Monday 6 August

Tuesday 7 August

Wednesday 8 August

Thursday 9 August

Friday 10 August

Saturday – Sunday, 11 – 12 August

 

Monday 6 August

• The West Australian
  
  
  • NW eyes international school (page 11)
    by Bethany Hiatt
    
    "A new school offering the globally recognised International Baccalaureate diploma could be built in Port Hedland as a result of an unusual partnership between big business and two prestigious Perth schools.

    "Mining giant BHP Billiton has committed $60000 to investigate setting up a school to cater exclusively for university bound students in the Pilbara backed by Scotch College and Presbyterian Ladies College.

    "Scotch head Andrew Syme and PLC Principal Beth Blackwood said the Port Hedland school would meet industry demand to draw experienced professionals from across the world to the Pilbara area.

    "The school hopes to attract high achieving academic students who are headed for university," Mr Syme said.

    "BHP Billiton would provide funding and Scotch and PLC would provide the intellectual knowledge and practice.

    "Both schools run the IB programme in primary and lower secondary and are set to make a decision before the end of the year on when to extend that to Years 11 and 12.

    "The principals said demand for the IB was strong, from both local parents and from the international families lured to WA by the resources boom.

    "But they stressed that the IB diploma would run side by side with TEE and outcomes based education courses rather than replace them. Less than a third of students were expected to choose to study the diploma.

    "The question of running both a State curriculum and IB is not an anti-course-of-study issue, it's an issue of giving further choice to our client groups," Mr Syme said.

    "Ms Blackwood said the Pilbara annexe would charge fees but it was too early to say whether they would match fees at the Perth based schools.

    "The feasibility study was expected to take six months. The school was unlikely to open before 2009.

    "This year, Hedland SHS has struggled to find enough teachers and had to resort to using fly-in, fly-out staff to teach science to students in Years 8, 9 and 10.

    "BHP Billiton communications manager Michael Buzzard said an agreement it had with the Education Department to fund specialists education programmes in Port Hedland and Newman schools would conclude next year so it had started its next approach to education investment.

    "This includes a specialist TEE school, which has been requested by the community and our workforce," he said. "Investing in a new school would allow the existing Hedland high to focus on vocational education with collaboration, where possible, on common subjects such as music, physical education and manual arts."

    "He said education was a key factor in attracting new employees to the region with their families.

    "With regards to the IB, it is being considered as many of our employees are from other countries and providing their children with an internationally recognised education outcome is a powerful incentive in attracting and retaining people in Port Hedland," he said.

    "If the school went ahead, local State and Federal governments would be asked to contribute."
    

    From The West Australian
    
    
    
    
• ABC News
  
  
  • New campaign to attract teachers back to school
    
    "The State Government has launched a new campaign to attract registered teachers who are not currently working in the field back to the profession.

    "It is the latest campaign in a series of recruitment drives by the Education Department, that still has 73 state school teaching places to fill.

    "As part of the Return to Teaching initiative, the Department will write to 8,000 qualified teachers in Western Australia who are not working in the field, to highlight the benefits of returning to teaching.

    "The Minister for Education, Mark McGowan, hopes flexible conditions and higher pay as well as incentives to those willing to teach in rural areas will help solve the teacher shortage.

    ""Now we're going out there to try and get those teachers who are out there in the community, who aren't currently working, back into the Education Department, back into educating people in public education. There's good pay, there's flexible offerings. We recognise we need to do more, and that's what we're doing," he said."

    From ABC News at link
    
    
    
  • Mark McGowan Media Statement
    
    
    • Advertising blitz to lure teachers back to the classroom
      
      The Carpenter Government today launched a major advertising blitz to lure about 8,000 teachers not currently working in the profession back into the classroom.

      Education and Training Minister Mark McGowan said the ‘Return to teaching’ initiative was part of the State Government’s multi-pronged strategy to address the teacher shortage.

      “It’s no secret that public schools have faced difficulties this year in attracting teachers,” Mr McGowan said.

      “Many teachers have taken a career break to raise a family, pursue different opportunities, or even to travel, but have maintained an interest in teaching.

      “We are very eager to hear from any of those teachers - we are offering flexible working conditions, an attractive rate of pay and increased allowances to teach in particular regional and remote public schools.

      “From this month, four-year trained teachers start on a salary of between $44,618 and $71,067 a year with extra incentives of up to $8,500 in some regional schools and up to $15,000 in some remote schools.”

      The Minister said few careers offered the flexibility, opportunities and personal rewards of being a teacher.

      “We haven’t underestimated the value of a balanced work lifestyle, so returning teachers may choose to come back full-time or part-time, for a term, a semester, a year or more,” he said.

      “Free professional development on current teaching practices will be offered to teachers who have been out of a classroom for more than five years.”

      Mr McGowan said the ‘Return to teaching’ initiative was part of a wider plan to recruit teachers from among retirees and new graduates, as well as from interstate and overseas.

      “I would urge all former teachers who are considering returning to the classroom to call on the freecall number 1800 645 461 or visit http://det.wa.edu.au/education/teaching to register their interest,” he said.
      
      
      

• The Australian
  
  
  • Real maths problem is in the wording
    by Justine Ferrari, Education writer
    
    "The language used to present maths problems in the early years of primary school is beyond the comprehension of many students, and includes some grammatical structures not covered in the English curriculum in their year.

    "An analysis by Queensland University of Technology researchers of word problems on a maths work sheet for Year 2 students found the linguistic demands in maths were very high in the early years of school.

    "We were surprised at some of the grammatical devices young children had to comprehend just so they could do mathematical thinking," said Beryl Exley, a lecturer in the school of cultural and language studies in education. "The design of these problems is tripping up students."

    "Dr Exley said maths teachers often said students had difficulty understanding the problem before they even attempted the maths, showing they had failed to teach students the meaning of the specific words or terms used.

    "She said many teachers had never learnt grammar themselves at school, making it difficult for them to recognise the complexity of the sentence structures and then explain it to their students.

    "It's incumbent upon teachers to teach the grammar and lexical devices that belong to their subject," Dr Exley said.

    "The study, presented to an annual conference of English teachers, analysed a Queensland maths work sheet representative of those used in classrooms around the nation.

    "One example says: "Jess has 12 toy trains and James has 15. How many trains do they have altogether?" Dr Exley said connecting Jess and James with "they" was difficult for Year 2 students, who were six to seven years old.

    "Younger children were generally only adept at more explicit references, such as "Jack and he" or "cow and it"; not double-barrelled references.

    "The problem also omitted part of the noun group, leaving out the term "toy trains" when saying James has 15 and asking how many they have together.

    "The abstraction involved in verbs such as "is, are and have", was also a difficult concept for students of that age.

    "Executive officer of the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute Jan Thomas, a former school maths teacher, said to understand the maths in word problems was very difficult for students. Part of the problem was the various forms for describing the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division and an apparent aversion to using the technical terms.

    "Addition can be described as two plus three, adding two to three, take three and add on two, or take two and three more.

    "You get some kids who can't recognise the word divide when they get to secondary school," Ms Thomas said.

    "You have to explicitly teach students how to recognise the different ways of saying the four operations; it's not just something they learn by osmosis."

    "Griffith University education lecturer Robyn Zevenbergen said it was important to present maths problems in words to prepare students for the real world, and teach them to recognise when maths was needed."
    
    From The Australian at link
    
    
    

  • Letter to the Editor
    
    
    • Technological competence
      
      "For years I have been trying to push educators for hard evidence that putting computers in the classroom aids learning - and no one has been able to produce a definitive study. Finally, there’s one that shows the contrary (”Education’s terminal affliction”, Inquirer, 4-5/8).

      "I have always argued that technology at best is a competence amplifier. If you could do a job well without it, you may be able to do it better with technology - but technology never replaces competence.

      "If we look at the long-term trend in language and mathematical skills, they have generally dropped off as more technology has been introduced into teaching. This does not in itself suggest a causal relationship: school administrators and politicians may be introducing technology as a substitute for skills. Until someone can produce evidence that a specific technology produces a useful educational result, I remain unconvinced.

      "Here’s a challenge: take technology out of the classroom. Replace the time that teachers spend fiddling with computers with lesson preparation time and more contact with students. Measure results after a year."
      
      Philip Machanick, Taringa, Qld
      
      
      
      

• The Melbourne Age
  
  
  • Snag on using school rolls to determine welfare
    
    A State government is believed to have serious reservations about handing over enrolment records to the Federal Government so that it can take welfare payments off Aboriginal families who do not send their children to school.

Tuesday 7 August

• The West Australian
  
  
  • Leaving school for boom "an error" [front page headline]
    by Shane Wright, Economics editor
    
    "Students who leave school early for high paying jobs in the mining industry may rue their decision when the resources boom ends and their lack of skills makes them unemployable, a leading Australian business lobby group has warned.

    "Heather Ridout, chief executive of the Australian Industry Group, said yesterday the big money on offer would not last for ever and those who failed to finish year 12 or complete an apprenticeship would be most likely to suffer then the economy returned to normal.

    "She was backed by the head of a skills organisation who warned that young people attracted to mining sites by the big wages for entry level workers were ignoring the longer term ramifications of their decisions.

    "The industry group and the Dusseldorp Skills Forum released a report on the shortage of skilled young workers in the economy, estimating there were 306000 people aged up to 25 who were unemployed, wanted work or under-employed.

    "It found that over the past 15 years the school completion rate had stayed around 67%, apprenticeship completion rates remained low and people who failed to finish their high school years faced profound economic disadvantage in the future.

    "Ms Ridout said the mining boom that was propelling he WA, Queensland, Northern Territory and South Australian economies was of concern because when commodity prices returned to normal, many young people would be left without a job and have few skills to fall back on.

    "I think the mining boom is a very attractive thing but the mining boom will finish, then those young people who have been driving trucks and doing low skilled work in the mining industry will be the ones who will be most marginalised in the labour market - and that's been the story of history," she said.

    "It's not just the employer's fault, it's not just the government's fault, it's not just the parents' fault, it's got to come from the individuals themselves."

    "They've got to be told and they've got to understand that if they make this choice … they will pay a price for it later in life."

    "Jack Dusseldorp, who chairs the skills forum, said part of the problem was that young people were extraordinarily confident about the economy because they had never lived through a major economic downturn.

    "He said people who developed their skills, either by finishing Year 12 or an apprenticeship, had a much better chance of surviving a downturn.

    "If you can get out into the labour market now and make big money over in the West, why would you take a longer view and say, "No, I'll get an apprenticeship," he said.

    "The industry group and skills forum want a targeted campaign to lift Year 12 and vocational equivalent completion rates, a focus on ensuring primary school students successfully make the transition to secondary school and a review of the scope and purpose of traineeships.

    "They also believe students who consider leaving school early should be given intensive personal and career guidance so they are better informed."
    

    From The West Australian
    
    
    
    
  • Teachers' opinions snubbed (page 16)
    by Bethany Hiatt
    
    "English teachers claim they have been excluded from an expert panel which will examine ways to encourage more students to study Australian literature at schools and universities.

    "Australian Association for the teaching of English vice president Mark Howie said the high level task force was seriously flawed because it ignored the fact that most high schools already included works by Australian writers on recommended reading lists. "They haven't done their homework. The nation's literary heritage is too important to be subsumed by the manic pursuit of the so-called culture wars," Mr Howie said.

    "The panel, which includes 20 eminent authors, publishers and university academics and is hosted by the Australian Council for the Arts, is meeting in Canberra today.

    "Council chief executive Kathy Keele said the summit would discuss how to get more Australian contemporary and classic writing on to high school and university curricula and how to get students studying it in greater depth.

    "Mr Howie said those asked to take part did not have a close knowledge of what was being taught in the nation's secondary English classrooms.

    "The people who know the students and who know what's going on in the classrooms are being marginalised or silenced in this initiative," he said.

    "But panel member Peter Holbrook, a senior lecturer in English at Queensland university, said the group included two working high school teachers. One was also a published author and the other had done a PhD thesis on the NSW curriculum.

    "Dr Hollbrook said he was puzzled by the association's stance because the panel had not yet made any recommendations on whether teaching was being done well or badly.

    "What we are really interested in is trying to find out more about how Australian literature is faring in schools," he said. Dr Holbrook said the panel also wanted to find out what relationship existed between the inclusion of modern Australian writers' work on schools' reading lists and how that affected their ability to make a living from their writing.

    "The English Teachers' Association of WA said book by Australian authors that were recommended for study in WA schools included those by Tim Winton, Sonya Hartnett, David Malouf and Kate Grenville, among many others."
    

    From The West Australian
    
    
    
    
  • Letter to the Editor (page 20)
    
    
    • My Solution
      
      "The time has come. This State needs a royal commission. Yes, a royal commission into the state of our education system. This newspaper over the past three years has swamped its pages with news reports, letters to the editor, feature articles and editorials on the sate of our biggest public institution. I have kept most of them and when I re-read them I see a trail of failure, not of teachers or schools, but by the very people who have the task of running the system.

      "The latest plan to put 75 kids in a class is, for me, the clearest indication we need a royal commission. The Minister must act, the Premier must act. As a full time classroom teacher for 50 years I know it has never been worse. My first 6 years as a primary school teacher saw me with 50-plus students with an appalling lack of resources. Are we to return to this?

      "WACOT is an unmitigated disaster. What has it to say about unqualified para-professionals in the classrooms, duty of care, professional legal responsibilities and professional development?

      "The union hasn't been able to influence anything other than to offer some public commentary power. Sad to say, it initially backed the OBE cyclone.

      "It hasn't listened to its members and their views that have been clearly put to the executive at union meetings I have attended.

      "Premier, Minister, set up a royal commission, see without fear what has happened to our once great State school education system - a system I've been extremely proud to be involved with."

      Benjamin Seabrook, Roleystone
      
      
      

• The Melbourne Age
  
  
  • Elite maths 'discouraged'
    by Bridie Smith
    
    "Schools have been accused of discouraging average maths students in an attempt to boost their academic results.

    "As the number of year 12 students enrolled in advanced and intermediate maths continues to slide, the chairman of the national committee for mathematical sciences, Hyam Rubinstein, said because maths was viewed as a difficult subject in schools, only the best and brightest were encouraged to pursue it at an advanced level.

    "If a school wants to maximise their performance, they may feel that 'if we encourage weaker students not to take maths, our results will look better'," he said.

    "Professor Rubinstein's concerns precede the release of a report ordered by federal, state and territory governments on numeracy teaching, learning and assessment practices. The report is due later this month.

    "Last year 10 per cent of students took advanced maths and 21 per cent took intermediate maths compared with 14 per cent and 27 per cent in 1995."

    From The Melbourne Age at link
    
    
    
    
  • Schools in line for pre-election boost
    by Farrah Tomazin
    
    "Schools look set to receive more money for much-needed upgrades as the Federal Government seeks to capitalise on one of its most popular education policies in the lead-up to the election.

    "In an interview with The Age, Education Minister Julie Bishop signalled the Government's flagship Investing in Our Schools program — which offers grants for everything from shade-cloth to classrooms — could get a pre-election top-up.

    "The $1.2 billion scheme was due to expire at the end of next year, but has been so popular that the pool of money is now set to run out within months. Asked if the Government would revive the policy before the poll, Ms Bishop said: "Put it this way, it's been our most successful intervention. We're very well aware of how popular it's been."

    "The Investing in Our Schools program was announced by the Howard Government at the last federal election. Education department figures show dozens of Victorian schools have received "small-scale infrastructure" grants of up to $150,000 — including Auburn South Primary School (for a science lab and drama equipment), Caulfield South Primary (library), and Dandenong Primary (classrooms and outdoor learning area).

    "While the Government is accused of pork-barrelling over its decision to underwrite Tasmania's Mersey Hospital, parents say much of the schools scheme's popularity stems from the fact it can't be "politically rorted": the school community identifies what its small infrastructure priorities are, while an independent panel makes funding recommendations.

    "Curiously, no new money was provided for the program in the May budget, prompting widespread speculation that the Government was holding back to offer a pre-election sweetener.

    "Terry Aulich, chief executive of the Australian Council of State School Organisations, said schools were hopeful of another funding round.

    "As far as initiatives go, it has all the right elements: it was fair, it could not be politically rorted and it allowed parents and principals to work together to choose the projects they thought were most important," he said.

    "In a broad-ranging interview with The Age, Ms Bishop also:

    Expressed concern that high community expectations of teachers was one reason why so many left the profession.

    Vowed to continue her push for performance pay for teachers, but warned that simply introducing a new salary band on top of the existing scale — as the teachers' union has previously suggested — was too simplistic.

    Defended criticism that the Coalition's plan to send top teachers to "summer school" to brush up their skills was misdirected and should instead be offered to struggling teachers.

    "Ms Bishop also revealed that some Jewish schools, which have long argued they get less funding than they deserve due to discrepancies in the controversial private school funding formula, would be given more power to appeal.

    "But she confirmed she had no plans to overhaul the socio-economic status (SES) funding formula, which funds private schools according to the income, education and occupation levels of the families within the surrounding census district.

    "Some Orthodox Jewish day schools that draw pupils from large families have long argued that their SES funding does not properly reflect the ability of their parents to pay.

    "It is understood these schools will now be able to appeal to the Government on the grounds of ABS information and detailed surveys comparing their family size with their household income.

    "But Opposition education spokesman Stephen Smith labelled the changes as minor, and accused Ms Bishop of an election stunt "after more than 11 long years of inaction on funding for Jewish schools".

    "In any event," he added, "the only thing that has been promised is an appeals process, with no guarantee of an enduring funding solution, which Labor is committed to."
    

    From The Melbourne Age at link
    
    
    
    
  • Call for Australian literature
    by Jewel Topsfield
    
    "The lack of Australian literature taught in schools and universities could be to blame for publishers rejecting a chapter of a Patrick White novel submitted under a false name in a literary hoax last year, according to Education Minister Julie Bishop.

    "Calling for Australian literature to be given greater prominence in schools, Ms Bishop last night questioned whether the "experiment", in which 12 Australian publishers rejected chapter three of The Eye of the Storm, revealed what was going on in schools and universities.

    "One (publisher) went so far as to refer the author to a book on how to write fiction," Ms Bishop told a panel of experts who are meeting today to discuss concerns that not enough Australian literature is being taught.

    "What does this statement say about the state of literature, more particularly Australian literature?" Ms Bishop asked.

    "However, she said "the protection of our literary past" was not just about ensuring students studied Henry Kendall, Banjo Paterson and Xavier Herbert.

    "Critical literacy, which Ms Bishop said had been embedded into most state and territory English syllabuses, was one of the "more unfortunate developments" in Australian schools. "(Students) should not be forced to interpret literature through particular political or ideological perspectives," she said..."
    
    Full story in The Melbourne Age at link
    
    
    

  • Alarm at year 12 figures
    
    One in five secondary school students do not complete year 12 or the vocational equivalent, prompting calls for urgent action to increase retention rates.
    
    
    
    
  • The "Monday Education Section" has been updated and offers ten stories this week, including:
    
    
    
    • Clear the chalk dust, learn afresh
      
      Australians should demand a radical overhaul of our education system, which fosters dependency and stifles initiative, according to one of Australia's most influential educators.
      
      
      • Wanted: schools for a digital age
        
        
        
        
    • When razzle dazzle is not enough
      
      Even the liveliest lectures are struggling to pull 'em in
      
      
      
      
      
• Stephen Smith Media Statement
  
  
  • Education Minister out of touch and motivated by politics not good policy
    
    In an interview with The Age published today, the Minister for Education, Julie Bishop states that:
    
    
    • Teachers are leaving the profession due to “high community expectations”;
    • The Howard Government will continue to push its so-called ‘performance pay’ for teachers; and
    • The Government has no plans to overhaul the socio-economic status (SES) formula as the basis for schools funding.
      
      

  The Minister’s comments about teachers and the factors forcing them to leave the profession reaffirm just how out of touch the Howard Government has become.

  The Minister says that teachers are getting out because they can’t live up to “high community expectations”.

  Apart from the insult to teachers, the truth is that in recent historical times, as a nation we have undervalued teachers. We haven’t paid them enough respect. We haven’t paid them enough regard. And we haven’t paid them enough money.

  We are now suffering the adverse consequences of this, one of which is the fact that we are struggling to attract and retain teachers.

  We need to rebuild respect and regard for teachers and the teaching profession. One thing we can do to help this is to reject so-called ‘performance pay’ and instead have a programme to reward quality teaching.

  The Minister says that the Government will continue its fundamentally flawed pursuit of so-called ‘performance pay’ for teachers.

  According to the Government’s approach, teachers would be paid on the basis of student outcomes in standardised tests. It could be possible, according to the Minister, to pay some teachers more by paying other teachers less than they currently get.

  Julie Bishop first raised her version of performance pay at the National Press Club in February. She then listed performance pay as an agenda item for the April Education Ministerial Council meeting.

  Since then, the Howard Government’s initiative in this area has been limited to a program in the Federal Budget to offer 1,000 teachers out of more than 270,000 teachers in Australia $5,000 to attend a 10 day summer school.

  This means that just 0.3 per cent of Australian teachers would be able to access the programme on an annual basis.

  Federal Labor rejects the Government’s so-called performance pay approach and its summer school program.

  We need to take a comprehensive approach to rewarding quality teaching. This requires a comprehensive strategy that rewards professional teaching excellence and quality teaching in the classroom. Such a comprehensive approach needs to recognise the wide array of factors facing teachers and the teaching profession.

  That should include rewarding induction and mentoring programmes for teachers in their early years, rewarding teachers for engaging in ongoing professional development and rewarding specialist accreditation and qualifications in key areas such as numeracy, literacy, maths and science.

  We also need to consider rewarding teachers for where they teach, like rural and regional Australia.

  Finally, in her interview the Minister has, after a long delay, confirmed that following an internal review of the SES schools funding formula in September last year – results which she refuses to publish – the Government would not be moving away from the SES formula as the basis for schools funding for the next four year funding cycle.

  This throw away line in the interview follows recent public and private calls, including by State, Territory, Catholic and Independent school sectors, for the Howard Government to provide funding certainty for our schools.

  Currently, schools are funded by the Commonwealth through a four year ‘Quadrennium Funding Agreement’, with the current agreement due to expire on 31 December 2008 and a new agreement to commence on 1 January 2009.

  Earlier this year, State and Territory Education Ministers requested the Government commence negotiations for the 2009-12 Schools' Quadrennium Funding Agreement before the end of June.

  The Minister subsequently said on the Insiders program on 15 April, that:

  “What will happen is over the next few months, leading up to the end of 2007, we will sit down with the States and negotiate…”

  Now driven by pre-election politics, the Minister has subsequently refused to enter into negotiations and has said nothing will be done until after the election.

  The Commonwealth has a responsibility to provide funding certainty for all our school systems. In Government schools, on average, the Commonwealth contributes about 10 per cent of total public funding, the States contribute around 90 per cent. In Non-Government schools, on average, the Commonwealth contributes about 75 per cent of total public funding, the States contribute around 25 per cent.

  The best thing that the Minister could do to provide funding certainty to Australian schools, whether they’re Government, Catholic, Independent, religious or secular would be to indicate what the Howard Government’s minimum negotiating position is for the 2009-12 four year schools funding cycle.
  
  

• The Australian
  
  
  • Uni creates resources posts
    by Nigel Wilson
    
    "The University of Western Australia has made two senior appointments in a clear bid to indicate its commitment to the resources industry.

    "It has appointed noted marine scientist Alistar Robertson as a pro-vice-chancellor, as part of a "energy and minerals initiative".

    "Tim Shanahan who has been CEO of the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA for more than six years, will become the initiative's inaugural director. "The appointment of Tim Shanahan reflects UWA's commitment to supporting the minerals and energy industry in WA and also the nation," vice-chancellor Alan Robson said.

    "Mr Shanahan, a UWA law graduate, will provide advice on energy and minerals matters; leadership in co-ordinating teaching and research across UWA; attracting research funding, industry and government partnerships; and, higher degree research and coursework enrolments."

    From The Australian at link

Wednesday 8 August

• The West Australian
  
  
  • Radical plan to beat country teacher crisis (page 15)
    by Bethany Hiatt
    
    "The Education Department is making radical changes to the way it appoints teachers in a bid to avoid another disastrous start to the school year in 2008.

    "In a letter sent to schools yesterday, director general Sharyn O'Neill said more country teachers would get permanency status as the first step in a plan to increase the number of teachers with permanent positions.

    "The department has also brought forward staff allocations by 9 weeks so most teachers will know well before Christmas where they will be posted, instead of in January just days before school starts.

    "Other changes next year include priority transfers for country teachers and appointing more teachers who are job sharing to their current positions permanently.

    "Ms O'Neill acknowledged that many teachers refused to take country postings because of concerns they would not be able to get back to the city. Last year less than half of permanent teachers in country schools who wanted to move succeeded in getting transfers to schools of their choice.

    "Permanent teachers get priority over temporary or "fixed term" teachers for job vacancies and transfers. Temporary teachers do not have certainty from year to year.

    "Ms O'Neill said the changes would provide teachers with more flexibility and employment opportunities.

    There were in response to a scathing independent report by recruitment firm Gerard Daniels which said the department's recruitment and retention practices were antiquated, impersonal and complex.

    "I've listened to lots of teachers since the start of the year and we're responding to that, particularly with respect to country teachers and their capacity to be able to transfer back into the metropolitan area," she said.

    "At the start of this year schools were left scrambling to fill more than 200 vacancies across the State. As of yesterday the department was still down 63 teachers.

    "Ms O'Neill said she hoped the changes, with other initiatives such as earlier recruitment of graduates and a retiree recruitment campaign, would help reduce staffing problems next year.

    "State School Teachers Union president Mike Keely said the increase in the number of teachers awarded permanency was welcome. But the teacher shortage would not be alleviated until teachers got a significant salary increase."
    

    From The West Australian
    
    
    
    
  • State falls behind rest of nation in studies (page 10)
    by Shane Wright
    
    "In the midst of the State's biggest resources boom, West Australians are falling behind the rest of the nation when it comes to finishing school or completing tertiary study.

    "A day after key business leader Heather Ridout warned young people about giving up on getting skills to chase big mining wages, the ABS confirms many WA people do not focus on education.

    "Ms Ridout warned that people who failed to finish Year 12 or complete and apprenticeship were most likely to suffer when the economy returned to normal levels.

    "The ABS report found 48% of West Australians aged 15 to 64 did not have a post school qualification, such as a bachelor degree or a trade certificate.

    "Almost 31% of people in this group had filed to finish Year 12.

    "Of those with a post school qualification, just 18% had a bachelor degree, although a third had a diploma.

    "WA women were less likely than those in other States to have a non school qualification.

    "Among the unemployed, WA has the lowest proportion of people in the 15-64 age group who have a non school educational qualification while it also has the lowest percentage of people who have finished a bachelor degree or higher.

    "Some of the problems start early. While WA has one of the highest literacy rates among Year 5 children, it is at the bottom of the class when it comes to numeracy.

    "The unemployment rate for someone with a bachelor degree of above was just 2.2% nationally last year, less than half the rate for those who only finished Year 12 (4.7%). For those who drop out at Year 11, the unemployment rate was 5.6%."

  Key WA Points Education and Training WA has the lowest Year 12 completion rate WA has the lowest rate of bachelor degrees or above WA has among the highest literacy rates in Year 5 students The State's numeracy rate in Year 5 students is among the lowest WA has the lowest education participation rate among 15 to 24-year-olds

  From The West Australian

   

  • Welfare clamp over kids who miss school (page 6)
    by Rhianna King
    
    "Parents whose children are absent from school more than five times a term and without explanation will have up to 100% of their welfare given to them in the form of vouchers for essentials such as food and clothing under new laws to come into effect next year.

    "The changes to the national welfare system, which were first announced as part of the intervention in the Northern Territory, passed in the House of Representatives last night.

    "Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough told Parliament he would begin negotiations with the States which were vital to the plan going ahead as they would be required to provide school enrolment details.

    "The new measure to quarantine up to 100% of income support, family tax benefit and baby bonus payments for parents who neglect their children will begin in the NT immediately and will be implemented nationally in 2009. Mr Brough said the parents of children who were not enrolled at school would be targeted first.

    "If children are not enrolled at school, Centrelink will notify parents and carers that they need to take action to enrol their children and provide proof of enrolment within a specified period with a warning of the consequences of a failure to do so," he said. "Both parents can also be subject to income management if their child does not attend school sufficiently and there is no reasonable excuse as to why the child is not attending school." [emphasis added]

    "The scheme will affect parents of children in both primary and high schools who are away from school on more than five occasions.

    "Parents would be given a formal warning before being hit with the tough new restrictions.

    "Australian Council of Social Service executive director Andrew Johnson said quarantining welfare would not help neglected children.

    "Essentially, quarantining does not deal with the underlying problems which actually are at the heart of this intervention, which is the notion that we need to protect children," he said."
    

    From The West Australian
    
    
    
    
  • Wubin's dozen pupils not enough (page 15)
    by Bethany Hiatt
    
    "Tiny Wubin primary school is another victim of the decline in services to country towns. The principal, sole teacher and parents of the 12 pupils were told on Monday the school would close at the end of this year.

    "The Education Department said it was forced to act because of declining enrolments and students would have better opportunities at bigger schools.

    "But the community, 270 km north of Perth, is fighting back. In a statement, parents said the school did far more for their children than a bigger school could.

    "Our kids have their own personal laptops and are learning Italian and Japanese. Other schools in the area don't offer such programmes," they said.

    "Our children are not disadvantaged by being at this school. We feel they have been privileged to be at a school with a great family environment where bullying is not tolerated."

    "Enrolments were growing. "We have just had two more enrolments, which take our numbers to 14, whereas other schools with less than that are still open," they said.

    "Justine Reudavey said she was concerned her 10 year old son would be forced to spend another 20 minutes on a bus to another town as well as the 45 minutes it took to get to Wubin.

    "Sandra de Trafford said her sons, aged 6 and 9, were thriving at Wubin after attending bigger schools which they had not enjoyed.

    "Education director general Sharyn O'Neill said numbers at the school had fallen from 22 in 2003 to just 9 at the start of this year, with another drop predicted for 2008.

    "Students could move to Dalwallinu District High School or Buntine Primary School, both within 20 km of Wubin. Parents would receive a relocation fee of $250 a child.

    "While it will be sad to see the school close, there will be fond memories and a rich history for the community to look back on," she said."
    
    From The West Australian
    
    
    

  • Lift Australian literature in schools: panel (page 41)
    
    See similar stories in today's Australian and Age [below]
    
    
    
    
• The Australian
  
  
  • Plan to encourage Ozlit in schools
    by Corrie Perkin
    
    "Contemporary writers such as David Malouf or Helen Garner could help to compile reading lists for students, and publishers could be given cash incentives to reprint Australian classics under a plan to encourage more Australian literature in schools.

    "And according to recommendations from an Australia Council education forum yesterday, the study of literature would form a core element of English courses in schools, and include a component of Australian literature.

    "Under the proposals, a group of distinguished writers, teachers and scholars would build a list of Australian literary works that would form part of the "intellectual inheritance of all Australians".

    "Wouldn't it be good to see David Malouf, for example, on such a panel?" Imre Salusinszky, the chairman of the Australia Council's literature board, said yesterday.

    "He's just the kind of person to be part of that conversation. People like John Tranter, or Frank Moorhouse, Helen Garner, they could certainly participate in the group that would turn its mind to what is the core literary canon that we would like to think that all students who pursued Australian literary studies to an advanced level might be encouraged to learn about."

    "Dr Salusinszky was among the "education roundtable" of 20 publishers, critics, academics, writers and scholars, including former NSW premier Bob Carr, emeritus professor of Australian literature at Sydney University, Elizabeth Webby, literary critic Peter Craven, English teacher Sarah Golsby-Smith and publisher Robert Sessions, who met in Canberra yesterday.

    "The panel recommended a survey of Australian literature teaching in universities and teacher-training courses as a way of encouraging more Australian contemporary and classic writing in high school and university curriculums.

    "It also recommended an inquiry be held to discover the most effective way to prepare teachers of literature in the primary and secondary school systems; that Literacy and Numeracy Week give a greater emphasis to Australian literature; and education ministers consider establishing a scheme to assist publishers to keep Australian classics in print.

    "The roundtable was convened yesterday to discuss concerns within state and federal governments that the influence of local literature and Australian writers has declined in recent years.

    "The excellence of Austalia's literary culture depends on a thriving literary education in our schools and universities, which will produce the writers and readers of tomorrow," the roundtable said in a statement yesterday. "The decline in such teaching, particularly in universities, has contributed to a situation in which many Australian classics are out of print." Dr Salusinszky last night described the meeting as "very productive".

    "There was a real spirit of consensus and co-operation", he said.

    "He said teacher representatives at the meeting "felt we need to give teachers a bit more space just to explore literature for its own sake, for its imaginative value, for what they (readers) might find in it, and for the dialogue it generates".

    From The Australian at link
    
    Similar story in The Melbourne Age
    
    
    
    
  • Opinion / Blog
    Literary rescue mission
    
    Imre Salusinszky welcomes a move toreturn Oz lit to the academic mainstream
    
    "Somewhere among Frank Moorhouse’s stories about Australian literary culture in the 1960s is an episode where a visiting American asks a group of Australian writers if they are allowed to write in freedom.

    "One of the writers replies that they enjoy the greatest freedom of all: the freedom of not being read.
    That this situation changed dramatically during the ‘70s and ‘80s and Australian writers, past and present, enjoyed the prominence they deserved in their own country was due in part to educational institutions.

    "A group of activist young scholars in universities put the cultural cringe on notice and insisted Australian literature deserved to be taught alongside the classics of English, European and American literature. Students taught by these scholars went on to teach in schools, where Australian books earned a more prominent place in English syllabuses. The resulting demand for teachable texts encouraged a vibrant commercial publishing culture in Australian books, old and new. And this, in turn, sustained the livelihoods of Australian writers.

    "Yesterday, a group of scholars, teachers, publishers and commentators met in Canberra under the auspices of the Australia Council to ask why the progress of Australian literature in schools and universities has stalled, or even gone backwards. [emphasis added]

    "A series of groundbreaking articles by Rosemary Neill in The Australian last year charted the decline of Oz lit in our universities. In schools, meanwhile, Australian literature has been wedged, along with literature generally, as a cultural studies-oriented approach has loaded the English syllabus in senior years with competing forms of cultural expression, including films and television shows. It seems one of the not-so-precious freedoms enjoyed by Australian writers these days is the freedom of not being taught. As a result, classic works by some of Australia’s most important writers, including past masters such as Patrick White and Christina Stead and living greats such as Gerald Murnane and Moorhouse, are out of print.

    "The Australian Literature in Education round table addressed this situation, but not in the spirit of a blame game or a return to the past. Let me say that five years ago, when I jettisoned a distinguished academic career so I could spend more time drinking with journalists, one of the achievements I valued was having been the first person to teach cultural studies within the arts faculty at the University of Newcastle.

    "But the alarm bells have been ringing within the cultural studies establishment. University of Queensland academic Graeme Turner, arguably the father of cultural studies in Australia, expressed his concern in The Australian earlier this year about the negative side effects of a version of the cultural studies approach as it has rippled down into schools.

    "According to Turner, the demand that students read all texts through the same prism of contemporary social problems and themes has led to ventriloquism rather than genuine critical reading. He issued a call for “the reclamation of the humanities dimension of English studies: the imaginative, creative, moral, ethical, philosophical dimension of teaching students to read, write, respond and think critically”.

    "A further consequence of the thematic approach that sees literature as illustrating social problems is that, while it may discover appropriate fodder in much contemporary writing, it tends to marginalise the Australian literary achievement of the past, leading to a loss of cultural memory.

    "The round table has responded to Turner’s call with a series of statements of principle, followed by practical suggestions to state and federal education ministers. Participants agreed that students must be permitted to approach poems, plays and fiction free of preset interpretive frameworks.

    "Literary texts should be studied in their own right, and for their own sake, as imaginative structures. And they asserted that the future excellence of Australia’s literary culture depends on a thriving literary education in our schools and universities.

    "The round table agreed that a study of Australian, English and world literature should form the core of English courses in schools. And it said nationally consistent curriculums and core syllabus standards being developed by education ministers should include a component on Australian literature. [emphasis added]

    "In addition, the round table sought an audit of the level of teaching of Australian literature in universities. It warmly applauded the initiative announced by Education Minister Julie Bishop on Monday to endow a new chair in Australian literature, bringing the national total to three.

    "A year ago, the History Summit decided that it is part of the birthright of all young Australians to know their nation’s story, as it has been chronicled by our historians. Now, the literature round table has asserted that it is equally their right to know how that story has been imagined by our writers."
    
    [The link provided (in the article) to the "Communiqué" doesn't work: see the correct link below.  Web]

    Imre Salusinszky, a journalist at The Australian, is chairman of the Literature Board of the Australia Council for the Arts.

    From The Australian at link [readers can add their comments at this link]
    
    
    

  • Communiqué: Australian Literature in Education Roundtable
    
    
    
    
  • Letter to the Editor
    
    
    • Something more profound
      
      "The outrage of English teachers at their exclusion from yesterday’s forum promoting the study of Australian literature is understandable but misdirected ("We are casualties of 'war': teachers’’, (7/8).

      "It is not about the culture wars, it about something much more profound.

      "Indeed, the energies of the teachers – and those of the forum organisers – would be better directed at coming to grips with the implications for literature of the current communications revolution heralded by Second Life, YouTube, MySpace, Wikipedia and the many other forms of multimedia, multi-user, inter-active, mass-participation internet applications that constitute the Web 2.0 revolution.

      "We are presently witnessing a media revolution comparable to the print revolution that ushered in the modern age 500 years ago. That event had a profound historical impact, particularly on the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Enlightenment, and the industrial, democratic, and educational revolutions that have given shape to the contemporary world.

      "However worthy the intentions of the eminent personages who gathered in Canberra might be, and however intense the outrage of the teaching profession might be, all their efforts will be quite literally Quixotic if they do not engage in depth with the implications for Australian literature and literature generally of the current communications revolution. It’s said that generals are always fighting the last war and this is true of the culture wars as well."
      
      Mervyn Bendle, Senior lecturer in history and communications, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld
      
      
      

  • Preschools to spread the faith
    by Jill Rowbotham, Religious affairs writer
    
    "The Catholic Church is on a mission to revive its fortunes, considering setting up preschools and reinforcing spiritual culture by emphasising the need for crucifixes and pictures of the Virgin Mary on its school walls.

    "The plan is in a new education strategy, released yesterday, which has implications for Catholic school students, teachers and trainee teachers.

    "The policy spells out the elements of a "genuinely Catholic" school, featuring "a Catholic visual culture including crucifixes and pictures of the Virgin Mary and the saints".

    "It recommends that disciplines other than religious education "consider the Catholic dimension of their subject areas" and that teachers be "solidly committed" to the Catholic identity of the school.

    "Progress would be measured by indicators including an increase in the proportion of staff and students who are Catholic, more mass attendance, deeper involvement in the life of the local church, and the promotion of "Catholic religious literacy"...
    
    Full story in The Australian at link

Thursday 9 August

• The West Australian
  
  
  • Teachers want help to implement welfare plan (page 4)
    by Rhianna King, Canberra
    
    "Teachers fear a Federal Government plan to link welfare payments to school attendance could increase their workload and have a negative impact on children.

    "From 2009, parents whose children miss more than 5 school days a term without explanation could receive up to 100% of their welfare payments as voucher for essential such as food and health care.

    "State Education Minister Mark McGowan supports the plan, but the State School Teachers Union and High School Principals Association were cautious yesterday.

    "SSTU president Mike Keely said if the proposal required extra work from teachers, he would be reluctant to support it unless the Commonwealth provided more resources.

    "Schools can't tolerate any more requests – this is yet another job. A year ago (the Government) was telling us to check the flagpoles … these things just become utterly stupid," he said. "We've got a concern that if you use punitive measures and punish parents it could affect the welfare of students. These are students from families who aren't all that functional."

    "Principals association president Alison Woodman also called for school to be supported in implementing the scheme.

    "She said schools already had to provide attendance details to a district education officer.

    "If that attendance officer ends up doing work for the Commonwealth, that would be taking away services from the State system," she said.

    "Education Department teaching and learning acting executive director Margaret Collins said WA public schools were responsible for the accurate recording and monitoring of student attendance.

    "She said the overall attendance rate in WA public schools was 91.1%, with about 19000 students absent from school on any given day.

    "Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough said the States' cooperation was imperative to the scheme going ahead and he would meet relevant ministers to discuss the plan."
    

    From The West Australian
    
    
    
    
  • Letter to the Editor (page 19)
    
    
    • Save my school
      
      "I am a former student of Wubin Primary School and your report of its proposed closure saddens me (Wubin's dozen students not enough, 8/8). In an era when decentralisation, parental guidance and family values are being encouraged, closure of the only district school for 20 km would destroy much of that town's infrastructure and further erode family contact and influence on the students.

      "Many of these young students currently attending that school would have a further 40 km of daily travel added to the already energy and concentration sapping long journey to the Wubin facility.

      "The school bus becomes the morning and afternoon de-facto classroom with no parental or teach guidance available.

      "Due largely to our mineral and energy wealth, we in WA are currently experiencing unprecedented economic boom times and it behoves us to invest in the future by maintaining and enhancing the dispersed human resources we have in this vast State.

      "We should be actively preserving our country facilities such as schools, hospitals and police stations, not closing and further centralising our country assets."

      Arthur Harris, Claremont
      
      
      

• The Melbourne Age
  
  
  • New tests may raise literacy ranking
    by Bridie Smith
    
    "Students in prep to grade 2 could face new reading and writing tests, as the Brumby Government moves to lift Victoria's low ranking in national reading results.

    "The Education Department is developing a state-wide model to assess English standards in early years, with tender documents indicating that trials will start in selected schools later this year.

    "Students will do one-on-one literacy exercises with teachers. Testing will include reading accuracy, comprehension, word recognition, vocabulary and oral reading fluency. Schools will be required to report twice a year for the first three years of each child's schooling. From next year, selected schools will also test prep students on entry..."

    Full story in The Melbourne Age at link
    
    
    
    
• The Sydney Morning Herald
  
  
  • Catholic Church drops school fidelity vows
    by Linda Morris, Religious Affairs Writer
    
    "The Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney has withdrawn plans to have its 167 school principals, deputy principals and religious education co-ordinators commit publicly to a "vow of fidelity" by adhering to church teaching on homosexuality, birth control and women's ordination.
    
    "The Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, had wanted to extend the oath of fidelity and profession of faith, a requirement of church law for bishops, priests and heads of seminaries, to all senior educational leaders.

    "The leader of the Sydney church had insisted that the church had every right to demand of its education officials a public commitment to the moral teachings and identity of the church, and was not an attempt at control.

    "But the controversial proposal, contained in a draft pastoral plan that was circulated for public comment, is to be withdrawn, the Sydney Catholic Education Office has confirmed..."
    
    Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
    
    Here is the original story [from 4 June]
    
    
    

  • Editorial
    Keeping faith at a crossroads
    
    "A growing number of non-Catholic parents see Catholic schools as a relatively cheap, attractive alternative to government schools. Some may be alarmed that NSW's Catholic bishops are now seeking ways to bolster the number of children of their faith in their schools, and to reinforce the religious aspects of the educational experience they offer. Such alarm is misplaced and, indeed, unreasonable. It is perverse to choose, for financial or educational reasons, to send one's child to an avowedly religious school and then to complain that it seeks to practise what it preaches.

    "To argue, as some non-Catholic parents may, that they have a right to educate their offspring in Catholic schools because those schools receive government financial support is to hark back to the battle over state aid for private schools that was decided decades ago. Even with state aid, church schools still meet much of the cost of educating a great many Catholic, and non-Catholic, students who would otherwise have to be accommodated, at a heavy price to taxpayers, by the overstretched government system.

    "In any case, the bishops are not proposing to react to what they see as a "crossroads" for Catholic education - a growth in the number of non-Catholic students at their schools coinciding with a fall in the number of those of the faith - by excluding non-Catholics. Their pastoral letter explicitly rejects such an approach, reaffirming "our commitment to the essential elements of the Catholic school while recognising, and even embracing, changing enrolment patterns as signs of the times". The aim, they say, is to ensure that, while welcoming young people from other backgrounds, schools seek to achieve a "critical mass" of students from practising Catholic families, including those from lower socio-economic bands and ethnic and special needs groups who are currently under-represented.

    "This is a positive response to a rational concern about the challenges to the church's schools in this age of "secularisation, consumerism, family dysfunction and values disorientation". Given the church's evangelical mission, it is unsurprising that it worries that half the students of Catholic families are enrolled in state schools and a growing proportion in non-Catholic independent schools. Nor does it need to apologise for giving preference to Catholic children at its schools before offering places to those from other backgrounds, or for insisting that religion comes with the package."

    From The Sydney Morning Herald at link [scroll down to second editorial]

Friday 10 August

• The Australian
  
  
  • Howard's net porn crusade
    
    John Howard is going to spend $189 million "cleaning up the internet" for Australian families, blocking pornography, upgrading the search for chatroom sex predators and cutting off terror sites.
    
    
    
    
  • Peak body calls for age limit drop [late update from 9 August]
    
    The peak university lobby has called on the federal Government to lower the age of independence from 25 to 18 as part of measures to address the growing financial hardship being faced by many students.
    
    
    
    
  • A canon we can't afford to overlook [late update from 9 August]
    by Kevin Donnelly
    
    "Criticisms of this week's Australian Literature in Education round table, hosted by the Australia Council for the Arts, have been as predictable as they have been misplaced.

    "Mark Howie, in a statement released by the Australian Association for the Teaching of English, argues that participants knew nothing about what was being taught in English classrooms and condemns the round table as representing "the manic pursuit of the so-called culture wars".

    "Mervyn Bendle, a senior lecturer at James Cook University, in a letter to the editor (The Australian, August 8), argues that attempts to reassert the central importance of Australian literature are quixotic, given the impact of the communications revolution, represented by the internet, SMS messaging and multi-modal texts.

    "What Howie ignores is that three of the round table participants have extensive experience as classroom teachers, and two of them have completed PhD theses analysing recent developments in English syllabuses across the nation.

    "A dispassionate reading of the round table's communique shows that, far from fomenting the culture wars, it is temperate and balanced. Howie argues that classroom teachers are excluded, even though one of the recommendations calls for teachers to be involved in establishing a list of canonical Australian works.

    "The so-called information revolution has, no doubt, significantly changed the way we communicate and many young people, instead of being print savvy, are more conversant with electronic forms of communication. It is equally true that learning is very much a human affair and interaction between teachers and students is at the heart of the education process. Although computers and the internet can assist with learning, nothing can replace the influence of an enthusiastic, knowledgeable and committed teacher.

    "Although multi-modal texts are widespread, it should never be forgotten that the finest works of our literary heritage have the ability to move us in profound ways.

    "Instead of attacking, critics should applaud and support the outcomes of the round table. Not only has the federal Government agreed to fund a new chair in Australian literature - in part because of The Australian's revelations about the parlous state of Australian literature at the university level - the communique also states that the round table discussion represents the start of a national conversation, not the end.

    "As readers of these pages know, it is a conversation that is long overdue. The reality is that all of the country's state and territory curriculum documents undervalue literature by defining everything, from posters to graffiti to the works of Henry Lawson and David Malouf, as worthwhile texts for study. An added concern about the approach to literature teaching is the primacy given to a critical literacy approach to analysing texts. Instead of privileging the moral and aesthetic value of great works, literature is analysed in terms of power relationships and the rights of victim groups.

    "Such an ideological approach is the opposite of overseas syllabuses, such as the English national curriculum and the Californian language arts curriculum, where critical literacy barely rates a mention and the focus is on a cultural heritage approach to the subject.

    "It is ironic, in an increasingly fragmented and disjointed world where global communication is instant and national cultures no longer exert the influence they once did, that many young people continue to seek a sense of local identity and place.

    "Witness the numbers attending Anzac Day dawn services or travelling to the beaches at Gallipoli. Studying Australian literature provides an opportunity for young Australians to appreciate, value and celebrate this nation's identity and history.

    "By necessity, studying Australian literature cannot be restricted to what is contemporary or immediately relevant. If students are to understand how our culture has evolved, they should be introduced to poets such as A.D. Hope, Kenneth Slessor and Judith Wright, as well as classic authors such as Lawson and Henry Handel Richardson.

    "As with last year's history summit, the literature round table is timely. The two main political parties, in signalling the value of a national curriculum and a need to reassert the importance of traditional subjects, have placed education firmly on the public agenda.

    "Let the discussion begin."

    Kevin Donnelly, an education consultant and author of Dumbing Down, was a participant in the Literature in Education round table.

    From The Australian
    
    
    
    
    
  • Editorial
    Texts and not texts [late update from 9 August]
    

    Australian literature is central to teaching English
    
    "It is a sad fact that Australian schools have devalued the teaching of English in recent years by marginalising the study of literature in general and Australian literature in particular. A reassertion of the importance of literature is long overdue and Australian students should be introduced to the works of great Australian writers and poets.

    "According to postmodern dogma, all "texts" are equal and equally worthy of study whether they are plays by Patrick White, an SMS text message or a return ticket to Flinders Street Station. Texts are no longer studied to reveal their moral or aesthetic value, they are "unpacked" or "decoded" to expose perceived racism, sexism and the exploitation of "victims" by the hegemonic classes. This ideological approach means that even if students do study anything from the canon of great literature it is through the jaundiced eye of left-wing politics, turning a deaf ear to the musicality of language or the aesthetics of beauty. It is extraordinary that at a time when young people feel more freedom to express open pride in their Australian identity they are not being exposed to what our greatest writers and poets have to say about being Australian.

    "It is encouraging that despite the resistance of teachers' unions, state and federal governments share a commitment to developing a national curriculum and a return to more traditional subjects. In that spirit, 20 professionals including emeritus professor of Australian literature at Sydney University Elizabeth Webby met in Canberra this week under the auspices of the Australia Council for the Arts at an Australian Literature in Education roundtable to discuss how to put Australian literature back at the centre of English teaching in high schools.

    "Following the success of the History Summit a year ago, which asserted the right of all Australian students to know their own nation's history, the literature roundtable has asserted the right of Australian students to see Australia through the eyes of our greatest writers and poets."
    
    From The Australian at link
    
    
    

  • Editorial
    Bridging the gap
    

    Young people could benefit from a year with Defence
    
    "The Prime Minister's proposal to allow young people to be integrated into the army, air force or navy for a "gap" year, with the same pay and conditions as regular recruits, is a welcome announcement. It should help to boost Defence recruitment, providing another pathway into the defence force, as well as giving an opportunity to those who want a civilian career to develop an appreciation of the role of the armed services.

    "While there is nothing new in the plan, which resembles Labor's Ready Reserve program abolished by the Howard Government a decade ago, and while Mr Howard may have had populist motives in making the announcement in the lead-up to a federal election and the day after a rise in interest rates, it is nonetheless a proposal with merit that should enjoy bipartisan support.

    "While Defence recruiters last year achieved one of their best results for 30 years, the Royal Australian Navy still has more than 1500 technical vacancies and has had to recruit offshore, sponsoring 38 job categories for permanent residency. It would be good if more of those positions could be filled by Australians in the future."
    
    From The Australian at link
    
    See article on this in today's Melbourne Age
    
    
    

• The Melbourne Age
  
  
  • Department fined over school risk
    by Julia Medew and Bridie Smith
    
    "A government department has been fined $8000 for failing to respond to complaints about the safety of the teachers' lunch room at a primary school.

    "Magistrate William O'Day yesterday found the Education Department had ignored notifications from a health and safety representative at Altona Primary School in Melbourne's west about the size of the room and the risks it posed to staff.

    "The Melbourne Magistrates Court heard that the school's representative had notified the department in 2004 of an occupational health and safety breach, explaining that staff were at risk of scalding themselves with hot beverages or falling while jostling for space with other teachers.

    "The department did not respond to the complaint within seven days as required under the Health and Safety Act.

    "The department yesterday pleaded guilty to failing to comply with a notice under the Health and Safety Act 1985 and to the same charge under the Health and Safety Act 2004.

    "Mr O'Day ordered the department to pay the $8000 fine and costs of $4500 within a month. He did not impose a conviction.

    "Outside the court, WorkSafe Victoria general manager Eric Windholz said the decision proved that courts would act against employers that did do not respect the role of health and safety representatives and WorkSafe inspectors.

    "It doesn't matter if it is a manufacturing company, a construction site or a school, safety must be taken seriously," he said.

    "Altona Primary School declined to comment.

    "A department spokeswoman said the department was committed to maintaining safe schools for staff and students and complying with occupational health and safety legislative requirements.

    "The spokeswoman pointed out that while the case related to the time it took to respond to the complaint, the school still received a "fully operational staff room which meets all of the WorkCover requirements".

    From The Melbourne Age at link
    
    
    
    
  • Schools urged to share more
    by Bridie Smith
    
    "Most children will attend a private school within three decades unless the public school system radically changes its approach, a leading education expert has warned.

    "Brian Caldwell said government schools should share buildings such as gymnasiums and sports centres with their communities rather than being "isolated, lonely schools standing on large blocks of land".

    "This, he said, would make them more familiar and attractive to parents who might otherwise drift to the private system.

    "Schools need to be the centre of the community," said Professor Caldwell, a fellow of the Australian College of Educators..."
    
    Full story in The Melbourne Age at link
    
    
    

  • Gap-year students get a C for cash
    by Brendan Nicholson
    
    "Young Australians who spend their "gap year" in the armed forces could be paid up to $46,817 for their time.
    
    "That's if they opt for the navy and spend much of their time picking up seagoing allowances aboard a warship.

    "But whatever defence job they choose, they will earn at least $30,000.

    "The new gap-year program is part of the Australian Defence Force's answer to its recruiting and retention crisis, a scheme that Defence Minister Brendan Nelson yesterday dubbed a voluntary form of national service.

    "Each year about 34,000 young people who have completed year 12 at school take a gap year before starting a career or going to university..."
    
    Full story in The Melbourne Age at link
    
    
    
    

• The West Australian
  
  
  • Letter to the Editor
    
    
    • Permanent block

      "I am a teacher who, for the past 3 years, has been trying to transfer from a city school to one of those difficult to staff schools in the country. Each year I have applied in June only to be told in October that I have been unsuccessful.

      "At the start of each year, at the end of term 1, the school I want to go to has been crying out for a teacher in my subject area. My problem seems to be that I am on permanent staff and can replace only a transferring teacher who is also on permanent staff. Permanent staff placements are done first and temporary staff are appointed later.

      "There was a time when senior educators, called superintendents, knew their staff as colleagues and took their personal and professional interests into consideration when they organised transfers.

      "We now have a system that discriminates against permanent teachers. Like a lot of employers, the department would rather have its staff on fixed term contracts.

      "No doubt today's Department of Education has its reasons (and its regulations) but the use of a little common sense would make us feel much better.

      "For obvious reasons I, like a lot of teachers who write to this newspaper, do not want my name and address published."
      
      Name and address supplied

Saturday – Sunday, 11 – 12 August

• The West Australian
  
  
  • Students may face random drug tests (page 13)
    by Bethany Hiatt
    
    "Students could face random drug tests at school under plans being considered by the Prime Minister’s advisory committee on drug use.
    
    "Australian National Council on Drugs chief executive Gino Vumbaca said it had commissioned research into whether drug detection and screening was needed in schools.
    
    "It was examining evidence for and against the effectiveness of mandatory drug testing as well as other strategies, such as better drug education, to fight illicit drug use.
    
    “We are assessing a whole range of things, including drug testing,” Mr Vumbaca said. “There are implications about testing kids on a mandatory basis and it may act as a deterrent in some cases, but it also breaks down bonds of trust in other cases and that can have longer-term effects.”
    
    "There was no such thing as foolproof technology and students could be devastated if they recorded a false positive reading.
    
    “We’re dealing with kids in a school environment and if you’re going to introduce something that’s mandatory and invasive you want to be very clear on what you’re doing and what the implications are before you do that,” he said.
    
    "The council is also seeking comments from legal experts, parent groups, teachers and principals. It will present its recommendations early next year.
    
    "Drug Free Australia executive officer Jo Baxter said evidence indicated drug use among students was rife so schools should have the option to be able to use mandatory random drug tests as a deterrent, in addition to other drug strategies. She said any testing should be non-invasive, such as saliva or sweat tests. Sniffer dog searches could also be a possibility.
    
    "Federal Education Minister Julie Bishop said each school should have the authority to determine whether its students should be subjected to mandatory or voluntary drug testing.
    
    "Education Minister Mark McGowan said he would look at the proposal but his initial inclination was it was unworkable. “Schools are there to educate, not to act as police,” he said. “Parents need to take responsibility for their children in these matters.”
    
    "State schools ran drug education and awareness courses to inform students on the dangers of illicit drugs.
    
    "But shadow education minister Peter Collier said school drug awareness courses were piecemeal and they should become mandatory, though he did not back random drug tests.
    
    "Australian Secondary Principals Association president Andrew Blair said he would support drug tests only where there was significant suspicion of misuse. “I’m not of the view that we should be randomly drug testing students because it sends the wrong messages,” he said. “The way to get that message across is through education rather than fear of being caught.”
    
    "State School Teachers Union president Mike Keely said the prospect of mandatory random drug tests in schools would horrify most teachers.
    
    "WA Council of State School Organisations president Rob Fry said any drug testing would have to be done with parental permission."
    
    From The West Australian at link
    
    
    
    
  • Gaps, gossip let students cheat in tests (page 15)
    by Bethany Hiatt
    
    "High school students are cheating in Statewide tests because they can sit for them days apart, triggering doubts about the legitimacy of the results.
    
    "Year 9 students began sitting English, maths and science assessments this week. Each school decides when students will sit the tests, which means those at one school can alert friends at other schools to questions.
    
    "Some bigger schools let Year 9s in the same school sit on different days.

    "The tests are set and administered by the Education Department, but most students from Catholic and Independent schools also take them.

    "An English teacher said his Year 9 daughter found out the question for the writing task o n her English test days ago because friends from other schools had posted it on the internet site MySpace. But because she will not sit the test until next week, her father said she also could have found out from friends at the same school.

    "Even in single schools, if MySpace had never been invented, you've got half the kids coming out before lunch on Friday and having lunch with the kids who are going to be doing it on Monday - they've got a weekend to prepare," he said. "It's imperative that it all be run at the same time, or else everything's meaningless."

    "The teacher said pupils knowing the essay question beforehand had the potential to skew results in English, but advance knowledge of content of science and maths tests could have an ever more significant effect.

    "Federal Education Minister Julie Bishop said it was incumbent on the State Government to ensure testing was conducted in a way that did not disadvantage some students or allow others to gain an unfair advantage.

    "National literacy and numeracy tests for Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 taking place for the first time in May next year would involve all students sitting the same test on the same day.

    "State School Teachers Union president Mike Keely said the competitive nature of whole-population testing led to people abusing the system.

    "But Education Minister Mark McGowan said the W Literacy and Numeracy Assessments and the Monitoring Standards in Education [year] 9 tests were designed to set benchmarks for learning and were not competitive.

    "The tests are diagnostic and students do not pass or fail," he said.

    "University of WA education dean Bill Louden said that unless students memorised an essay before the test, knowing the topic beforehand offered little advantage. "For children it's not a high-stakes test, it's of more interest to the school," he said."

    [So... it's diagnostic and not high stakes... certainly that means it's OK to cheat and skew the results???  Web]
    
    From The West Australian
    
    
    

  • The West Weekend Magazine
    
    
    • Letter to the Editor (page 9)
      
      
      • "Relax, all you concerned parents. Sure, your children may be leaving school with what you perceive to be a "lack of adequate skills" but you need to reflect on the skills they are, in fact, developing under the framework of OBE. Rejoice in the knowledge that they are learning to "critique and evaluate texts in a variety of ways using different critical frameworks or criteria." They will be able to fluently discuss "relationships among representations, socio-cultural context and attitudes, values and beliefs" of any movie poster, CD or Playstation cover.

        "They will be able to uncover the multiple meanings lurking in a Coca Cola advertisement.

        "They will be able to use "contextual and intertextual knowledge in order to demonstrate sensitivity to cultural nuances" to the graffiti in the neighbourhood. Isn't that what educating for the future is all about?"

        Marina Foster, Menora
        
        
        

• The Sunday Times
  
  
  • Maths taught over the phone as teacher leaves
    by Anthony de Ceglie
    
    "Students at York District High School are being taught over the phone after the school's only maths teacher quit.
    
    "The teacher resigned at the end of Term 2 and parents have been told there will be no replacement.

    "Responsibility for the maths program has been handed to the School of Isolated and Distance Education in Perth.

    "SIDE will provide course material for students and mark their work. A phone will be made available to students so they can talk with a teacher if they need help.

    "A maths teacher from SIDE will also attend the school every two weeks.

    "Roger Webb, a father of five, said his child in Year 10 had complained that learning over the phone was affecting his work.

    "Maths is a weak point for him,'' Mr Webb said. ``He's got no motivation to want to improve any more.

    "He told me he had a problem that he discussed with the teacher over the phone and he couldn't understand, so he gave in.''

    "Mr Webb said many parents were shocked and frustrated to learn their children would be taught over the phone.

    "You envisage something like this in Whoop Whoop, but certainly not in York,'' he said.

    "It's not an isolated area -- from York you can get to Perth in one hour.''

    "School principal Alan Smith said a mentor would be available to students during class.

    "However, he conceded the mentor would be a former primary schoolteacher -- and not a maths specialist.

    "A letter sent to parents last month stated: "We can assure all parents that while this solution to the problem is not ideal, it is a very satisfactory one. The SIDE teachers are very experienced and competent.

    "Providing students (supported by their parents) assume the responsibility for completing all the work packages, including homework, on time and with endeavour, students should not be hindered in their mathematics learning.''

    "Mr Smith told The Sunday Times: "We were forced into a position where we had a teacher resign for personal reasons and we had to act quickly.

    "I am very comfortable with the distance packages and the quality of the education the students will get.''

    "Mr Smith said the school had advertised for a new teacher, but with no luck.

    "We are advertising at the moment for next year,'' he said.

    "I have every intention to fill that vacancy. This situation is not a long-term solution.''

    "Mr Smith said it was not unusual for SIDE to be utilised by a school less than 100km from Perth.

    "There are metropolitan schools that have been using distance education for a long time,'' he said. "It is not uncommon and it is not just happening now.''
    
    From The Sunday Times at link
    
    
    

  • "The Pot Calling The Kettle Black" department
    
    
    • Julie Bishop and Julia Gillard clash
      
      Federal Education Minister Julie Bishop has accused Deputy Opposition Leader Julia Gillard of behaving like a "fashion model or TV star'' rather than a politician.
      
      
      
      
• The Sunday Melbourne Age
  
  
  • VCAT backs sacked teacher
    by William Birnbauer
    
    "Should school teachers jump in to separate brawling students? Teacher Peter Moran didn't think so, and instead hung back and watched a ferocious "bitch fight" involving eight girls.

    "Mr Moran, a senior teacher and football coach, stood behind about 50 students crowded around the 16-year-old girls as they threw punches at each other and pulled out clumps of hair.

    "He yelled for them to stop and waved his arms. But he did not intervene.

    "I'm here to teach, not to break up fights," Mr Moran told a distressed and injured girl afterwards. She told him to "f--- off, c---".

    "The headmaster of Langwarrin Secondary College, Robert Loader — a teacher with 40 years' experience — contacted the Education Department's conduct and ethics branch.

    "He thought his teacher had a duty of care and should have "moved into the students" during the fight.

    "The Education Department, which was later supported by the Industrial Relations Commission, dismissed Mr Moran and the Victorian Institute of Teaching cancelled his teacher registration.

    "But in a decision with far-reaching ramifications for Victorian teachers, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal recently overturned the decision to cancel Mr Moran's registration and attacked the lack of guidelines available to teachers on how to deal with physical fights..."
    
    Full story in The Sunday Melbourne Age at link
    
    

  • Editorial
    Teachers' dilemma: damned if you do, damned if you don't
    
    "The world loves simple stories, where it's clear who is right and who is wrong. Every complex, real-life story is broken down to simple stereotypes - for every bad deed there's a bad guy who must be responsible.

    "But the real world is full of dilemmas that cannot be captured by a black versus white perspective - even the law cannot fathom the human heart or properly read people's motivations. That is why storytellers and lawmakers infer motivation and character through an individual's actions.

    "So when a group of 16-year-old girls began fighting at his school oval, teacher Peter Moran sent for help and waved and shouted for girls to stop fighting. After the fight, Mr Moran allegedly told one of the students: "I'm here to teach, not to break up fights."

    "The headmaster at Langwarrin Secondary College disagreed with Mr Moran's assessment, saying he should have "moved into the students", and dismissed the teacher. The dismissal was upheld by the Education Department and the Industrial Relations Commission. The Victorian Institute of Teaching cancelled Mr Moran's registration as a teacher.

    "But now the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal has overturned the decision to cancel Mr Moran's registration, criticising the fact that there were no guidelines for what teachers should do when students fight.

    "VCAT pointed out that Mr Moran had no yardstick by which to measure his actions, other than his experience and his assessment of the best way to deal with what was happening.

    "Though the fight lasted about 30 seconds, it presented Mr Moran with a dilemma: if he was wrong not to intervene, he might also have been wrong to have "moved into" the students, to physically separate the combatants.

    "Maybe if Mr Moran had intervened, the Victorian Institute of Teaching panel might not have had to hear evidence that some of the students involved in the fight were mentally scarred as a result.

    "But what if Mr Moran had put himself between the girls as they fought? What if one or more was injured as a result? Teachers at his school had been warned never to touch pupils, so how would security footage of the fight be interpreted if it showed a large male teacher man-handling teenage girls?

    "Could Mr Moran have been dismissed as a result of physical intervention? Quite possibly.

    "Without proper official guidelines, he was damned whether he waded in to the fight or not. Mr Moran, a teacher with more than 25 years' experience, may have been wrong in the course of action he took, but without guidelines his school, the department and the VIT were wrong to deny him the ability to make his living in the classroom. Such guidelines should be written as a matter of urgency. Teachers and their students need the clarity they could bring."
    
    From The Sunday Melbourne Age at link

    
    

  • Hogwarts spells out art of teaching
    
    Teachers in need of inspiration will find all the magic they need in the methods used at Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft.
    
    
    
    
    
• The Weekend Australian
  
  
  • Op Ed
    Performance pay scheme won't work
    
    As politicians consider the introduction of merit-based salaries for teachers, James Allan is sceptical it would work as it should
    
    "How does one go about measuring merit or performance? Sometimes it's easy. The coach of a basketball team that consistently finishes near the top of the league has his performance measured in wins and championships.

    "He's not regarded an above-average or great coach simply because the team owners polled the players and those players gave him 4 1/2 out of five in terms of how they felt about him. Nor is he a great coach because he has compiled several dozen pages outlining his personal coaching philosophy, detailing how often he reflects on his coaching, asserting how open he is to the players' concerns, recounting the various ways he's using new technology and even affirming that he wholeheartedly endorses whatever coaching techniques and philosophies before which the team owners happen also to genuflect.

    "Even if he may have published a few articles on coaching in a journal dedicated to coaching, that does not make him a great coach.

    "Indeed, all such measures are essentially bureaucratic claptrap. They all reflect an effort to find objective measures of performance or merit in terms that amount to nothing much more than creating a paper trail or box-ticking portfolio. [emphasis added]

    "That claptrap is how Australian universities purport to measure teaching greatness, but no sane sports fan would assess the competence of a team's coach in such terms. More solid, objective measures would be used. Ultimately they would boil down to some function of comparative wins and losses. Notice, also, that there's no one-size-fits-all recipe for greatness. Some winning coaches are sensitive; others obsess over strategy; some emphasise training; and a few are despotic army sergeant-types who brook no dissent and care not a whit for the feelings of players. As long as they win, they get the big bucks.

    "I mention this coaching analogy because I happen to be generally in favour of paying more for performance. By all means let's reward those who outperform their colleagues. And sometimes it's not too difficult to know who is outperforming whom. We know which car salesperson is selling the most cars. We know which fund manager delivers the best results. We know which chef brings in the most customers. In none of these cases is performance measured by bureaucratic form-filling. Results are there for all to see.

    "What worries me when I hear talk of rewarding better-performing teachers is not the principle of the thing; I'm all for it in a vigorous, red-in-tooth-and-claw way. My concern is related to how the performance of teachers would be measured.

    "What will our objective criteria of performance be? I suppose in a world unlike today's, one that would have regular, standardised testing, we could reward teachers who delivered better average scores from their students. Of course we'd have to be rewarding the improvement in scores once the teacher came in, not the absolute score. Otherwise, no teachers in poor, academically below-average schools would get a performance bonus. In addition, education would be focused on teaching to the tests. Whether anyone finds that prospect attractive or not, at least there would be a modicum of results-driven objectivity on which to dole out performance pay. My suspicion, indeed my fear, is that any system of performance pay would amount to the box-ticking, form-filling variety.

    "Is there any other option? Optimists, or perhaps utopians, may suggest giving principals a budget for teachers' pay, to spend on talent as they see fit, the way a team owner and coach would. Of course you'd need then to hold the principal accountable. On that scenario, the principal, drawing on their experience, applies a subjective "I know good teaching when I see it" test and rewards accordingly. Parents can then decide if they agree by keeping, moving or removing their children from that school.

    "Until such a set-up becomes remotely plausible -- the devil would be in the detail of such a notion and its political prospects would be next to nil -- the odds are good that performance pay for teachers would amount to a variant on the "pretend you're reading all the latest education theory drivel" exercise.

    "It wouldn't take a great odds-maker to figure out how effective such a performance-based pay scheme would be. Of the parents who spend a big chunk of their after-tax dollars on independent schools, how many would this sort of form-filling scheme entice to the state system? Any takers for none?"

    James Allan is the Garrick professor of law at the University of Queensland.

    From The Weekend Australian at link
    
    
    
    
  • Cyber safety kit for parents and schools
    by Justine Ferrari
    
    "Every parent and school will receive a cyber safety program for computers and mobile phones under a package being developed by the national school parents organisation.
    
    "The Australian Council of State School Organisations is working with Microsoft and the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association to develop a program to counter porn, online games, fraud and bullying.

    "The program, to be unveiled in October, will provide information to parents and students about the safe use of the internet on computers and mobile phones, and give parents a guide to installing control software and filters.

    "ACSSO executive officer Terry Aulich said the federal Government's announcement of filters for internet porn was valuable but the second step was helping young people take responsibility.

    "Psychologists welcomed the filters but said they were no substitute for supervision and educating children about appropriate use.

    "The best filter in the world is the one between the ears of children," child psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg said..."
    
    Full story in The Weekend Australian at link
    
    
    

  • Editorial
    Keeping children safe
    

    Government takes a sensible line on net protection

    "Abhorring the dangers posed to children by ubiquitous internet pornography and predators who stalk cyberspace chat rooms with the aim of grooming the naive and vulnerable is a sure winner for any government wanting to boost its family-friendly credentials. It certainly paid dividends for John Howard this week when he used an online broadcast to 770 Christian churches of all denominations to restate the Government's determination to do something about making the digital world a safer place for kids. Actually doing something about it is a different thing altogether.

    "The complexity of the task is underscored by the fact that Mr Howard was forced to mostly recycle an earlier pledge for which the details are still being worked out. Fortunately, the Government's new approach has pulled back from earlier promises of blanket censorious intervention that would put Australia into the same league as countries such as China, Iran, Sudan and Saudi Arabia when it comes to restricting the free access of all citizens to cyberspace.

    "The Government's new approach puts the onus where The Weekend Australian has always argued that it should be: on parents. The Government will provide software free of charge to parents who want to load it on to the home computer. This will give families the ability to decide what sort of material will be blocked. Different choices can be made for different users depending on age and the way in which they use the net. The software that will be offered by the Government will be able to block access to particular sites and allow parents to prevent children from being able to send personal details over the internet.

    "Technologically unsure parents who feel unable to install or manage the software can request that their internet service provider filter content before it is provided to the home. The Government will pay for the blocking service as part of the $189 million package announced this week. The service provider will be forced to offer an alternative service that filters out internet sites that do not meet the approval of the Australian Communications and Media Authority.

    "The Government's latest approach differs from earlier proposals because it does not require service providers to restrict content for all users, unlike Labor which has pledged a mandatory clean feed. Industry research has clearly shown that existing technology will not allow a mandatory approach without impacting on the performance of Australia's already slow internet service. More significantly, a mandatory scheme would represent a much tighter control by government over the free exchange of online material, much of it perfectly legal for the majority of consumers.

    "A mandatory approach smacks of the nanny state and would give parents a false sense of security, allowing them to surrender responsibility for properly supervising what their children are exposed to. It is a fact of 21st-century life that electronically censoring the internet will not stop willing teenagers from swapping unsavoury material via email, chat rooms or new technology such as the third-generation telephone services.

    "The Government's pledge to boost Australian Federal Police resources to target internet child predators is most welcome. But Mr Howard is right to recognise that no device known to man can take the place of parents in deciding what material their children are exposed to. Most importantly, it is always prudent to maintain a healthy scepticism of government censorship of any type."
    
    From The Weekend Australian at link
    
    
    

• The Melbourne Age
  
  
  • Op Ed
    How we lost the plot
    by Agnes Nieuwenhuizen

    You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.
    — Ray Bradbury

    "Why, in Australia, are so many trying to stop young people reading widely and for pleasure? And who in Australia is committed to ensuring that young people become lifelong readers? Politicians, educators and parents are constantly fretting about levels of literacy. But learning to read, to decode, does not create literate people. Reading does. This is how that great promoter of the love of language and reading, Dr Seuss put it:

    The more that you read,
    the more things you will know.
    The more that you learn,
    the more places you'll go.

    "Last year there was a history summit. This year a roundtable to look at "how to get more Australian contemporary and classic writing onto high school and university curricula". The roundtable, of "20 experts", was convened by the Australia Council in consultation with federal Education Minister Julie Bishop. Dr Peter Holbrook, of the Australia Council's Literature Board, expressed concern that students were being turned off studying Australian literature because the way it was taught was too prescriptive. Holbrook said: "The focus is not so much on literary works as it is on language in society or the sociology of language".

    "Once again the focus was on texts, titles, testing and, of course, on "classics" (how does a book become a classic?) and on "literature in education" rather than on the key issue of reading and how to foster interest in reading and thus on the real education of young people..."
    
    "It's time to re-educate our educators, politicians and public about the purposes and pleasures of reading. It's time to foster a book and reading culture in Australia. Let's treat our best authors as stars. There are huge celebrations and many literary events in Holland this year to mark the 80th birthday of the major writer for adults Harry Mullisch. And in Sweden there is an annual public holiday to celebrate Astrid Lindgren, the creator of Pippi Longstocking. Can we even begin to imagine such respect or acknowledgement accorded an author here? News reports, ticker-tape parades and TV specials are only for triumphant sports heroes or so-called celebrities. Let's change all this.

    "Let's put young people and the many wonderful and varied books available to them at the heart of the debate on literacy. Let's celebrate readers and writers. Let's have national programs to promote reading. Let's not agonise about how much Shakespeare is read, or think about books in terms of fodder for explorations of issues or ideology. Let's not destroy our culture."
    
    Agnes Nieuwenhuizen is the author of Right Book, Right Time — 500 great reads for teenagers (Allen & Unwin 2007). She is a guest at The Age Melbourne Writers' Festival.
    
    Full story in The Melbourne Age at link
    
    
    
    

• The Sydney Morning Herald
  
  
  • Unis turn away from single entry mark [late update from 10 August]
    
    Macquarie University will offer places to some school-leavers using a combination of the students' HSC results and other tests - and at least five other universities may follow in a sign of their lack of confidence in the present admissions system.
    
    
    
    
  • Labor to fund schools with security needs
    
    The tussle for the Jewish vote in Malcolm Turnbull's seat of Wentworth shifted up a gear yesterday when Kevin Rudd countered a Government plan by offering to directly fund security for schools with "particular threat assessments".
    
    
    
    
  • Op Ed
    Breaking old habits
    
    With the success of Catholic schooling, the church has moved away from educating the poor, Gerard Noonan and Linda Morris report.
    
    
    
    
  • Editorial
    Everyday life is wrapped in the web
    
    It is very easy to demonise the world wide web, and to shrink away from it through fear of the new and the unknown. The vast amount of pornography it makes available; the potential it offers for predators to find victims; the scams it enables; the dangers it poses for identity theft - all these show its destructive, negative side.

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

This page last updated 13 August, 2008 0:40 AM