on September 12, Mr Collier asked Ms Ravlich: Has the Minister approved funding to the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union for an officer to monitor and support apprentices employed in the new two-year nominal term trades?
"Ms Ravlich replied: No
"A spokesman for Ms Ravlich said the Minister’s answer reflected the fact that the grants were approved at a departmental level. “That’s the basis of her answer, that she didn’t sign off on the contract . . . approve the contract, it was done at a departmental level,” he said..."
Full story in The West Australian at link
- ABC News
- Canberra teachers cancel planned stoppages [19:40 pm AEDT]
"Canberra's teachers have formally voted to cancel next week's planned stoppages in support of a pay rise."The ACT Government's fifth pay offer to teachers was rejected by the Education Union last week.
"The union's Clive Haggar says as a result of tonight's vote, the Union is ready for the case to go before a private arbitrator.
"We're really in a circumstance where we think we've got a strong case," Mr Haggar said.
"No doubt the Government will be arguing strongly from its perspective, but it will be up to the arbiter and those decisions will be binding."
From ABC News Online at link
- Mediators called into teachers' pay row [16:48 AEDT]
"The ACT Government has moved to ward off further industrial action by teachers by agreeing to use private mediation in an attempt to resolve the pay dispute."Teachers had planned another strike but will tonight vote to suspend the action, following the deal.
"Education Minister Andrew Barr says the issue can be moved forward if the Government and the Australian Education Union (AEU) can agree on some terms of reference and an arbiter.
"I understand that there's a strong desire in school communities for the Government and the AEU to work together to find the resolution," he said.
"We've taken this step and I'm sure with the agreement of the AEU, we can move forward and find a resolution to this dispute, and I certainly hope to be able to do that this year."
From ABC News Online at link
ACT teachers pay dispute continues [09:04 AEDT]
- Earlier story in The Canberra Times: Teachers strike off in talks deal
- Debate over Aboriginal education policies
"The Member for the northern Western Australian seat of Kimberley, Carol Martin, has conceded the education system has let Aboriginal people down."She was responding to comments by federal backbencher Barry Haase who says enforcing school attendance is the key to lifting low literacy and numeracy skills in Indigenous communities.
"Mr Haase says education standards were far better in the mission days.
"Mrs Martin says the federal member is right in his assessment of the education standards of Indigenous people.
"She says his reference to missions is not relevant.
"If what you have tried in the past for the last 40-odd years has not worked how about trying something different?" she said.
"Missionary stuff was a need at the time but surely now we are beyond that."
"Surely we are not going to go back and start looking at creating another stolen generation as it does not work."
From ABC News Online at link
- The Washington Post
- Breaking Down The Ivory Tower
by Jay Mathews
Study Finds Ed Schools in Poor Shape
"This should be a shining moment for education schools. Never has the nation paid so much attention to improving the quality of teaching. Yet the institutions that produce teachers have never faced so much criticism."Teacher education is the Dodge City of the education world," said Arthur Levine, former president of Columbia University's Teachers College. "Like the fabled Wild West town, it is unruly and chaotic."...
"The attacks have become so frequent and intense that some educators say they have gone too far. But a growing number of educators say ed schools fail to give teachers enough background in their subject matter, fail to prepare them for the difficulties of urban schools and fail to recruit the best students."For a study on ed schools released in September, Levine surveyed administrators with firsthand knowledge of these problems: principals. Only two of every five principals surveyed said ed schools were preparing teachers very well or moderately well to get new curriculum and performance standards into the classroom. Only one-third said their teachers were very or moderately well prepared for maintaining classroom order. Only one-fifth said their teachers were that well prepared to work with parents..."
"But rethinking teacher education does not appear to a high priority at many universities. Some experts wonder if ed schools will ever be more than hiring halls with a few textbooks..."
"The traditional ed school path is not the only route into the teaching profession. In 47 states and the District, prospective teachers, especially career-changers, can get credentials through alternative tracks that take less time. Still, most of those initiatives are associated with ed schools..."
Full story in The Washington Post at link
- The Sydney Morning Herald
- Grading of young pupils given F by studies board
by Anna Patty, Education Editor
"The first independent educational advice against the compulsory grading of young children on school reports was made public yesterday, revealing that the NSW Board of Studies opposes not only A to E grades but also what each letter indicates."The descriptions - outstanding, high, sound, basic and limited - will be used in NSW as part of a State Government compromise that has secured $3.7billion in federal funding.
"The board's advice on grading, prepared for the State Government in July, strongly recommends against an A to E system for students in kindergarten and years 1 and 2.
"In a statement prepared for the Government, the president of the board, Gordon Stanley, argues that grading of young children for work other than maths and English is inappropriate.
"While in the key learning areas other than English and mathematics general descriptions about relative progress are possible, finer grading is technically hard to develop until more time has occurred for stable patterns of learning to emerge," Professor Stanley advised.
"In some of these learning areas a comparative grading process may be inconsistent with the purpose of the syllabus." ...
Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
- Chaplain program is no crusade: PM
by Stephanie Peatling and Anna Patty
"The Prime Minister, John Howard, has denied that a program to fund school chaplains is a crusade, saying it is no different to the Federal Government funding independent schools."Mr Howard said he was "not on some crusade", and he did not want to "ram my personal beliefs down people's throats".
"Those who say this is blurring the distinction [between church and state] are therefore saying that paying assistance to independent schools is blurring the distinction. Plainly neither is," Mr Howard said yesterday. "I think we are a secular society in the sense that we don't have an established religion." ...
Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
- Letters to the Editor
- Yet another responsibility dumped on schools
"The decision by the Prime Minister, John Howard, to provide $90 million in funding for schools to employ chaplains is the most bizarre proposal this Government has made ("Catholics, Carr wary of Howard's chaplains", October 30)."Mr Howard is usually a very shrewd operator but his idea is one of the type usually associated with the loonier fringe of the Opposition.
"Such an opportunity to implant a philosophical seed in schools will be very appealing to the more extreme edge of a number of religions. They will agitate to make sure that theirs is the influence within their local school. There'll inevitably be dissatisfied groups who'll see themselves as victims of the process.
"Certain school councils and principals will leap at the opportunity to cement cosy relationships within the community while others will have to work very hard to resist the pressures in order to remain true open public schools.
"This proposal is another admission by government that it has allowed a problem to develop and it does not know what to do about it.
"In each circumstance in the past, an answer has been to throw some funds at the problem and pass it back to schools to solve. The school day now must include solving the nation's nutrition and obesity problem, road safety and better driving, family breakdown and counselling, the orientation of families of other cultural and language backgrounds, social behaviour, environmental destruction and others. The introduction of chaplaincies will throw another influence over the curriculum.
"The other aspect which worries me as a retired principal is that it is also a scandalous waste of money, when public schools have more basic needs. The physical conditions in which many of our young people learn and our teachers work are far less than adequate. The resources in many schools are scarce, especially where the children have special needs. That money could be put to some real benefit for the community.
"It is also bizarre because I doubt that it will result in a net gain in votes."
Brian Greene, Neutral Bay
- Diversity of beliefs too much for one chaplain
"As a Christian scripture teacher at a primary school I am all for more spiritual and pastoral care, but am wary that school chaplains may not be the way to do it. As Jenny Macklin says, it must be flexible enough to take into account the diversity of religious beliefs. But how can one chaplain do this?"If it's difficult to organise a combined Christmas get-together for scripture without stepping on numerous toes, I'm not convinced schools will be able to appoint a chaplain who will please everyone."
Derek Cheng, Wollongong
- "While chaplains may be useful for some people in a school, youth workers would do the job better. They receive training to help in areas such alcohol and other drugs, mental health and sexual health. Their training specialises in dealing with young people. They do not have a religious barrow to push. Young people may not want to deal with a person of a differing faith.
"It is commendable to address the non-educational needs of a school population, but let's get the right people for the job."
Jonathan Christley, Woonona
"Funding for religious chaplaincy is an alarming thought. In no circumstances should a supposedly secular government be funding religion in schools, voluntary or not.
"If John Howard wants to create a more supportive environment in schools, he should consider supporting the schools themselves, and cease his attacks on public education."
Melissa Brooks, North Parramatta
- "How about spending $20,000 a high school on proper driver education for all year 11 and 12 students? Then, maybe, the need for a chaplain to help deal with tragic loss caused on the roads wouldn't be so apparent."
Barry McCarthy, Caves Beach
- "The $20,000 to be given to schools for chaplains is a use of public money to support religious activities. This of itself should be sufficient cause for concern, but the "vetting" by the Federal Government of the chaplains has a mild aroma of totalitarianism.
"Genuine concern for students' spiritual wellbeing could be boldly demonstrated by a $20,000 chapel bush-style: eucalypts, grasses and places to sit and quietly contemplate … at every school. What a legacy."
Helen Conidaris, Marrickville
- "Unbelievable. The Government is to spend $90 million to provide priests with access to children when they are most vulnerable and no one is uneasy?"
Rod Jones, Monash (ACT)
- The Australian
- Grassroots idea grows into $90 million scheme
by Jill Rowbotham, Religious affairs writer
"John Howard's $90 million initiative for a chaplain for every school germinated at a grassroots level on the Mornington Peninsula."It was the treasurer of the local chaplaincies committee, financial planner and religious education teacher Peter Rawlings who thought up the scheme, which he then told his local federal MP Greg Hunt..."
"Although community reaction to the initiative was mixed yesterday, the biggest parent group in the country endorsed it."Australian Council of State School Organisations president Jennifer Branch supported the initiative despite doubts about whether the offer of $20,000 per school to help provide a chaplain was enough.
"It will not go very far: you are probably only going to get someone for eight hours a week out of $20,000, with on-costs included."
"She attempted to hose down concerns over any religious agenda. "Let's not make this a religious debate," she said.
"It's not about teaching religion in schools. It is a pastoral care issue and providing our students with another means of support." ...
Full story in The Australian at link
- Editorial
God in the machine
John Howard's chaplaincy program is smart politics
"Religion has long had a place in Australian education, but a plan released on the weekend by John Howard will further inject faith into the nation's public schools... Teachers unions and principals associations were predictably quick to attack the plan, while cynics, startled at the sudden nature of the proposal, wondered if the whole scheme was just a sop to Family First's Steve Fielding for supporting changes to media ownership laws. But the reaction was not entirely negative. The ALP cautiously endorsed the proposal. Even Pat Byrne, federal president of the Australian Education Union and no fan of the Howard Government's policies on education, admitted that "most schools would welcome the additional resource" a chaplain could provide. But those most likely to be pleased by the proposal are parents who, whether they are particularly religious or not, are concerned about the drift away from standards in the classroom..."
"Ultimately, the practical implementation of the scheme may not matter so much as the impression it creates. Spending a relatively small amount of money to put pastoral counsellors into schools may help staunch the flow of children from public schools whose parents are concerned about values. Parents looking to give their children a more traditional or religiously tinged education have more options than ever these days, with the surfeit of low-cost, faith-based schools springing up across Australia's mortgage-belt suburbs..."
Full editorial in The Australian at link [scroll down to second editorial]
- Letters to the Editor
- Some chaplains cause more trouble than good
"In many years of being responsible for a chaplaincy in tertiary education, I have found that appointing chaplains is almost always difficult. Who chooses the school chaplain? On what criteria? In a multicultural school, how does the school choose between competing faith or ethnic claims?"Educational chaplaincy ("Teachers baulk at Howard’s chaplains”, 30/10) attracts both the well-qualified and accredited and those whose claim is based on a personal calling from God. It is the latter who most often claim discrimination when they fail to be appointed or who create problems when they are.
"Professionalism includes a code of ethics, an understanding of boundaries, a working knowledge of child development and a willingness to work co-operatively with all staff members. Those who believe that their relationship with God is personal and authoritative often find constraints on their zeal hard to accept and, frankly, finish up causing far more trouble than good."
Denis McMullen, Fig Tree Pocket, Qld
"A secular state is one of the great Australian traditions on which all John Howard’s Australian values are based. Let us not lose sight of the great good sense of our forebears in keeping public education free from religious proselytising.
"Let us keep sectarianism out of Australian schools and, while we are at it, remove all overt religious elements, including existing chaplains, from our schools. Otherwise we simply ask for inter-religion strife beginning in our playgrounds."
Mark Svendsen, South Brisbane, Qld
- "Those rushing to condemn Mr Howard’s $90 million plan to put chaplains in schools should recognise that anything that might stem the rising tide of spiritual anorexia in some schools is not a bad idea. Assuming these chaplains are well trained in contemporary adolescent psychology and have the ability to establish and maintain rapport with students, there could be real benefits."
Dr Michael Carr-Gregg, Balwyn, Vic
- "While everyone is free to practice their religion (or none) and I don’t disagree that schools could benefit from skilled counsellors, the cynic in me wonders which ideological road the Prime Minister is heading down. If the experience in the US is anything to go by, politically sponsored attempts to bring certain types of religious doctrine into public schools has been bitterly divisive across many states. One would hope the Prime Minister treads very carefully in this area."
Michael Mayfield, Grose Wold, NSW
- The Melbourne Age
- Canberra's plan for chaplains comes under fire
by David Rood and Chee Chee Leung
"Plans to fund chaplains for schools threatens secular education in the public system and favours private schools, teacher and school groups warn..."
"Critics say the plan promotes the view that "values" are the province of religious faith only and that the money could be better spent on training student welfare workers..."
"The Australian Education Union said the plan was divisive and the "overwhelming majority of schools" would not take up the offer."The union's Victorian branch president, Mary Bluett, said the scheme threatened secular education in public schools.
"Despite what the Prime Minister might say about them (chaplains) not being denominational, this will be seen to be promoting religion," she said. "This is a funding windfall to non-government schools who will take it up willingly." ...
Full story in The Melbourne Age at link
- Op Ed
Meddling with religious belief
by Andrew Lynch
"The Commonwealth's plan to spend $90 million over the next three years putting chaplains in every Australian school has been strongly criticised as weakening the separation of church and state in Australia. Arguments of that sort are often fobbed off as too abstract, but the nation's founders did not think so. On the contrary, they took the trouble to limit the ability of the Commonwealth to play a role in religious affairs..."
"Under the Commonwealth constitution, the Federal Parliament is prohibited from passing a law that confers on any religion the status of a national established church. It also cannot prohibit the free exercise of religion or impose any requirement for religious observance on the community. Additionally, the constitution states that "no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth"."That last one might well scupper the Prime Minister's plans for the Commonwealth to exercise a veto over who may take up a position as chaplain. John Howard has said that the Government reserves the right to "say no to somebody who is plainly unacceptable" and that this is just sensible given that taxpayers' money is being used to fund the chaplains..."
Andrew Lynch, Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law, NSW University.
Full story in The Melbourne Age at link
- Letters to the Editor
- Students need counsellors, not religious guides
"There is no doubt that in both public and private schools there is a role for qualified counsellors. It is essential that these counsellors have an appropriate qualification in student welfare, social work or psychology — preferably with teaching qualifications as well. Their charter would be to help students with problems related to schooling and through various crisis periods in their lives as well as provide guidance with career and life decisions.
"But while there is a desperate need for qualified counsellors in schools, the Howard Government has decided instead to spend a large amount of taxpayers' money to provide chaplains to public schools (The Age, 30/10). This would seem a blatant misuse of public funds as there is ample opportunity to seek religious guidance outside the state school system.
"If parents of students or students themselves feel they need guidance or counselling from a minister of religion, there is no shortage of people in the community willing to provide this type of help."
Des Bryceland, Tootgarook
Keep religion out
"I would like to declare my opposition to the introduction of chaplains in public schools. Having finished school only last year, I am well aware of the influence teachers and counsellors can have on a student's life. No public school student should be subject to political or religious influence. These are choices that need to be made outside school. Guidance counsellors without any religious bias already provide "guidance on values" — hopefully not political or religious ones — so why not put the money there?"
Nick Rowan, 18, Bentleigh East
What 'ethics'?
"I was amazed to hear John Howard say that he wants to bring spiritual values and ethics to schools by appointing chaplains. This Prime Minister has supported the coalition invasion of Iraq for no good reason, resulting in the death of 2800 US soldiers and 655,000 Iraqis; has locked up people who came to us for help; has refused to seek justice for David Hicks; and has failed Australia's poor. What ethics is he talking about?"
Reverend Bill Wheatland, Crafers, SA
All thanks to God
"As the author of a personal submission for a national schools chaplaincy program earlier in the year, I would like to thank my federal MP, Greg Hunt, who came up with the concept of a submission for such a program to Prime Minister John Howard and Science and Training Minister Julie Bishop. I would also like to thank federal MPs Louise Markus, David Fawcett and Andrew Lamming, who supported Greg Hunt at a parliamentary level; Ms Bishop, who has supported the initiative from the outset; and Mr Howard, who had the fortitude to make the ultimate decision. Finally, however, I give all thanks to God, who makes all things possible and in whose name we give praise.
"This country will in time be grateful for the funding package that the Howard Government has provided to bring chaplaincy into the lives of many more of our young people, families and school communities that will deliver positive human development programs."
Peter Rawlings, Mount Martha
- Media Release: WA Electoral Commission
MEDIA RELEASE
Western Australian College of Teaching:
Election of Board of Management
The Electoral Commissioner, Mr Warwick Gately, has today deemed void, and therefore halted, the current election of teacher representatives for the Board of Management of the Western Australian College of Teaching
The election has been underway since mid August 2006 when the intention to hold the election was advertised.
“I have taken this decision due to a technical incompatibility between the Western Australian College of Teaching Election Rules 2006 setting out the procedure for the election and the Act under which those Rules are made”, Mr Gately said.
“A legal problem in the Rules was identified by the Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation in its recent review of the Rules. Upon being made aware of the Committee’s views I immediately sought independent legal opinion.”
Mr Gately said that, having considered the legal advice received, he had formed the view that aspects of the Rules were invalid in that they gave the Returning Officer appointed by him under the Rules certain powers relating to the conduct of an election which, on a proper interpretation of the Act, could legally rest only with the Electoral Commissioner.
“The problem identified was a technical legal matter, not related to the conduct of the election, but unique to the way the Act and the election rules were intended to operate together” he said. “Essentially under the Act the conduct of the election is to be the responsibility of the Electoral Commissioner and cannot be passed in its entirety to a Returning Officer”.
“The election has progressed to the point where postal voting packages are being returned for counting. Close of poll was to be on 10 November 2006. This will now not occur and a fresh election will be necessary. Ballot papers received will be destroyed.”
Mr Gately said that halting the election was a regrettable but necessary step. It was essential that the election of members to the Board of Management be valid. Mr Gately was in the process of writing to all electors involved to explain the circumstances surrounding the need to stop the election.
“I will work with the current WACOT Board of Management and the Department of Education Services in refining the Rules to remove the relevant drafting difficulty and to allow a fresh election to proceed. The timing of a fresh election would be a matter for the WACOT Board of Management”.
ENDS
Authorised by the Electoral Commissioner for publication.
1 November 2006
Contact: Warwick Gately AM
Electoral Commissioner
9214 0403
From Electoral Commission of WA website at link
- The West Australian
- OBE push a political shambles: principal (page 5)
by Bethany Hiatt
"A Catholic principal has launched a scathing attack on outcomes-based education, telling parents that the State Government's push to implement the scheme on their children had been a politically motivated shambles.
"Mazenod College rector Brian Maher told guests at the school's speech night that the bungled bid to implement OBE in 2007 had left teachers extremely frustrated and turned students into political footballs.
"The shambles of OBE and courses of study can, in my view, only be described as politically cynical," Father Maher said. "We must never allow our children to be sacrificed on the altar of ideological or political theory."
"The attack came as other leading Catholic schools revealed they might adopt the globally recognised International Baccalaureate program as an alternative to OBE. St Brigid's College in Lesmurdie is offering the IB program to Years 6 to 9 students next year, paving the way for it to be taught in Years 11 and 12.
"Sacred Heart College principal Ian Eider was also keen to offer the highly regarded diploma in place of OBE but said it was an expensive option and many students would be deterred by the requirement to learn a second language.
"He believed the WA curriculum had been diluted in lower secondary school and the IB was a worthwhile alternative. "And we are still unclear on where we are going with the new courses of study (in Years 11 and 12)," he said.
"Chisholm Catholic College principal Patricia Rodrigues said the school would consider offering the IB program if all Year 7s were moved into high schools – a move Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich is considering.
"Treetops Montessori School IB co-ordinator Norman Megahey, who found out this week the Darlington school had approval to run the diploma in 2007, said the IB curriculum was more rigorous than the new OBE courses.
"The Australian School of International Education will also implement the IB diploma in 2008.
"IB Australasian regional representative Greg Valentine said 104 Australian schools now offer IB programs and he expected that number to double in two years. He conceded that part of the demand could arise from disenchantment with OBE.
"That's a possibility. We've probably seen evidence of that in the early 1990s in Victoria when a large number of schools came because they were disillusioned with OBE," he said.
"We hope people will want to do it for what it is, not because they want to escape from what they currently have – but we are also realistic enough to know that if they're entirely happy with what they have they are not going to change."
From The West Australian
- Letters to the Editor
There's a range of Letters on the proposed chaplaincy in schools program. I haven't transcribed them here (they are not available online), as there is an even wider range of similar Letters, from The Australian, The Melbourne Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, in today's and yesterday's Breaking News.
- The New York Times
- Grading a School’s Grades
by Alan Finder
"Simbury, Connecticut. — Standards have always been high at Simsbury High School, with A’s earned, not handed out haphazardly. But in an era of widespread grade inflation, grades here actually went down."Alarms went off all over this affluent, woodsy suburb northwest of Hartford. Parents became concerned that their teenagers might lose ground in the ever stiffening competition for admission to elite colleges.
"Into the breach stepped Robert M. Hartranft, whose son had graduated from Simsbury, and who had little previous involvement with grading.
"Mr. Hartranft, a nuclear engineer who had been forced to retire early because of Parkinson’s disease, came up with what he thinks is a rigorous mathematical model to compare the school’s demanding grading system with more lenient grading in other schools. The model, he and some local school administrators say, is a bold new way to think about grades.
“I’m giving you a G.P.S. navigation system, as opposed to scraps of maps,” Mr. Hartranft said. “If all you have are scraps of maps, which is all that admissions offices get in the existing protocol, then this gives you an overall orientation.”
"Mr. Hartranft created an analytical method he calls the g.p.a. plot; it uses national data on grade-point averages and SAT scores to compare national grading norms with those at the local high school. The purpose, he said, is to reduce the variability and subjectivity of grades — and to make it absolutely clear to college admissions offices that a B or B-plus at Simsbury may be the equivalent of an A at most high schools..."
Full story in The New York Times at link
- The Guardian
- Exam board attacked for approving text message answers
by staff and agencies
"Exam chiefs in Scotland were branded "ridiculous" today after admitting that answers written in text message language will be acceptable in English tests as long as they are correct."The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) said the use of phrases like "2b r nt 2b" or "i luv u" in exam papers would be allowed as long as candidates showed that they understood the subject..."
Full story in The Guardian at link
- The Canberra Times
- Arbiter to rule on teachers' dispute
by Markus Mannheim
"The drawn-out pay dispute between the ACT Government and Canberra's public school teachers is likely to be resolved before the end of the year, after both sides confirmed they would accept the ruling of an independent arbiter."The teachers' union and Education Minister Andrew Barr announced yesterday that they had agreed to enter private mediation.
"The six strikes that were planned to take place throughout this month, starting on Monday, have now been called off.
"The concession comes after more than a year of negotiations - including a six-month campaign of industrial action - failed to find common ground on the issues of salary and staffing levels..."
Full story in The Canberra Times at link
- ABC News
- Teachers suspend strike plans for mediation
"ACT teachers have suspended plans for rolling strikes after the government agreed to mediation."The Australian Education Union (AEU) says it hopes to discuss plans over its pay dispute with ACT Government officers today.
"AEU agreed to suspend industrial action planned for the next few weeks, to allow for private arbitration as the Government agreed after its fifth offer to teachers had been rejected.
"AEU spokesman Clive Haggar says he agrees with the Government's call for a resolution before the end of the year, but not if it is at the expense of teachers..."
Full story at ABC News Online at link
- School closures not inconsistent with ACT plan, says Minister
- The Australian
- Bureaucrat quits over child scandals
by Tony Barrass and Amanda O'Brien
"The head of Western Australia's embattled Department for Community Development resigned last night after a string of scandals that have rocked the Carpenter Government."Jane Brazier, a career public servant, oversaw one of the darkest periods of child protection in the state's history, which culminated in the death of baby Wade Scale after several departmental bungles led to his being put back in the care of a baby-bashing father and drug-addicted mother..."
Full story in The Australian at link
- Higher Education Supplement,12 articles including:
- Worst may be over for entries
"The three-year slide in national demand for university places appears be at an end as most states report a jump in applications for 2007."But in Western Australia and Queensland, where the resources boom is driving economic growth, admissions centres say applications are down again..."
- Full fees deter local students, report says
"Australia's domestic full-fee degree program has come under renewed attack amid predictions of considerable shortages of tertiary graduates. But defenders say that without full fees for locals the shortages would have been even greater."A new paper from Monash University this week predicts significant shortfalls in numbers of health, accounting and engineering graduates..."
- Uni fees fuelling shortage of skills
"Australia is facing endemic shortages of doctors, accountants and engineers to take the place of retiring baby boomers, leaving Canberra increasingly reliant on immigration to make up the numbers."A report to be released today challenges the Howard Government's rhetoric on encouraging students into trades instead of university, and blames the rising cost of tertiary education for placing an effective cap on the number of Australian students on campus..."
- More than just a score
"Despite considerable rhetoric about making a university education available to everyone with the motivation and the ability, students from economically deprived backgrounds remain under-represented in higher education. Their absence is particularly marked in our most selective universities..."
- Letters to the Editor
- Spiritual anorexia in schools
"I agree with Dr Michael Carr-Gregg (Letters, 30/10) when he says that “anything that might stem the rising tide of spiritual anorexia in some schools is not a bad idea”. However, if he thinks that by bringing chaplains into schools this is going to be achieved, he is missing the point. As Joseph Campbell the philosopher said, “religion is the greatest bar to the spiritual experience”."Or if you like, religion and spirituality are mutually exclusive notions. Let’s not confuse the pursuit of dogma with the finding of self."
Chris McKimm, Karangi, NSW
- "Reflecting on the Prime Minister’s plan to fund chaplains in schools, I can see the merit of philosophical support for students during a stressful and confusing time. But without wishing to sound unsavoury, careful methods of selection would have to be done to assure those placed with youth are without appetites for them, and I would further suggest that the PM provide funding to teach all children in schools how to cope and care as parents in later life to protect future infants and children, and for the mental health of future parents themselves.
"I would further ask that the PM look into another area of society to protect the vulnerable and provide funding or legislation to require that dayrooms in aged care facilities are never unstaffed while residents are in them, to minimise injuries and discomfort of our elderly."
John Dobinson, North Balwyn, Vic
- "Enlightenment doesn’t have to cost $20,000 per school - it’s already free down the road at the local church, mosque or temple. Maybe parents who want their kids to have religious education should think about taking them there sometime?"
Carolynne James, Cremorne, NSW
- The Melbourne Age
- Op Ed
This is no attempt to force-feed religion to children
by John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia
"There is a keen desire in the wider community for additional ways to provide pastoral care, comfort and support for young Australians."In an increasingly complex world, parents are telling my Government that a school chaplain would help them provide positive guidance to their children.
"Like the chaplains who played such a vital role supporting the families and friends of those murdered in the 2002 Bali bombings, our National School Chaplain Program is designed to provide assistance to students in need. The chaplains would be expected to provide pastoral care, general religious and personal advice and comfort and support to students and staff, irrespective of their religious beliefs.
"They might support school students and the wider school community in a range of other ways, such as assisting them explore their spirituality or providing guidance on religion, values and ethical matters.
"Chaplains could also help school counsellors and staff offer welfare services and support in cases of bereavement or family breakdown, or at other times of crisis and loss.
"It is not an attempt to force-feed religion to our children..."
"We have little, if any, checks on what teachers say to their students — we place a burden of trust on those who instruct our children. The same burden would exist for chaplains."Chaplains already make a valuable contribution to the pastoral care, personal, spiritual and emotional wellbeing of young people and the nation. This program will ensure many more schools will also benefit from the presence of a chaplain."
Full story in The Melbourne Age at link
- Op Ed
Getting into bed with the state
by Natasha Cica
"What is really motivating the Federal Government's drive to install more chaplains in Australian schools? Genuine concern for the wellbeing of all school communities and the children at their heart? Or is this a cynical game play in the culture wars, set to inflame old and new divisions in Australian society — between Maoists and Marists, between the secular and the sacred, between heathens and harlots and those deadset for heaven?"It's hard to answer those questions. We are told $20,000 will be available to be handed to any school, anywhere, to subsidise chaplaincy services providing pastoral care and spiritual guidance. Those Australians whose knees jerk fearfully at the prospect of more meddling priests have been assured these chaplains will not be expected to have a religious background. Yet they will be required to provide religious support to students..."
Natasha Cica is director of management and communications consultancy Periwinkle Projects. She delivered the 2006 Webber Lecture on ethics and education at the Hutchins School, Hobart.
Full story in The Melbourne Age at link
- Letters to the Editor
- Quid pro quo
"The Howard Government's plan to put chaplains into public schools has all the hallmarks of a trade-off. It smells like the first down-payment on Steve Fielding's deal with Howard: "I'll vote for your media ownership deal if you put God onto the public school curriculum." After all, the Christian lobby is not fond of an active media; too much free thinking doesn't help if you're trying to peddle doctrine."It's perfect for Howard, too; he's even gone one step further and sold the whole thing as putting "values" into public schools. Which he alleges parents want.
"No, Mr Howard, we don't. My daughter has been at a public school for seven years and there has been no shortage of "values teaching". She's been taught to respect other people, to care for and help those less fortunate or less able, to be tolerant of others' views and to do her bit to preserve our fragile environment. And that's just a snapshot.
"So she doesn't need a chaplain. By all means, put money into trained school counsellors, but keep religion out of our public schools. I've had enough of the fundamentalist Christian lobby setting the agenda."
Josephine Williams, East Kew
Is this the idea?
"Surely an arrangement that provides the Government with an overriding veto on the appointment of chaplains, especially in public schools, will result in the "sanitising" of the belief systems in today's youth, and will further marginalise those of alternative faiths who do not have the means or opportunity to attend a private school that represents their system of belief. Maybe this is the idea."
Matt Burtt, Rosebud
Maybe …
"Maybe some of our children are looking for something other than drugs and alcohol in times of crisis these days — or things that their parents don't treat as important. Maybe it's about time to campaign for a better life for our children rather than campaigning for drug freedom and heroin-injecting rooms (eh, Bob Brown and your Green friends?). Just maybe John Howard is right this time. Maybe this will help our kids. Because there sure are plenty of things in this day and age that are not."Peter Bennett, Doncaster East
Complete Letters to the Editor of The Melbourne Age at link
- Chaplains cause rift in Labor ranks
by Jewel Topsfield, Canberra
"Controversial plans to install chaplains in public schools have divided Labor, with some MPs angry that Opposition Leader Kim Beazley has backed the program."People are absolutely ropeable about it in the Left of the party," a source said yesterday..."
"Mr Beazley supports chaplains in schools, pointing out that programs set up under state Labor governments already exist."But ALP senator Patricia Crossin, a former teacher, said she did not believe chaplains were appropriate. "We stand for public, free and secular education so this is a misguided use of resources," Senator Crossin said.
"If we are going to have people available to children for counselling, they need to be well-educated and well-experienced child psychologists." ...
Full story in The Melbourne Age at link
- The Sydney Morning Herald
- Letter to the Editor
- Learning is no priority
"John Howard has committed $21 million to improve children's reading skills, $5.8 million to improve the learning outcomes of children experiencing a disability and $22 million to assist indigenous children to complete school. A total of $48.8 million to children who are considered to be experiencing a learning difficulty.
"Obviously these children will find great comfort from the $90 million worth of "acceptable religious counsellors".
Daniel Laws, Mapleton (Qld)
Complete Letters to the Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald at link
- The West Australian
- Teachers to put opinions on OBE (page 11)
by Bethany Hiatt
"State school teachers who believe the assessment system that underpins the outcomes-based education system is flawed have the chance to criticise it in a union survey."The State School Teachers Union is polling teachers on which, if any, of the three Curriculum Council-endorsed OBE assessment systems they prefer.
"They have minor differences but all use “levels” between one and eight to rank students.
"Teachers will also have the option to tick “other” if they oppose levels.
"Insiders are predicting a landslide of replies from teachers saying they want to use traditional percentages to rank students, not OBE levels.
"SSTU president Mike Keely said there was no doubt that problems with OBE assessment were the biggest single issue for teachers.
“We want to make sure we are giving as much feedback to the Curriculum Council as we can,” he said. “One of the things I hope will be very clear from the survey is that different learning areas have different needs.”
"Marko Vojkovic, co-founder of teachers’ group People Lobbying Against Teaching Outcomes, hoped teachers would say they wanted to keep the traditional system, in which classroom marks were used to calculate students’ university entrance scores.
“You simply can’t use levels for tertiary entrance rank calculation,” he said. “It’s too imprecise, it’s too subjective and there’s no comparability between teachers.”
From The West Australian at link
- Technicality ends teaching board election (page 42)
by Bethany Hiatt
"Teachers will have to wait even longer to get a voice on their peak professional body after the Electoral Commission yesterday called off an election for board members a week before voting was to close."Electoral Commissioner Warwick Gately said he was forced to abandon the WA College of Teaching board election because of a technicality.
"He had delegated responsibility for the election to a returning officer, but under the WACOT Act, only the Electoral Commissioner could conduct the election, not a delegated officer.
"Mr Gately said calling off an election was very rare. It was not something he had done before this occasion in his three years in the job.
"Election costs of about $20,000 would have to be absorbed by WACOT or the Electoral Commission, but Mr Gately said it was too soon to say who would pay.
"WACOT, a professional association that all teachers must join if they want to teach in WA, was set up in 2004 with a provisional board until an election could be held.
"The postal election, which started in August and was to close on November 10, was for 10 practising teacher representatives.
"WACOT board chairman Brian Lindberg said he was stunned by the decision. A new election would be called as soon as possible. More than 3600 teachers had voted by October 25.
"Greg Williams, president of teachers’ lobby group People Lobbying Against Teaching Outcomes, said the 10 PLATO members who were running on a joint ticket were devastated.
“All that WACOT had to do in its first two years of existence was register 40,000 teachers correctly and conduct the election,” he said.
“It has failed miserably in both of those.”
"He called for Mr Lindberg to step down. [emphasis added]
"Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich said the decision would be a disappointment to teachers.
“WACOT is an independent body that represents the teaching profession. I have been advised that the board can continue to function until new elections are held,” she said.
"Shadow education minister Peter Collier said the WACOT Act was assented to in June 2004 and it took until August 2006 to table the rules for the election of teachers to the board."
From The West Australian at link
- Letters to the Editor (page 23)
- "In less than a month we have seen two CEOs of government departments (DET and DCD) pushed out because of problems in their departments, yet both ministers continue on regardless. I would have liked to see how Alan Carpenter the journalist would have viewed this. I'm sure it would have been different from his current outlook."
Patrick F Whalen, Newman
- Two Letters on the chaplaincy proposal, both highly in favour of the program.
- The Daily Mail [UK]
- Make A-levels harder or we'll stop teaching them, says top public school
by Sarah Harris
"One of the world's most famous private schools says it will stop teaching A-levels unless Ministers toughen up the exams. The ultimatum has been issued by £24,825-a-year [A$ 62,000] Harrow School amid rising discontent with the supposedly "gold standard" qualification.
"Headmaster Barnaby Lenon said that questions have been made easier in some A-level subjects while coursework is vulnerable to cheats. The renowned school, which boasts alumni including Winston Churchill, will switch to the new "Pre-U" qualification being developed at Cambridge's exam board if A-levels are not strengthened..."
Full story in The Daily Mail at link
Readers' comments on this article at link
- The Canberra Times
- Editorial
Echo of schism in chaplaincy offer
"John Howard has created an excellent, but entirely cynical, distraction from mundane cares with his offer to subsidise chaplaincy services to Australian government schools. Assuming that the primary purpose of it is to provide pastoral care, rather than specific religious instruction, the idea is not objectionable on the grounds of any supposed constitutional divide between church and state. There may even be no problem providing non-sectarian religious instruction - if this were possible - to all who wanted to listen."But it is objectionable nonetheless, whether as a public mischief calculated to position the Government in the supposed culture wars and "values" debate, as an amazing diversion of public resources - $90million a year is being spoken of - at a time when schools are short of funds, and as a particularly strange provocation, given the failure of mainstream religions to hold their own in multicultural discourse..."
Full editorial in The Canberra Times at link
- The Guardian
- Two-thirds of academics want to quit, poll shows
by Alexandra Smith
"Nearly two-thirds (62%) of UK academics have considered quitting Britain to work overseas or leaving academia altogether for a better job in the private sector, new research reveals."The biggest gripe among lecturers is bureaucracy, with one in three respondents saying they spent at least 16 hours a week on paperwork, the research by the University and College Union (UCU) shows.
"The survey of more than 1,000 lecturers in UK universities also revealed that 47% have suffered ill-health because of their job and 55% would not recommend a career in higher education to their children..."
Full story in The Guardian at link
- The Independent
- One class, two teachers: is this the way to climb the league tables?
Teachers are working in pairs at one London primary school. Peter Stanford reports on an experiment that has improved results dramatically - and earned plaudits from Ofsted.
Full story in The Independent at link
- The Sydney Morning Herald
- Maths exam too hard - students
by Anna Patty
"The NSW Board of Studies will consider whether it will give special marking consideration to HSC students who sat the 3-unit maths paper yesterday."Students complained the extension 1 paper was exceptionally difficult compared with previous years.
"A spokeswoman for the NSW Board of Studies, Rebecca Lloyd, said yesterday the paper was designed to be challenging because it catered to three- and four-unit students.
"However, the board was concerned to ensure standards were comparable year on year.
"Many people have told us they believe it was a fair paper," Ms Lloyd said. "But if it appears to be a different standard of difficulty to previous years, that will be taken into consideration in the marking guidelines.
"We always look to the responses because we are looking for consistent standards from year to year." ...
Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
- Letter to the Editor
- All for a degree in first-class disenchantment
" ... It's that time of year again when HSC students do the exams that they have been told will define who they are, who they will be and most importantly where they are going to end up."Meanwhile, university and high school retention rates are falling, HECS-based university places across Australia are left unfilled, and I reckon we need to ask what are we doing wrong? Are students realising that perhaps what's being taught to them is not really relevant enough to their everyday and future lives?
"I'm not convinced our education system is initiating children into adulthood, and my personal experience certainly attests to that.
"I followed the traditional trajectory. I swallowed the dream of aiming towards an education from an elite university I was assured would eventually land me in a fulfilling occupation. The truth is radically different; I am very far from fulfilled.
"I worked three jobs throughout university just to survive on more than baked beans. I earned the right to be there, and I have earned the right to speak now about how disillusioned I have become in the education system.
"This afternoon is like many others as Kristy, an iPod-listening 17-year-old high school drop-out data-entry operator works next to me. She's listening to how Justin Timberlake is "bringing sexy back" while punching computer keys. She earns $3 more an hour than me for doing it.
"Ever heard of the 'clever country', Kristy?" I ask.
"Um, I don't know," she says. "China?"
"Where have we gone wrong?"
Suzanna Owens, Melbourne
Complete Letters to the Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald at link
- The Melbourne Age
- Letters to the Editor
- Counselling is too important to leave to amateurs
"As a practising school counsellor, I would like to express my concern at John Howard's introduction of chaplains in public schools in the absence of any collaboration with and funding for more school counsellors. I am particularly concerned to read that chaplains are being likened to school counsellors, as they are not being employed to promote religion, but rather to promote values and to provide support to students who are experiencing emotional difficulties or problems in their life."School counsellors or school psychologists are an established group of professionals who are already in existence within schools doing such work that the Government wants to address. By not paying any heed to the invaluable work that school counsellors are currently doing within schools, Mr Howard's chaplain initiative reduces the worth placed on the importance, skills and knowledge of school counsellors and appears to replace school counsellors with those who are able to give "spiritual guidance" instead.
"Research repeatedly shows that a significant number of Australian children and young people experience mental health problems and that school counsellors are fulfilling an important and vital role within schools, assisting students who are emotionally and psychologically troubled, who are dealing with difficult family circumstances or who are in need of guidance and support. This requires people with a strong professional code of ethics, specialised training in child and adolescent mental health and psychological interventions, as well as an understanding of minors in the context of our legal system. School counsellors have these credentials on their CV. What do chaplains have?
"If the Government's intention is to truly assist Australian young people to achieve emotional, psychological and social wellbeing then why have they not consulted with school counsellors themselves and the professional organisations that represent them?
"Then in addition to caring for the spiritual wellbeing of students, the Government could inject part or all of the $90 million into training and employing more professional school counsellors in schools. That would really make a positive difference to the lives of many Australian students, families and schools."
Dr Monica Thielking, Montmorency
A valued partner
"The Prime Minister's plan to fund chaplains in Australian schools has received a great deal of criticism in recent days, much of it emotionally charged and irrational. Fears of untrained, uneducated, religious bigots corrupting our children seem to be quite out of proportion."My own personal observations of chaplaincy in a Victorian state secondary school contrast markedly with such comments. What I have seen is balanced and communicative co-operation between chaplain and others, including those with designated student welfare roles in the school. The chaplain is available, together with other professionals, to meet the unique needs of students in times of grief, loss or pain. He does this very well, partly because he invests a great deal in building relationships of trust and understanding with students.
"Qualifications and training do mean something — but it is those people who have the most to offer that are most likely to be selected by school communities. This has been the case for our chaplain, who is a greatly valued partner in the task of shaping students' perceptions of self-worth and concern for others. What profession could be more honourable than that?"
Andrew Hill, Carrum
$90m punt on wrong horse for this course
"When reading John Howard's spirited defence of his "chaplains in schools" scheme (Opinion, 1/11), I agreed with every word — as long as the phrase "independent and properly trained youth counsellor" was used in place of "chaplain"."In my independent school, furnished with both chaplains and counsellors, I never would have considered seeing the chaplain. However, had there been a need, I would not have hesitated to visit the counsellors.
"Mr Howard claims that any student can visit the chaplains, regardless of their religion. But he fails to consider whether students from a different religion, or no religion at all, would see them as an accessible resource.
"Further, most students who would use such a resource likely have a network of available religious leaders to offer advice at their local place of worship — students who have no religion do not have that support base.
"Let Christian, Jewish and Islamic schools use their private money to provide religious support, and give the $90 million dollars to public schools to provide a service that all students could feel comfortable using."
Josie Cleland, Canterbury
Complete Letters to the Editor of The Melbourne Age at link
- ABC News
- Country students falling behind in maths, science
"Primary school principals says rural students are falling behind in maths and science because of a shortage of teachers."The National Centre of Science and Maths [otherwise known as Curtin University's Science and Mathematics Education Centre] says country pupils fall further behind city students, the further they live from a major city.
"Leonie Trimper from the Australian Primary Principals Association says rural schools need specific funding to help them attract and keep specialist teachers.
"So I think we do have to look at offering quality professional development and if it's going to mean a lot more finances put into that area then so be it," she said."
From ABC News Online at link
Public submissions handed in against ACT school closures
"The countdown is now officially under way for ACT schools earmarked for closure, after public submissions on the Territory Government's plans were handed in today."For families fighting school closures, today marks the end of five months of busy campaigning..."
Full story at ABC News Online at link
ACT schools hand in final submissions for closure plan
"Representatives from ACT schools have handed in their final submissions on the Government's proposal to close 39 schools across Canberra."Public submissions on the Government's controversial 2020 plan closed today, with a final decision on closures expected in December..."
Full story at ABC News Online at link
- The Australian
- Rural students are global stragglers
by Justine Ferrari and David Uren
"School students in rural areas are lagging behind their city counterparts in maths and science, scoring at the same level as children in Slovenia, Armenia and Cyprus."An analysis of academic achievement across Australia reveals that the top-performing students, based in capital cities, are masking the poor results of those in regional and rural Australia.
"While Australian students overall score above the international average, the comparison by John Pegg, of the University of New England, found that Year 4 science students in remote areas score at the level as children in Cyprus and below the international average.
"It's the most critical problem facing education in Australia today; that 30 per cent of our students are not performing to their potential," he said.
"Regional students in Year 4 in towns with populations fewer than 25,000 rank with Slovenia, while 15-year-old students were performing below the international average in maths, on a level with Poland and Hungary and worse than the Czech and Slovak republics.
"Professor Pegg - director of the National Centre of Science, ICT and Mathematics Education for Rural and Regional Australia - said his analysis had revealed that while the average Australian student ranked in the top 10, rural and regional students fell to about 25 out of 40-odd countries..."
Full story in The Australian at link
- Libs promise parents say on teacher pay
by Natasha Robinson
"Mothers and fathers would be punished with fines and community service when their children misbehaved at school under a Victorian Liberal plan that would also give parents a say in which teachers got annual performance bonuses."Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu pledged to give 2000 public school teachers deemed "high-performing" a 5 per cent annual bonus in a policy that also promises a review of the curriculum in line with national benchmarks..."
"We want parents to be able to make judgments ... about teachers who are performing well," Mr Baillieu said. "I would say that at most schools, everybody knows the teachers who put in, everybody knows the teachers who do it well.""The policy was panned by education unions from both government and non-government sectors yesterday, with independent schools particularly bitter at being "ignored" by the Liberal Party..."
Full story in The Australian at link
Similar story in The Melbourne Age
by Stephen Lunn
"Keeping more students at school can have a profound effect on economic growth, but Australia continues to slide in the rankings of those who finish high school and have tertiary degrees."Despite compelling evidence among OECD countries that for every one-year increase in the average level of education, a nation's GDP will increase by 3 to 6 per cent, Australia sits just 18th out of 30 developed nations when it comes to the proportion of that GDP that is spent on education: 5.8 per cent. A generation ago, Australia ranked 8th.
"And without significant private-sector funding, that ranking is considerably worse, warned Barry McGaw, director of the University of Melbourne Education Research Institute.
"Professor McGaw told the Making the Boom Pay conference yesterday that one step to improve participation rates could be more collaboration between public and private schools, a model already in use in South Australia, which could make more students employable at the end of their education..."
Full story in The Australian at link
- Letter submitted to The Australian, as yet unpublished
- "The Liberal Party's proposal to have parent-dominated school councils decide performance bonuses for teachers (“Libs promise parent say on teacher pay”, 3/11) is even worse than the performance bonus system they imposed the last time we had to endure them in government.
"The last time the Liberals were in power spreading their damage around our public institutions, they set up a system to reward careerists, opportunists and sycophants and to punish teachers with integrity and commitment to their profession.
"Now they are proposing that parent groups with absolutely no day-to-day involvement in schools will determine who is favoured with the extra cash - and there won't even be set criteria for such teachers to be assessed against.
"Principals, even those interested in education rather than compliance with political directives, are too bogged down in departmental administrivia to have much idea of what happens in their schools.
"If voters really want better quality teachers, they should demand a return to the time when teachers were properly supported. Teachers in Victoria are paid less than they were 30 years ago; secondary school staffing is worse than it was 25 years ago; and secondary teaching loads are higher than they were 20 years ago.
"The most effective way to recognise the most outstanding teachers is to expand the number of leading teacher positions in the state, allocate them fairly across schools and appoint teachers to these extra positions who would retain a full teaching load rather than move into administration. The best teachers need salary recognition not random, unprofessional and corrupt bonuses."
Chris Curtis
- The New York Times
- In the Race for Governor, a Big Divide on School Aid
by David M Herszenhorn
[As Steve Kessell posted a few days ago, many US elections have education as their central issue. Here are three examples. Web]
"As attorney general, Eliot Spitzer has performed a legal high-wire act on education aid.
"He dutifully fought a lawsuit seeking billions of dollars more for the New York City schools, while insisting that he personally disagreed with the position he had to take as the state’s top lawyer. Now, Mr. Spitzer promises that if he is elected governor, he will resolve the case by providing a total of up to $8.5 billion more a year for the city and for other needy school districts statewide.
"Mr. Spitzer’s willingness to allocate vastly more education aid to the city sets him apart not only from his Republican opponent, John Faso, but also from Gov. George E. Pataki and former Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, who, despite their party and policy differences, both fought the suit, now 13 years old..."
Full story in The New York Times at link
- The Washington Post
- School Board Race a Hot Contest
by Nelson Hernandez
"It is a testament to the political dominance of the Democratic Party in Prince George's County that the most contested local election on Tuesday will be for the nonpartisan Board of Education..."
Full story in The Washington Post at link
- CNN Headline: Education is tops on the agenda in race for Flordia Governor
- The Guardian
- Better lessons would improve behaviour, says Ofsted
by Alexandra Smith
"Unruly behaviour in some of the worst secondary schools in England could be improved if teachers gave more varied and interesting lessons, according to the standards watchdog."In secondary schools where bad behaviour was an isolated issue, the cause was often pupils' frustration with the poor quality of teaching they received, said an Ofsted report published today.
"The National Union of Teachers immediately hit back, saying the claims amounted to "a return to the bad old days" of unsubstantiated assertions..."
Full story in The Guardian at link
- The Sydney Morning Herald
- Letters to the Editor
- Educated enough to complain about it
"Sorry, Suzanna Owens (Letters, November 2), an arts degree or first degree in most disciplines means more than anything else that you have acquired the ability to complete assignments and pass exams. There are plenty of unemployed graduates driving cabs or sweating in call centres, and you will find that until you have gone through the usually repetitive exercise of a second degree, and learned how to speak MBAese, or its equivalent, not many employers are going to get too excited about paying you big bucks.
"Don't despair though. The quality of your letter suggests that your vocation lies in the written word. Do something different and write about it. You may even get to sell the film rights. Best of luck."
John Smeaton, Newcastle
"Suzanna Owens, I disagree that the education system let you down. The simple fact that you were able to write the letter and express yourself so appropriately proves the system worked.
"Well, at least to a point. It would seem your mentors failed to teach you what the point of an education is. I am a teacher, and I openly reject the conservative view that the purpose of education is to prepare young people for "an occupation". It simply isn't realistic to think that way in an ever-changing world. I teach young people to be flexible, adaptable problem-solvers who could and should seek happiness in a range of environments and pursuits, not just their workplaces. I would encourage you to do the same."
Adam Williams, Summer Hill
"Suzanna Owens wants to know what is the point of getting an arts degree if you end up a poorly paid envelope-stuffer.
"The point, Suzanna, is that you learn to construct a letter to the editor that will get printed in the Herald, not the Telegraph. Oh, the joy!"
Claire Harper BA Envelope stuffer, Woolloomooloo
"Suzanna started the joke "I want to know, what was the point of my arts degree?" I'm still waiting for the punchline."
Andrew Bazar Ballina
Complete Letters to the Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald at link
Saturday – Sunday, 4 – 5 November
- The West Australian
- Premier targets duds for Cabinet reshuffle (page 4)
by Robert Taylor, State Political Editor
"Alan Carpenter has given the strongest indication yet that he will reshuffle his Cabinet on the back of continuing concerns over the performance of some ministers."But the Premier again defended besieged Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich and Indigenous Affairs Minister Sheila McHale yesterday, claiming they had been unfairly targeted for criticism..."
"The Premier resisted pressure to move Ms Ravlich from Education during public debate over the introduction of outcomes-based education for Years 11 and 12."More recently, the Opposition demanded her head when she claimed she did not know about a Corruption and Crime Commission inquiry into the failure of the Education Department to properly handle allegations of sexual misconduct by staff.
"Instead, Mr Carpenter ousted Education Department boss Paul Albert. Yesterday, he said Ms Ravlich had inherited a difficult reform agenda in education which she had handled well.
“There’s been a very powerful campaign run by a group which plugged into the national conservative agenda against outcomes-based education and the alleged dumbing down of it all and Lil got caught in that,” he said..." [emphasis added]
Full story in The West Australian at link
- Editorial
Premier's blues resound in state of everyday political crisis (page 18)
"Political crisis has become an everyday condition for Alan Carpenter in his short time at the top. Charitable sympathisers might be tempted to suggest that the Premier has been the victim of a rare run of bad luck.
"But that doesn't wash. In politics, as in other occupations, leaders are largely the architect of their own luck. And if Mr Carpenter appears to be an ineffectual and crisis-ridden leader paralysed by factional tensions, it is because his leadership authority, political judgement and management style are lacking..."
"In the midst of the crisis, Mr Carpenter is now prepared to countenance openly the idea of a Cabinet reshuffle over Christmas, suggesting belatedly that he may acknowledge that all is not well in his Cabinet. In fact, this has been a year of colossal stuff-ups in the education and community development portfolios, without the relevant ministers being called to account. It would flatter some other ministers to describe them as harmless non-performers.
"In its first year, the Carpenter Government has been marked by inexcusable incompetence. Now there is a stench starting to come off it."
From The West Australian
- The Times [Sunday]
- Premium pay plan to solve science teaching crisis
by Geraldine Hackett, Education Correspondent
"Teachers of physics and chemistry should be paid more than those in other subjects so as to attract bright graduates and tackle a severe shortage which threatens Britain’s competitiveness, a Lords committee warns today."A report from the science and technology committee says the government needs to act urgently to reverse a collapse in the number of state school pupils taking science subjects.
"The committee is concerned that the shortage of teachers is being compounded by schools worried about league table positions. The schools push pupils to study “soft” A-level subjects such as psychology, media studies and photography rather than academically demanding “hard” sciences.
"It calls for “significantly higher” salaries for physics and chemistry teachers.
"If adopted, the move would be likely to spark opposition from teachers’ unions, but Lord Broers, the former vice-chancellor of Cambridge University who chaired the inquiry, said that increased salaries were vital.
“The government has to recognise market forces require them to pay science graduates more than others,” said Broers. “The future of British science and engineering is at risk because pupils are not being inspired to study science.” ...
Full story in The Times at link
- The Sydney Morning Herald
- Court rules against demand for A-E reports
by Anna Patty, Education Editor
"More than 1000 schools are unlikely to use new school reports that grade students from A to E after the industrial court ruled they should not be compulsory this year."The State Government stands to lose $3.7 billion in federal funding if it does not use the new reports this year. The Department of Education sought a dispute order to force teachers to lift their bans on the reports.
"Issuing his judgement, the deputy president of the Industrial Relations Commission, Rod Harrison, said: "I am not satisfied that the capacity to produce A to E reports is in place or that it is reasonable to order production of those reports in 2006.
"The parties should both commit to a common goal that the issues be resolved for reports in 2007, commencing with the half-yearly report, which has the advantage of continuity of reporting over the academic year as advanced by the [NSW Teachers Federation]."
"Mr Harrison said there was inadequate evidence to support concerns about a risk to federal funding.
"It is difficult to accept that a government would withdraw funding from a state school system and deny education to the student population," he said..."
Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
- Op Ed
Starter's orders in the race for young souls
by Adele Horin
"Just when you think school chaplains might turn out to be caring, ecumenical counsellors, and nothing for secularists to fret about, along come the Sydney Anglicans to ring the alarm bells."According to a heated online discussion on the Sydney Anglican Network, the Federal Government proposal to fund school chaplains presents a "terrific opportunity" to spread the gospel. If the Anglicans don't get in first, their competitor for Sydney's soul will beat them to it. "Hillsong will have an onsite rep at most schools," an Anglican scribe complained..."
Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
- Turmoil as school loses its heads
by Anna Patty, Education Editor
"One of Sydney's oldest and most prestigious private schools is in turmoil after the sudden resignation of its headmaster almost a year before the end of his contract and the loss of two deputy heads."The headmaster of SCECGS Redlands, Cremorne, Christopher Daunt Watney, who is under contract until next August, will leave the school at the end of this term..."
Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
- The Sunday Melbourne Age
- Rebel school jilts minister on report card
by Deborah Gough
"A rebel primary school will refuse to introduce the State Government's new A to E report card, defying an order from Education Minister Lynne Kosky."In an audacious move by Spensley Street Primary School, Clifton Hill, the school council has resolved to press ahead with its own report style as stated in its newsletter this week, despite a letter last month from Ms Kosky urging the school to introduce the new report cards.
"It is believed the principal, Maureen Douglas, is adamant that she will not introduce the A to E system and will direct teachers not to introduce it, if necessary.
"The move sets up a potential conflict with federal Education Minister Julie Bishop, who demanded the introduction of new "plain English" report cards nationally in return for Commonwealth funding, worth about one-quarter of Victoria's funding. The system is designed to act as a benchmark for children's academic achievement against others in the state..."
"In NSW, the Teachers Federation has fought the reports on behalf of 1300 schools in the Industrial Relations Commission, where on Friday it won a reprieve for this year..."
Full story in The Sunday Melbourne Age at link
Editorial
Postscript
"Readers had God on their minds this week — or at least religion, and more particularly the Federal Government's $90 million plan to install chaplains in government schools. Jason Koutsoukis' story (which alert readers would remember he broke in June) explained that the Government's rationale was to offer "values" guidance and mentoring for students. But it has since provoked heated debate from a range of sources, raising questions about the separation of church and state and whether the plan undermined a primary tenet of state education — that it is secular. One who objected to the idea was Kath McKay, who argued that while the program may be non-denominational, it is "still about religion and usually about Christianity", and a particular world-view can make its way into public schools by stealth."Like most school programs these days, the Government would offer about $20,000 and schools would have to stump up the rest, with the cost of a chaplain estimated at about $70,000 a year..."
Full editorial in The Sunday Melbourne Age at link
Letter to the Editor
- Let's look for pluralist and professional counselling
"By initiating "a national school chaplaincy program", the Federal Government has renewed and exacerbated harm for upcoming generations of students. The very act of a system authorised by parliament gives undue credibility to a set of myths. This is manipulation of the minds of children who are still learning critical analysis skills.
"Existing chaplaincy programs demonstrate over-whelming attraction for the zealous evangelical / fundamentalist / Pentecostal side of Christianity, whose purpose is to win converts. The effects on students with other faiths, or none, will be negative, as their "beliefs" or lack thereof are not privileged with the same government sanction. "Non-denominational" in essence means Christian supremacy.
"The consideration that "values" rest mainly within the precinct of a particular religion is false and arrogant.
"Leaving the introduction of chaplaincy programs to cash-strapped or agenda-driven school councils and principals invites the worst outcome possible. The priority of the education system must be that properly trained professionals perform counselling of children. A few weeks' course by persons of strong religious persuasion will result in exploitation of young minds.
"Moreover, whether the official promotion of Christianity is an infringement of the overall intent of Section 116 of the Australian Constitution is a moot point.
"We call upon all MPs to not support this or any chaplaincy program but rather build on initiatives that are more conducive to a pluralist society."
Davic Nicholls, Atheist Foundation of Australia
Ian Robinson, Rationalist Society of Australia
John L. Perkins, Secular Party of Australia
Max Wallace, Australian National Secular Association & Humanist Society of Queensland
Steve Maxwell, Rationalist Association of NSW & Humanist Society of NSW
Complete Letters to the Editor of The Sunday Melbourne Age at link
- The Sunday Brisbane Courier Mail
- School pays sex victims [relevant to WA's DET ? Web]
by David Murray
"Brisbane Grammar School had to pay out more than $1 million from its own coffers after allegedly ignoring warnings about a pedophile counsellor."Documents obtained by The Sunday Mail show insurers refused to pay the entire compensation bill for victims because of allegations former headmaster Maxwell Howell was twice warned about counsellor Kevin Lynch. [emphasis added]
"As a result, the prestigious school had to dip into its own funds, and is now suing its insurance broker AON Risk Services Australia to recover the money. Grammar says the broker failed to properly inform the school of its obligation to report the claims..."
"A group of about 70 former students sued Grammar, alleging Lynch sexually abused them during counselling sessions between 1975 and 1988. Students claimed Lynch would typically molest boys after they had undressed, under the guise of "relaxation therapy"."He committed suicide in 1997 after being charged with abusing a student at St Paul's School at Bald Hills, in northern Brisbane, to which he moved after Grammar..."
Full story in The Sunday Brisbane Courier Mail at link
"It was alleged in or about 2002 on behalf of the former student plaintiffs that the then headmaster of the school had received two complaints (one in about April 1980 and the other in or about winter 1981) identifying the conduct of the said teacher/counsellor which gave rise to the claims," the documents say..." [emphasis added]
"The school was left to pay $1.17 million to victims in compensation and legal fees..."
- The Sunday Times
- Boom spells dip in TEE numbers
by Louise Pemble
"Nearly 10,500 high-school students start a nailbiting two weeks of tertiary entrance exams tomorrow.
"But WA's booming economy means that nearly 600 fewer teenagers will sit this year's TEE exams compared with last year."Curriculum Council examination manager Jenny Morup said 584 fewer students were candidates for the TEE this year.
"The numbers fluctuated each year, depending on the Year 12 population and the state of the economy, she said.
"It could be accounted for by a change in enrolments due to employment, or it could be that more are doing TAFE or wholly school-assessed subjects,'' she said..."
Full story in The Sunday Times at link
- ABC News
- ACT school system a dog's breakfast: Education Union
"The Australian Education Union says the ACT school system is a mess, in the lead-up to school enrolments for next year."The union's submission to the ACT Government's 2020 plan will be made public today and claims the Stanhope Government has not put forward a balanced and reasonable case for the closure of 39 schools.
"Union secretary Clive Haggar says the plan also ignores the social impact on local communities.
"Mr Haggar says the Government only has itself to blame for the mess facing ACT Education towards the end of the year.
"If they'd been more open and transparent and had a more realistic timetable there could have been community support for some rationalisations instead of what we've now got - very, very powerful voices from the community united in terms of a recognition," he said.
"This has been a dreadful process and I don't believe dog's breakfast is too far from the truth."
From ABC News Online at link
- The Independent
- Diplomas to take place of GCSEs and A-levels within a decade
by Richard Garner, Education Editor
"A government exams shake-up will see the eclipse of GCSEs and A-levels as the main qualifications for teenagers within a decade, senior exams advisers predict."Ministers plan to introduce a network of 14 specialist diplomas, in subjects ranging from engineering to hair and beauty, by the end of decade. A 15th, in science, may be added later..."
Full story in The Independent at link
- The Times
- We need celebrity scientists to inspire young people, says Blair
by Philip Webster, Political Editor
"Britian must stand up to the anti-science brigade by defeating them with rational argument and encouraging youngsters who want to change the world to become scientists, Tony Blair said yesterday."The Prime Minister, declaring that he had become a born-again science enthusiast after being a “refusenik” at school, said that scientific and political leaders needed to face down the “outrageous distortion” of opponents and help people to dispel the myths, calm the fears and make moral judgments on the facts..."
Full story in The Times at link
- Related stories in The Guardian
- The Sydney Sunday Telegraph
- $642m to private schools
by Linda Silmalis
"Taxpayers are subsidising multi-million-dollar renovations at Sydney's most exclusive private schools while students at cash-strapped public schools learn in termite-infested classrooms..."
Full story in The Sydney Sunday Telegraph at link
- The Weekend Australian
- Op Ed
Unis should look up more than a number
by Glenda Korporaal
"One hundred years ago, when someone drove a car, someone else would run ahead holding up a red flag, warning innocent pedestrians of impending danger."As the parent of a teenager who just started his NSW Higher School Certificate year, I feel I need a similar arrangement..."
"It's not just exam time. In NSW the process covers 12 months. Half the total final score comes from the exams that are set for this time of the year (NSW students sitting for the HSC are about two-thirds of the way through their tests) with the other half coming from a combination of exams and assessments done during the academic year."Every school assessment during that year contributes to the final score, all done under strict rules, including the exact time and date when assignments must be handed in. For some reason Year 12 (the final year in NSW) begins in the final term of Year 11. Which means for us the 12-month exam of the final academic year has just begun.
"The holy grail at the end of the process, the shrine at which we will all worship over the next 12 months, is the UAI, or university admissions index ranking, that is somehow arrived at from a combination of all of the above.
"There is a complex procedure in calculating a UAI that makes your head hurt and would take too long to explain here. But in theory a figure of, say, high 90s means that your child has a good chance of getting into their course of choice at the university of their choice, paving the way for a brilliant career. A score in the 50s means the poor child is virtually consigned to the dustbin of history, unable to get a job even in an Indian call centre. It's not quite that bad, but almost..."
Full story in The Weekend Australian at link
Carpenter haunted by the ghosts of WA Inc
by Amanda O'Brien
"Premier Alan Carpenter's week began with one minister in trouble. By Tuesday it was two. By Thursday, three."There was also the matter of another damning childcare report tabled in parliament and another department chief packing her bags, the second in a fortnight..."
"By week's end Carpenter must have felt jinxed. First Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich's department was caught out by the CCC for failing to investigate serious allegations of sexual misconduct by teachers against children. Second, Sheila McHale, now Indigenous Affairs Minister, was confronted by the latest in a string of child protection debacles that occurred during her four-year reign as community development minister."Third, Small Business Minister Norm Marlborough was snared by the CCC probe into potential misconduct by lobbyists, councillors and the proponent of a $330million development project in the state's southwest..."
Full story in The Weekend Australian at link
- The Melbourne Age
- Uni plans radical rise in fees
by David Rood and Adam Morton
"Melbourne University has unveiled a radical funding plan that is likely to increase HECS fees to overcome a 30-year decline in Federal Government funding for universities."Vice-chancellor Glyn Davis said in a speech yesterday that universities were forced to pay a funding "gap" because course costs were not met by Commonwealth money and student contributions..."
Full story in The Melbourne Age at link
- $3000 promise for students
by Mathew Murphy
"Secondary school students who move away from home to do a traineeship, apprenticeship or attend university have been promised a $3000 cash grant by the Nationals..."
Full story in The Melbourne Age at link
All Alston cartoons are © The West Australian Newspaper
All media quotations, photographs and cartoons © their respective publishers
This page last updated 14 August, 2008 1:42 AM
