Many thanks to Cindy for filling in during my absence.   Web

Monday 16 July

Tuesday 17 July

Wednesday 18 July

Thursday 19 July

Friday 20 July

Saturday – Sunday, 21 – 22 July

Monday 16 July

• The West Australian
  
  
  • Editorial
    

    "The new director-general of the WA Department of Education and Training, Sharyn O'Neill, has had plenty of time to ponder the direction in which she should steer education in this State. She has been in the position in an acting capacity since October last year and so has seen at first-hand how deeply worried the community is about the quality of education in WA schools.

    "Concerns have been expressed in every quarter, from parents and children to employers and tertiary institutions, all fearing that education has become captive to faddism and social engineering at the expense of the basic principles of education.

    "Much of the pain expressed by teachers is connected with outcomes-based education and the tortured marking systems which have been applied, systems which don't give students or their parents a firm grasp of how they performing compared with their classmates.
    
    "The deep dissatisfaction which has invaded State education has seen thousands of parents vote with their feet, with a corresponding surge in private school numbers.
    
    "The year started badly, too, when the department realised, late in the day, that it did not have enough teachers. It has been playing catch-up ever since, even resorting to flying teachers in to remote schools.
    
    "Many experienced teachers are declaring that they have had enough of the mess that their profession has become and are leaving the system. A plan has been suggested to offer a bonus to encourage retired teachers to return to the profession.
    
    "Teachers complain of being undervalued and that their concerns are not addressed by their leaders.
    
    "This is Ms O'Neill's challenge. Not only must she find a way to repair the reputation of State schools in the eyes of the public, but she must accept that the distrust is based on reality. Schools have been failing children, parents, teachers and the community.
    
    "In an interview with this newspaper, Ms O'Neill showed she was willing to accept that there had been shortcomings and pledged to return to the basics of education. For that she deserves support.
    
    "She was unequivocal in saying that education was about children and not teacher accountability or the bureaucracy. She also accepted that a better way of describing student achievement was needed.
    
    "In recognising the concerns about "dumbing down" the system at the expense of more able children, she said that education should be directed at all students and not at a single group.
    
    "Education bureaucrats have been unwilling to accept either criticism or blame. Their favoured means of defence has been to shoot the messenger. Ms O'Neill must put an end to this bunker mentality and ensure that the department works co-operatively with teachers and the community to develop an education system of which WA can be proud.
    
    "Education is one of the fundamental government responsibilities. In a State with such a strong economy the community is entitled to expect the very best.
    
    "Ms O'Neill seems prepared to accept that there have been shortcomings in the past and that is the most important step towards a better future for schools.
    
    "She deserves support for her honesty."
    
    
    

• Education Watch
  
  
  • Making a balls-up of British education
    by Frank Furedi
    
    "As schools minister Ed Balls calls for lessons in emotional and economic wellbeing, it's clear the Brown government is as philistine as the Blairites.
    
    "Over the past 10 years, New Labour's ministers for education and schools have been remarkably consistent. That is, they have consistently screwed up the school curriculum.

    "Those who thought that Estelle Morris (UK secretary of state for education and skills from 2001 to 2002) was as bad as it gets must now realise that dumbing down education is part of the job description for school ministers under New Labour. And it looks like Ed Balls, who has been appointed secretary of state for children, schools and families by new PM Gordon Brown, possesses a formidable skill for generating dumb ideas.

    "Balls' first major initiative, announced last week, was to introduce the teaching of social and emotional skills to schoolchildren. Schools in England will get £13.7million in government funds to teach pupils manners, respect and good behaviour. So at a time when many children can barely spell `respect', Balls reveals that lessons in emotional intelligence will be the driver of his education revolution.

    "Last week it was respect - this week it's money-management. Balls has announced that, as part of an overhaul of the Key Stage 3 curriculum for older pupils, 11- to 16-year-olds will be introduced to a new subject: `economic wellbeing and financial capability'. Apparently Balls wants children to learn how to manage their money, since `money plays a crucial part in all our lives'; the aim is to `help youngsters to prepare for financial pressures after leaving school' (1).

    "Tomorrow, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority will unveil these reforms to the curriculum in full, as more and more worthy issues are recycled as academic subjects. For example, it is likely that there will be further tampering with the geography curriculum, to give it an even `greener interpretation' and an `additional focus on climate change and recycling' (2).

    "New Labour's pick'n'mix approach to the curriculum is underpinned by a belief that education is far too important to be left to educators, their pupils and families. The government seems to believe that if only schools would teach children enough about sex education, emotional intelligence and respect, then problems like teenage pregnancy, crime and community corrosion might disappear. They simply don't understand that the best way to turn children into inspired and socially responsible citizens is to challenge them through real academic subjects.

    "You don't need a degree from Harvard to know that a pupil who has grasped basic maths is likely to be better at handling money than a kid who got an A in `economic wellbeing and financial capability'. Decades of experience also show that citizenship classes do not produce brilliant citizens, that sex education does not reduce teenage sexual activity, and that emotional education has not given rise to a cohort of self-aware and confident young people. All that has happened as education has been instrumentalised by New Labour is that teachers and children have been distracted from engaging with the academic subjects that could take their classrooms forward and really prepare children for the future.

    "New Labour's philistinism towards education can seem contradictory. Both the Blairites and now the Brownites have appeared to have `too little' and `too much' interest in education. They are not very interested in the content of basic subjects like maths, English and science - but they are excessively interested in constantly changing the curriculum to make it reflect the government's policy agenda.

    "If I were a betting man, I would put my money on there being a further erosion of the important dividing line between education and the promotion of political values."

Tuesday 17 July

• The West Australian
  
  
  • Schools now '200 teachers short'
    by Kim Macdonald
    
    "State schools could be plunged into chaos when students return next week with the union warning there may be a shortfall of up to 200 teachers, some of whom have not even told the Education Department they had quit at the end of last term.
    
    "State School Teachers Union president Mike Keely said yesterday many teachers had refused to tell the department about their plans to leave the profession or retire from next week because they were angry about heavy workloads.
    
    "Based on Mr Keely's forecast, the shortage of teachers in State schools next week would be up to five times greater than when school broke up just over a week ago, when there were about 40 vacancies. The Education Department did not contradict the Director General Sharyn O'Neill said the department was "working hard on filling vacancies that still exist for the start of term three".
    
    "Mr Keely also warned the union would push for a four-day teaching week for teachers at any school with five or more vacancies because it was unreasonable for the remaining teachers to cover the excessive workload.
    
    "(The Education Department) won't have all the information (about the coming vacancies) they won't have full information because there will be people who simply won't turn up," Mr Keely said. "It's part of that sense of teachers that they are not values. It makes a statement and it's also an expression of their frustration."
    
    "Mr Keely said up to a dozen teachers had told the union they would not turn up next term but had not given the department notice because they wanted to make a dramatic statement.
    
    "He said the resignations added to dozens of retirements and planned departures that had taken effect during the school holidays. He refused to condemn those who had resigned without notice, claiming teachers were frustrated and emotional after years of inaction on staff shortages by State and Federal Minister Julie Bishop to tie pay to performance.
    
    "Mr Keely conceded that teachers who quit without notice would lose the right to some accumulated entitlements, such as sick leave and long-service leave.
    
    "Ms O'Neill said she would be concerned if teachers felt undervalued. "I have made it a priority to listen to teachers' concerns and to ensure that as an organisation we communicate better with staff so they feel more values as individuals," she said."

Wednesday 18 July

• The West Australian
  
  
  • Teachers test their claim of professionalism
    
    "A new school term is just days away and the WA Education Department is facing yet another crisis over staffing. It admitted yesterday that it could be as many as 150 teachers short, a result of mid-year resignations by teachers either retiring or quitting the profession.
    
    "The State School Teachers Union has warned that some teachers have not told the department that they are leaving and simply will not turn up to work, as a protest at what they say are their heavy workloads.
    
    "If the union is right, that is a most disappointing response from employees who insist that they should be seen as processionals. Their protest will do no more than disrupt the education of schoolchildren and make life even harder for their former colleagues.
    
    "That is bewildering enough, but teachers at Karratha Senior High School have threatened to push for a four-day week because the school is so badly understaffed. The teachers reportedly believe their workload is so intense that the school is an "unsafe environment".
    
    "It is difficult to see how having teachers work four days a week would solve the problem, and the threat is ironic in view of the suggestion that teachers believe themselves undervalued in the community.
    
    "It is also odd that teachers, who rightly regard themselves as professionals, are fighting Education Minister Julie Bishop's plan, however impractical it might be, to reward good teachers. After all, that is what happens in other professions.
    
    "The staffing difficulties which continue to bedevil the Education Department have as much to do with the State's robust economy as they do with teachers' perception of how they are valued.
    
    "Experienced staff in all fields is hard to come by, as the State Government has found in its search for nurses and police officers, and as employers in the private sector know all too well.
    
    "But where other industries are coming up with their own ways of encouraging new staff to sign on and to maintain existing employees, the teachers' union continues to resist the performance-pay notion and thereby ensure the best and most dedicated teachers receive the same remuneration as every other teacher.
    
    "That is not only unfair but must be a disincentive for talented young people assessing their career options.
    
    "Meanwhile, the department must find a way to deal with its significant short-term problems, which go beyond teacher numbers to include concerns about how the fundamental aspects of education, literacy and numeracy, are being managed in WA schools."
    
    
    
  • Bureaucrats urged to fill in for lack of teachers
    by Bethany Hiatt
    
    "Senior bureaucrats from the Education Department's central office are being urged by their bosses to return to teaching as part of an increasingly plan to tackle WA's teacher shortage.
    
    "And in further evidence of the emerging crisis, teachers in one country town have threatened to front their classrooms for only four days a week in protest at heavy workloads.
    
    "Acting deputy director-general of schools Keith Newton confirmed last night education chiefs had called for volunteers from the department's sprawling East Perth office, dubbed Silver City, to ease the shortage. Hundreds of bureaucrats are based at the massive compound but it is not known how many have a teaching degree.
    
    "The department is providing the opportunity for people working in central office with a teaching background, who would like to assist at this time, to take up a teaching position," he said. "The department will match their teaching skills to appropriate vacancies."
    
    "Mr Newton conceded yesterday that the department was struggling to find enough teachers after State School Teachers Union president Mike Keely said that schools could be short by more than 200 staff when students return to classes on Monday.
    
    "Mr Newton could not say how many teachers would turn up for work next week but estimated the shortfall across the State was about 150.
    
    "But that's not necessarily going to be the case on Monday morning," he said. "That figure has come down over the last few days and we expect it to be lower again by Monday."
    
    "Mr Newton said it was unlikely that any schools would resort to four-day teaching weeks but did not rule it out.
    
    "The scramble to fill vacancies came as teachers at Karratha Senior High School threatened to teach only four days a week next term of the department did not supply enough teachers to staff the school.
    
    "During this time all teachers will be on site and time will be devoted to preparation, planning and assessing to ensure that teachers can be adequately prepared for teaching," a letter from union members to the Education Department said.
    
    "This will continue until staffing issues are resolved."
    
    "The letter, a copy of which was obtained by the West Australian, said that some classes had not had a permanent teacher all year and the school was likely to start the third term six teachers down.
    
    "Mr Newton said the department had provided more clerical support to Karratha to take pressure off teachers.
    
    "Shadow education minister Peter Collier said the "cry for help" from Karratha was symbolic of the problems infesting the education system.
    
    "If the department doesn't do something about it they'll further exacerbate the problem and we'll have a massive teacher shortage at the beginning of 2008," Mr Collier said."
    
    
    
    
• The Brisbane Courier Mail
  
  
  • Teachers asked if they are being bullied
    
    "School teachers can detail their experiences of being bullied by parents or senior colleagues in a nationwide survey to help curb the problem.

    "The University of New England (UNE) launched the online survey in late June and will take responses until October 1.

    "UNE professional studies lecturer Dan Riley leads the study and is working in collaboration with Professor Deirdre Duncan of Australian Catholic University.

    "The two have previously published results from a 2005 survey that revealed 97.5 per cent of Catholic schoolteachers had experienced some form of bullying in their career.

    "The survey showed teachers had been bullied most often by school executives, then parents, and followed by principals.

    "While most of the situations experienced were at the lower levels of seriousness, including attempts to undermine or belittle a teacher's work or criticism in front of colleagues, they were serious enough to affect the mental or physical health of some of the respondents," Dr Riley said.

    "It's a bit frightening – we didn't actually expect to find what we did."

    "Participating teachers will have their anonymity and confidentiality preserved, the UNE designer of the website said.

    "The findings of the survey are expected to be published by late December."

Thursday 19 July

• The West Australian
  
  
  • High school truancy rates up in the Kimberleys
    by Bethany Hiatt
    
    "Truancy rates in the Kimberley have soared in the past three years, with the number of secondary students attending classes dropping to less than half in some schools, Education Department figures have revealed.

    "As police tackle a wave of child sex abuse allegations in Kimberley towns, the data show that the high school attendance rate at Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing was 45 per cent last year, compared with the state average of 88 per cent.

    "Attendance rates at Halls Creek have plummeted since 2004, when it was 63 per cent, dropping to 47 per cent in 2005.

    "Despite its showing last year, high school attendance at Fitzroy Crossing has improved since 2004, when it was 38 per cent. It rose to 48 per cent in 2005.

    "But truancy has risen among secondary students at most schools across the Kimberley.. Attendance at Kunnunurra District High plunged from 79 per cent in 2004 to 63 per cent last year, Kalumburu dropped from 68 to 54 per cent and Oombulgurri Remote Community School fell from 82 to 62 per cent in that time.

    "Kimberley education district director Stephen Baxter said truancy problems were closely connected to broader social issues affecting Aboriginal communities.

    “I think you’ve got to look at the broader social context … the issues of social fabric and unfortunately the issues of social dysfunction in some of the communities,” he said.

    “The more issues we have within our communities, the more likely it is that our students are not going to attend our schools.”

    "Mr Baxter said all principals had set improvement targets and he was confident that many Kimberley schools would improve their attendance rates significantly this year.

    "He said schools such as Halls Creek and Oombulgurri had boosted student numbers this year after introducing special incentives, including music and football programs, to entice students to the school.

    "Shadow education minister Peter Collier said the “chalk and talk approach” to teaching Aboriginal students often was not as appropriate as teaching them life skills.

    “So if the Education Department is already introducing programs that are generated towards these life skills, I would like to think that would have a positive impact on improving attendance rates,” he said.

    "Education Minister Mark McGowan is on leave and was not available for comment."

    
    

  • Letters to the editor
    
    
    • No wonder teachers quit
      
      "I am a teacher. I graduated two years ago at the age of 50. I am classed as a “temporary teacher” which means at the end of each year I am sacked and I spend many hours applying for every position available, hoping to gain employment the following year.

      "The week before school returns I anxiously wait for a letter from the Department of Education advising me of a job, giving me very little time to prepare for the following year. Like many teachers, I am constantly thinking, working and studying to better my teaching methods. I spend time every “holiday” attending workshops and lectures at my own cost.

      "I choose to work in the government system – teaching at “difficult to staff” schools. I have 30 years of experience in the social-welfare sector and many complimentary references from principals, parents and students.

      "I develop strong relationships with the communities I work in (which are incredibly divers in culture, language and background). This is paramount for effective teaching today. This is obviously not even considered when my contracts finish in December each year and that connection with communities is lost. Where’s the wisdom in this?

      "I owe the Government $13,000 in HECS fees. I am paid $46,000 a year.

      "Statistics show us that one-in-five new teacher graduates leave the education system in the first two years of teaching. There is no support for or value of teachers in the system and I can understand why they are seeking alternative (and far better paid) employment."
      
      Verna Nowland Hurst, Bassendean

  
  

  • An extra day

    "No, editor, it is not “difficult to see how having teachers work four days a week would solve the problem” (Teacher test their claims to professionalism, 18/7) for the overworked teachers at Karratha Senior High School.

    "If you took the time to investigate their side of the story you would find that most of these teachers were teaching full days to make sure that the students were supervised due to the lack of teachers in some learning areas. That meant going home at night to do all the paperwork – marking, assessing and analysing the day’s lessons and preparing for the next day. There just weren’t enough teachers this time during schools days, let alone any time for professional development or collegiate communication and support (which would be even more necessary given the situation).

    "Legally, the students require full duty of care so, by making the students’ week four days, it gives the teachers a fifth day to do all of the extra things that come with the job.

    "The fact that these people could walk into a job in the same town that pays them twice what they earn as teachers and that, after 20 years in the job, teachers earn equivalent to the average weekly wage should also be taken into account.

    "Yes, there is a shortage of nurses, police and teachers – and it is about time that these occupations were given the pay that they deserve. Nothing is more important than our health, safety and education."
    
    Michael Bruijn, Waikiki

Friday 20 July

• The West Australian
  
  
  • Maths 'fads' send our kids to bottom of class
    by Bethany Hiatt
    
    "Maths teaching in schools and universities has fallen victim to "fads" rather than concentrating on core principles, an alarming submission to a national numeracy review has warned.
    
    "The draft submission by mathematics experts, released yesterday for comment, was highly critical of how authorities tried to boost student achievement in maths and improve the preparation of graduate teachers.
    
    "Melbourne University professor Hyam Rubinstein and Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute executive officer Jan Thomas said they were concerned that mathematicians and teachers had been largely ignored in the process.
    
    "They said a lack of input from discipline experts and people who used mathematical sciences had led to cases where "school curricula tends not to reflect pertinent mathematical content and has become a victim of fads".
    
    "We have got to have more involvement of mathematicians, statisticians, classroom teachers and people in business and industry," Ms Thomas told the West Australian. The draft submission states that maths has "lost its coherence and many of its successful teachers."
    
    "It calls on the numeracy review committee to define clearly what maths knowledge students should have at each year level and what teachers need to know so they are able to teach maths at junior, middle and senior years.
    
    "The teaching and learning of mathematics in Australia is in serious trouble in schools and universities and the solutions complex," the draft states. "Australia is in serious trouble in schools and universities and the solutions complex," the draft states. "Australia is becoming less mathematically capable over time."
    
    "The submission said the extent of the national decline in maths teaching and learning had been glossed over in the numeracy review's background paper.
    
    "It noted that Trends in Mathematics and Science Study international testing showed the performance of WA students in maths against those from other States had slipped from first place in 1994 to sixth in 2003.
    
    "The submission also noted that benchmarking of Australian primary maths curriculum against Japan, Singapore and California had showed the international curriculum was better.
    
    "The national numeracy review, set up by the Council of Australian Governments in April, is being chaired by NSW academics and board of studies president Gordon Stanley.
    
    "It should deliver its final report next month. Professor Stanley was also recently appointed to chair a panel advising the WA Government on the development of new syllabuses for students in kindergarten to Year 10."
    

    
    

  • Letters to the editor
    
    
    • Education bureaucrats have defeated me
      
      "With dismay and sheer frustration I have been following the recent disconcerting reports and letters published about the "critical" shortage of teachers in WA schools. Consequently, I am perplexed about why, at the start of the 2007 school year, with more than 20 years teaching experience in WA, I had not received a call or any form of correspondence about a teaching post.
      
      "My teaching portfolio contains excellent references and recommendations from principals, colleagues and parents of students I have worked with in the past.
      
      "However, I am still considered to be a "temporary" teacher by the Department of Education. Contracts range from a term to one year, my reward for loyalty and commitment being termination of employment with absolutely no guarantee of an ongoing teaching position, despite, in many instances, vacancies at the same school I have been teaching at. A big proportion of experienced teachers are classified by this temporary status and have difficulty attaining permanency within the department.
      
      "Positions are being allocated to less-qualified teachers lacking suitable experience, preference being given to male teachers and schools bypassing the merit system when appointing staff. The same scenario is being played out in schools across the State.
      
      "The irrevocable decision has now been made to change career paths. I feel defeated, constantly having to battle the bureaucracy within the Department of Education and will endeavour to use talents and skills gained through many years of teaching in another field - as a valued and respected employee.
      
      "Numerous, inherent problems need to be addressed with the utmost urgency if our Department of Education is deemed to be serious in its attempts to attract new teachers and retain experienced personnel in a currently substandard, malfunctioning education system that necessitates a major overhaul.
      
      "Education is one of the Government's fundamental responsibilities. It is little wonder dedicated, proficient professionals, who once truly believed they had the opportunity and ability to create an impact on the education of our future generations, are now leaving the system in droves, demoralised and disillusioned. Have you spoken to a teacher who is "happy" with their job recently?
      
      "I believe this letter will further vindicate and impede my already tenuous situation with the Department of Education, hence I have requested my name and address be withheld."
      
      Name and address supplied

  
  

  • In Short
    
    Too many variables
    
    "In response to your editorial (18/7) in which you advocate performance-based pay for teachers, this may be considered by some to be a fair and equitable idea, but as a teacher I disagree. There are just too many variables. At some schools, simply getting the children to attend school may be considered a "good performance". For others, to have a week without any student being suspended may be considered a good week. At many schools, where truancy and behaviour are not of major concern, performance is measured by academic achievement. Pastoral care is yet another area where performance may be difficult to measure. Performance-based pay can be fair and equitable only if each school has its own criteria, thus creating more red tape for principals and teachers to wade through. It would create only more stress."
    
    M.Davis, Myaree

Saturday – Sunday, 21 – 22 July

• The Sunday Times
  
  
  • WA Schools Fail Uni

    Basic English and maths are beyond most students (page 12)
    by Jim Kelly

    "Academic standards in WA are so poor that university students need special lessons in how to write a sentence and other basic skills normally taught in primary school.

    "Perth academics have slammed the embarrassing decline in education standards.

    "Some students are enrolling in courses without an understanding of basic written English.

    "Retired Curtin University professor Steve Kessell claims universities are enrolling students who need to be taught how to write a sentence.

    "He also said their mathematics skills are so substandard, they struggled to complete undergraduate degrees within three years.

    "His claims were echoed by Murdoch University physics professor Igor Bray, who regularly visits Perth high schools as part of an outreach program.

    "He said academic standards in schools and universities had been failing for 20 years and could take another 20 years to fix.

    "The damning assessments were submitted to a Senate Committee inquiry into academic standards of school education and come as the head of WA’s Education Department vows to return to the basics of learning.

    "Prof Bray blamed the decline on a fall in the number of well-trained teachers.

    “I would claim that, overall, there are fewer academically well-trained high school students than before,” he said in his Senate Committee submission.

    “Why this is so is also undeniable. There are fewer well-trained teachers than before.”

    “The solution is simple, but expensive. Start treating and paying teachers as some of the most important professionals in a society.”

    “Once we start doing this, in 20 years we may get back to where we were.”

    "Prof Kessell said he had watched academic standards among undergraduate students slowly decline up to his retirement in 2004.

    "He said students were arriving at university without an understanding of basic grammar and punctuation.

    “It was pretty scary,” he said. “These students were not the international students or Australian students with English as a second language, these were dinky-di Aussie boys and girls.

    “We found it necessary to introduce a mandatory first-year technical writing unit (at Curtin University) where it was necessary to review ‘what is a sentence’, ‘what is a paragraph’, why nouns and verbs must agree’, basic grammar, basic punctuation.

    “(They were) the sort of thing my generation learnt in primary school."

    From The Sunday Times
    
    Read the Perth testimony to the Senate Inquiry at this link
    
    
    
    
• The West Australian
  
  
  • Wanted: 100 more teachers
    
  by Bethany Hiatt

  "Many State schools face a chaotic start to term next week with the Education Department conceding it is likely to have a shortfall of more than 100 teachers.

  "Acting deputy director-general of schools Keith Newton said central office staff were still working to fill 150 vacancies – the same figure he gave The West Australian last Tuesday.

  “With more than 50 of these positions under offer, the number of vacancies is likely to be lower on Monday before students return to schools on Tuesday,” he said.

  "If a position is under offer it means a teacher has been found but they are still considering whether to take the job. Department staff will work throughout he weekend to try to fill teaching positions.

  "Mr Newton said most of the vacancies were in country high schools.

  "The State School Teachers Union last week estimated there could be a shortfall of up to 200 teachers at the start of term. Union president Mike Keely said yesterday his prediction had been fairly accurate.

  “The problem they have is even as they get hold of people they’re losing people, so they’re just keeping the balance,” he said. “It doesn’t augur well for early next week.”

  "Mr Keely said schools with a big shortfall of teachers would have a “dreadful time”. The union would push a four-day teaching week at schools that were severely understaffed because it was unreasonable for the remaining teachers to cover the excessive workload.

  "The department did not reveal which districts were likely to suffer the most shortages but the worst-hit at the start of the year were the Pilbara and Goldfields.

  "Goldfields district director Larry Hamilton said he believed his schools were in a better position now.

  “We’re better off than some other districts at the moment,” he said. “That’s not to say we won’t have shortages, we will start the term with some positions still vacant.”

  "Education chiefs have resorted to calling for volunteers from the ranks of people with teaching qualifications who work in the department’s head office to ease the shortage."
  
  From The West Australian
  
  
  

  • Letters to the Editor
    
    
    • I disagree
      

      "The editor has exemplified the infuriating attitude that teachers must be selfless martyrs for the sake of the children (editorial, 18/7). Why be surprised that some teachers would start behaving unprofessionally when they are neither treated nor remunerated as professionals ($18,000 less than the average salary)?

      "The “professional” tag is used to keep teachers obedient and discourage fighting for better conditions and pay. They feel obligated to be social doormats or else neglect the children and the bureaucracy that has no respect for them. Doctors don’t sell their skills cheaply, even if your life depends on it, and pharmacists don’t give away expensive lifesaving drugs. Who puts them on a guilt trip? It is this selfless attitude that has worked against teaching as a “profession”.

      "The very idea that a pay system based on merit would encourage better performance and new applicants is ridiculous. Teachers are exhausted doing the bare minimum, how much harder can you expect them to work for less than what is now the average blue-collar wage?

      "It’s about teachers started fighting dirty. Playing nice and being reasonable has seen their average pay drop to 44 per cent of a backbench politician’s salary ($56,000 versus $127,000). They can’t go on being the pack mules that carry all of society’s ills for a couple of carrots and a pat on the head.

      "Hopefully the editor and others in positions of influence will recognise their patronising attitude before the classrooms are empty of teachers altogether.

      A. Arundel, Swan View
      
      

  
  
• The Weekend Australian
  
  
  • Public debate is the first step towards improving the nation's failing school systems
    
  by Kevin Donnelly
  
  "How successful is Australia's education system? Based on apparent high rates of illiteracy, automatic promotion of students without the necessary knowledge and skills, our second-rate performance in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study tests and a dumbed-down, outcomes-based approach to curriculum, the answer is: not very.

  "Unsurprisingly, as noted in the federal government-funded survey Parents' Attitudes to Schooling, on being asked to give their views about the quality of school education, only 58.3per cent of parents of primary school-aged children expressed satisfaction, while at the secondary level that figure was 39.9 per cent.

  "Two of the top three parental concerns are the quality of the curriculum and the standard of teaching. As may be expected, those responsible for falling standards and under-achievement argue that all is well and that any talk of a crisis is a media beat-up or a conservative political ploy.

  "Take the Australian Education Union's submission to the Senate committee's inquiry into education standards, which held hearings across Australia early this month.

  "The AEU argues that "standards in Australian schooling compare favourably with those in most other countries and historically", and that the Howard Government's concerns about standards are simply "a means of diverting attention from the inequity of its funding mechanisms and attacking its critics".

  "By making public the parlous state of our education system, commentators such as myself, in articles in The Australian, are condemned by the AEU as being involved in "reactionary witch hunting" and guilty of employing "myths, misconceptions and deceit".

  "The AEU is not alone in wanting to shoot the messenger. Last year the educrats from the Australian Curriculum Studies Association and the Australian Secondary Principals Association put out a media release arguing the education debate had been "hijacked by partisan political views and media commentators pushing their own barrows".

  "The Australian Association for the Teaching of English is another organisation that argues all is well; it describes Australian education as "spectacularly successful".

  "Australia's high ranking in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Program for International Student Assessment tests for 15-year-olds and the results of national literacy tests are used as evidence that our approach to education is world's best practice.

  "In opposition to public concerns about the way classic literature has been destroyed by politically correct theory and critical literacy, where students are taught to deconstruct texts in terms of power relationships and victim-hood, the AATE also argues that such theories represent the best way to teach English.

  "Judging by other submissions to the Senate inquiry, it is obvious that fears about falling standards are not a media beat-up and that many respected and well-qualified teachers and educators argue that much needs to be done to strengthen and improve our education system.

  "As noted in the submission from the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute, advocates of the PISA test ignore that the test evaluates so-called real-life skills, not the school curriculum. The AMSI submission also argues that PISA "is not a valid assessment of the mathematics knowledge, as only a fragment of the curriculum is tested" and "some of the questions are effectively general aptitude tests rather than mathematical ones".

  "Based on the results of the TIMSS tests, Australian students are in the second XI when it comes to international mathematics and science performance, and we have a longer tail of under-performing students.

  "According to AMSI, the reasons for Australia's under-performance include the inferior quality of our curriculum documents, lack of expertise and confidence among primary-school teachers caused by flaws in teacher training and, as a result of universities dropping prerequisite subjects, a decline in the numbers of students taking more difficult senior-school courses.

  "Notwithstanding the AATE's claim that Australia has "internationally acclaimed, rigorous, research-based and balanced curricula and teaching methodologies", literacy is another area where there is increasing evidence that teachers and schools are being let down.

  "Kerry Hempenstall, an academic specialising in literacy at RMIT University in Melbourne, argues in his submission that many of the curriculum innovations that regularly wash over Australian classrooms lack a rigorous research base. The reality is that fads such as whole language, where the assertion is made that learning to read is as natural as learning to talk, have bred generations of illiterate students.

  "As noted by Hempenstall, "These assertions have influenced educational practice for the last 20 years, yet they have each been shown by research to be incorrect. The consequence has been an unnecessary burden on struggling students to manage the task of learning to read. Not only have they been denied helpful strategies but they have been encouraged to employ moribund strategies."

  "One of the most telling critiques of outcomes-based education has been developed by a group of teachers associated with the Perth-based People Lobbying Against Teaching Outcomes (www.platowa.com). PLATO members have worked tirelessly in opposition to extending outcomes-based education into years 11 and 12 and have been instrumental in the West Australian Government's efforts to ameliorate the worst excesses of the new certificate.

  "In their submissions, PLATO members Igor Bray, professor of physics at Murdoch University, Stephen Kessell, a retired associate professor at Curtin University, and Marko Vojkovic, a teacher, suggest that standards have fallen, that more needs to be done to strengthen teacher education and that teachers need to be properly supported in their work with academically based, clear and succinct syllabus road maps.

  "While many of those responsible for the present malaise vilify the media for placing education firmly on the public and political agenda, ignored is the fact education is far too important to leave to the so-called experts, and the first stage of strengthening and improving the system is public debate.

  "Kevin Donnelly is author of Dumbing Down and has written a submission to the Senate inquiry into educational standards. Submissions can be found here
  
  From The Weekend Australian at link
  
  
  

  • Skills loss a serious maths problem
    by Justine Ferrari
    

    "Australia is losing its mathematical skills as school courses are hijacked by fads and divorced from modern mathematics as practised in industry and business.

    "At a time when economic growth is underpinned by jobs in maths-related fields, the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute says the teaching and learning of maths in schools and universities is in serious trouble and suffering from a lack of input from mathematicians.

    "Not only is the number of students taking maths continually falling, especially at an advanced level, but even students studying related fields such as engineering and science are taking fewer maths courses.

    "In a submission to a numeracy review being undertaken by federal, state and territory governments under the auspices of the Council of Australian Governments, AMSI is critical of the review for its ignorance of modern maths and its application in industry and business, and for failing to include mathematicians in the process.

    "Mathematicians and statisticians have had few opportunities to be involved in school mathematics for a number of years," says AMSI, representing 30 universities and mathematical organisations. "As a result, serious misconceptions concerning modern mathematics are arising ... particularly concerning the role of foundation or 'pure' mathematics."

    "AMSI says that in the absence of input from experts and users of mathematical sciences across the trades and professions, school curriculums tend not to reflect pertinent mathematical content and have become the victim of fads. Mathematics has also "lost coherence and many of its successful teachers".

    "We are deeply concerned by the failure of the background (review) paper to address specific content, the apparent lack of knowledge of modern mathematical sciences, the inability to give examples of good practice (at) high-achieving schools and failure to address Australian curriculum expectations compared to those of other nations," the submission notes.

    "It says school curriculums tended to reflect the belief that pure maths courses were only required for highly specialised areas, when pure maths was a vital element of many new applications in various fields, such as climate change, as well as providing the fundamental understanding required to apply mathematical concepts.
    
    From The Weekend Australian
    
    
    
    

• The Sydney Morning Herald
  
  
  • Hard work beats self-love
    by Adele Horin
    
    "In the race for entry to the state's academically selective high schools, children from Asian backgrounds are at the front of the pack. Next year's entrants got news of their success recently, and it is a sure bet the extraordinary dominance of those with Chinese-Hong Kong parentage will continue. In some selective high schools more than 80 per cent of entrants have an Asian heritage.

    "It is fascinating to consider what accounts for this academic success, and why children from Anglo cultures perform on average less well.

    "Ironically, self-esteem may explain the performance gap - but it is the higher self-esteem imbued into most children from a Western culture that may be their undoing.

    "The self-esteem movement for the past 30 years has dominated parenting styles and classroom teaching in the West. It is a movement that did not catch on in the East where humility is still a virtue and self-congratulatory behaviour discouraged.

    "The idea that positive self-esteem is the single most important gift a parent can instil in a child has revolutionised child-raising. If children felt good about themselves, the argument went, they would be happy and achievement would follow. The self-esteem movement fostered a belief that praise, even when undeserved, was more beneficial than criticism. Telling children they were smart was important.

    "The movement undermined old beliefs that competition was good for children. It led to bewildering changes in school report cards - "F" for failed disappeared because it was bad for self-esteem - and in the more extreme manifestations, led to changes in school sports programs. Everyone got ribbons for "participation".

    "It was a kinder, gentler approach to children, but now some experts are recanting. They contend that too much praise, or praise of the wrong sort, can backfire and end up denying children the tools they will need to experience real success. Overconfident children are turning out to be unpleasant narcissists with an inflated view of their talents; high self-esteem is not only unconnected to academic achievement but may derail it. Children who are told they are smart may fear public failure, avoid hard tasks and underestimate the importance of effort.

    "It is worth considering the case against the self-esteem movement before parents make up their minds. The seeds were sown with a classic 1992 study that compared the academic skills of primary school students in Taiwan, China, Japan and the United States. It showed a yawning gap in performance and self-perception between East and West.

    "Asian students outperformed their American counterparts but when asked to evaluate their performances, American students evaluated themselves significantly higher than those from Asia.

    "In other words, they combined a lousy performance with a high sense of self-esteem," Nina Shokraii writes in an essay called The Self-Esteem Fraud.

    "Seminal work on the effect of praise has been carried out by a Stanford University psychologist, Carol Dweck. It has shown there is good and bad praise. Praising children for effort was much more effective in improving academic performance than praising children for being smart. Children felt more empowered, were prepared to try hard and take risks, when imbued with the idea that intelligence is not innate but can be developed by hard work.

    "The overpraised generation is turning out to be rather unattractive if a recent study by San Diego State University is a guide. An analysis of responses from 16,000 university students found two-thirds scored above average on a rating for narcissism, which is characterised by excessive self-admiration, vanity and a sense of entitlement.

    "The author, Professor Jean Twenge, who also wrote the provocatively titled Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled - and More Miserable than Ever Before, comments: "Far from being civically oriented, young people born after 1982 are the most narcissistic generation in recent history."

    "Self-esteem is hardly a concept in the Asian classroom, a writer on Asian affairs, Andrew Lam, says. The ego is kept in check, self-esteem is earned through achievement, and the self is defined in its relation to others. "That is far from the self-love concept of the West," he writes. Admittedly it is not a formula known for fostering creativity.

    "Lam points to Korean musical whiz-kid, Jeong-Hyun Lim, as an example of self-effacement foreign to the West. Popularly known as Funtwo on YouTube, his brilliant rock rendition of Pachelbel's Canon has turned him into a global phenomenon. When he was finally tracked down by The New York Times, Funtwo said: "I am always thinking that I'm not that good a player and must improve more than now."

    "When the NSW Education Department warns parents off the use of coaching colleges as a gateway to selective schools, it is sending the message that intelligence is innate and hard work won't help. That's nonsense, and Asian parents know that.

    "It will not be easy to change how we parent our children, even if we wanted to. Telling children they are clever and wonderful because of who they are, not what they do, feels right to many of us. Yet saving our praise for effort exerted may teach children a more useful lesson about life, help keep their feet on the ground, and their egos in check."
    

    From The Sydney Morning Herald at link
    
    
    
    
• Education News
  
  
  • Music-Math Analogy (19 July)
    by Nakonia (Niki) Hayes, EdNews.org Columnist
    
    "Mathematics is the heart of music, so shouldn't we teach music as constructivist/ reformist mathematics educators insist that children learn that discipline? That is, shouldn't music students be taught to play by ear?

    "Suppose your child had to learn to play a musical instrument by ear. There would be no focus on the symbols of music, sounds of specific notes, practicing of scales, learning classical pieces, or even learning some standard tunes ("Chop Sticks") from which creative "extensions" could be made.

    "The small percentage of those students or teachers who could play an instrument by ear could not help you or your child. The intuitive players wouldn't know and thus couldn't translate their innate abilities into the internationally-known music symbols.

    "So the adopted method for all these "other" students would be called "discovery learning." They would "manipulate" their instruments with teachers "facilitating" their efforts in order to discover how to formulate a particular tune, which, of course, they had created themselves.

    "There would be no continuous practice-no "drill and kill" of repetition. All tunes would be considered acceptable because they were the original, personal creation of each student. Comparisons to respected or classical renditions might be possible, but that would be extremely time consuming, and it would not be considered "relevant" in today's modern classroom.

    "Students who needed to learn by the old-fashioned methods, such as studying music symbols, their related sounds, and repetitive practice would need extra tutoring. Supplemental materials might be allowed that taught some "basic skills," but the bigger picture to learning music, or the conceptual approach, must be maintained.

    "All of this supplementary material would cost extra money for the schools-and extra time for the students and teachers.

    "Schools of education that train teachers would insist this "discovery" method of learning music is progressive and provides social justice for girls and students of color in the music profession. They would base much of their beliefs on a few education researchers in the 1970s who had concluded that inductive and intuitive methods--those that focus on process rather than product--were needed by these two "subgroups."

    "They assert while traditional music lessons that teach procedures and memorization without understanding may lead to a facility with technique, note reading and instrument mastery, those lessons do not lead to improvisation or playing music with feeling.

    "Further, with a glowing love for the advent of technology in music - such as computer sampling, electronic instruments, and digital recording technology that can improve the sound, including fixing pitch problems so that all singers sound like they're on pitch no matter how flat (or sharp) they sing-education schools say music students no longer need to learn the basics of good vocal production, music composition, or even tuning their instruments.

    "Finally, music education tells teachers that white males and Asian students were the only ones who had benefited from the traditional methods of learning music for the past several thousand years. The progress made in music by the "ancients" and their methods are to be considered of no significance or relevance in the child-directed, "discovery" teaching classroom.

    "Many elementary school teachers liked the discovery method because it did not require their learning the music symbols and the many complicated relationships that could result from those symbols. High school music teachers hated the discovery method because they had difficulty finding enough qualified students to form a school band, symphony, or choir.

    "Many parents of elementary students accepted the discovery learning because the students seemed to "enjoy" it and they always had good grades in the subject. After all, the grading was based on subjective judgments about the student's process of creating his or her own musical piece, and it was not a comparison to another's work.

    "The consequence, however, is a growing lack of new musicians. This is impacting, among many music-related scenarios, high school bands, symphonies, and musical productions in theatres. Foreign students who had studied traditional music lessons are becoming the heart of America's shrinking music scene.

    "How long before the public refuses to tolerate this destruction of music education and ultimately music's contribution to society and the world? Will it take five years, 10 years, or 20 years? Will college music teachers stand by quietly as their incoming students' proficiencies continually disintegrate? Will professional music companies and businesses ignore the shrinking pool of talent? Will business leaders believe the progressive philosophy that insists we must focus on "creativity thinking" and not worry about the significance of foundational work in the music discipline?

    "Now substitute "mathematics" for "music" and you have a picture of what has been happening in American mathematics education for the past 40 years.

    "Whole math," based on conceptual, intuitive, process-based thinking has replaced traditional mathematics education. (Yes, it is the parallel universe to the "whole language" fiasco that produced two generations of poor readers and writers in American education.)

    "Algorithms, symbolic manipulation, and basic skills are no longer mastered in elementary mathematics-and therefore in high school classes-because those represent the traditional, classical education formerly reserved only for white males, according to the leaders of "reform mathematics." The traditional program represents "drill and kill," they say. Traditionalists say the program offers "drill and skill," as well as mastery of concepts.

    "This reform pedagogy was codified in 1989 by a private group called The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) when they published their Curriculum Standards for K-12 mathematics education. The National Science Foundation bought into their ideas, probably due to their emphasis on egalitarianism. From 1991 through 1999, the NSF pumped $83 million into universities and publishers that would create math curricula that supported the reformists' social engineering agenda.

    "In 1999, more than 200 professional mathematicians sent a letter to Richard Riley, Education Secretary, asking him to withdraw support for the reform math products, due to their poor quality of mathematics instruction.

    "He ignored them.

    "In fact, even more multi-millions have been funneled into the programs from both government and private sources through today.

    "Educators have latched onto these cash cows as money is offered to "pilot" reform programs and students have become research subjects. Math wars have erupted among parent groups and districts in pockets across the country as parents (and a few teachers) try to change the direction of mathematics education in their schools. Parents are learning, however, that schools really don't want parent involvement if it means they are going to question curriculum choices.

    "And test scores continue to show the disintegration of mathematics' skills among American students.

    "When educators and businesses wonder why this is happening, they should think about students learning to play music by ear. That's the real picture of mathematics education today. It's been going on, officially, for almost two decades.

    "When will the people who can make a real difference-parents, colleges, and businesses who must look to foreign workers to bring in mathematical skills-conduct a reality check on the "whole math" philosophy?

    "When will they stop being schmoozed by an education establishment that's protecting its turf and special interest groups? When will they demand a truthful answer to the question, "Whose interest is being served here?"

    "In essence, when will our children have advocates who understand proven mathematical logic and reasoning with regards to performance and product?

    "Or, will we continue to follow the false concept that equity and excellence can be achieved by everyone learning to play by ear."
    

    From EdNews.org at link

All Alston cartoons are © The West Australian Newspaper
All media quotations, photographs and cartoons © their respective publishers

This page last updated 13 August, 2008 0:39 AM