|
|
|
Breaking
News: Week of 13 November 2006
|
Saturday – Sunday, 18 – 19 November
- The West Australian
- Ravlich has to go, say majority in survey (page 9)
by Graham Mason
"Eight out of 10 poll respondents believe that Education and Training Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich should be either sacked from the Ministry of moved to another portfolio, according to a Westpoll survey.
"Asked whether the embattled Minister should keep her position as Education Minister, just 9 per cent of the 408 respondents supported the idea.
"Ms Ravlich has come under fire for her handling of 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.
'If the Education Minister has the welfare of education in this State at heart, she should take heed of this poll and resign.'
Shadow Minister Peter Collier
"Last week, a State Ombudsman report found "systemic issues" and an overall lack of confidence in the Education Department's complaints management processes.
"Shadow education minister Peter Collier said the public had clearly lost confidence in Ms Ravlich and it was time for Premier Alan Carpenter to dump her.
"Those figures do not remotely surprise me," Mr Collier said.
"If the Education Minister genuinely has the welfare of education in this State at heart, she should take heed of this poll and resign.
"It's only through her resignation that the sector can gain some confidence and move forward.
"It has now moved beyond politics, there is now a lack of confidence in education in the community. She is putting her political survival ahead of education." ...
"Ms Ravlich... declined to comment on the Westpoll survey." [Surprise, surprise.. Web]
Full story in The West Australian
Ravlich should: Remain in current position 9 % Move to another portfolio 27 % Sacked from ministry 55 % Don't know 9 % The Westpoll was carried out over two days last week through phone interviews with 408 voters across the State. Westpoll conducted by Patterson Market Research.
- Bits and pieces from The West Australian
A likely Labor candidate for Peel, the seat vacated by Norm Marlborough, is Daron Smith, a policy advisor to Ljiljanna Ravlich ["WA Inc ghost gives Liberals hope in Peel", page 9].
"The heated argument that saw Education Minister Ljiljanna "Schulz" Ravlich's chief of staff Darren Klarich march out of the office on Melbourne Cup day was very one-sided.
"It was all one way with the Minister in full flight," IC was told.
When Jessica Strutt rang Mr Klarich to confirm, all she got was "I can't talk to the media." [Inside Cover: "We Hear", page 2].
Full stories in The West Australian
- ABC News
- Govt launches IT apprenticeship program
"The Federal Government has launched a new information technology (IT) apprenticeship program aimed at recruiting high school students to work in the public service."The $4 million scheme will see up to 60 students from across Australia offered the chance to work in Government agencies in the ACT.
"After two years, the students will graduate from TAFE with a Certificate Four in Information Technology, as well as public service experience.
"Special Minister of State Gary Nairn says the scheme will help tackle skills shortages in the sector.
"You don't just need people in IT with degrees or doctorates or whatever, it's the full gamut these days because IT is right across the board," he said.
"So these apprenticeships I think will fit very well with the sorts of shortages that we currently have."
From ABC News Online at link
- ACT Opposition pushes schools to change tactics
"The ACT Opposition says school groups should stop trying to save schools and shift their focus to studying other aspects of the Government's Budget plan that have been overlooked."Education spokeswoman Vicki Dunne says Towards 2020 is not just about closing schools, it also includes a proposal to completely redesign Canberra's government school system.
"She says the most radical proposal is to re-introduce high schools in the ACT.
"No one has had the time or the energy to concentrate or to really study what this might mean," she said..."
Full story at ABC News Online at link
- The Daily Mail
- Remedial lessons for Cambridge's 'dumbed down' French students [late entry from 12 Nov]
by Glen Owen
"Cambridge University has been forced to introduce remedial lessons for students studying French because school-leavers now have such a poor grasp of the language..."
"They blame the dumbing down of exams and the collapse of language teaching in schools.
"Philip Ford, Cambridge's Professor of French, has been forced to stream first-year students by setting all 150 a test when they arrive..."
"Professor Ford, who has taught at the university for 25 years, said just 20 per cent of his students now arrived with good language skills compared with more than 70 per cent 20 years ago."He added: "The problems can be traced back to the switch from O-levels to GCSEs in the late Eighties. Pupils are now expected to carry out only short exercises which do not explore the whole register of the language.
"Examiners no longer reward accuracy - errors are not penalised. It now takes most students two years to reach the standard we would expect them to be at by the time they finish school." ...
Full story [and readers' comments] in The Daily Mail at link
- The Times
- Tomorrow's headmaster is sitting in your class, teachers told
by Alexandra Frean, Education Editor
"Teachers should try to pick their future bosses from among their current pupils as a way to solve the shortage of school heads, a leading headmistress will say today."Brenda Despontin, who is in charge of Haberdashers’ Monmouth School for Girls in Wales, will argue that the next generation of head teachers needs to be nurtured from an early age.
"It is not enough to steer promising pupils into the teaching profession; schools should encourage them to aim for the top from the outset, she says..."
Full story in The Times at link
- Manners lessons maketh a manager, pupils learn
by Alexandra Frean, Education Editor
"A school is giving sixth-formers etiquette lessons to help them to secure top jobs."The classes cover how to dress, letter writing, the art of conversation, the secrets of body language and the rules of formal dinners and informal supper parties..."
Full story at The Times at link
- The Guardian
- Teachers want ban on cyber-bully pupils
by James Meikle, education correspondent
· Unions demand action to end internet torment
· Survey finds 'horrendous tales' of humiliation
"Teachers are demanding action to stop pupils humiliating them through offensive video clips and abuse posted online. Their unions say service providers should do more to police websites amid growing concern over "cyber bullying"."The insulting images and remarks are being viewed by web users without the victims' knowledge, say the teachers..."
Full story in The Guardian at link [plus links to several related articles]
Series of articles on Pupil Behaviour
- The Australian
- Op Ed
Ross Fitzgerald: The addictive, dark side of the schoolies week spree
Binge drinking may be part of the Australian teenager's rite of passage, but for some youngsters it may be the start of a lifelong battle with alcohol
"With schoolies week coming up soon throughout Australia, it is timely to confront the problem of out-of-control binge drinking among our teenagers..."
Full story in The Australian at link
- Letter to the Editor
- Boom-and-bust education
"The Australian is fond of dumping on the Left for “post-modern” approaches to education that don’t include covering the basics such as spelling and grammar. You have a point there, but what harm does it do? Much more harmful is the trend towards turning education into a market commodity, subject to fads and boom-and-bust cycles."Take mining engineering, an area almost closed down in some universities because of the low student demand. Now, with the resources boom, employers are being forced to pay starting salaries of around $90,000 because of the skills shortage, and university capacity is being ramped up rapidly.
"Even worse, the combined dotcom and Y2K booms resulted in huge growth in IT degrees. Now there has been an industry correction, and academics are being laid off in droves—just in time for the turnaround in industry demand. University budgets are too tight to smooth out these trends. The result? Our economy becomes increasingly uncompetitive because we don’t have world-class skills.
"Education is too precious to turn it into a pawn of party-political ideology. By taking on the loony-tunes Left, you are only addressing half the problem. The loony-tunes Right controls the federal purse strings and is capable of inflicting far more damage."
Philip Machanick, Taringa, Qld
Complete Letters Letters to the Editor of The Australian at link
- The Sydney Morning Herald
- Schools lose out on foreign fee bonanza
by Anna Patty, Education Editor
"The [NSW] Department of Education has kept three-quarters of the $79 million raised from overseas students who attend public schools in NSW, leaving individual schools with just $3000 for each student they host each year..."
Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
- Aboriginal literacy project is good news in any language
by Christopher Kremmer
"A Sydney charity is claiming an educational breakthrough that could save Aboriginal languages from extinction, and simultaneously boost English literacy in indigenous communities..."
Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
- The Melbourne Herald Sun
- Parents will be school monitors
by Ellen Whinnett and John Ferguson
"Parents would be able to monitor their children's classrooms online live under a $60 million hi-tech plan to be announced by the Bracks Government today..."
Full story in The Melbourne Herald Sun at link
- The Melbourne Age
- Students cut some slack when hanging loose
by Chee Chee Leung
"The order to "tuck that shirt in" has long rung out in classrooms and corridors, but a growing number of schools have admitted defeat in this sartorial battle."With many schoolchildren — boys and girls — preferring to let their shirt tails hang loose, schools are turning to new designs to bring an end to the unkempt look.
"Robert Stewart, of uniform suppliers Bob Stewart of Kew, said the non-tuck shirt was "emerging as a bit of a trend" in schools, especially for summer..."
Full story in The Melbourne Age at link
- The New York Times
- As Math Scores Lag, a New Push for the Basics
by Tamar Lewin
"SEATTLE — For the second time in a generation, education officials are rethinking the teaching of math in American schools.
"The changes are being driven by students’ lagging performance on international tests and mathematicians’ warnings that more than a decade of so-called reform math — critics call it fuzzy math — has crippled students with its de-emphasizing of basic drills and memorization in favor of allowing children to find their own ways to solve problems."At the same time, parental unease has prompted ever more families to pay for tutoring, even for young children. Shalimar Backman, who put pressure on officials here by starting a parents group called Where’s the Math?, remembers the moment she became concerned.
“When my oldest child, an A-plus stellar student, was in sixth grade, I realized he had no idea, no idea at all, how to do long division,” Ms. Backman said, “so I went to school and talked to the teacher, who said, ‘We don’t teach long division; it stifles their creativity.’ ”
"Across the nation, the reconsideration of what should be taught and how has been accelerated by a report in September by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the nation’s leading group of math teachers."It was a report from this same group in 1989 that influenced a generation of teachers to let children explore their own solutions to problems, write and draw pictures about math, and use tools like the calculator at the same time they learn algorithms.
"But this fall, the group changed course, recommending a tighter focus on basic math skills and an end to “mile wide, inch deep” state standards that force schools to teach dozens of math topics in each grade. In fourth grade, for example, the report recommends that the curriculum should center on the “quick recall” of multiplication and division, the area of two-dimensional shapes and an understanding of decimals.
"The Bush administration, too, has created a panel to study research on teaching math. It is expected to issue recommendations early next year.
"Here in Washington, Gov. Chris Gregoire has asked the State Board of Education to develop new math standards by the end of next year to bring teaching in line with international competition, and a year later to choose no more than three curriculums to replace the dozens of teaching methods now in use. Ms. Gregoire, a Democrat, also wants new math requirements for high school graduation.
"In Utah and Florida, too, state education officials are re-examining their math standards and curriculum.
"Grass-roots groups in many cities are agitating for a return to basics. Many point to California’s standards as a good model: the state adopted reform math in the early 1990s but largely rejected it near the end of the decade, a turnaround that led to rising math achievement..."
Full story in The New York Times at link
- The Washington Post
- Just Whose Idea Was All This Testing?
by Jay Mathews
Fueled by Technology, Nation's Attempt to Create a Level Playing Field Has Had a Rocky History
"In ancient Greece, Socrates tested his students through conversations. Answers were not scored as right or wrong. They just led to more dialogue. Many intellectual elites in the 5th and 4th centuries B.C. cared more about finding the path to higher knowledge than producing a correct response. To them, accuracy was for shopkeepers.
"Today, educators often hold up the Socratic method as the best kind of teaching."So how did we go from that ideal to an educational model shaped -- and perhaps even ruled -- by standardized, normed, charted, graphed, regressed, calibrated and validated testing? Students in the Washington area are likely to know more about the MSA (Maryland School Assessments), the SOL (Virginia's Standards of Learning) and the D.C. CAS (D.C. Comprehensive Assessment System) than they do about Socrates and his illustrious student Plato.
"Critics say standardized testing has robbed schools of the creative clash of intellects that make Plato's dialogues still absorbing. "There is a growing technology of testing that permits us now to do in nanoseconds things that we shouldn't be doing at all," said educational psychologist Gerald W. Bracey, research columnist for the Phi Delta Kappan education journal.
"Historians call the rise of testing an inevitable outgrowth of expanding technology. As goods and services are delivered with greater speed and in higher quantity and quality, education has been forced to pick up the pace..."
Full story in The Washington Post at link
- Schoolyard crime adds to S.Africa's education woes [originally from Reuters]
- Money Flows Into Teacher Bonus Program [Associated Press]
- The Australian
- State sleaze hits Beazley's chances [Lead story]
by Dennis Shanahan, Political editor
"Scandalous behaviour by state Labor ministers appears to have damaged Kim Beazley's federal team and cancelled out the negative effect of the latest interest rate rise on the Howard Government..."
" West Australian Premier Alan Carpenter forced former premier Brian Burke to resign from the ALP after Mr Burke and small business minister Norm Marlborough were exposed as lying about their relationship to the Corruption and Crime Commission and Mr Marlborough lost his job."Mr Carpenter also banned MPs from contact with Mr Burke, who was jailed after the WA Inc inquiry 12 years ago.
"Mr Beazley faced media questions about his long friendship with Mr Burke and said federal MPs would also be expected to refuse requests from Mr Burke.
"The commission's investigation of the activities of Canal Rocks, a company that wants to build a $330 million tourist resort near Yallingup in the state's southwest, and for which Mr Burke is a lobbyist, is continuing..."
Full story in The Australian at link
Related stories
- Cleanskin Bracks to fix schools
by Ewin Hannan
"Victorian Premier Steve Bracks has promised the state's biggest school rebuilding program in 60 years, in a mortgage-belt pitch that commits Labor to one-stop childcare and kindergarten centres, free books for toddlers and new targets to cut greenhouse emissions..."
Full story in The Australian at link [But Labor if offering more: See Melbourne Age article below]
- Letters to the Editor
- Five Letters on Educators don't like students who display originality
- The West Australian
- "Bits and Pieces"
- Inside Cover: Bad news is no news for Carps (page 2)
"It can't be too long before the Premier, who is also the Minister for Federal Affairs and State Development, stops reading the Financial Review.
"Mr Carpenter told the Sunday Times (also known as the Government Gazette) that he no longer gets The West home delivered because of the "negativity that gets directed at the Government and myself as Premier."
"In an editorial about the Burke-Marlborough fiasco, the nation's only financial daily paper asked why it had taken Mr Carpenter until last Thursday to work out that the Labor Party would be better off without the former premier.
"Anyone with a pulse could have told him that," said the editorial, which also branded his leadership as weak. "The crisis that has engulfed his Government is all of his own making. The WA Premier should have the easiest political job in Australia right now. He need do little more than sit back, let the commodities boom work its magic and count the proceeds, while planning for a return to normalcy.
"Instead, Mr Carpenter has lurched from one crisis to another, thanks to the incompetence and venality of his ministers, compounded by his own poor judgement."
"Of course, the Premier may save a few shekels by not paying for The West or The Fin but, unlike most people, he has a taxpayer,funded media office to provide him with clippings of all the stories he wants."
- From a Letter to the Editor (page 19)
"... An education minister no same person would put in charge of a Grade One spelling class admits contact with Burke..." Lyn Vickery, Morley
- From "Premier enforces lobby gag on Burke" [Front page headline]
"... Ms Ravlich refused to comment to waiting media on her way into the Cabinet meeting and dodged the contingent on her way out."
- The Melbourne Age
- $2bn ALP education promise puts Libs in shade
by Peter Ker and David Rood
"Labor has driven a major policy wedge between itself and the Liberal Party ahead of the November 25 election, with a commitment of about $2 billion for Victorian schools, kindergartens and child care..."
"The spending dwarfs the promises made by the Liberal Party. The Liberals have promised $200 million extra for school maintenance over the first two years of a Baillieu government, $68 million for new technical and selective schools, and $21 million in capital investment..."
Full story in The Melbourne Age at link
- Letter to the Editor
- School truths
"Labor's point-scoring campaign against the Liberals on education shows scant regard for the truth. Both Labor (1982-92) and the Coalition (1992-99) closed schools because of falling enrolments and their often dilapidated condition. In both cases state revenue and the property industry benefited from the sales. Labor, of course, called its closures "amalgamations".
"Teacher numbers quoted by Labor in this campaign are also rubbery. The thousands "ripped from the system by Kennett" were mainly intending retirees and those on family or other leave who were happy to accept the packages on offer. Today's "thousands of extra teachers" include many teacher aides and assistants working as little as two days a week, but counted as if full-time for election purposes."
John Morrissey, Hawthorn
Complete Letters to the Editor of The Melbourne Age at link
- The Guardian
- The Sydney Daily Telegraph
- Teachers' write to silence
Exclusive by Bruce McDougall
"Primary school teachers are demanding the right not to make written comments about students' performance on their report cards in a range of key subjects."The NSW Teachers' Federation demand has come as a bombshell to education chiefs already battling to get bans lifted on the controversial A to E grading system.
"With the grades issue bogged down in the industrial court, it has now emerged that teachers have requested the "removal of individual comments" on reports in all main subjects except for literacy and numeracy.
"The Daily Telegraph has learned that the demand covers the key learning area subjects of creative and performing arts, personal development/health/physical education, human society and its environment, and science and technology.
"A number of teachers contacted yesterday did not agree with the union's demand, saying parents appreciated and closely read comments on their children's reports. [emphasis added]
"Comments give parents a clear understanding of what children can and cannot do," teaching principal Karen Shehata said. "Grades mean nothing if they don't come with comments by the teacher."
"Education Minister Carmel Tebbutt and senior education department officials have been stunned by the federation's demand.
"But federation president Maree O'Halloran said the union wanted all schools to have a choice as to whether comments were included on reports..."
Full story in The Sydney Daily Telegraph at link
- Op Ed
Principals of persuasion
by Maralyn Parker
"The state's public school principals are fed up with being ignored by Canberra and given the runaround by Macquarie St."So, as both governments near an election, they have decided to hire a lobbyist and meet pollies and aspiring pollies directly – especially in western Sydney – to ask hard questions.
"It is the best news since public school teachers decided en masse to resist A to E reports.
"As a political force, 2200 public school principals could be something to be reckoned with.
"The Federal Government still finds ways to give more millions to private schools – the chaplain plan, under which private schools with a chaplain will get an extra $20,000, is the latest.
"And the State Government continually cries poor while managing to subsidise interest on loans for major works in private schools.
"Public school principals have had enough.
"The last straw was the Federal Government threatening to withhold State Government funding for public schools unless schools delivered A to E reports – and the NSW Government caving in.
"We are all sick of it," said Primary Principal Association president elect Geoff Scott..."
Full story in The Sydney Daily Telegraph at link
- Editorial
Teachers must try harder
"Once regarded as the exemplars of scholarly diligence and as custodians of the worthy and valued traditions of learning, public school teachers are no longer so revered."They have only themselves to blame. For by their gradual abandonment of all the principles to which members of their profession were once committed, they have succeeded at the same time in grinding their own professional standing down to dust.
"And their latest campaign will do nothing to reverse that process. Still engaged in a protracted industrial battle over the issue of whether or not they will grade pupils on an A-to-E scale, primary teachers are now demanding the right effectively to ban the traditional teachers comment on report cards.
"The union argument now is that while teachers might be prepared to comment on student attainments in literacy and numeracy, they don't see why they should have to do the same thing for other subject areas – such as science and technology, or health, or arts subjects.
"The reasoning behind the union campaign – apparently – is that such commentary would tend to become repetitive, so teachers should have the right, according to Teachers Federation president Maree O'Halloran, to choose whether or not such commentary would be included on student reports.
"Take that to its logical conclusion. The teachers object to A-to-E gradings, they object to marks, and now they also object to making comments. So picture the new, streamlined, Teachers Federation-approved school report card. Apart from the section on "literacy and numeracy" – that's mathematics and English language in old money – the report card would be, well, it would be blank, wouldn't it?
"Here's a comment for the teachers union officials driving this absurd campaign – must try harder."
From The Sydney Daily Telegraph at link
- The New York Times
- Every educrat's dream
School Districts With Officials but No Schools? New Jersey Has Them
by Winnie Hu
"Teterboro, New Jersey— The tiny borough here elects three school board members to keep records and divvy up its $261,887 budget. Yet Teterboro has no schools and only 10 students, who are sent to neighboring districts..." [Straight out of Yes, Minister's hospital without patients. Web]
Full story in The New York Times at link
- CNN
- 21st century schools: Beyond the three R's
"Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Reuters) -- Reading, writing and arithmetic alone aren't going to cut it in the Internet age, educators said at the conference on teaching for the future."Rather than simply mandating the "three Rs" as many schools have done since the 18th century, educators are integrating them with related subjects as well as life skills such as parenting, citizenship and self-esteem.
"The goal is to create well-rounded members of tomorrow's work force, said educators at the "School of the Future World Summit."
"Education for most people doesn't promote creativity," said Sir Ken Robinson, a British educational consultant. "It actually stifles it." ...
Full story at CNN at link
- AP Interview: Bill Gates says U.S. education system needs work
"Seattle, Washington (AP) -- Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates said Monday that the U.S. higher education system is the envy of the world but primary and secondary schools are failing to adequately prepare students for college."In an interview with The Associated Press, Gates said the experience of being a parent of three kids -- ages 10, 7 and 4 -- has led him to spend more time thinking about schools.
"Specifically, he said the U.S. education system needs higher standards, clear accountability, flexible personnel practices and innovation.
"Gates, whose children are in private schools, said every state should require students to take three or four years of math and science to graduate from high school -- 25 states currently have such requirements. He wants states to have the power to intervene at low-performing schools.
"Real accountability means more than having goals; it also means having clear consequences for not meeting the goals," he said in a speech earlier Monday to Washington state educators who came to hear the results of an education task force.
"Gates said schools should also be able to pay the best teachers better and offer incentives to attract people with rare abilities.
"It's astonishing to me to have a system that doesn't allow us to pay more for someone with scarce abilities, that doesn't allow us to pay more to reward strong performance," he said. "That is tantamount to saying teacher talent and performance don't matter and that's basically saying students don't matter." ...
Full story at CNN at link
- The Melbourne Herald Sun
- Markers join test outrage
by Milanda Rout
"Furious examiners have joined the outcry over a controversial VCE exam question, labelling it "disgraceful".
"A marker for the health and human development test said only five of 200 students assessed gave the correct answer."Examiners also revealed they'd raised concerns with the subject's chief assessor during a training session after students sat the exam.
"The Herald Sun last week reported that teachers and parents were angered by the exam, which 12,000 students sat on November 6.
"They said the test did not match the curriculum and had a question on the social models of health, which barely got a line in most textbooks.
"The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority said it would monitor the exam results and act if the question were deemed unfair.
"Claims have emerged that the subject's chief examiner co-authored the only book focusing on the social models of health. [emphasis added: Sound familiar? Web]
"One assessor said the exam question was disgraceful. "I have marked 200 papers and maybe five students got marks for the question. It was a rubbish question."
"The examiner said if students were unable to answer the controversial question, it also meant students could not complete the next one."If they got the first question wrong, they would get the next question wrong automatically," the marker said.
"The examiner said the social models question was raised at a markers' training session last week.
"The marker said they expressed concerns to the chief assessor, but felt they were brushed aside..."
Full story in The Melbourne Herald Sun at link
- The Brisbane Courier Mail
- Editorial
Full marks for discipline
"Of the 485,000 state primary and secondary students in Queensland, an average of 210 are suspended on any one day and another four expelled.
"While most students are well-behaved, Education Queensland's strong stance against the minority of troublemakers is appropriate. In insisting that second-rate behaviour will not be tolerated, Education Minister Rod Welford must do everything possible to ensure students who want to learn are not disrupted. This will mean the continuation of suspensions and an expansion of "positive learning centres" or "sin bins" for repeat offenders. The 13,400 incidents of physical attacks on other students or teachers are of serious concern; but at least the problem is being tackled."
From The Brisbane Courier Mail at link
- The Australian
- Wasted chance for early learning
by Justine Ferrari, Education writer
"Researchers say childcare is being treated by governments as a form of welfare instead of an essential part of early childhood education."A report by the Australian Council for Educational Research, released today, calls forthe commonwealth and states to develop an integrated, well-funded and regulated national early childhood education system.
"It also raises concerns about the lack of educational qualifications of many childcare workers, in particular, family daycarers..."
Full story in The Australian at link
- Libs make inroads on health, education
by Dennis Shanahan, Political editor
"The Howard Government has eroded Labor's lead in its traditional strongholds of education and health..."
Full story in The Australian at link
- The Sydney Morning Herald
- Business backs loans scheme for TAFE fees
AAP with Harriet Alexander
"TAFE colleges have been told to embrace private enterprise and consider introducing university-style fees as they try to encourage more young people back into traditional trades."A conference of TAFE directors in Adelaide this week is examining the future of the vocational education and training industry, as well as ways to tackle skills shortages constraining the economy..."
Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
- Op Ed
Weak schools caned where winning counts
by Mark Coultan
"... In New York [City] there are more than 420 public high schools. And they've all got their different schtick, as they say here..."
"The range of choice in New York's public school system is stunning. There are the specialised high schools (like selective schools) such as Bronx Science, which has produced seven Nobel Prize winners, or Stuyvesant, for which 26,000 children sit a test for 750 places. There's LaGuardia, the music and performing arts school made famous by the movie and TV show Fame and whose alumni include Jennifer Aniston, Al Pacino, Wesley Snipes and Liza Minnelli..."
"Schools are reflective of society, and America loves winners. Losers? Nobody wants to know. In Australia, struggling schools get extra help; in America, it's the best schools that get the money. The worst are told to improve, or close. The principals and teachers find new jobs, and the children are found new schools. Often three new schools occupy the same building."This is the description from Inside Schools, a New York website, of a middle school, IS 291, where, in 2005, 90 per cent of the students failed standardised tests: "The day of our visit, students cursed and belittled adults and one another. Some students wandered the hallways, cutting class. Others sat numbly, their eyes were glazed over with confusion, frustration, sadness, anger and embarrassment. We met 16-year-olds in the eighth grade - a full three years behind where they should have been.
"The neighbourhood is known for gang violence, nightly sounds of gunshots, prostitution, rampant poverty, and trash-filled lots. 'There use to be shoot-outs in front of the school', said one seventh grader." ...
Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
- Letter to the Editor
- Early start at school is one challenge too many
"I have been a primary school teacher for more than 25 years, usually teaching kindergarten and years 1 and 2. I am deeply concerned at the Federal Government's proposal to make the national school starting age four years and six months."More than 10 years ago the NSW Department of Education lowered the starting age for schoolchildren from four years nine months to four years six months. We were told this was done to allow a very small number of advanced children to enter school earlier.
"The change has been a monumental failure. Many parents took the opportunity to put immature children into the school system early so they could return to work or resume their social life.
"The educational potential of these children was traded off as a result. Many of these children would not have been ready for school at four years nine months but were allowed into the system even earlier. Almost every experienced, caring teacher would prefer the school starting age be pushed back to five.
"They will tell you the pressure on children at school is continually increasing; the children are less able to cope with the unrealistic expectations placed upon them at an earlier age. There is a domino effect that sees immature children starting high school and less mature children going on to the higher school certificate.
"I have been telling parents for years that it cannot do children any harm to wait another year to start school but starting too early can harm them. Children who start early spend their school life competing with children as much as 18 months older.
"Parents who start their children early don't realise the long-term effect on children, who strive to do their best but will be judged as "E" or "F" on the new federal school report cards. It is irresponsible to start a child early just because they want to "go to big school". It is wrong to start a child early because the preschool, with a child-to-teacher ratio half that of a kindergarten, considers the child is confident.
"Parents should consider the increased expectations placed on children by a set, crowded curriculum and the stress of sharing a playground with as many as 250 other children. There is also a need to consider the fact that boys mature at a slower rate than girls, take longer to settle and have shorter attention spans at an early age.
"I suspect this change is more about relieving the Federal Government of pressure to supply preschool places.
"Federal and state politicians now consider parents as clients and children as commodities."
Stephen Laming, Horsfield Bay
Complete Letters to the Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald at link
- The West Australian
- Ravlich likely to be quizzed on CCC probe (page 19)
by Jessica Strutt
"There was unanimous support yesterday to set up a parliamentary committee into who knew what about a Corruption and Crime Commission investigation, paving the way for Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich and ousted education boss Paul Albert to appear before it.
"The Government did not oppose a move in the Upper House by Liberal MLC Norman Moore to establish the committee after the Greens indicated they intended to support it.
"Ms Ravlich has maintained she was never told of any details of the CCC investigation until handed a copy of the CCC’s report on October 12. The report, tabled in mid-October, was critical of the Education Department’s handling of sexual misconduct allegations against staff.
"Greens MLC Giz Watson told Parliament that of particular interest to the committee would be whether Ms Ravlich had told the truth in relation to how much she knew about the investigation.
"She said the establishment of a committee was warranted because it was a matter of significant seriousness and public interest.
“While we’re not prejudging any of these matters in terms of who’s to be believed or why certain actions were taken, we do acknowledge that the full information isn’t in the public arena,” she said.
"Just hours after the report was tabled, Mr Albert and the department’s head of human resources, Alby Huts, were forced out of their jobs under management-initiated retirements, which gag them from publicly criticising the department until after the next State election.
"But both will have to break their silence, after Ms Watson and Mr Moore signalled their intention to call them to give evidence before the committee. The committee, which is expected to start hearings this week, will also probe the circumstances surrounding Mr Albert’s departure. [emphasis added]
"The three-member select committee, to be chaired by Ms Watson, will report back to State Parliament by December 7.
"Mr Moore said it was beyond comprehension that a public servant of Mr Albert’s calibre would not have told Ms Ravlich of the CCC’s investigation and impending report.
"Ms Ravlich said it was a very serious matter which needed to be resolved. She told the Legislative Council she had no doubt she would be called to appear. It was her view that the committee would not add much to the information already available to Parliament.
From The West Australian at link
- Teachers the new bully victims (page 3)
by Bethany Hiatt
Tiny terrors hit, bite, kick and swear as department confirms 197 cases of assault on staff since July
"A primary school student who threatened to stab his teacher with a knife, threw her desk across the room, trashed her office and verbally abused her was just one example of the growing trend of classroom violence, according to the teachers' union.
"The State School Teachers Union is so worried about spiralling classroom abuse that it has started a campaign to find the extent of the problem..."
"The Education Department confirmed yesterday reports of assaults against teachers had increased but attributed it to a new online system which made it easier to lodge reports..."
"Education Department acting deputy director-general Keith Newton said the department had many strategies to deal with bullying or difficult behaviour.
"If required, teachers can seek assistance from student services officers or from their district office," he said. [Now that will make you feel confident! Web] A working party examining violence in schools planned to release its findings early next year."
Full story in The West Australian
- Letter to the Editor (page 23)
- My solution
"The teacher shortage, predicted several years ago, has arrived. The causes were also predicted but little has been done to address the issues. A part solution is to place trainee teachers in schools in their final year.
"During first semester they would teach under the supervision of trained teachers and administrators. If they measured up they would become available as qualified teachers from the beginning of second semester.
"An immediate impact would be to provide a pool of relief teachers six months earlier than at present. It also makes them available at the time of greatest need. In the meantime, schools would have benefited from the services of extra staff during the first half of the year.
"The university students favour this because they know that their most useful training takes place in the schools. Also, they have the potential to start earning six months earlier than the current system allows."
Peter Daniel, Lesmurdie
- EducationNews.org
- An Interview with Dr. Kevin Donnelly
by Tammy-Lynne Moore and Michael F Shaughnessy
"After many years experiencing curriculum change as a classroom teacher, and also completing post-graduate studies in curriculum, I became very interested in what had happened in Australian education since the cultural revolution of the 1960s and 1970s.Similar to the US, we have had debates about whole language, fuzzy maths and the "dumbed down" and politically correct nature of outcomes-based education.In writing the book, I sought to trace the development of OBE in Australia and to explain how the more traditional, academic approach to curriculum had been subverted..."
Full interview at EducationNews.org at link
- Also worth a look: The War on Democracy
by Niall Lucy & Steve Mickler
Free excerpt available online at link
- The New York Times
- Most Students in Big Cities Lag Badly in Basic Science
by Diana Jean Schemo
"Washington — A least half of eighth graders tested in science failed to demonstrate even a basic understanding of the subject in 9 of 10 major cities, and fourth graders, the only other group tested, fared little better, according to results released here Wednesday.
"The outcome of those tests, part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, often called the nation’s report card, showed that student performance in urban public schools was not only poor but also far short of science scores in the nation as a whole..."
Full story in The New York Times at link
Similar story in The Washington Post [and nearly EVERY US daily paper!]
- USA Today
- Professors honored for creativity
by Marissa Levy
"The best college professors of 2006 jump on desks in the middle of lectures, cook bones on a grill to demonstrate ancient Chinese religious practices and bring students to real-life crime scene investigations..."
Full story in USA Today at link
- The Times
- White boys from poorer homes worst in classroom
by Rosemary Bennett
"White working-class boys are doing worse at school than any other ethnic group and risk becoming an “unemployable underclass”, according to a Conservative Party report."Parental indifference and pressure from contemporaries not to take school seriously are responsible for the educational failure, which is not found in many other ethnic groups..."
Full story in The Times at link
- The Australian
- Catholics demand more for schools
by Ewin Hannan
"The Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart, has intervened in the Victorian election to criticise the Bracks Government, demanding Labor give more money to Catholic schools."And with just nine days until the poll, Catholic schools have also written to tens of thousands of parents warning that Labor's lack of financial support was threatening Catholic education.
"Archbishop Hart told The Australian the Bracks Government's financial support for the state's 181,000 Catholic students was the lowest in Australia, forcing schools to raise fees, increase class sizes and push low-income families out of Catholic schools and into the government system.
"We have an unenviable choice," he told The Australian.
"Either we work together to try and achieve better funding outcomes, both in capital and in recurrent (funding) or we face the risk of the poor, and the families who are struggling, being priced out of our system, or our system ceasing to exist. It's really one of those alternatives..."
Full story in The Australian at link
- Higher Education Supplement [18 articles]
Australian Associated Press
- WA absent from COAG meeting on training schemes
"The federal government is expected to round on the states today when education ministers meet in Adelaide to discuss progress in improving Australia's training schemes."Vocational Education and Training Minister Gary Hardgrave will lead the quarterly meeting of his state counterparts, although NSW's Carmel Tebbutt and Western Australia's Ljiljanna Ravlich will not attend. [emphasis added]
"The ministers are to report on progress in implementing recommendations of the Council of Australian Governments agreement on training, including rolling out more school-based apprenticeships and introducing national licensing recognition.
"NSW and WA still haven't done it, and they're the ones that aren't coming to the meeting," a spokeswoman for Mr Hardgrave said.
"It's winding down to December 31 when everything has to be in place."
"The federal government could threaten to withhold funding from the states unless they implemented the reforms to vocational and technical education, she said."
- The Australian
- Leaders lukewarm to Catholic plea on schools
by Ewin Hannan
"Labor has dismissed a funding push by Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart, ruling out further government spending on Catholic schools..."
Full story in The Australian at link
- The Sydney Morning Herald
- Plan to raise the bar for school leavers
[NSW also plans to raise the school leaving age.]
- The Times
- Torturing this child is a [computer] game too far, says appalled EU boss
- Follow-on story: Time for parents to take responsibility
Saturday – Sunday, 18 – 19 November
- The Sunday Times / PerthNow
- Ravlich faces Education chop [Saturday 3 pm]
by Joe Spagnolo
"Premier Alan Carpenter is almost certain to sack Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich in a major Cabinet reshuffle before Christmas.
"The Sunday Times understands that Environment Minister Mark McGowan could be promoted to what is supposed to be the Government's flagship portfolio, but which has become the most problematic."Right-wing factional powerbroker and premier aspirant Michelle Roberts is also understood to be in contention for education or possibly environment, although some MPs think the risk would be too great after she failed to properly get a grip on the justice portfolio..."
"Mr Carpenter needs a "circuit breaker'' after the Government's worst run of bad publicity since the last election."Labor has been under fire over its difficulties in implementing OBE and problems with the Department for Community Development, and the influence of politically tainted lobbyists Brian Burke and Julian Grill. [emphasis added]
"In an interview with The Sunday Times, Mr Carpenter said it was "fair commentary'' to suggest there would be a major reshuffle of the Cabinet..."
"Publicly, Mr Carpenter has continued to defend his embattled Education Minister who this week told The Sunday Times she wanted to keep education but would abide by the decision of her leader.
"But in a strong indication that Ms Ravlich would not retain her portfolio, he said: "Nothing is permanent in politics.
"Most people expect that when you get to the mid point in your term you think about changes (to your Cabinet),'' he said.
"We are close to that point and I think most people expect change.''
"A senior Labor source said there was no way Ms Ravlich would retain education in a reshuffle and would be relegated to a more junior role.
"The cumulative effect of all the blunders and errors that have happened in education means it's timely that she now goes. [emphasis added]
"When you look at who else could move in (to education) you'd have to say Mark McGowan (was a strong chance),'' the source said.
"In education you need someone senior, who is stable and has a safe pair of hands..." [Sounds like an early Christmas present for students, parents and teachers. Web]
Full story in The Sunday Times / PerthNow at link
- ABC News
- Liberals query staff leave after damning CCC report [11 am Saturday]
"The Western Australian Opposition wants to know whether staff in the Education Department's Complaints Management Unit (CMU) have been forced to take leave because of a damning Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) report."The report found the unit had mishandled allegations of sexual misconduct by teachers.
"Liberal education spokesman Peter Collier says since then six of the unit's seven full-time staff have gone on leave and have not returned.
"The Education Department has said staff would be redeployed, but no-one would be sacked.
"Mr Collier says the unit now has a backlog of 238 complaints and almost no staff to deal with them.
"He says there are many questions which need to be answered.
"Why did they go on leave? Were they forced to go on leave and are they coming back to the Complaints Management Unit?" he said.
"In a response to the Parliament on Thursday, the Minister said, 'yes they will be', so I certainly will be watching that situation very closely."
"He has also questioned how the complaints can be addressed when the CMU has almost no staff.
"The CCC report, which was handed down a month ago, showed some serious concerns with regard to allegations of sexual misconduct within the Department of Education and Training," he said.
"Now the very body that the CCC said should be handling those allegations is now found to be completely dysfunctional."
Full story at ABC News Online at link
- The West Australian
- Schools crisis looms as graduates shun teaching (page 6)
by Bethany Hiatt
"The State's teacher shortage is rapidly approaching crisis level with the number of university graduates choosing to study teaching next year plummeting by a third.
"New figures from the Tertiary Institutions Service Centre show the number of applications to study graduate diplomas in education at WA's four public universities dropped sharply from 998 in 2006 to 700 for next year.
"The 30 per cent drop follows a similar plunge in the number of undergraduates applying to study education courses..."
"The Department of Education and Training continues to deny there is a teacher shortage..." [Because the dolts are looking at current teacher numbers, not the pool that will be available down the track. Web]
Full story in The West Australian
- And one of the reasons Why...
The good times roll on for graduates (page 13)
by Torrance Mendex
"The booming economy has played into the hands of graduates, some of whom can command fat pay packets exceeding $70,000 in their first year of employment, a new survey shows..."
Full story in The West Australian
- Unresolved complaints swamp department (page 6)
by Jessica Strutt
"The Education Department embattled complaints management unit has more unresolved complaints outstanding than the total number of complaints made to the unit so far this year..."
"It has also been revealed in State Parliament that six of the seven full-time and one part-time staff who run the unit were on leave at the time the question were asked in the Upper House on Thursday..."
"[Shadow education minister Peter] Collier said he could not believe Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich had told Parliament this week that the unit was fully operational, when it was clear from the answers it was in total disarray.
"The complaints management unit is totally dysfunctional and you've still got the Minister in the Parliament yet again saying everything's fine," he said. [emphasis added]
"Not only were the number of unresolved complaints unacceptable but it was unfair that the unit's staff were being left in limbo."
Full story in The West Australian
- Editorial
Best defence for States is competence (page 18)
"... There are various reasons for the States being less than vigorous and wholehearted in their own defence..."
"In WA, there have been constant and justifiable complaints about shortcomings in health, education and child welfare services as well as scandals and a general sense that people are overtaxed but shortchanged on the return in government services. When States have serious shortcomings in services or silly policies, it is easy for Mr Howard to pick them off – as he has done, for example, with his Government's commonsense demand for school reports parents can understand. [emphasis added]
"To a big extent, it is the shortcomings of the States that make intrusions on them politically safe for the Commonwealth. Their best defence would be to attract popular support through competence in providing services that people value."
Full editorial in The West Australian
- Catholic pupils under-funded: parents' group (page 55)|
by Bethany Hiatt
"Parents of children at Catholic schools are under increasing financial pressure because of the widening gap between State Government funding of public and private school students, WA's peak Catholic parents' group said yesterday..."
Full story in The West Australian
- Celebrate Christmas, Archbishop urges schools (front page)
by Dawn Gibson
"The Catholic archbishop of Perth has urged government schools to support the true spirit of Christmas by reintroducing nativity plays and carols to the classroom..."
"The celebration of Christmas in government schools has become a political minefield in the past decade as teachers try to cater to an increasingly diverse mix of cultures.
Some critics believe the toning down of celebrations is a sign of political correctness gone made, a criticism teachers deny..."
"But State Teachers Union president Mike Keely said the Archbishop's broad generalisations were unhelpful and insulting to teachers." [Glad to see Mike has found a really important issue to address, given that Outcomes, Levels and botched CoS are not on his priority list. Web]
Full story in The West Australian
Click here for a related story in today's The Times [UK]
- The Hobart Mercury
- Have your say on the new TCE
by Kathy Grube
"Employers will be able to determine whether job applicants can spell and do sums if a new Tasmanian Certificate of Education is introduced."The Tasmanian Qualifications Authority has called for public comment on its new senior secondary qualification, which will certify that a student has minimum literacy, numeracy and computer skills and has studied subjects at a determined level of difficulty.
"Authority chair Tim Doe said the standards would be "fastidiously controlled".
"We do not want a certificate that can be obtained without any effort. We want students to aspire to get the TCE," he said. "We need to have standards and thresholds."
"I would estimate that obtaining the certificate will be a challenge for about 20 per cent of students, but it should be achievable by most people, given sufficient time."
"For this reason, there has been no time limit placed on achieving the skills to obtain the new TCE.
"Mr Doe said there had been debate in schools about the level at which the certificate should be set. He admitted some students wouldn't get there. [emphasis added]
"Students will still receive a written statement listing their subject results, like they currently do," he said.
"They will not lose anything, but the students who do not meet the minimum standards set will not get the additional certificate."
"Under the proposal, there are a number of ways students can qualify for the new TCE.
"They are: a two-year, full-time course at school or college after finishing Year 10; a mix of part-time work and part-time study at school, college or TAFE; a full-time apprenticeship; or a full-time job with an employer who arranges training that will also meet the standards.
"Numeracy, literacy and computer skills will be determined from the results in subjects studied, not a test.
"College subjects have been given complexity rankings from 1 to 4.
"To qualify for the new TCE, college students will have to study a minimum 120 hours, of which 80 hours must be in subjects rated at complexity level 2. Students can also pass this requirement by completing an apprenticeship.
"If the proposal goes ahead, the TQA expects the first students to gain this new qualification to be those starting Year 11 in 2008."
The consultation paper is available on the TQA website at www.tqa.tas.gov.au. Comments can be forwarded to mike.frost @tqa.tas.gov.au, faxed to 6224 0175 or posted to the TQA, PO Box 147, Sandy Bay 7006 before November 30.
[Note these links for: Literacy Standard and Numeracy Standard ]
From The Hobart Mercury at link
- Jobs scheme goes national
by Kathy Grube
"A Hobart engineer who applied engineering principles to solve youth unemployment is now reaching 10,000 students a year around Australia..."
"We thought we could help provide opportunities for school leavers to improve their chances of getting employment or going on to further training," he said."The foundation's No Dole program, which links students with local businesses, is run in 80 schools, including 15 in Tasmania.
"It has raised the percentage of Year 10 leavers securing jobs or continuing their education from an average of 86 per cent to 96 per cent..."
Full story in The Hobart Mercury at link
- The Dallas [Texas] Morning News
- Science, math get a boost
Associated PressState board OKs new rules requiring 4 years of each in high school
"Austin, Texas – The State Board of Education gave final approval Friday to new rules requiring high school students take four years of classes in math and science."The 15-member elected board unanimously approved guidelines to implement a new state law adding a fourth year to the current minimum of three years in each subject.
"The new curriculum will first apply to incoming freshmen next school year. It's part of a sweeping education bill the Legislature approved during a special session on school finance this year.
"The four-year requirement will affect students on the recommended and distinguished course paths. The rules are expected to apply to about two-thirds of the state's high school students. Students can opt out with parental approval and instead take the minimum plan, which requires three math courses and two science courses to graduate.
"The board had already agreed to increase the credits needed for graduation from 24 to 26 to keep the new courses from cutting into student electives.
"The board also adopted requirements that students in the recommended plan take Algebra 1, Algebra 2 and geometry, plus one other math course from a list that includes calculus."
From The Dallas Morning News at link
- According to KXAN TV, Austin, Texas: "A final, unanimous vote from the State Board of Education will require all students to take four years of math, science, English and social studies in order to receive a diploma."
Full story at KXAN TV Online at link
- USA Today
- The Sunday Melbourne Herald Sun
- A few good men needed in class
"Men account for less than a third of Victoria's teaching workforce.
"Schools are struggling to find male graduates to fill teaching positions."New figures show that only 28 per cent of the state's 100,622 registered teachers are men.
"Some primary schools have no male teachers.
"Victorian Principals Association president Fred Ackerman said some children, particularly those without a father figure, were growing up without any positive male role models."
From The Sunday Melbourne Herald Sun at link
- The Times
- School's big maths problem [Sunday]
- What makes the most financial sense, asks Sian Griffiths — buying near a good comp or paying private fees?
"One way or another, a good education costs money. Whether through astronomical school fees in the private sector or soaring house prices close to the best schools the state can offer, you are going to have to make a hefty investment in order to give your children the best possible start in life..."
Full story in The Times at link
- ‘Bullying police’ to tame schools [Sunday]
- Students sue over Christian rights at colleges [Saturday]
by David Lister and Ruth Gledhill
"Christians on campuses across Britain are preparing to take legal action against university authorities, accusing them of driving their religious beliefs underground, The Times has learnt..."
Full story in The Times at link
Similar story in The Guardian
Related story in The Times: Faith, fundamentalism and the fight for students' souls, plus following story in The Guardian
- The Guardian [Saturday]
- Tougher vetting of students needed to combat campus extremism, expert warns
by Alexandra Smith
"Clearing, the annual scramble for a university place, should be scrapped and all potential students should be interviewed to ensure campuses are not used as a vehicle to spread religious hatred, a leading intelligence expert told EducationGuardian.co.uk today."As the government today released its guidance on tackling the promotion of "extremism in the name of Islam" in universities, Anthony Glees warned that more needed to be done to ensure students were entering universities for the appropriate reasons..."
Full story in The Guardian at link
Full report [.pdf]
- The Northern Territory News
- Govt denies blackmailing
by Emma Gumbleton
"Federal Education Minister Julie Bishop denies an Aboriginal community is being "held to ransom" over funding for a new boarding school..."
"On her visit to the Territory, Ms Bishop also visited schools in Katherine and Darwin to investigate progress being made in indigenous literacy and numeracy rates."Territory rates are well below national benchmarks.
"Only 48 per cent of Aboriginal Year 3 students met them in 2004, compared to a national average of 93 per cent.
"The standards should be far more consistent across the country and, in the case of indigenous students, there's no reason why we can't aim much higher for those students,'' Ms Bishop said.
"Some of the initiatives I've seen are seeing positive responses.''
Full story in The Northern Territory News at link
- The Weekend Australian
- Burke dealings drip like water torture
by Amanda O'Brien
"Chinese water torture is where water is slowly dripped on to a person's forehead, supposedly driving them insane."Which just about sums up what Opposition Leader Kim Beazley is going through, with the ongoing revelations from state Labor scandals threatening to undo his gains in the lead-up to the federal election..."
"Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich was so unnerved by the attention she received for a meeting she had with Burke that she ended up running from the media in a cat and mouse chase to avoid further questions..." [emphasis added]
Full story in The Weekend Australian at link
- Letters to the Editor
- First Byte
- "It is debatable whether either side of politics actually draws from a talent pool. This crop of state Labor parliamentarians are clearly drawn from a talent puddle."
Andrew Manton, Wembley, WA
- "I am confident that Alan Carpenter does have first-hand knowledge of the issues facing rural and remote Australia. I believe he has visited Meekatharra and, more recently, has seen the back of Burke."
Alistair Hutchison, East Fremantle, WA
Complete Letters to the Editor of The Weekend Australian 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
