Monday 27 November

Tuesday 28 November

Wednesday 29 November

Thursday 30 November

Friday 1 December

Saturday – Sunday, 2 – 3 December

 

Monday 27 November

• The Australian -- late online update
  
  
  • Minister 'repeatedly told of probe'
    AAP
    
    "Western Australia's former education boss says he told embattled Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich at least three times about a corruption probe of her department.

    "Ms Ravlich says she knew nothing about the Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) investigation into the department's handling of allegations of sexual misconduct by teachers until just days before it released its damning report.

    "The October report found DET paid insufficient attention to managing the risks of sexual contact between teachers and students and attached more importance to employee welfare than the safety and protection of children.

    "The report claimed DET director-general Paul Albert accepted a "management initiated retirement" less than 12 hours after its release.

    "Ms Ravlich refused to accept responsibility for the department's failings, saying she only found out about the investigation when the CCC briefed her four days before the report's release.

    "In the weeks after the report's release Ms Ravlich told Parliament: "No mention was ever made to me of an inquiry into the Department of Education and Training by the Corruption and Crime Commission."

    "But Mr Albert today told a parliamentary committee he had told Ms Ravlich "on at least three occasions" – in late April or early May, early July and early August – that the probe was underway.

    "She was definitely informed about the inquiry," Mr Albert said.

    "They (the CCC) were looking at the cases in terms of how the department had handled them an I'm very sure that that's what I told her."

    "However, Mr Albert says he did not go into "specific details" because he believed he was legally prohibited by the CCC from doing so.

    "Roger Watson, the CCC's manager of investigations review and complaints assessment, today said Ms Ravlich had appeared "gobsmacked" to learn of the report's contents four days before its release.

    "It was fairly evident that she was quite shocked," Mr Watson told the inquiry.

    "It was fairly clear that neither she nor her staff knew anything about it."

    "The state's teachers recently called on Premier Alan Carpenter to sack Ms Ravlich over her handling of the introduction of new programs and her handling of the sexual misconduct issue."

    From The Australian at link
    
    
    
    
• The West Australian
  
  
  • More trouble for OBE as expert attacks accuracy of reports (page 5)
    by Bethany Hiatt
    
    "An international assessment expert says he lacks confidence in the way the Education Department has linked A-E reports to WA's controversial outcomes-based education system.
    
    "Murdoch University education Professor David Andrich has backed State school principals who will send letters home to parents saying the A-E grades on students' end-of-year reports are an inaccurate reflection of student achievement, partly because they are linked to OBE assessment.
    
    "The department has instructed State school teachers to use software that automatically converts outcome "levels" to grades. But many teachers say grades based on levels are meaningless because schools have widely different interpretations of what the levels mean.
    
    "Problems with assigning students levels between one and eight has been at the heart of the OBE controversy for months, with teachers saying the assessment system is inaccurate, unworkable and too difficult for parents to understand.
    
    "Professor Andrich prepared a report for the Curriculum Council last year in which he said levels were too crude a measure to use for university. Last week he told a science teachers' conference that the same problems of validity, reliability and consistency were also likely to apply to the use of levels in primary and lower secondary school.
    
    "Although levels could be used as a crude scale for curriculum planning or constructing tests and tasks, they should not be used for individual student assessment, he said. [emphasis added]
    
    "Using levels to arrive at grades was also likely to be problematic.
    
    "Shadow education minister Peter Collier said many parents did not understand that WA's new grading system differed from the traditional marks-based system they remembered from their school days – levels were too subjective to be used as a basis for grades.
    
    "WA Council of State School Organisations president Rob Fry said the link between levels and grades was hard for parents to grasp but he felt parents would be happy with the new reports. Parents should also speak to teachers about their child's progress, not just rely on reports."
    
    From The West Australian
    
    
    
  • Editorial
    Meaningless school reports an outcome of OBE system (page 14)
    
    "If ever there was an indictment of WA's education system it is the acknowledgment by a number of high school principals that students' end-of-year reports are meaningless.
    
    "How can parents be expected to monitor their children's progress if the teachers using the system say the grades on reports are farcical?
    
    "Students and parents are entitled to get a simple, easy-to-follow report indicating how well each student is progressing through the system. If that is too much to ask of outcomes-based education the system should be scrapped."
    
    From The West Australian
    
    
    
    
  • Ravlich hit by new school contract row (Front Page Headline)
    by Jessica Strutt
    
    "Besieged Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich's future goes on the line today when a parliamentary committee grills her ousted department chief Paul Albert over what she knew about a corruption probe, as new questions emerge about the department's handling of a failed $2 million program for at-risk students..."
    
    "As the committee's hearing kicks off, The West Australian can reveal that the Education Department is investigating a program it gave a private company more than $2 million to operate – which had not been subject to a complete tender process.
    
    "The department has had 22 complaints from former employees of the company, Hurson Pty Ltd, about unpaid wages and superannuation..."
    
    "In Parliament on Wednesday, Ms Ravlich refused to answer questions from shadow education minister Peter Collier about the issue..." [emphasis added]
    
    Full story in The West Australian
    
    
    
    
  • Parents angry as soccer scheme is kicked out of high school for arts (page 4)
    by Bethany Hiatt
    
    "Parents of students in a specialist State school soccer program are angry at Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich's decision to shirt the highly successful program to another school."
    
    "Ms Ravlich announced last week that the soccer program at Fremantle's John Curtin College of the Arts would move to South Fremantle Senior High School in Beaconsfield in 2008, when John Curtin becomes a selective high school for talented dance, drama and theatre students..."
    
    "A spokesman for Ms Ravlich did not return calls from The West Australian yesterday. [emphasis added]
    
    "Shadow education minister Peter Collier said though he backed selective school programs, they should not be introduced to the detriment of other successful programs."
    
    Full story in The West Australian
    
    
    
    
  • Letters to the Editor (page 17)
    
    
    • Where are all the jobs?
      
      "My daughter has just finished a four-year degree in K-7 teaching. She has heard the new graduates, may not be "lucky" enough to get a position in a school next year.
      
      "I fail to understand how this is so, if going on your information in the papers, we are so short-staffed and in chronic need of new teachers. So short-staffed in fact, that you state a recent recruitment drive has been staged in the UK for 100 qualified teachers.
      
      "I am aghast and appalled that this has been allowed to happen when there are so many graduates looking for work..."
      
      Elizabeth Quinn, Woodvale
      
      
      
    • Crisis predicted
      
      "Your editorial (Teaching crisis demands urgent State action, 20/11) was very welcome. The current crisis in the status of the profession was predicted 10 years ago as was the decline in not only highly academic students entering the profession but also of graduates.
      
      "Yes, financial rewards, appropriate conditions and a safe working environment are important but so is acknowledgement and support. Every Western Australian child is entitled to a quality education provided by qualified, highly competent and committed teachers, not just a warm body. This will only occur with parent and community assistance. Little will change unless governments at the State and Federal level are pressured to invest more in their teachers. Teacher unions cannot do this alone.
      
      "The WA College of Teaching urges parents and the community to support their teachers in every way possible, including lobbying politicians to demand that governments make raising the status of teaching a top priority."
      
      Brian Lindberg, chairman, Western Australian College of Teaching
      
      
      
      
  • Internet lectures not infectious (page 29)
    by Torrance Mendez
    
    "The explosion in medical student numbers that led Queensland University to dump face-to-face lectures in favour of the internet will not be repeated in WA.
    
    "Both medical schools in the University of WA and Notre Dame University said stand-up lectures were an integral part of teaching and learning and would stay..."
    
    Full story in The West Australian
    
    
    
    
• The Melbourne Age
  
  
  • Monday Education Section has ten articles of potential interest, including this "must read":
    
    
    • Heat is on for national reform
      
      A new approach to learning is under fire, writes Adam Morton.
      
      "Two months after making headlines with a speech calling for a common national curriculum, Julie Bishop is toning down the left-bashing rhetoric.

      "She no longer describes what is taught in state schools as "straight from Chairman Mao" - but she is no less determined to spread her message.

      "Unperturbed by state ministers accusing her of suffering from "irrelevancy syndrome" and behaving like a "tin-pot dictator", the federal Education Minister was campaigning on the road in Kalgoorlie last week.

      "International testing shows that 30 per cent of our 15-year-olds are not reaching appropriate numeracy and literacy levels - we need to lift the standards across the country," she implored.
      
      "While Ms Bishop takes her plan to isolated mining centres, the education policy debate has largely fallen from the headlines. That is, except in her home state, Western Australia. There, education has been fixed near the top of the news throughout the year and will stay there if, as is widely tipped, WA Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich is sacked before Christmas.

      "Why? WA is at the heart of what some, including Ms Bishop, see as a national crisis in education, and a principal reason behind the Howard Government's push for a uniform system.

      "The point of contention is outcomes-based education, or OBE - an innocuous name for an approach that has confused and outraged some parents, teachers, politicians and the press. Based on a system devised by US academic William Spady, OBE follows the theory that all students should be allowed to learn in any subject at their own level. In WA, where it has been used up to year 10 since 1998, it has been compared to the initial form of the VCE adopted in Victoria in 1992.

      "Critics, such as Liberal Party affiliate and education commentator Kevin Donnelly, say it is anti-competitive, anti-academic and has unreliable assessment measures. Syllabuses are thin - much is left up to the teacher. Ms Ravlich has said OECD figures suggest it works: WA is outperforming most states in maths, reading and science.

      "Despite this, the Government has abandoned plans to introduce OBE for a raft of year 11 and 12 subjects next year. The opposition became so overwhelming that Premier Alan Carpenter has deferred most new courses until 2008.

      "The delay is the first of what a group calling itself PLATO - People Lobbying Against Teaching Outcomes - hopes will be a complete backdown.

      "Since starting last year, PLATO has had 150,000 hits on its website. The maths teacher who set it up, Greg Williams, says many teachers will consider quitting if it goes ahead.

      "As evidence of the problem, he cites a question from a sample OBE exam paper: "Discuss the ethics of using airbags in modern motor cars." The subject? Physics.

      "Mr Williams says TV polls suggested about 90 per cent of West Australians were against OBE's "wishy-washy hogwash".

      "Teachers are resigning, people are getting sick over this," he says. "English teachers in particular are leaving in droves."

      "Some believe the error-prone Ms Ravlich, a factional heavyweight and the partner of WA Treasurer Eric Ripper, is set to join them. Before Mr Carpenter stepped in and made some changes, she refused to accept there was a problem with OBE and declared it a "dead issue".

      "In August, she was criticised after saying it was not important for students to know historical dates because they could look them up on Google.

      "Worse, in October a Corruption and Crime Commission probe into teacher sex misconduct allegations found the Education Department had put the welfare of its staff ahead of ensuring students a safe learning environment. Ms Ravlich said she was not only unaware of the investigation but had never heard sex misconduct claims against her staff. The head of the department lost his job but the minister survived, and retained the premier's support.

      "Two weeks ago, Mr Carpenter refused to confirm Ms Ravlich would stay in the portfolio after an upcoming reshuffle.

      "About the same time, 100 union delegates representing 14,000 WA state school teachers demanded Ms Ravlich be sacked, and the OBE delayed beyond 2008. [emphasis added]

      "For Ms Bishop, who has raised the ire of both the WA Government and Opposition by threatening to withhold up to $1 billion in federal funding unless Parliament abandons OBE and adopts a national system, it is all fuel for her argument with the states. She says WA "is a striking example of how an incompetent state government can get it very wrong". "Their implementation of the OBE has been nothing short of appalling and here we are, (near) the end of the year and teachers have no idea what they are meant to be doing in 2007 in terms of curriculum," Ms Bishop says.

      "She says it mirrors a nationwide problem. "In Tasmania they have an essentials learning curriculum. They've dumped that and they're starting again.

      "In Queensland they are reviewing their curriculum and starting again. So across the country there are some obvious examples that support my call for greater national consistency."

      "Mr Carpenter and Ms Ravlich did not respond to requests for an interview, but the Premier's earlier response is typical of state ministers across the country: "I don't think Ms Bishop has got any understanding whatsoever of how the education system in WA works."

      "Expect the debate to heat up through the federal election year."
      
      From The Melbourne Age at link
      
      

  • Schools may close as teachers stop to protest
    by Chee Chee Leung
    
    "Schools could be closed on Thursday and classes disrupted as up to 20,000 teachers and support staff walk off the job.

    "They will rally against the Federal Government's industrial relations changes, and will be among an estimated 500,000 people expected to take part in the national event..."
    
    Full story in The Melbourne Age at link
    
    
    

  • Teaching's good life simply a myth
    by Chee Chee Leung
    
    "The popular belief that teachers are in the job for short working days and long holidays has been debunked by research.

    "Most people pursue a teaching career because they believe they are good at it, like the challenges of the job, or have an altruistic desire to help children.

    "The public has got a view … that teaching is an easy job, it's a nine-to-five job, you get lots and lots of holidays," said researcher Paul Richardson.

    "These aspects of teaching are no longer what really attract people at all. They are looking for intellectual challenge."

    "Dr Richardson and Dr Helen Watt, of Monash University's education faculty, canvassed 1600 teacher trainees who started at Monash and two Sydney universities in 2002 and 2003.

    "The findings, to be presented at a national education conference in Adelaide tomorrow, come at a time of teacher shortages across the country.

    "Dr Watt said recruitment drives should not focus on short work days or long holidays, as people pursuing the job for those reasons rarely stayed. Those who planned to work hard remained committed."

    From The Melbourne Age at link
    
    
    
    
  • Op Ed
    Select schools benefit all state students
    by Jane Garvey and Jeremy Ludowyke
    
    "One hundred years ago, Melbourne High School and MacRobertson Girls School were brought into being as the first state secondary schools in Victoria to embody the principle that "brains not wealth should be the passport to the higher realms of knowledge". As the principals of these schools, we applaud the commitment of both major political parties to extend the number of select-entry schools in Victoria..."
    
    Full story in The Melbourne Age at link
    
    
    
    
• The Australian
  
  
  • Students ignorant of our history
    by Justine Ferrari, Education writer
    
    "More than three-quarters of Australian teenagers do not know that Australia Day commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet and the beginning of British settlement.

    "A report commissioned by federal, state and territory education ministers shows an overwhelming majority of schoolchildren are also ignorant of the reason for Anzac Day, or for the inclusion of the Union Jack on the Australian flag.

    "About 77 per cent of Year 10 students and 93 per cent of Year 6 students across the nation cannot nominate the official responsibilities of the governor-general, and the great majority do not know the Queen is Australia's head of state.

    "The report, which is yet to be released but has been obtained by The Australian, reveals surprisingly high levels of ignorance about basic historical facts and Australia's system of government, and questions the effectiveness of the teaching of civics and citizenship.

    "The widespread ignorance of key information about national events and nationally representative symbols, which, it had generally been assumed, had been taught to death in Australian schools, was a surprise," the report says. "More targeted teaching is required if students are to learn about these things. Formal, consistent instruction has not been the experience of Australian students in civics and citizenship." ...
    
    Full story in The Australian at link
    
    

  • Editorial
    God save the school

    Schools have failed to implement national civics vision

    "Parents across the country will have every reason to be deeply concerned about the results of an assessment test of school children's knowledge of the workings and social history of Australia. The report, commissioned by federal, state and territory education ministers, reveals that many children have no idea about those very basic things, such as the commemoration of Anzac Day, that help to make us Australians. Young men and women, aged over 18, will be able to vote in next year's federal election - but according to the report The Australian publishes today - many will not have more than the vaguest idea about the system of government that gives them that power..."
    
    "The teaching of English and history are already mired in swamps of political correctness and revisionist postmodernism and civics and citizenship are now teetering on the edge of the mire.

    "When the Howard Government came to power, one of its aims was to re-establish the teaching of civics, the workings of our various layers of governments, and citizenship in the schools. This report will add fuel to the bonfire already burning over the teaching of history in schools. Education Minister Julie Bishop has already said she wants a uniform nationwide curriculum for history and the same desire for uniformity should now be applied to civics and citizenship." [emphasis added]
    
    Full editorial in The Australian at link [scroll down to second editorial]
    
    
    

  • Handling of ADHD students criticised
    by Richard Sproull
    
    "Schools could be failing students suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder by treating them as backward, when a focus on their academic and social needs could wean them off their dependence on medication.

    "Sufferers of ADHD - the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric disorder among school-aged children in Australia - say teachers were often "quite condescending", treating them like toddlers or primary school students requiring remedial education.

    "The first study of its kind in Australia, which is to be included in Brenton Prosser's new book Seeing Red, found those students receiving traditional treatments deal with the disorder through school and adult life by relying purely on medication..."
    
    Full story in The Australian at link
    
    
    

• The Guardian
  
  
  • Dawkins campaigns to keep God out of classroom
    by Alexandra Smith
    
    "The University of Oxford geneticist and campaigning atheist Richard Dawkins has established a foundation to keep God out of the classroom and prevent "pseudo science" taking over in schools, it emerged today.

    "The new Richard Dawkins Foundation for Science and Reason will subsidise books, pamphlets and DVDs for teachers to fight what the professor describes as the "educational scandal" that has seen the rise of "irrational ideas"...
    
    "Prof Dawkins' renewed push to counter what he perceives to be the religious indoctrination of young people comes amid revelations that dozens of schools are using teaching materials in science lessons that promote the creationist alternative to Darwinian evolution, condemned by the government as "not appropriate to support the science curriculum".

    "The packs promote the theory of intelligent design and the group behind them, Truth in Science, said 59 schools are using the information as "a useful classroom resource"...
    
    Full story in The Guardian at link [plus links to several related articles]
    
    Similar story in The Independent
    
    
    

• The Sydney Daily Telegraph
  
  
  • 104 teachers sacked
    Exclusive by Bruce McDougall and Kelvin Bisset
    
    "Three NSW teachers a month are being sacked for gross incompetence and shocking crimes, including sexual assault, child pornography and supplying drugs.
    
    "The criminals and failures are being purged from the 2240 public schools in a bold bid to lift teacher standards, The Daily Telegraph has learned.

    "A detailed dossier of the Education Department's 104 dismissed teachers, obtained under Freedom of Information laws, reveals for the first time the disastrous outcomes for students when the wrong people enter classrooms..."
    
    Full story in The Sydney Daily Telegraph at link
    

    • Fired for assaulting female principal
      
      
      
      
  • Editorial
    More black marks
    
    "The exclusive revelations in The Daily Telegraph today that more than 100 teachers have been sacked in the past three years will shock many parents who fear they know too little about the standard of education their children are receiving in state schools.

    "The sackings should place on top of the agenda the quality of our teachers as a major issue for debate. The details behind these teachers' removal make for horrifying reading: many were guilty of crimes and many were just plain incompetent. And here lies the rub – how many parents can honestly say they have enough information to make informed judgments and comparisons about their children's education.

    "At every turn in NSW, it seems parents are denied information that ought to be made public in the interests of improving our school system.

    "Much of the blame for this should be placed squarely at the feet of the NSW Teachers Federation which, as a way of protecting the jobs of its members, fought more than a decade to deny the parents the right to know more about what happens in our schools..."

    Full editorial in The Sydney Daily Telegraph at link [scroll down to second editorial]
    
    
    

Tuesday 28 November

• ABC News
  
  
  • Corruption commission probes school program [7:32 pm]
    
    "Western Australia's Parliament has been told a program to help disadvantaged teenagers is being investigated by the Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC).

    "The Balga Works program at Balga Senior High School was closed last month.

    "The Opposition has also questioned why funding for the program did not go through a public tender process.

    "Premier Alan Carpenter says that as soon as the Education Department became aware that Balga Senior High School had entered into unauthorised arrangements, it advised the CCC.

    "He says the program was not approved at a State Government level and when he was education minister he thought it too expensive.

    "Whilst I thought that the ultimate outcomes were laudable, that is that you get more kids engaged in education, I actually didn't think that the program stacked up at all," he said.

    "The amount of money that was being talked about for state support for such a program I thought, at the time as I recall, was exorbitant."
    

    From ABC News Online at link
    
    
    
    
• The West Australian
  
  
  • Ravlich slams former WA education boss [Online update at 2:15 pm]
    AAP
    
    "Embattled West Australian Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich has accused the former director-general of her department of not telling her about a corruption probe.

    "Ms Ravlich said she believed former Department of Education and Training (DET) chief Paul Albert concealed the Corruption and Crime Commission's (CCC) investigation into DET's handling of allegations of sexual misconduct by teachers.

    "Absolutely, I am saying that," Ms Ravlich told reporters.

    "The minister says she only found out about the investigation when the CCC briefed her four days before releasing a report in October.

    "The report found DET paid insufficient attention to managing the risks of sexual contact between teachers and students and gave greater weight to employee welfare than to the safety and protection of children.

    "The report claimed the scalp of Mr Albert, who accepted a "management initiated retirement" less than 12 hours after its release.

    "But Mr Albert on Monday contradicted the minister's version of events, telling a parliamentary inquiry he told Ms Ravlich "on at least three occasions" - in May, July and August - that the probe was underway.

    "Ms Ravlich rejected Mr Albert's evidence, saying he had once informally mentioned the department was "working with" the CCC on something, but had never elaborated.

    "I certainly don't have any recollection of being informed, informally or otherwise, on either of those two (other) occasions," she told reporters.

    "Ms Ravlich, who will appear before the same parliamentary inquiry on Wednesday, said she looked forward to giving her version of events. [emphasis added]

    "The state's teachers recently called on Premier Alan Carpenter to sack Ms Ravlich over her handling of the introduction of new programs and her handling of the sexual misconduct issue."

    From The West Australian at link
    
    
    
  • Ravlich in more hot water over CCC probe (page 4)
    by Robert Taylor and Jessica Strutt
    
    "Beleaguered Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich will be forced to explain to Parliament what she knew of a corruption inquiry into the Education Department’s handling of sexual misconduct allegations after former director-general Paul Albert said yesterday he had briefed her three times on the investigation.

    "Ms Ravlich has always maintained she only became aware in general terms of the investigation five weeks before the Corruption and Crime Commission handed down a report detailing the department’s mishandling of the sex allegations in October.

    "In a series of questions from the Opposition in Parliament after the report was handed down, Ms Ravlich denied prior knowledge of the report which led to both Mr Albert and his right-hand man Alby Huts taking early retirement packages.

    "But yesterday Mr Albert told an Upper House committee investigating the matter that he spoke to Ms Ravlich about the report in May this year, again in July when Mr Huts received a draft from the CCC and in August, the meeting acknowledged by the Minister.

    "He said Ms Ravlich was standing next to him when he received a phone call from Mr Huts who told him the draft report “looked bad” but had “many inaccuracies”.

    "Mr Albert said he was sure he had said the CCC was looking at the department’s handling of sexual misconduct cases.

    “The Minister was informed there was an inquiry but not of the details in the report,” Mr Albert said.

    "He believed a letter from Corruption and Crime Commissioner Kevin Hammond warning him not to divulge the contents of a draft report applied to the Minister but said if she had asked for a copy he would have checked with the CCC whether he could give her one.

    "The former director-general also said that a media statement issued by the CCC on June 1, announcing that a report into the allegations would be presented to Parliament, would have been sent to the Minister’s office as a matter of course.

    "A former chief-of-staff to Ms Ravlich, Paul Joyce, who now works in the Department of Premier and Cabinet, told the inquiry that the Minister’s office had received a Government Media Office summary which referred to a CCC press statement.

    "But Ms Ravlich said on October 18 that “no officer in my office advised me that there would be the tabling of a report. Clearly no member of my staff nor I was aware of that media statement.”

    "The chairman of the parliamentary committee, Greens MLC Giz Watson, said last night it was likely Ms Ravlich would be asked to front the inquiry tomorrow morning.

    "Ms Ravlich said she would cooperate with the inquiry but did not plan to give a running commentary.

    "Mr Albert’s evidence was backed by the woman who replaced him, acting director-general of education Sharyn O’Neill, who said she overheard Mr Albert in July telling Ms Ravlich that there was going to be a report by the CCC."
    
    From The West Australian at link [See paper version for a "What She Said" box]
    
    
    

  • The issue is should Ljil be axed altogether? (page 4)
    by Robert Taylor, Political Sketch
    
    "Two things emerged from yesterday's explosive-laden Legislative Council inquiry into what Ljiljanna Ravlich really knew about the Corruption and Crime Commission inquiry into sexual misconduct allegations in her department.
    
    "The first was that it's not a matter of whether Ms Ravlich loses the Education portfolio in the forthcoming reshuffle but whether she get to stay in Cabinet at all.
    
    "The second was that bureaucrats, even those with 40 years experience in their chosen field, resist the "advice" of the CCC at considerable peril to their own careers.
    
    "One such bureaucrat, the highly regarded Paul Albert, made it perfectly clear yesterday that he had spoken to Ms Ravlich not once, not twice but at least three times about eh CCC's inquiry before the report that claimed his career was finally presented to her.
    
    "But Mr Albert's evidence also made it clear that he and his right-hand man Alby Huts, the department's former executive director of human resources, had little time or respect for the opinions of the Spanish Inquisition. Both are now enjoying premature retirement, albeit largely at the taxpayer's expense.
    
    "Mr Albert and Mr Huts gave evidence that they believed the CCC was trawling over old cases in order to make recommendations on how the department might improve its processes regarding complaints of a sexual nature against staff.
    
    "Mr Albert complained of "procedural unfairness". Mr Huts just reckoned the CCC was getting it wrong. He told Mr Albert in a phone call of July 7 that a draft copy of the report "looked bad but had many inaccuracies". Mr Albert said Ms Ravlich was standing next to him at the time.
    
    "That was the second time the Minister had heard about the inquiry, Mr Albert said. The first was in May before an Upper House estimates appearance and the third was in August when Mr Albert tried to alert her that the report was going ahead.
    
    "Ms Ravlich only acknowledges the August briefing and then only "in passing". But given that Mr Albert and Mr Huts were less than impressed with the inquiry and openly hostile to where it was heading, maybe that attitude rubbed off.
    
    "Consumed by the firestorm surrounding outcomes-based education, did Ms Ravlich trust her lieutenants to keep the hose trained on the embers of the CCC inquiry only to see it blow up in her face?
    
    "Evidence from the CCC's Nick Anticich and Roger Watson made no bones about the fact that they believed the department's Complaints Management Unit was dysfunctional. Mr Hutts believed it was full of competent people doing a good job. [And what does this say about Mr Huts' judgement?   Web]
    
    "When Mr Huts reprimanded and transferred a teacher with an exemplary record who was fined $1000 on charges relating to kissing and rubbing the abdomen of a girl who was not a student of his in an incident outside school hours, Mr Watson leapt into action. This was the case that led the CCC to produce the report which claimed the scalps of Mr Albert and Mr Huts and now threatens the career of Ms Ravlich."
    
    From The West Australian
    
    
    
    
• ABC News
  
  
  • Ravlich set to face Education Dept inquiry [8:25 am]
    
    "Western Australian Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich is expected to be called to give evidence before a parliamentary inquiry into the Education Department.

    "The parliamentary committee is investigating former director-general Paul Albert's departure from the Department.

    "It is also testing Ms Ravlich's knowledge of a corruption inquiry into the Department's handling of sexual misconduct allegations.

    "Mr Albert has told the inquiry that he alerted the Minister of the Corruption and Crime Commission investigation several months before she claims to have become aware of it.

    "The chairwoman of the committee, Giz Watson, says the inquiry has further questions to ask witnesses and it is likely Ms Ravlich will be called before it on Wednesday."
    
    From ABC News Online at link
    

    
    
    
• The Australian
  
  
  • Op Ed
    Kevin Donnelly: Dumbed down and left out
    
    For too long, our school students have been culturally illiterate
    
    "No wonder our school students are culturally illiterate. If NSW Education Minister Carmel Tebbutt can't tell the difference between Australia Day - which marks the arrival of the First Fleet on January 26, 1788 - and Federation, which marks the federation of Australia as a nation on January 1, 1901 [see following story for details], then it is hardly surprising three-quarters of Australian teenagers don't understand the significance of Australia Day, the responsibilities of the governor-general or the symbolism of the Union Jack in our flag.

    Tebbutt's embarrassing gaffe aside, the results of the civics and citizenship test, reported in these pages yesterday, reveal extensive gaps in the knowledge of national history in our schoolchildren. Worse, the news is simply the most recent in a long line of incidents and stories demonstrating the parlous state of our education system. While state and territory education ministers describe their schools as "world's best" and argue that standards are on the rise, the opposite is the case.

    Why has this been allowed to happen? The first thing to realise is that those responsible for our education system argue that there is no crisis. At two forums organised this year by the Australian Curriculum Studies Association, concerns about falling standards and the politically correct nature of the curriculum were dismissed as a conservative backlash and a media beat-up.

    Alan Reid, an Adelaide-based academic in favour of the much-condemned outcomes-based education model, argues: "We have a conservative backlash in the media which is really pushing us back to fixed syllabuses and a more didactic curriculum which conservative government forces are helping to promote." ...
    
    Kevin Donnelly is author of Dumbing Down: Outcomes-Based and Politically Correct - The Impact of the Culture Wars on Our Schools (Hardie and Grant, forthcoming).
    
    Full story in The Australian at link
    
    
    

  • $33m civics exercise 'a failure'
    by Justine Ferrari, Education writer
    
    "Civics education courses, designed by the federal Government at a cost of $33 million over almost 10 years, have failed, with the vast majority of teenagers ignorant of the origins of Australia Day or Anzac Day.

    "While the federal Government yesterday blamed widespread ignorance by schoolchildren about Australian history on the failure of state education systems, the federal Opposition accused the Howard Government of botching civics and citizenship education.
    
    "Even the NSW Education Minister, Carmel Tebbutt, had trouble yesterday with the origins of Australia Day, confusing it with Federation.

    "Asked on Sydney radio why Australia Day was celebrated, Ms Tebbutt said "because that's the day that we became a nation".

    "When the states joined together, the Federation of Australia, and it's an important day to understand that history."

    "When pulled up on her error, Ms Tebbutt then corrected herself, saying: "Sorry, you've got me too early in the morning. Australia Day of course is European arrival in Australia."
    
    Full story in The Australian at link
    
    

  • Related articles in other newspapers
    
    
    • History wars claim ministers among the casualties [The Sydney Morning Herald]
      
      
    • Education minister stumbles [The Sydney Daily Telegraph, includes audio of the interview]
      
      
    • Pollies go down in history as the real dunces [The Melbourne Age]
      
      
    • Premier, MPs fail test of history [The Melbourne Herald Sun, The Adelaide Advertiser and other News.com papers]
      
      
    • Julie Bishop quote of the day: "The Australian Government believes that all students, indeed all education ministers, should have a basic understanding of Australian history by the time they leave school."
      
      
      
      
      
  • Changes dumbing down, say academics
    by Verity Edwards
    
    "Academics claim the Rann Government is "dumbing down" the South Australian Certificate of Education in an effort to lift retention rates among students who leave ahead of Year 12.

    "They say there is no need to create a "new SACE" to improve school retention rates because the course already contains subjects for students who do not want to go to university.

    "Their concerns follow the release of the first phase in the Government's reshaping of the SACE to lift literacy and numeracy among school-leavers.

    "Flinders University education academic Kelvin Gregory said the new SACE was driven by a political agenda, and was a "smokescreen" for taking control of education from the Senior Secondary Assessment Board of South Australia.

    "The report recommends a review of the legislation under which the board operates.

    "We have an independent SACE board, most of the other states don't have that," Dr Gregory said. " Maybe there will be more control over it."

    "Education Minister Jane Lomax-Smith said the Government was "outraged" over low retention rates and would not apologise for trying to improve the system.

    "Just 55 per cent of South Australian students who start Year 8 complete Year 12, the lowest retention rate in Australia. "If that's the political solution, I'll confess to it because I feel very strongly about it," Dr Lomax-Smith said.

    Adelaide University physicist Rod Crewther claimed the new SACE was "absolutely dumbing down" the curriculum.

    "Dr Gregory said there was no need for a new SACE because it already included vocational training. "Its flexibility is a well kept secret," he said. "Do we need to change the current SACE or do we need to learn how to use it?"
    
    From The Australian at link
    
    
    

  • Letters to the Editor
    
    
    • Four Letters on Let's compile a canon of Australian historical dates
      
      
      
      
• The Guardian
  
  
  • Primary mover
    Forty years after the Plowden report, education for the under-11s is being reviewed, and the mastermind behind the project has some radical ideas. Peter Wilby reports
    
    "Exactly 40 years ago this month, a Labour government received the report of a committee, chaired by Lady Plowden, on "primary education in all its aspects". Its two thick volumes, eventually published early in 1967, contained 197 recommendations (to schools and local councils, as well as the government) and the results of more than a dozen surveys, and it would become the primary teacher's bible for the next quarter of a century. In those days, central government had no direct powers over either curriculum or teaching methods. But Plowden gave the official imprimatur to what was loosely called "progressive" or "child-centred" teaching and, for a time, even Tory councils prodded their schools to "go Plowden" as it was known. Later, Plowden became synonymous with ill-disciplined sloppiness and was blamed for everything from mass illiteracy to sexual promiscuity and national economic decline: "much happiness and painting but very little learning", as a Thatcherite minister put it.

    "Now we are to get a new Plowden, another giant review, with 30 surveys and 60 consultants, asking "questions that need to be asked, without fear or favour" on teaching methods, streaming, testing, the national curriculum, school design, faith schools, governance and almost anything else you care to mention, including the highly disputatious question of whether standards are rising or falling. "We have commissioned three surveys on standards," says Professor Robin Alexander. "We're not announcing the researchers' names because we want them to pursue their work uninterrupted." ...
    
    Full story in The Guardian at link

    
    
    
• The Washington Post
  
  
  • Escaping 'Average'
    Innovative Programs Make the Case That High-Level Classes Aren't Just for the Gifted
    by Jay Mathews
    
    "... Throughout the country, the desire to coax average students into high-level courses has inspired many innovations. Nearly all seek to teach students how to take notes, write papers and prepare for exams. They harness what is perhaps the greatest force in U.S. schools -- the urge to be a part of a group -- by giving the students a sense they are moving onto the college track with others who share their doubts and middling academic records..."
    
    Full story in The Washington Post at link
    
    
    
  • Selling Parents On Public School
    
    
    
    
• The Melbourne Herald Sun
  
  
  • Internet bullying on rise
    by Jeanette Hill
    
    "Cyber bullying is the biggest threat to youth safety, police and school principals have warned.
    Incidences of insults and threats via text messaging, internet instant messaging and email have increased enormously as youngsters spend more time using mobile phones and going online.

    "It is the No. 1 issue compromising youth safety today," Sen-Constable Susan McLean said.

    "Demand for help with this is through the roof.

    "I can't keep up with requests for teacher professional development, parent seminars and phone queries." ...
    
    Full story in The Melbourne Herald Sun at link
    
    
    

Wednesday 29 November

• The West Australian [late update of online version]
  Same AAP story in The Australian [late update of online version]
  
  
  • Ravlich maintains she knew nothing about corruption probe [5:30 pm]
    AAP
    
    "Embattled West Australian Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich has again insisted she was not told about a corruption probe into her department until days before the release of its damning report.
    

    "The October Corruption and Crime Commission report found the Department of Education and Training did not pay enough attention to managing the risks of sexual contact between teachers and students and attached more importance to employee welfare than the safety and protection of children.

    "The report's findings claimed the scalp of education director-general Paul Albert, who accepted a "management initiated retirement" less than 12 hours after its release.

    "But Ms Ravlich refused to accept responsibility for the department's failings, and has since maintained she only found out about the investigation when the CCC briefed her four days before the report's release.

    "Mr Albert told the inquiry on Monday that he had told the minister "on at least three occasions" that the CCC inquiry was underway.

    "In further evidence today, Mr Albert said there was a fourth occasion on 3 October when he told Ms Ravlich about the investigation.

    "Ms Ravlich repeatedly told the inquiry today she had no recollection of being told about the matter by Mr Albert.

    "I do not have a recollection of ever being briefed by Mr Albert in relation to the inquiry into my department," Ms Ravlich told the inquiry.

    "I was advised that there was a CCC investigation looking into central TAFE. That's the only investigation I have ever been advised on."

    "Ms Ravlich said on one occasion Mr Albert had told her the CCC was "working with" the department on complaints management issues.

    "I just thought it was two agencies working together, I had no reason to be alarmed, it was just sort of shrugged off," she said.

    "Ms Ravlich said she had not seen a CCC media release in June which mentioned the inquiry.

    "If I had been advised that the CCC were conducting an inquiry into my agency, I would have been looking at the CCC website and requesting my staff look ... at the CCC website," she said.

    "The parliamentary inquiry is due to hand down its findings on December 7."
    
    From The West Australian at link

    
    
    
• ABC News
  
  
  • Minister 'told four times' about CCC review [5:44 pm]
    
    "The former head of the Western Australian Education Department, Paul Albert, has told a parliamentary inquiry he can now recall four occasions when he informed the Minister of a corruption probe into the Department's handling of sexual misconduct allegations.

    "The inquiry is examining the circumstances surrounding the resignation of Mr Albert.

    "It is also trying to determine how much Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich knew about the Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) investigation before its report was tabled in Parliament.

    "Mr Albert previously testified he told the Ms Ravlich three times about the inquiry, but today he said he also informed her at a meeting on October 3, when he remembered telling her the finalisation of the report was imminent.

    "Ms Ravlich's former media adviser, Michelle White, told the inquiry she was aware of the investigation as early as June, but cannot recall discussing it with the Minister.

    "Ms Ravlich has continued to deny ever being informed of the details of the CCC investigation into her department.

    "She told the inquiry none of her staff ever brought the issue to her attention and she only remembers Mr Albert referring to it once and in general terms.

    "Meanwhile, Premier Alan Carpenter has attacked The West Australian newspaper over its treatment of Ms Ravlich.

    "When asked by reporters if Ms Ravlich had become a liability for the Government, Mr Carpenter said he had never seen an attack as hysterical as the one being run by the newspaper.

    "Mr Carpenter says Ms Ravlich has his full confidence.

    "I've never seen an attack as hysterical and as prolonged, as the one that has been run by The West Australian newspaper against Ljiljanna Ravlich," he said.

    "Although it is reminiscent of the same lines that the newspaper ran against Alannah MacTiernan and Michelle Roberts and perhaps there's a pattern there."
    

    From ABC News Online at link
    
    
    
    
  • Minister accused of misleading Parliament over corruption probe [3:00 am]
    
    "A former employee of Western Australia's Education Department has told a parliamentary inquiry she believes the Education Minister deliberately concealed her knowledge of a corruption probe..."
    
    "A former consultant at the department's complaints management unit, Bev Dornan, said she prepared a briefing note about the report in August for a meeting between Mr Albert and Ms Ravlich.

    "She said that although she does not know whether the briefing note was passed on, she is confident Ms Ravlich was informed of the investigation.

    "Ms Dornan accused Ms Ravlich of misleading Parliament over the extent of her knowledge.

    "Ms Dornan was also highly critical of the CCC and its report, which she said was fundamentally flawed.

    "She said she believed Mr Albert and Mr Huts did nothing wrong and were made scapegoats..."
    
    Full story at ABC News Online at link

    
    
    
• The West Australian
  
  
  • CCC probes bungled $2m school deal [Front Page Headline]
    Jessica Strutt Exclusive
    
    "The Education Department was plunged into another crisis last night when it was revealed the Corruption and Crime Commission was investigating a bungled $2 million deal involving a Perth high school and that a review was also under way into contracts awarded by the department.
    
    "The CCC investigation is believed to focus on a deal struck between the principal of Balga Senior High School and a Melbourne-based company which ran a program in the school providing educational and other support to students at risk of reoffending.
    
    "Alan Carpenter tried to distance himself from the program yesterday as he told Parliament the deal, which was revealed by The West Australian on Monday, was the subject of a CCC investigation.
    
    "The Premier said he had met people involved in the program in his office when he was Education Minister in August 2004 but did not support it because he did not think it "stacked up".
    
    "On Monday it was revealed that the Education Department was investigating the deal under which Hurson Pty Ltd was paid more than $2 million to operate the program despite the arrangement not being subject to a complete tender process..."
    
    "Michael Carton, the partner of Hurson director Katherine Day and co-ordinator of the Balga Works Program, and the then Balga principal Merv Hammond were at the meeting with Mr Carpenter in 2004. Mr Hammond, a former principal of the year, retired in September..."
    
    [Carpenter described the program outcomes as "laudable", but said "I thought at the time [that the cost] was exorbitant."]
    
    "[Carpenter] said that as soon as the Education Department became aware that the school had entered an unauthorised arrangement for the program, it told the CCC. He said the program was closed last month..." [But it took the Education Department more than a year to realise that $2 million was being spent on an unauthorised contract???  Good audit procedures, guys...    Web]
    
    "Shadow education minister Peter Collier said the Premier's and department's comments showed that Ms Ravlich had not been entirely truthful in Parliament when she was questioned on the matter last week.
    
    "She told Parliament on Thursday that she was only aware "in very general terms" of problems with the program, saying it was dealt with at a district office level.
    
    "The State Supply Commission is also reviewing Education Department contracts." [See follow-up story below.]
    
    Full story in The West Australian
    
    
    
    
  • Sacked pair Ravlich’s scapegoats, probe told (page 10)
    by Ben Spencer, Robert Taylor and Jessica Strutt
    
    "A former employee in the Education Department’s embattled complaints management unit said yesterday that sacked bureaucrats had been made scapegoats by Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich for a damning Corruption and Crime Commission report into the department’s handling of sexual misconduct allegations.

    "Bev Dornan, a former principal consultant in the unit, said Ms Ravlich had preferred to dump her former director-general Paul Albert and his executive director, Alby Huts, than challenge the seriously flawed nature of the CCC report.

    "Ms Dornan told an Upper House committee investigating the matter that the CCC had failed to act impartially and in the public interest by tabling the report in Parliament on October 16.

    “They (Mr Albert and Mr Huts) have been humiliated in the interest of political expediency,” Ms Dornan said. “I’m deeply disturbed that the Minister was aware that it was legally unsound but did not make the public or Parliament aware of it.

    “I believe there was a decision or a view that some heads had to roll as a consequence of this. I believe that it was politically driven, somebody had to be held accountable and the minister certainly did not want it to be herself.”

    "Kelly Dansie, a senior consultant in the complaints unit since 2002, also attacked the CCC for its attitude towards the unit, saying commission investigator Roger Watson had made it clear from their first meeting that he “had it in for us”.

    “I had no idea why and I think that that set the tone for our relationship,” she said. “They appeared to be trying to trick us or catch us out.”

    "Ms Ravlich, who will appear before the inquiry today, attacked Mr Albert for telling the committee on Monday that he had told the minister at least three times about the CCC investigation.

    “I don’t think it’s satisfactory in anybody’s language, particularly the director-general, to say that I have informally raised this by way of passing with the Minister some four or five months later — that is totally unacceptable,” she said.

    “Given the seriousness of this matter, it is totally unacceptable to have mentioned this in any other way apart from a formal process of briefing. I met with the director-general every fortnight, on occasions on a weekly basis. We would go through a whole range of issues at those meetings. I also get quarterly reports from the department.”

    "Ms Ravlich said she spoke to Mr Albert by telephone virtually on a daily basis and it was unacceptable for him now to say that he had informed her of the CCC inquiry “by way of cursory mention”.

    "Mr Albert told the committee he was certain Ms Ravlich was aware of the inquiry, although not the detail, because he had received advice from the CCC that he was not at liberty to discuss specifics.

    "The former head of the department’s complaints management unit, Peter Denton, told the committee yesterday that after receiving the final report Ms Ravlich said to him that the CCC “had missed their target”. He said Ms Ravlich believed that the CCC was after two people within the unit, not Mr Albert and Mr Huts.

    "He believed he and Ms Dornan were the two the CCC had targeted because they had challenged the CCC investigators when questioned about the unit’s handling of complaints."

    From The West Australian at link
    
    
    
    
  • $300,000 contracts to Minister’s friend under new scrutiny (page 10)
    by Jessica Strutt
    
    "Treasurer Eric Ripper has revealed that the State Supply Commission is conducting a review into contracts awarded by the Education Department.
    
    "But he told Parliament yesterday there was no evidence there was anything wrong with a former colleague and friend of Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich winning more than $300,000 worth of contracts from the department. The West Australian revealed last week that Huntly Consulting Group had won at least $300,000 in contracts from the department in seven months between March and October this year. Ms Ravlich is a friend and former colleague of the company's director, Gregory Philip.
    
    "Department acting executive director Siobhaun Mulvey is married to Mr Philip and Ms Mulvey's brother, Andrew Mulvey, is the other company director. Ms Mulvey was promoted from director to an acting executive director in the Education Department in August last year, the same month her husband set up the company while he was contracted to work in Ms Ravlich's office for $440 a day. He left in September last year..." [emphasis added]
    
    Full story in The West Australian
    
    
    
    
  • Pro-OBE maths teachers want delay (page 10)
    by Bethany Hiatt
    
    "Beleaguer Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich has suffered another blow to the planned introduction of outcomes-based education, with the peak group representing maths teachers demanding a year's delay to the start of the new maths courses.
    
    "The Mathematics Association of WA – which until now has staunchly supported OBE to the chagrin of many maths teachers – has written to Ms Ravlich asking her to postpone the implementation of Year 11 maths courses from 2008 to 2009.
    
    "The call comes after it was revealed that a Curriculum Council sub-committee would today consider whether to recommend accrediting the new maths courses, despite the council having given teachers until next Friday to provide feedback.
    
    "Maths teachers saw the new courses for the first time just weeks ago. Earlier this year, the Curriculum Council ditched a three-course model in favour of two courses, which meant the courses had to be totally reconstructed.




'We are just concerned about the quality of the materials.' Noemi Reynolds, Maths Association



"Association president Noemi Reynolds confirmed yesterday the association was requesting a 12-month extension because of the haste in which the courses had been written.

"We are just concerned about the quality of the materials than can be produced with that kind of timeline," Ms Reynolds said.

"Teachers also needed time to realign Year 10 maths classes to dovetail with new Year 11 courses.

"Ms Reynolds said the maths courses could still receive provisional accreditation, which would allow for fine tuning before teachers had to teach the courses in 2009. [I am just waiting for "pre-provisional accreditation": that's giving accreditation to courses that haven't been thought-up yet.   Web]

"Council chief executive David Wood confirmed that the senior secondary education committee was meeting today to consider draft courses and make its recommendations to the Curriculum Council, which meets next Wednesday.

"But Mr Wood said the council had the final say on whether to accredit the courses, so feedback would still be considered next week. [But which do you think the full Council will read: The committee's recommendation or individual teachers' comments?   Web]

"He would not comment on the maths teachers' demand, but he had previously told them that he would push for a delay if they uncovered significant problems. Ms Ravlich's office did not return calls yesterday.

"Maths teacher Greg Williams, who also heads teachers' group People Lobbying Against Teaching Outcomes, said the new courses were nowhere near ready and book publishers could not supply text books by 2008."

From The West Australian



• The Australian
  
  
• Minister fights for job after 'lying'
  by Amanda O'Brien, West Australian political reporter
  
  "West Australian Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich, close to tears yesterday as she battled an implication of lying from her former top bureaucrat, will today try to save her job before a state parliamentary inquiry.

  "This follows damning evidence given to an upper house committee by former education director-general Paul Albert, who contradicted claims she made in parliament denying any knowledge of a Corruption and Crime Commission investigation into teacher sexual abuse of students.

  "Ms Ravlich, who has admitted seeking the help of disgraced former Labor premier Brian Burke to counter considerable media, community and teacher opposition to the controversial Outcomes Based Education (OBE), yesterday launched a scathing attack on her former top bureaucrat, claiming that Mr Albert had deliberately withheld information from her.

  "Ms Ravlich has been clinging to her job after a series of blunders and scandals that have rocked the Carpenter Government, including the spectacular demise of police minister John D'Orazio and small business minister Norm Marlborough, who were both ensnared in CCC investigations.

  "Mr D'Orazio was kicked out of the Labor Party over an inappropriate and secretly taped meeting with a panel beater to discuss the minister's traffic infringements. Mr Marlborough may face criminal charges over evidence he gave to the CCC about his contact with Mr Burke, who was jailed twice in the 1990s and has since become a lobbyist.

  "Yesterday, Ms Ravlich flatly denied Mr Albert's evidence on Monday that he told her about the CCC investigation on three separate occasions.

  "At times looking close to tears, Ms Ravlich said she had no recollection of the discussions outlined by Mr Albert, apart from a "passing" reference on one occasion. She described his actions as incomprehensible.

  "The discrepancy renewed the pressure on Premier Alan Carpenter, who yesterday came under fire in parliament as the Opposition demanded to know whom he believed: Ms Ravlich, or Mr Albert, whom the Premier appointed as director-general in 2001 when he was education minister.

  "Giving very careful responses, Mr Carpenter suggested it was not unreasonable for people to have different recollections about passing comments, but he refused to answer questions on Ms Ravlich's immediate future.

  "The CCC spent almost a year investigating the Education Department's handling of allegations of sexual misconduct by teachers against children before releasing a damning report last month that accused the department of being more concerned with protecting staff than students.

  "Mr Albert said that while he did not go into any detail with Ms Ravlich, he had raised the issue in general terms at meetings in May, July and August. He said that on one occasion in July he recalled telling the minister a draft report had been received from the CCC and it looked bad. Mr Albert was forced to resign over the issue last month.

  "Ms Ravlich said she was never told the CCC was looking into alleged sexual misconduct by teachers and that Mr Albert's failure to inform her was "totally unacceptable".

  "I met with the director-general every fortnight, on occasion on a weekly basis, and we would go through a whole range of issues. I would have called Mr Albert virtually on a daily basis," she said. "To be dropping breadcrumbs over the place for a minister to pick up and to, by way of passing, put forward any information in that manner, it's totally unacceptable."

  "Liberal leader Paul Omodei said the Premier had no option but to immediately remove Ms Ravlich from the education portfolio."
  
  From The Australian at link
  
  
  

• Editorial
  Teach the facts first
  Without the basics, school history is just propaganda
  
  "When NSW Education Minister Carmel Tebbutt said on Monday Australia Day commemorated the founding of our federation, instead of the arrival of the First Fleet, she did more than look like a dill. She demonstrated how she was betrayed by the people who designed the curriculum she was taught at school. As a woman in her early 40s, Ms Tebbutt went to school in an era when history, the study of the past on its own terms, not as a version of the present in fancy dress, was being trashed. Instead of the foundations of history - the facts and dates of events, who did what and why, and what were the consequences - history began to be a collection of stories based on the belief that whatever past winners said was invariably unfair to everybody else. The result is that the woman charged with running the largest school system in the country cannot distinguish between the founding of settler society in Australia and the creation of our commonwealth. But it is a fair bet that while she may not have any idea of the detail of how or why Australia came to be one of the most successful and enduring democracies, Ms Tebbutt was told at school how the settlers, or the founding fathers, probably both, dispossessed the indigenous Australians.

  "And just as Ms Tebbutt was betrayed then, so are children today. For a generation, our state education systems have emphasised ideology over information in history and literature, assuming the task of the teacher is to create a questioning culture among students, but one where fashion and feelings stand in the way of fact. We have now reached a point where it appears important for students to understand what people felt, rather than to know the facts that shaped their circumstances. [emphasis added] As The Australian reports this morning, a simulation exercise used in a Sydney school presented conflict in the Middle East from a militant Palestinian perspective. As a way of inciting ill-informed anger among young people against one side in an immensely complex conflict, this is a winner. But as an exercise in education, it is hard to imagine anything worse. Before students can argue about the Middle East they need to learn the 20th-century history of the region. They need to be aware the British ran much of the region between the wars. They need to know the basic facts and dates of the way the Israelis fought for independence, the way the surrounding states sought to destroy Israel and the way ordinary Palestinians are now caught between Islamic terrorists and the Israeli forces. And they need to grasp that the Palestinian cause is now divided between people who want to make the best deal they can with Israel and fanatics who believe they are divinely directed to kill Jews.

  "In this, as in every other area of study, it is the job of schools to teach the facts and interpretive skills students need to make up their own minds. It is not their job to indoctrinate young people in some sort of party line that suits the political style of the teacher union leaders, who still see the world through the prism of the counter-culture of the 1960s, which blamed the West for all that was wrong in the world. We are now at a stage where children are being taught an interpretation of the past as if it were fact - the very thing the education apparatchiks always argue they oppose. To portray the European settlers of Australia, or the Israelis for that matter, as invaders, as if the evidence was irrefutable, ensures school students will argue before they have all the evidence." [emphasis added]

  From The Australian at link [scroll down to second editorial]
  
  
  



© The Australian



• Op Ed
  Dean Bertram: Tebbutt a creature of our culture
  The NSW minister's blunder is all too Australian
  
  "It was difficult not to cringe when listening to the sound bite of Carmel Tebbutt confusing Australia Day with Federation on Sydney radio earlier this week. Before being caught out by the program's host, the NSW Education Minister had explained that Australia Day commemorated "the day that we became a nation, when the states joined together, the Federation of Australia, and it's an important day to understand that history". It was only after she was corrected that Tebbutt quickly amended her answer, saying: "Sorry, you've got me too early in the morning. Australia Day, of course, is European arrival in Australia."

  "That just seconds earlier she had commented on a recent study that brought to light serious gaps in Australian high school students' knowledge about the meaning of key national dates, including Australia Day and Anzac Day, made the minister's fumble particularly ironic.

  "Failings in the teaching of history and civics are partly to blame for the lackadaisical attitude displayed by today's youth towards our past, but one suspects there are deeper cultural currents eroding a basic knowledge of national history that should otherwise be able to survive independent of the classroom. Indeed, Australia's national identity seems increasingly unrelated to its history. This development is likely related to considerable changes in the nation's self-image during the past 50 years..."
  
  "Australians often joke about ignorant Americans, especially those elected to public office. But it would be highly unlikely for an American politico to confuse, say, the meaning of Thanksgiving with Independence Day. Whatever it might say about the national character, Tebbutt's blunder was quintessentially Australian."
  
  Dean Bertram, an independent film-maker, has a PhD in history from the University of Sydney.
  
  Full story in The Australian at link
  
  
  

• Schools' terrorist role play banned
  by Rebecca Weisser
  
  "A simulation exercise in which Year 11 students played Arabs and Israelis has been dropped by NSW schools after parents complained it was creating racial tension and painted terrorists in a sympathetic light.

  "An inquiry by a senior Education Department officer found the simulation exercise, devised by Macquarie University's centre for Middle Eastern studies, risked creating disharmony in schools and the community and that there was a "significant risk" of harm to the "welfare and wellbeing of students from particular minorities".

  "Documents given to The Australian show the inquiry was prompted by complaints from parents that background notes presented to the students gave positive descriptions of groups such as Hamas's Qassam Brigades and Palestinian Islamic Jihad..."
  
  Full story in The Australian at link
  
  
  

• Court allows workers leave to protest
  by Brad Norington and Samantha Maiden
  
  "Employers have been prevented from dictating how workers use their leave entitlements, with the Federal Court approving the right of a federal government official to take tomorrow off so he can attend the national union protest on industrial laws.

  "The full bench of the Federal Court yesterday rejected an attempt by the Government's Office of Employment Advocate to ban staff taking leave if they wanted to join protest rallies against the new Howard workplace laws.

  "The decision overturns last Friday's ruling by Justice Dennis Cowdroy that Gregory McCarron, an employee in the OEA's Sydney office, could not take a day's leave to join the national day of protest organised by the ACTU..."
  
  "John Howard yesterday accused teachers of giving public schools "a bad name" over their plans to join the rallies.

  "As hundreds of Victorian primary and secondary schools prepare to close tomorrow, the Prime Minister told teachers to "do it on their own time, not on their children's time".

  "But his accusation that the rally underlined what was wrong with public schools backfired when unions for teachers in Catholic and independent schools confirmed thousands of private school staff were also expected to participate.

  "And NSW public school teachers will take two hours off tomorrow to attend stopwork meetings about the Work Choices regime." [emphasis added]
  
  Full story in The Australian at link
  
  
  

• Higher Education Supplement includes 18 articles today, including:
  
  
  • Changes mix the good, bad and ugly
    Returning to campus life after 20 years in the political arena has been an eye-opening experience, former West Australian premier Geoff Gallop writes
    
    
    
    
• The Brisbane Courier Mail
  
  
  • War over school history
    by Michael Madigan
    
    "The Queensland Government is preparing for a stand-up brawl with Canberra over attempts to impose history as a compulsory subject for high school students.

    "Queensland Education Minister Rod Welford will defy federal Education Minister Julie Bishop and refuse to mandate history as a compulsory, stand-alone subject for Years 9 and 10.

    "I am happy to mandate some essential knowledge of key components of Australian history into a subject," Mr Welford said.

    "But it simply does not make sense to mandate history as a stand-alone subject."

    "History is taught in Queensland public schools as part of Studies of Societies and Environment and is optional from Year 9. Canberra is also facing a showdown with South Australia, where history is available until Year 11 as part of SOSE.

    "Western Australia, where history is called "Time, Continuity and Change" and mingled in a Society and Environment course, is believed to be considering Ms Bishop's proposal. NSW and Victoria offer history as a stand-alone subject. Other territories and states have not made their position clear.

    "Ms Bishop has refused to rule out withholding money from the next $40 billion education funding round from those states that resist her push for a stand-alone compulsory history subject.

    "In the last funding round the Government provided $33 billion to the states and territories to run their schools and I believe that the Australian taxpayers would expect us to make the states and territories accountable for that investment," she said last month.

    "Yesterday Ms Bishop's office said: "The Minister hopes the state will agree with the proposal voluntarily." ...
    
    Full story in The Brisbane Courier Mail at link
    
    
    

• The Melbourne Age
  
  
  • Schools in limbo as teachers join MCG protest
    by David Rood and Jewel Topsfield
    
    "Dozens of Victorian schools will effectively close tomorrow when teachers and general staff walk off the job to protest against the Howard Government's industrial relations laws.

    "Up to 25,000 teachers are expected to join the ACTU rally that aims to fill the MCG with protesters.

    "The Australian Education Union said six schools had told parents they will close..."
    
    "But Victorian teachers who plan to walk off the job have received a ticking off from Prime Minister John Howard, who said the action would further reduce the esteem of the government education system in parents' eyes.

    "Instead of attending a Jimmy Barnes concert at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, teachers should be in their classrooms doing what they are paid to do," he said in question time in Parliament yesterday.

    "It's no secret that many Australian parents are voting with their feet against the government education system. Victoria has the highest percentage of school students enrolled in independent and Catholic schools anywhere in Australia."

    "Federal Opposition education spokesman Jenny Macklin said Mr Howard had tripped over himself in his enthusiasm for attacking public school teachers.

    "If he had stopped to check, he would have realised that Catholic school teachers will also attend the rally opposing the Government's extreme industrial relations laws," she said.

    "The Victorian Independent Education Union, which represents staff at Catholic and independent schools, expects more than 2000 teachers, principals and support staff to attend the rally. "John Howard is completely out of touch with schools, parents and what people in private schools think," union secretary Deb James said..."
    
    Full story in The Melbourne Age at link
    
    
    

Thursday 30 November

• The West Australian
  
  
  • I wasn’t briefed on probe: Ravlich (page 9)
    by Robert Taylor
    
    "Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich continued to plead ignorance yesterday over details of a Corruption and Crime Commission investigation into her department’s handling of sexual misconduct allegations, despite contrary evidence from former director general Paul Albert.

    "Recalled to give further evidence before a parliamentary inquiry into the matter, Mr Albert added a fourth meeting to the three from his previous evidence where he said he had mentioned the CCC’s probe to Ms Ravlich.

    "Mr Albert said the conversation had moved to the CCC’s investigation into problems at Central TAFE during a meeting on October 3 this year, nine days before the Minister was presented with the report that cost him his career. “The Minister made a comment that ‘at least that’s not to do with children’,” Mr Albert said.

    "He said that comment prompted him to tell Ms Ravlich that the CCC had completed a report into the handling of sexual misconduct allegations within the department. Mr Albert also gave more details of his conversation with Ms Ravlich after a meeting on August 2 where the Minister acknowledges she heard in general terms of the inquiry.

    “When I was walking down the corridor I recall the Minister asking me whether any of the individuals involved were still working with the department and when the events occurred,” Mr Albert said.

    He said he told Ms Ravlich that all but one of the individuals had left the department and most of the cases in the report had occurred before her time as Education Minister. But Ms Ravlich continued to maintain that she had never been given a detailed briefing of the CCC inquiry.

    "Of the October 3 meeting, Ms Ravlich said the only mention of the CCC she could recall was in relation to Central TAFE. “I’m a bit surprised that that has come up but if that’s Paul Albert’s recollection then that’s his recollection,” she said. “I can’t confirm it so I’ll have to deny it.”

    "Earlier, she told the Legislative Council committee that it was not good enough for Mr Albert to claim he had briefed her in passing.

    "Mr Albert conceded that he never gave Ms Ravlich a briefing note or written summary of the CCC inquiry.

    "A former press secretary to the Minister, Michelle White, told the inquiry that she had called her then chief of staff, Paul Joyce, and policy officer Daron Smith — both of whom were travelling with Ms Ravlich to Wiluna — and told them that she had received a press release from the CCC announcing the investigation on June 1.

    "On October 18 after the report was tabled, Ms Ravlich told Parliament: “I have to say that no officer in my office advised me that there would be the tabling of a report. Clearly no member of my staff, nor I, was aware of that (the CCC June 1) media statement.”

    "She said yesterday that she was not sure who prepared that answer for her but promised to inform the committee at a later date. She said she was never told of the media release."
    
    From The West Australian at link
    
    
    

  • Balga principal linked to operators of bungled school deal (front page)
    by Gary Adshead and Jessica Strutt
    
    "The Balga Senior High School principal who struck a $2 million deal now under investigation by the State's corruption watchdog is in business with the family whose company won the lucrative contract.
    
    "Merv Hammond, who retired as principal in October, is a shareholder in Victorian-registered shelf company Blue Hole Properties Pty Ltd.
    
    "Blue Hole's director and secretary is the son of businessman Michael Carton – the co-ordinator of the Balga Works Program that Mr Hammond helped to get off the ground with Education Department funding in 2004 through his school.
    
    "The West Australian revealed yesterday that the Corruption and Crime Commission is investigating the funding arrangement, which ceased in October – a year after Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich raised concerns with her department.
    
    "Alan Carpenter refused to answer questions about when the CCC was called in to investigate the deal or how much was paid by the Education Department to the program operator after the watchdog was alerted.
    
    "He also refused to answer questions in Parliament yesterday about the program's funding and whether any other Government funding was put into the project.
    
    "Mr Hammond confirmed his business relationship with the Carton family via Blue Hole since August 2005, but did not believe he had a conflict of interest. He said Blue Hole was set up with a view to involving him in future privately run support projects when he had retired as Balga's principal and that he did not think the company was up and running. He said the Balga Works Program was based on a memorandum of understanding and not a Government tender.
    
    "I view him (Michael Carton) as a saint," Mr Hammond said. [But many of his employees didn't: see next story.   Web] "I just signed the memorandum of understanding, which to me had no legal ramifications," he said. "There was no dollar value attached to it. Being blunt, I didn't go and ask anyone if I could sign this, we just did it."
    
    "The signed agreement led to more than $500,000 a year in department funding to supply staff for the Balga Works Program, which provided educational and other support services to students at risk of re-offending.
    
    "Balga Works Program spokesman Jon Cook claimed the Education Department still owed the project more than $500,000 and this was the reason staff had not been paid wages and superannuation.
    
    "He said the first he knew of a CCC inquiry was when he read about it in the newspaper.
    
    "Although the Balga Works Program's operations at Balga High School ceases in October 2006, it is still operating a hostel in Joondalup for at-risk youth." [Subject of next article]
    
    From The West Australian
    
    
    
  • Worker attacks way hostel was run (page 9)
    by Jessica Strutt
    
    "A youth worker at a Balga Works Program-linked accommodation hostel yesterday painted a damning picture of the way the centre has been run.
    
    "Meredith Duffus, of Girrawheen, said yesterday there was a lack of accountability about the way the hostel was run..."
    
    "She was not paid for months and had not paid bills.
    
    "She had to resort to the WA Industrial relations Commission to claim wages of almost $10,000 she said she was owed by Hurson Pty Ltd, which continues to run the facility..."
    
    Full story in The West Australian
    
    
    
    
  • Op Ed
    Government muddies the water before it boils over (page 17)
    by Robert Taylor, Inside State
    
    "The final two weeks of the 2006 parliamentary year have stunned even seasoned observers of the political scene with the ferocity of the battle..."
    
    "But despite winning some parliamentary battles, the Government's problem is that is has an Education Minister lurching from one crisis to another, a CCC inquiry that threatens to cause more pain for it than the Opposition and a couple of gnarly contracting scandals lying in wait.
    
    "The first will be dealt with by a reshuffle before Christmas which is expected to see Ms Ravlich move out of Education but remain in Cabinet.
    
    "Smart money is on a direct swap with Mr Ravlich for Mark McGowan in Environment but Housing and Works Minister Michelle Roberts and Planning and Infrastructure's Alannah MacTiernan are also being mentioned in despatches as possible first choices for Education..." [emphasis added]
    
    Full story in The West Australian
    
    
    
    
  • Ten Letters to the Editor (page 18), including:
    
    
    • "The State and Federal governments appear to have abandoned the Westminster system of ministerial responsibility. Ministers are pleading the oft-repeated excuse "I wasn't told", despite ample evidence to the contrary.
      
      "The fact that ministers were told of problems and failed to act means they are either corrupt or, at best, incompetent. In either case, they must be sacked.
      
      "A premier or prime minister who fails to dismiss them is lacking in courage and principle."
      
      Laurie Sutton, Willetton
      
      
      
    • Government asleep at the wheel
      
      "Ljiljanna Ravlich looks set to become the next casualty of yet another dysfunctional State Government department (Ravlich in more hot water, 28/11). The Education Minister claims she was never told of the CCC investigations by staffers or the head of her department.
      
      "It is hardly surprising that, with the State Labor Government's embedded practice of providing plum jobs for family and mates into the higher echelons of the public service and in ministerial offices, things are going awry.
      
      "We are now experiencing the tragic consequences of years of nepotism and cronyism, resulting in the appointment of people to responsible positions who neither have the qualifications nor the competence to function effectively in them.
      
      "Few areas of government have escaped, with major dysfunctionality being revealed in many key areas such as education, child welfare, health, law and justice.
      
      "WA in is imminent danger of spinning out of control with this Government asleep at the wheel and moving from crisis to crisis. We have seen that someone outside of the Cabinet, like Brian Burke, can "arrange" political appointments at will via puppets in the Cabinet.
      
      "It is time that those appointed to key positions in government were selected on the basis of their ability and skills and not because someone owes them a favour or they are family members who have little change of getting a decent job otherwise.
      
      "If this is what Labor promised as a new era of openness and accountability before being elected, then heaven help us."
      
      Dave Filzgerald, Applecross
      
      
      
    • "At first I thought, who is Ljiljanna Ravlich trying to kid by suggesting that she "failed to recollect" Paul Albert telling her on three separate occasions that the CCC was investigating allegations of sexual misconduct by teachers?
      
      "Then I realised she has selective hearing Teachers have been trying to tell her what they thought of the new courses of study and the clumsy implementation of OBE by the Curriculum Council for at least two years only to find themselves talking to a brick wall.
      
      "If she didn't listen to what we had to say, she certainly had a deaf ear for Paul Albert and he was a supporter of Ms Ravlich's educational crisis. It was certainly common knowledge among educators that Ms Ravlich refused to listen to anyone suggesting that implementation of OBE be delayed.
      
      "Unfortunately for Mr Albert his name wasn't Brian Burke. If it was, he might still have a job."
      
      David Sargent, Joondalup
      
      
      
    • "The dispute between scapegoat Paul Albert and Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich comes down to credibility. Unfortunately, Mr Ravlich has none.
      
      "Considering the reluctance of this Government to practice accountability, responsibility or honesty, I expect Ms Ravlich is quite safe. Yet you do have to wonder if any pressure is being applied by the Deputy Premier to protect a clearly incapable Minister."
      
      D Fluellen, Alexander Heights
      
      
      
    • "Politicians never accept responsibility for the failings of their departments. I thought such responsibility and accountability was why they deserved their huge salaries and benefits.
      
      "If the Carpenter Government is the best we can get to run our State, then we are really in trouble.
      
      "Ms Ravlich should go and make way for somebody who can do the job properly. Roll on the next election."
      
      Adrian Waddington, Bunbury
      
      
      
    • "I reckon Alan Carpenter would have to be the worst professional gambler seeing how he's always backing the wrong minister."
      
      Adrian Holland, Glendalough
      
      
      
    • "If I made as many head-in-the-sand blunders and wasn't aware of the goings-on in my job (like Ljiljanna Ravlich) I'd be sacked. Cheers Mr Carpenter, we'll be calling for your neck soon."
      
      Peter Williams, Koondoola
      
      
      
    • "... It can be argued that there is too much assessment in schools which does not originate with the student and his or her real concerns. Youngsters should be encouraged to learn about themselves, their strengths and weaknesses and to design and create their own vision and performance targets and goals. [And finish Year 12 unable to read, write and do sums.   Web]
      
      "Margaret Court's concept of "all winners with a future and a hope" have what it takes to become "champions in life" would then stand a chance of becoming a reality. The greatest gift a school can offer to its boys and girls is to bestow on them joy and curiosity in the learning process and lead them to the fulfilment of their personal potential to achieve worthwhile things..."
      
      Arthur Thomas Davies, Mindarie
      
      
      
    • plus two Letters on Christmas celebrations in schools
      
      
      
      
  • Parents use tutors for preschool head start (page 5)
    by Bethany Hiatt
    
    "Parents keen to give their children a head start at reading, writing and arithmetic are sending them to private tutors well before they start Year 1.
    
    "And some tutoring firms are running holiday bridging courses in the summer break to five preschoolers a taste of formal schooling..."
    
    "A1 Learning owner Julia Gilmore, who runs four tuition centres in the northern suburbs, said her preschool enrolments had increased 25 per cent.
    
    "Mainly because a lot of the children are more sophisticated, they're six months older and the programs for kindy and pre-primary aren't as relevant as they used to be," she said.
    
    "The current requirements for outcomes-based education are not appropriate for these bright children." ... [emphasis added]
    
    "Preschool bridging courses were "a load of nonsense", Edith Cowan University early childhood program director Carmel Maloney said.
    
    "Why would you want to let a child miss out on their Christmas holiday time to sit at a desk and hold a pencil?" she said..."
    
    Full story in The West Australian
    
    
    
    
  • Make friends with Muslims, Labor tells kids (page 13)
    by Rhianna King, Canberra
    
    "Christian primary school children would be forced to "buddy up" with Muslims, Hindus and Jews under a Federal Labor program which has immediately been criticised as social engineering gone mad..."
    
    Full story in The West Australian
    
    
    
    
• The Australian
  
  
  • Ravlich told of probe 'four times'
    by Amanda O'Brien, WA political reporter
    
    "The bureaucrat who ran Western Australia's education system for five years before losing his job last month says he told his minister four times that the Corruption and Crime Commission was investigating the department.

    "In evidence to a parliamentary inquiry investigating events surrounding Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich's claims to parliament not to have known about the investigation, an angry Paul Albert said that the last time he told her about the investigation was on October 3 - almost two weeks before the CCC report was tabled.

    "Mr Albert said he told her that the report on the investigation into the department's mishandling of allegations of sexual misconduct by teachers was imminent.

    "His claim was vehemently denied less than an hour later when Ms Ravlich was called before the upper house inquiry to explain herself. She said she had no recollection of the conversations. [emphasis added]

    "Ms Ravlich, one of several Carpenter ministers under fire over their performances and links with disgraced former premier Brian Burke, was adamant that she had been kept in the dark by Mr Albert.

    "Mr Albert's statement about a fourth meeting followed damning evidence on Monday when he named three other occasions that he mentioned the inquiry to the minister.

    "This included a "passing comment" made to the minister at a meeting around April or May this year and more specific comments at meetings in July and August.

    "Ms Ravlich has used her lack of knowledge to explain why she did nothing about the serious problems in her department.

    "Mr Albert was clearly furious at suggestions his previous evidence to the inquiry may not have been accurate because it was in such stark contrast to the minister's recollection.

    "He said the imputation had reflected on his integrity and affected his future employment prospects. [emphasis added]

    "Mr Albert was forced to resign after the CCC inquiry found his department was more concerned with protecting the welfare of staff than students and repeatedly failed to investigate complaints against teachers.

    "He told the inquiry yesterday he had two people who could corroborate his evidence about the October meeting if necessary. At that meeting, Mr Albert told the inquiry he had said something like: "Oh minister, in relation to the CCC inquiry into the department's handling of sexual misconduct, I've been told the finalisation of the commission's report is imminent." [emphasis added]

    From The Australian at link
    
    
    
    
  • Teachers give kids anti-Lib tracts
    by Justine Ferrari, Education writer
    
    "School children in NSW have been used to take home union leaflets from teachers planning to strike in the national day of action against the Howard Government's industrial laws.

    "Students at Jindabyne Central School in the Snowy Mountains and Dubbo Primary School in the state's west were given copies of the NSW Teachers Federation leaflet outlining its opposition to the Work Choices laws.

    "The federation has distributed about 500,000 of the leaflets, which explain that teachers will be striking to protect their students from the new laws. The leaflet is titled: "A message from teachers to parents about your child's rights in the workplace."

    "Teachers in public education are deeply concerned by the Howard Government's Work Choices laws and the effect they will have on all workers and on your child's future pay and working conditions," the leaflet says.

    "These changes will affect all young workers. Children under the age of 15 who work are already being pushed on to AWA individual contracts."

    "Teachers at the schools will be counselled for distributing the leaflets in contravention of state education department policy, which demands that "schools are neutral grounds for rational discourse and objective study".

    "They should not become arenas for opposing political or other views," the policy states.

    "Federal Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews accused the teachers of using students as postboxes to provide political campaign material to parents.

    "Mr Andrews told parliament it was "outrageous behaviour" and a blatant attempt to politicise the school system. "This anti-Work Choices pamphlet, which has been distributed in schools in NSW by the teachers' union, is clearly inappropriate material to be given to children as young as kindergarten and grade one through to grade six," he said.

    "Mr Andrews claimed the federation's behaviour was part of the reason behind the shift of students from the public to the private system..."
    
    Full story in The Australian at link
    
    
    

  • Cut & paste
    Teachers unions exploit children for political causes
    
    Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews, in parliament yesterday, on the politicisation of the school system
    
    "Teachers in NSW schools have been providing political campaign material to young students to act as a postbox for their parents. This anti-Work Choices pamphlet, which has been distributed in schools in NSW by the teachers union, is clearly inappropriate material to be given to children as young as kindergarten and grade one through to grade six. What we have here is a blatant example of the unions in NSW seeking to politicise the school system in NSW by providing this material to children as young as prep ...

    "Imagine the outcry if I sent a letter to schools in NSW to be distributed to school students in which it outlined all the lies that Unions NSW had been uttering about Work Choices. There would be complete outrage from the other side in this place if that were to happen. The NSW (Education) Minister Carmel Tebbutt may not know what Australia Day is, but can I say to her that this sort of activity is inappropriate on any day in schools in NSW. It is totally inappropriate.

    "(Today) teachers across Australia will in some cases close schools down so that they can attend, during a school day, rallies in relation to the anti-Work Choices campaign by the unions in this country. If the teachers and the union in Australia believe that this campaign is so important, why don't they do it on a day on which they do not have to close down schools in this country? The use of young students as a postal service to their parents is outrageous behaviour on the part of unions in NSW."
    
    From The Australian at link

    
    
  • Letters to the Editor
    
    
    • Just ask Brian Burke
      
      "If we really want to know if Ljiljanna Ravlich ("Minister fights for job after ‘lying’”, 29/11) was lying about not knowing that the Corruption and Crime Commission was investigating the Western Australian Education Department’s handling of allegations of teacher sexual abuse of students, then we should be asking Brian Burke. She has already made it clear that he was the one she sought for advice on how to handle most other accusations made against her in the media."
      
      David Sargent, Joondalup, WA
      
      
      
    • "From the other side of the world, I read with amazement the Corruption and Crime Commission’s contention that the Department of Education was more interested in protecting its teachers than its students. After nearly 30 years’ employment as a teacher in the state system in Western Australia, I don’t remember a single occasion or circumstance in which the department tried to protect its teachers from anything, under any circumstances."
      
      Kevin Murrell, County Tipperary, Ireland
      
      
      
    • Devalued state of history
      

      "I was struck by Bernard Anton’s self-defeating suggestion that we change the name of Australia Day to First Fleet Day (First Byte, 29/11). By this method, he seems to suggest, we might all understand more clearly the significance of what we are celebrating.

      "Sadly, Mr Anton, you don’t do anyone any favours by making things easier because, once introduced, it becomes a never-ending process; that’s what, these days, we term “dumming down”.

      "Given the devalued state of history teaching in schools, those who are unable to understand the meaning of Australia Day are unlikely to do any better with First Fleet Day. It reminds me of the philosophical conundrum: “If our brain were simple enough for us to understand it, would we then be too stupid to understand it after all?”
      
      A.G. Evans, East Fremantle, WA
      
      

      
      
• EducationNews.org
  
  
  • President Bush visits education program in Indonesia
    
    Nationwide innovations replace rote-memorization approaches
    [Or: Since OBE failed in the US, let's export it to Indonesia...     Web]
    
    "During a diplomatic visit to Bogor, Indonesia, today President George W. Bush met with students and teachers who are at the forefront of a new education approach in that country. The $157 million U.S. Presidential Initiative of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) focuses on basic education throughout Indonesia, developing school leaders and local management policy, improving teaching and learning in the classroom, and strengthening non-formal education at the junior secondary school level. A major component of the five-year program is managed by Education Development

    "Center, Inc. (EDC), a U.S.-based education development organization.

    "The initiative, known as the "Decentralized Basic Education," or DBE program, is now working with 29 local governments (100 by the end of the project) in eight provinces, reaching more than half of Indonesia's population of 250 million, to help local districts take on management of schools previously run by the national government. The program works with more than 532 schools and 5,600 educators serving more than 110,000 students.

    "Through the DBE initiative, educators learn new instructional strategies in math, science, literacy and civics education, with public, private, and religious schools all involved in the programs. For example, fifth grade science lectures have been replaced with student-led projects carried out in small groups. A lesson on human anatomy challenges students to make a functioning model of human lungs out of plastic water bottles, balloons, straws and tape. In the process, students learn that collaborative problem-solving is often more productive and efficient than individual work..." [emphasis added]
    
    Full story at EducationNews.org at link
    
    
    
    
• The Independent
  
  
  • Education adviser warns of two-tier school system
    by Richard Garner, Education Editor
    
    "A senior government schools adviser will warn today of an increasing segregation "between the haves and have nots".

    "Sir Cyril Taylor, chairman of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, will reveal that there are still nearly 400 secondary schools where less than 25 per cent of pupils obtains five top-grade GCSE passes - including maths and English (the new measure for school league tables) - the vast majority of which serve the most disadvantaged areas of the country. He will say: "It would be unacceptable if we end up with a two-tier system of education."

    "Sir Cyril will insist that schools should sack their weakest teaching staff if they are to succeed. He will compare their lack of success with the improvements made by those schools which have been given specialist status..."
    
    Full story in The Independent at link
    
    

  • The Big Question: Ten years on, has Tony Blair fulfilled his pledge to improve education?
    
    
    
    
• The Times
  
  
  • Prepare pupils for life, Blair tells teachers
    by Philip Webster and Alexandra Frean
    
    "Tony Blair will tell schools today to send pupils out into the world able to cook, communicate, enjoy the theatre and handle home finances.

    "As he marks the tenth anniversary of his promise to make “education, education, education” his priority in government, the Prime Minister will also tell teachers that it is their task to help youngsters to turn into rounded personalities.

    "He will say that the three Rs — reading, writing and arithmetic — remain as vital as ever to schoolchildren. But he will also say that schools should equip pupils with the “life skills” they need to go out into the world.

    "Mr Blair believes that pupils should have basic communication skills, including use of the internet and the ability to take part in debates.

    "His speech today may be dubbed the three Cs — cooking, communicating and culture — and it may upset traditionalists with its emphasis on non-academic learning..."
    
    Full story in The Times at link
    
    

• The Sydney Morning Herald
  
  
  • Rally to disrupt services
    by Nick O'Malley Workplace Reporter
    
    "Up to 500,000 people are expected to join rallies against the new industrial relations laws today, disrupting services such as transport, schools and hospitals..."
    
    "A spokesman for the Premier, Morris Iemma, said essential services would operate with skeleton staff. Schools would provide supervision, but teaching would be suspended..."
    
    "The federal Workplace Relations Minister, Kevin Andrews, accused the NSW Teachers Federation of politicising children by sending home a rally flyer.

    "It's this sort of behaviour from the teachers' union in NSW which is part of the reason that the Prime Minister said this week that parents are increasingly voting with their feet and moving from the public schools system into the independent schools system," he said.

    "Imagine the outcry if I sent a letter to schools in NSW to be distributed through school students in which it outlines all the lies which Unions NSW have been uttering about Work Choices..."
    
    Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
    
    
    

• The Melbourne Herald Sun
  
  
  • Schools gradings warning
    by Milanda Rout, education reporter
    
    "State school principals fear the controversial new grading system will drive students into private education.
    
    "A report commissioned by the Education Department, and seen by the Herald Sun, shows principals have concerns with the new definitions of grades A to E.

    "The research revealed secondary school principals were worried more students would drift to independent schools to get more A grades.

    "The State Government indicated last night the grades would be fine-tuned by the start of 2007, after months of criticism.

    "A spokesman signalled that the A grade would be revised to make it less difficult to achieve.

    "Principals, teachers and parents have expressed concern over the A grade because students can obtain it only if they are up to 18 months ahead of their class.

    "Pupils achieving good progress get only a C.

    "The Herald Sun revealed last week that teachers believed an A was beyond most students' reach.

    "State schools are required to implement the new grading system from next year. But Catholic and independent schools can decide whether they use the A to E definitions.

    "The latest report found principals were anxious about differences in school reports between the independent, Catholic and government sectors.

    "(There are) concerns that there might be a further drift of students to non-government schools if they report differently from their state counterparts," it read, "and/or are perceived as awarding more A grades in their assessment/reporting." ...
    
    Full story in The Melbourne Herald Sun at link
    
    
    

  • Bracks shuffles state's top jobs
    by Ellen Whinnett, state politics reporter
    
    "Permier Steve Bracks has demoted his transport, education and police ministers in a huge front-bench shake-up.
    
    "Only two ministers stayed in their portfolios -- Health Minister Bronwyn Pike and the Premier himself (Multicultural Affairs).

    "New Education Minister John Lenders was the biggest winner, taking over the portfolio described as the Government's No. 1 priority..." [Tassis replaces its education minister, Victoria replaces its education minister.. Come on, Carpenter, it's our turn.   Web]
    
    Full story in The Melbourne Herald Sun at link
    
    
    

• The Northern Territory News
  
  
  • Class chaos as schools rally IR
    by Ben Langford
    
    "Darwin schools face widespread disruption this morning as teachers skip work to attend the national day of action against the new workplace relations laws.

    "Australian Education Union NT secretary Alan Perrin said the union, which covers more than 80 per cent of teachers, expected ``five or six hundred'' teachers in the Darwin region to go to the rally for two hours from 8am..."
    
    Full story in The Northern Territory News at link

    
    
    
• CNN
  
  
  • Schools, teachers fight No Child Left Behind in court
    Associated Press
    
    Cincinnati, Ohio-- School districts in three states and the nation's largest teachers union asked a federal appeals court Tuesday to revive a lawsuit challenging the way government-mandated programs are funded.

    "The National Education Association and districts in Michigan, Vermont and Texas had sued to block the No Child Left Behind law, President Bush's signature education policy. They argued that schools should not have to comply with requirements that aren't paid for by the federal government.

    "Chief U.S. District Judge Bernard A. Friedman in Detroit dismissed the lawsuit in November 2005..."
    
    Full story at CNN at link
    
    
    

Friday 1 December

• ABC News
  
  
  • Carpenter stands by embattled Ravlich [6:00 pm]

    "The Western Australian Premier Alan Carpenter says he believes the Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich's statements that she did not know the details of a corruption inquiry into her department.

    "Two witnesses told a parliamentary committee yesterday they heard Ms Ravlich being told about the Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) investigation by the former Education Department director general Paul Albert.

    "Mr Albert told the committee he mentioned the inquiry to the Minister on four occasions.

    "Ms Ravlich says she was never formally briefed on the investigation and it was only mentioned to her once in passing.

    "Mr Carpenter says the different evidence is just a difference in recollections of very brief conversations.

    "Ljiljanna's recollection has been consistent, it hasn't changed," Mr Carpenter said.

    "There are numerous people around her and in her office who've said that at no stage was she ever briefed on the matter, and who support her evidence."
    

    From ABC News Online at link
  
  
  
  
• The West Australian
  
  
  • State credit card 'funded' school deal (Front Page Headline)
    by Gary Adshead and Jessica Strutt
    
    "The latest scandal to hit the Education Department deepened yesterday when it emerged WA Police were investigating claims a Government credit card was used to pay more than $100,000 in bills raked up by a private firm operating a Government-funded program at a Perth high school.
    
    "The West Australian has learnt that detectives have had an inquiry into the bungled $2 million Balga Works Program running since September with the Corruption and Crime Commission also involved.
    
    "After days of avoiding questions about the student welfare program, which operated at Balga Senior High School until October, Alan Carpenter confirmed yesterday that the unauthorised deal to launch Balga Works was signed during his time as education minister..."
    
    "[Program co-ordinator Michael Carton] said he was aware of bills being paid using the high school's credit card, but claimed it was all done with the approval of [Balga SHS principal Merv] Hammond and department chiefs..."
    
    "In a statement from the department yesterday, acting deputy director-general Keith Newton said current Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich raised concerns about Balga Works after receiving a letter from the liquidator of another Carton family company which was being wound up in Melbourne.
    
    "The department's investigation found that the school had not followed appropriate contract management guidelines," he said..." [No Kidding?!  Web]
    
    "Shadow education minister Peter Collier said it was clear Mr Carpenter had been evasive on the issue because the program was set up under his watch.
    
    "He called on the Government to come clean on the funding arrangement."
    
    Full story in The West Australian
    
    
    
    • Related story: Youths to be removed from Balga hostel (page 14)
      
      "After months of inaction, the Government announced yesterday it would remove nine youths in the State's care from a Balga Works Program-linked accommodation hostel. Premier Alan Carpenter said Department for Community Development acting director-general Ruth Shean had decided to withdraw the youths as soon as possible..."
      
      Full story in The West Australian
      
      
      
      
  • Education staff continue to contradict Minister (page 14)
    by Ben Spencer
    
    "Education Department staff again contradicted besieged Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich yesterday, saying they heard sacked director-general Paul Albert tell the Minister about a Corruption and Crime Commission investigation into her department's handling of sexual misconduct allegations..."
    
    "But yesterday, department acting executive director Siobhaun Mulvey and policy and review acting director Karen Ho told the parliamentary inquiry they heard Mr Albert raise the CCC's probe into the department's handling of sexual misconduct allegations at the meeting [on October 3]..." [Are there any bureaucrats left who are not "acting" ?    Web]
    
    "Opposition Leader Paul Omodei accused Ms Ravlich and her staff of "coaching" people from her office before they appeared at the inquiry."
    
    Full story in The West Australian
    
    
    
    
  • Ravlich survives, but Cabinet post looks shaky (page 14)
    Analysis by Robert Taylor
    
    "Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich looks likely to dodge another bullet with the Upper House committee inquiring into how much she knew of a CCC inquiry into sexual misconduct within the department failing to unearth a smoking gun.
    
    "But her position in Cabinet as Alan Carpenter moves towards a pre-Christmas reshuffle – likely to be announced straight after Parliament sits for one day on December 12 – is anything but secure.
    
    "The Government has had a shocking year – a lot of it self-inflicted– and some powerful figures see Ms Ravlich as a common thread running through much of it.
    
    "Her intransigence over outcomes-based education and failure to act early to neutralise departmental resistance to the changes sought to complaints management by the CCC have arguably done far more damage to Labor's public standing than the pathetic spectre of Norm Marlborough on the phone to Brian Burke.
    
    "The failure of Ms Ravlich's political antennae to pick up the danger lurking in the CCC investigation (from evidence given there appears little doubt that she was at least aware of the general thrust of that inquiry) has got people wondering why she'd be nay better in any other portfolio..."
    
    "Mr Carpenter will be loathe to dump Mr Ravlich given his strong support for her and the fact that he's already had to ditch two minister in less than a year. But others believe she has to be jettisoned to right the ship of state." [Is Mr Taylor on a nautical bent today?   Web]
    
    Full story in The West Australian
    
    
    
    
  • Editorial (page 18)
    Don't burden children with adult problems
    
    "Federal Labor's plan to push Christian primary school children into friendships with Muslims, Hindus and Jews is ugly politics.
    
    "It is based on using children in a social engineering exercise to make points about integration, or the lack of it, and multiculturalism.
    
    "It is an opportunistic attempt to seek political advantage from the uneasiness of many Australians about migrants who show little interest in accepting Australian values.
    
    "Integration should be encouraged, but children must be left alone to make their own friendships and not made to carry the burden of adult problems – or political ambitions."
    
    From The West Australian
    
    
    
    
• The Australian
  
  
  • Minister was told of probe, say staff
    by Amanda O'Brien, West Australian political reporter
    
    "Two senior members of Western Australia's Education Department have corroborated evidence from their former boss Paul Albert that he told his minister about a serious corruption probe.

    "Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich has repeatedly denied she was told about the Corruption and Crime Commission investigation into her department's mishandling of sexual misconduct complaints against teachers.

    "Her lack of knowledge has been used to explain why she did nothing about the serious problems in her department.

    "But yesterday, assistant executive director Siobhan Mulvey and acting policy director Karen Ho told a parliamentary inquiry examining the scandal that they clearly remembered Mr Albert telling the minister at a meeting on October 3 that the CCC report was imminent.

    "However, in diametrically opposing evidence, Ms Ravlich's principal policy officer, Wendy Dunne, who also attended the meeting, then told the inquiry the issue was not discussed. She tendered her handwritten notes from the meeting as evidence that it was not raised.

    "The parliamentary committee chaired by Greens MP Giz Watson has a week to untangle the mess before it reports to parliament on Thursday.

    "The committee is also trying to get to the bottom of contradictory evidence from several of Ms Ravlich's current and former staff about their knowledge of events. All witnesses have been warned before giving evidence that misleading the committee is a contempt of parliament, which is punishable by fines.

    "Knowingly providing false evidence to a parliamentary committee is also a criminal offence, with penalties of up to seven years' jail.

    "Both Ms Mulvey and Ms Ho said they clearly remembered Mr Albert's comment towards the end of the meeting but neither could recall if the minister made any response.

    "Mr Albert has told the inquiry he raised the matter with the minister on four separate occasions.

    "In her evidence, Ms Ravlich has denied any recollection of the conversations, with the exception of one passing comment in August, which triggered no alarm bells.

    "Mr Albert lost his job last month over the debacle.

    "Yesterday, Liberal leader Paul Omodei renewed his call for Ms Ravlich to be sacked, saying it was extraordinary that the issue had now come down to the word of the minister and her staff against the word of Mr Albert and his former staff.

    "On Wednesday, the minister's former media adviser, Michelle White, gave evidence that she became aware of the CCC investigation in June when the CCC released a media statement about it and it was mentioned in various news reports.

    "She told the inquiry she immediately raised the matter with her former chief of staff, Paul Joyce, who now works in the Department of Premier and Cabinet, and Ms Ravlich's policy officer, Daron Smith."
    
    From The Australian at link
    
    
    

• The Sydney Morning Herald
  
  
  • Christian school call for funds
    by Anna Patty, Education Editor
    
    "Low-fee Christian schools are asking for the same level of Federal Government funding given to Catholic schools.

    "In a submission to the Government's inquiry into funding for private schools, Christian Schools Australia says it is unfair for Catholic schools to receive more money than poorer Christian schools..."
    
    Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
    
    
    

• The Melbourne Herald Sun
  
  
  • An A-grade backdown
    by Milanda Rout
    
    "The controversial new A grade that teachers labelled unobtainable will be scaled down.
    
    "The State Government yesterday announced the changes to the new reporting system after months of criticism.

    "A government review found students did not get as many As and Bs compared with previous statewide tests.

    "The definition of an A will be revised from students having to be up to 18 months ahead of their class to 12 months.

    "Computer software used to create the reports will be altered before the grading system becomes compulsory next year.

    "It comes after the Herald Sun revealed principal and teacher research showed serious concerns about the grading scale, which applies from prep to year 10.

    "But key education groups said the change was not enough, with teachers demanding a complete overhaul.

    "Government spokesman Tim Mitchell said analysis revealed the number of As and Bs did not match numeracy and literacy test results.

    "After a statistical analysis of marks against independent AIM tests, the decision was made to fine-tune the system so it properly represented an even set of marks," he said..."
    
    "The Federal Government has tied funding to the introduction of A to E reporting for prep to year 10, but the State Government created the grading model." [Sounds familiar    Web]
    
    Full story in The Melbourne Herald Sun at link
    
    
    

• The Times
  
  
  • More choice and tougher A levels to help identify brightest students
    by Alexandra Frean, Education Editor
    
    * New A* grade will be introduced
    * More schools will adopt baccalaureate
    
    "A-level examinations will be made tougher with a return to more stretching, open-ended questions and the introduction of a new A* grade for the most able pupils, the Government said yesterday.

    "The move is part of a radical reform of the examinations system at 16-plus designed to help universities and employers to identify the brightest students.

    "The sweeping changes also mean that more state schools will offer the highly academic International Baccalaureate (IB) and new specialised vocational diplomas.

    "Tony Blair said that the measures were designed to provide more choice to ensure that students could choose the courses that best met their individual abilities and needs..."
    
    Full story in The Times at link
    
    Similar story in The Guardian
    Similar story in The Independent
    

    • Related story in The Guardian
      Explained: What is the [International] Baccalaureate?
      
      
      
  • Academies will be memorial to Blairite reform
    by Peter Riddell: Political Briefing
    
    "If anyone wonders why Tony Blair still wants to carry on as Prime Minister for another few months, just look at his education speech yesterday. This goes to the heart of what Blairism is about and, his challenge to the traditional Labour view that difference must mean inequity..."
    
    Full story in The Times at link
    
    Similar story in The Guardian
    
    
    
• The Guardian [also see two stories above]
  
  
  • Science chief says mavericks warp debate
    by Matt Weaver and agencies
    
    "Britain risks "sleepwalking into a future shaped by extremists" unless academics make their voices more clearly heard, the country's most senior scientist warned today.

    "Lord Rees, the president of the Royal Society, said that "mavericks" were grabbing too large a share of media attention in public debates on issues like climate change, stem cell research and nuclear power.

    "He also spoke out against the teaching of creationism in British schools, describing the denial of access to education about scientific views of the origins of life as "cultural deprivation"...

    Full story in The Guardian at link
    
    
    
    
• The Melbourne Age
  
  
  • Pupils who fight back are targets for bully, study finds
    by Chee Chee Leung
    
    "It's not just the mild-mannered that fall victim to school bullies, research shows that "hot-headed" children are at a greater risk of being targeted.

    "A Melbourne study of 400 bullying victims found students who reacted aggressively when provoked were up to 2.6 times more likely to be bullied than the "passive" victim..."
    
    Full story in The Melbourne Age at link
    
    
    

• The New York Times
  
  
  • A College Education Without Job Prospects
    by Anand Girdharadas
    
    Most of the 11 million students in India’s 18,000 colleges and universities receive starkly inferior training, heavy on obedience and light on useful job skills.
    
    "Mumbai, India — The job market for Indian college graduates is split sharply in two. With a robust handshake, a placeless accent and a confident walk, you can get a $300-a-month job with Citibank or Microsoft. With a limp handshake and a thick accent, you might peddle credit cards door to door for $2 a day..."
    
    Full story in The New York Times at link

 

Saturday – Sunday, 2 – 3 December

• The Sunday Times

© The Sunday Times

• ABC News
  
  
  • Opposition calls for Education Minister's resignation (1:44 pm)
    
    "The Western Australian Opposition says the Education Minister, Ljiljanna Ravlich, wrote a letter in support of a high school program which is at the centre of a Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) investigation.

    "The Balga Works program provides support and accommodation to disadvantaged teenagers.

    "The program is under investigation because it did not go through a public tender process.

    "The Opposition spokesman for Education, Peter Collier, says Ms Ravlich has previously denied having full knowledge of the operation of the program.

    "But he says a letter from the Minister, dated nine months ago, includes details such as funding information and operating times.

    "Mr Collier is calling on Ms Ravlich to resign as Education Minister.

    "The Minister for Education either has selective memory loss, she consistently misleads the Parliament or she is incompetent or a combination of all three," he said.

    "The Minister is not around her portfolio, she is incompetent and she does not deserve to hold the ministerial portfolio. In order to regain some confidence in the sector she must resign.

    "The Minister has been contacted for comment."
    
    From ABC News Online at link

    
    
    
• The West Australian
  
  
  • OBE literature course runs from Bard To verse (page 2)
    by Bethany Hiatt
    
    "High school students are asked to pretend they are Shakespeare or another 'canonical writer' and write in that style in a sample exam paper produced for a new outcomes-based education literature course.

    "English Teacher Susan Kenworthy said that students could theoretically also sit the paper after only studying one text.

    "She said that the new course was so full of jargon and ideology that it would kill students' love of literature.

    "Ms Kenworthy said exam writers had failed to ensure that students studied a balance of text types. In comparison, students who sat the TEE English Literature exam two weeks ago had to answer three questions on poetry, prose and drama.

    "In the sample paper, just one question asks students to write about a text they had studied outside of class. They are also asked to analyse a poem and to write about three passages from Science Fiction novels.

    "English Literature teachers said they were very surprised to see creative writing in a Literature paper. Some have said that they will refuse to teach the new course if it goes ahead in its present form. The head of English at a state school who did not wish to be named said there were conceptual and contextual problems.

    "To, say, pretend you are Shakespeare and write your next work in 40 minutes and then critique it in 20 - I would like to see the examiners try that one,' he said. Including creative writing in an exam could lead to students memorising and then reproducing a piece of wiring they had done earlier, he said.

    "He said heads of department had only five days from the day they received the sample paper to when they had to provide feedback to the curriculum council. [emphasis added]

    "Council chief executive David Wood said student would not have the skills or the experience necessary to respond to the question on a poem if they had only studied one text.
    
    "Students are given choices in section one to write analytically and in section three they may write analytically, argumentatively or creatively if they so desire," he said yesterday.

    "They must study a wide variety of texts as stipulate in the rationale of the course."

    "The new literature course will apply to Year 11 students in 2008."
    
    From The West Australian
    
    
    

  • Ravlich endorsed troubled program (page 8)
    by Jessica Strutt
    
    "Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich wrote a letter in March to residents who had raised concerns about the amount of taxpayers' money being spent on the Balga Works Program strongly supporting the project.
    
    "The March 16 letter was signed by Ms Ravlich and sent after she had already received a letter from a liquidator alerting her to problems with a company linked to the program in October 2005.
    
    "The Education Department claims that after she received the liquidator's letter Ms Ravlich immediately raised concerns about the program with the department, which advised the Corruption and Crime Commission..."
    
    "Last week, Ms Ravlich first refused to answer questions from shadow minister Peter Collier on the program but the next day told Parliament she was aware "in very general terms" of problems with the program, saying it was being resolved at a district office level.
    
    "Mr Collier said Ms Ravlich had either misled Parliament or she was incompetent..."
    
    "She said in relation to what she told Parliament, it was unreasonable to expect a minister to recall every detail about a complex issue at short notice..."
    
    Full story in The West Australian
    
    
    
    
  • Booze, sex and drugs spark school warning (page 2)
    by Bethany Hiatt
    
    "Exposure to pornographic music videos, alcohol-laced soft drinks and teenage rock and rap idols put too much pressure on young people to behave badly, the headmaster of a prestigious boys’ school warned yesterday.

    "Hale School headmaster Stuart Meade issued a call to parents and students to help tackle societal values.

    "He said while schools tried to set standards for students to aspire to, those same standards were not always upheld in society.

    “The makers of soft core music videos, the marketers of alcohollaced soft drinks, the editors of teenage magazines and the rock and rap idols are sounding no uncertain trumpets in advancing their agendas — alcohol, drugs and sex — and in aggressive and even violent self expression,” he said in his end-ofyear address to parents.

    “Those of us who believe that life has meaning and purpose — who believe that honesty, simplicity, respect and concern for others are lifelong and life-enhancing values, cannot in good conscience remain silent.”

    "Recent events in schools demanded action, but that had to be in partnership with parents.

    “Issues such as teenage parties, teenage values and, dare I say, family values, need to addressed head on,” he said.

    “We must work together on this and not wait until the boys are in Year 10 or older.” ...
    
    Full story in The West Australian at link
    
    
    

  • School canteens face chips and lollies ban (page 13)
    by Bethany Hiatt
    
    "The State Government is expected to announce strict new regulations tomorrow banning soft drinks, chips and lollies from school canteens.
    
    "Alan Carpenter foreshadowed a ban on junk food in school canteens when he announced a review of the nutritional value in school canteens earlier this year..."
    
    Full story in The West Australian
    
    
    
    
• The Weekend Australian
  
  
  • Pollies sing from the comic's song sheet
    by Amanda O'Brien
    
    "When comedian Barry Humphries was spotted at parliament this week, word went out that the Premier had a new adviser. After all, who could be better qualified to give advice on the farce engulfing Alan Carpenter's Government?

    "The other theory was that Humphries was collecting material for his show, which already includes skits on Brian Burke and telephones after last month's revelations of tapped conversations at the Corruption and Crime Commission hearings.

    "Either way, it was a breath of fresh air to see him trudging through the corridors of power, which increasingly resemble a scene from a Monty Python skit.

    "This week the spotlight was again on Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich as an upper house committee delved into who knew what about a corruption probe into her department's mishandling of sexual misconduct complaints. The reason this matters is that the CCC says it had serious concerns about the department's activities for more than a year, culminating in its formal investigation, but was unable to get the department to change its ways. Presumably, if the minister knew of the problem, she should have acted.

    "The bag of snakes has landed in the lap of Greens MP Giz Watson, Liberal MP Norman Moore and Labor's Graham Giffard, who are investigating it for the parliament. But after a week of evidence from 21 witnesses, they will need the wisdom of Solomon to decide what happened.

    "Ravlich's stance is that she wasn't told about the CCC investigation. Her former department head Paul Albert says he raised it with her four times. Two of Albert's former staff say they heard him tell Ravlich on one occasion, yet one of her staff at the same meeting says it wasn't raised.

    "And then there's the minister's former media adviser, who testified she knew of the investigation back in June and alerted other staff. They've given evidence they were never informed.

    "The expressions on the faces of committee members as they grappled to make sense of these contradictions have themselves been a feature of the hearings. But even recalling several witnesses to try and re-examine their evidence failed to shed any light. No one was prepared to budge.

    "The committee will release its findings on Thursday, promising more rich material for Humphries by the end of the week.

    "Meanwhile, the Premier continues to absorb the body blows, although a cabinet reshuffle is expected within weeks to shift Ravlich out of education. The Opposition wants her out of cabinet, but Carpenter will resist this, not wanting to eject a third minister from his team in less than a year. He's already lost police minister John D'Orazio and small business minister Norm Marlborough in spectacular scandals..."
    
    Full story in The Weekend Australian at link
    
    
    

  • Op Ed
    Blackboard bungle
    Failure to sack bad teachers is a scandal that has festered in our schools for decades, writes Judith Wheeldon
    
    "A shock headline in last Monday's The Daily Telegraph in NSW is good news: "104 teachers sacked, staff criminal and inept". Those who value good teaching for their children will be encouraged. The efforts and reputation of good teachers, the overwhelming majority, are undermined by the negative attributes of a small number of their colleagues..."
    
    "Removing bad teachers from our schools is a national issue of great importance. It is obvious that we fail our children if we make them spend a precious year trying to learn under the influence of a bad teacher or one who may damage them for life, but there are other reasons as well..."
    
    "Why have schools been powerless to sack bad teachers, child abusers andthieves?

    "In government schools, where principals have few powers to hire and fire, teachers may eventually be transferred to another school. In non-government schools, heads can try to terminate persistently poor teachers.

    "A principal concerned about a teacher's performance or behaviour may in a very circumspect and careful way begin a process of discussion and counselling, aiming first to improve the teacher's performance. Many careers have been rescued by a well-focused program of counselling and professional development. Termination of employment becomes the logical goal if rescue doesn't work.

    "Inevitably, the union steps in with vigorous defence. It is certainly valid for the union to ensure that any process that may threaten employment is fair. Too often, however, unions defend the indefensible. They claim to have rescued a poor, victimised teacher from the jaws of a marauding school principal.

    "But the damage done by over-exuberant defence of incompetent or even pedophile teachers has already done great harm to individual children and to our school system..."
    
    "With a school to run and lacking support from the school's legal advisers, the principal reluctantly joins the game of pass the parcel, sending an incompetent teacher out to a job at another school.

    "It seems more certain, quicker and better for the school in the short run for the teacher to leave gracefully. The price seems cheap: a payout and a good reference. The real price is in the lower quality of our schools.

    "When the prospective new employer phones, the principal is constrained to support the faulty reference. Sometimes a long silence on the phone or a cryptic comment suggests a problem that cannot be uttered, but too often the penny does not drop. Another parcel has been passed..."
    
    Judith Wheeldon is a former head of two private Sydney girls schools, Abbotsleigh and Queenwood.
    
    Full story in The Weekend Australian at link

     

• The Sydney Morning Herald
  
  
  • Op Ed
    Must try harder: Australia's inequitable education system
    by Adele Horin
    
    "Australians students don't know much about the Governor-General's duties, nor why the Union Jack is on our flag, nor about Australia Day, according to a report commissioned by the federal and state education ministers. And this has led to a good deal of hand wringing.

    "Yet again schools are under the gun. The Howard Government hardly lets a month go by without finding new reasons to deplore what is taught in schools.

    "There was the wrong values, the wrong approach to Shakespeare, the wrong slant on history, and then geography got a bashing for being too "environmental". Schools sent out the wrong kind of report card. And not enough schools were flying the Australian flag, until the Government provided the financial incentive to do so.

    "But all this invective is a smokescreen to hide what is really wrong with our education system. It is not that schools are turning out dumbos. On the contrary. Our students in general are high performers. Of children from 27 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), Australian 15-year-olds on average ranked second in literacy, sixth in mathematics and fourth in problem-solving in international tests in 2000 and 2003.

    "No, the problem is the system lets down youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds. For all our pride in being egalitarian, our education system and the way it is organised and financed is unfair compared to many others.

    "Unpicking the test results reveals that who your parents are and how well off your family is counts for more in Australia than elsewhere. School systems in Canada, Ireland, Finland, Korea, Iceland, Sweden, Austria, Norway and Japan have managed to ameliorate the effects of class and social background much better than the Australian system. And they have done so without sacrificing high performance, says Professor Barry McGaw, a former director of education at the OECD, now at the University of Melbourne.

    "While the average Australian student is almost as clever as the average Finn (who topped the literacy test), the Australian from a disadvantaged background is 1½ years behind a Finn from similar poor background. (The US is an example of the worst of both worlds - poor-to-middling results on average and inequitable.)..."

    Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
    
    
    
    
• The Brisbane Courier Mail
  
  
  • Easier to read cards
    by Tess Livingstone
    
    "State school students in Years 1 to 10 will be taking home new "plain English" report cards when school breaks up next week.
    
    "Education Minister Rod Welford said the reports were part of reforms to make it easier for parents to understand how their children were performing at school.

    "Students in Years 4 to 10 will receive gradings for each subject using a five-point scale, A to E.

    "As well as their academic results, students will also be rated for behaviour and effort.

    "It records student achievements for each learning area against what is expected for that year level, giving parents a better idea of how their child is progressing," Mr Welford said.

    "Younger children in Year 1 to Year 3 will not be graded from A to E but will receive reports that focus on their development rather than providing a grading.

    "There will be a different report card format using five ratings – Very High, High, Sound, Developing and Support Required," Mr Welford said.

    "These ratings were developed following advice from consultation with key parent and teacher groups.

    "This new system will be more straight forward for students and parents." ...
    
    Full story in The Brisbane Courier Mail at link
    

    • Sample: New school report for Years 1-3 [Word .doc]
      
      
    • Sample: New school report for Years 8-10 [Word .doc]
      
      
      
      
• The Times
  
  
  • Choosing the right way [Sunday]
    
    The pressure to bring back some form of selection in state schools is growing, says Sian Griffiths — now even private schools are calling for a ‘14-plus’
    
    "... Forty years after the launch of the comprehensive experiment and the abandonment of grammar schools, last week Tony Blair announced what may be his final push on education: a doubling, to 400, of the controversial city academies — which enlist the help of tycoons to try to transform failing comprehensives into thriving academies.
    
    "But for many, including the heads of leading private schools, it’s too little, too late. They will warn next month that standards in the state sector have now fallen so low that the only thing that will turn them around is a return to selection — though at the age of 14 rather than 11..."
    
    Full story in The TImes at link
    
    
    
    
  • Private schools reveal hidden charges to aid poorer pupils [Sunday]
    by Geraldine Hackett and Eleanor Green
    
    "The hidden “levies” charged to parents by independent schools to subsidise bursaries and scholarships have been revealed for the first time in newly published accounts.

    "Parents at some schools are paying an extra £2,000 a year to fund cheaper places for pupils who are either very bright or come from poor families..."
    
    "Many parents are happy to put money towards the fees of children of poorer families. But the scale of the levies and schools’ failure to inform parents explicitly about them is likely to be controversial..."
    
    Full story in The TImes at link

    
    
    
  • State schools leading drive to adopt the baccalaureate [Saturday]
    by Alexandra Frean and Alexandra Blair
    
    "It is often perceived as the examination of choice of independent schools, but the growth market for the International Baccalaureate (IB) is in the state sector.

    "Fifty-one maintained schools and colleges in the UK offer the IB, compared with 44 independent schools. In the past two years 18 state schools have adopted the IB as an alternative to A levels, compared with 13 independent schools.

    "The announcement by Tony Blair this week that 100 state schools would receive £26,000 each to cover the costs of introducing the IB is likely to boost growth further..."
    
    Full story in The Times at link
    
    
    

• The Washington Post
  
  
  • Reformers Aim to Curb Dropout Rate [26/11: just picked up by The Washington Post]
    by Sheila Byrd, Associated Press
    
    "Canton, Mississippi — He was only in 10th grade but already 18 _ and still failing many classes. It's no mystery why Rico Simpson dropped out of Canton High School.

    "He became a statistic then, part of Mississippi's 26.6 percent dropout rate, and in the period that followed: jailed twice, lacking a full-time job, about to become an unwed father..."
    
    "As the nation's high school dropout rate has reached crisis levels, educational reformers in some of the most troubled places have decided old, gradual approaches that don't work must be uprooted and replaced with more radical strategies that might actually succeed.

    "Mississippi aims to be one of those places. Its dropout statistics are among America's worst, and attacking them is a major component of a bold initiative by state education Superintendent Hank Bounds, who wants to reinvent the wheel when it comes to public schools..."
    
    Full story in The Washington Post at link

    
    

• The New York Times
  
  
  • Cheating on an Ethics Test? It’s ‘Topic A’ at Columbia
    
    
    
    
• The Adelaide Advertiser
  
  
  • School loses gender battle
    by Gavin Lower
    
    "A private school's attempt to discriminate against boys so it could enrol more girls has failed after objections from girls' schools nearby.
    
    " Pulteney Grammar School went to the Equal Opportunity Tribunal seeking an exemption from discrimination laws so it could enrol more girls to improve its gender balance.

    "Walford Anglican Church College for Girls and Annesley College objected, claiming the application was motivated by commercial considerations..."
    
    "The tribunal rejected Pulteney's application, saying it did not have to consider "competing theories of education".

    "It said discrimination against male students outweighed any "intangible" benefits that might be achieved if a 50-50 gender ratio were ever achieved."
    
    Full story in The Adelaide Advertiser at link

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This page last updated 17 April, 2009 10:47 PM