Monday 19 May

Tuesday 20 May

Wednesday 21 May

Thursday 22 May

Friday 23 May

Saturday – Sunday, 24 – 25 May

Monday 19 May

• The Australian
  
  
  • Op Ed
    Unholy trinity drags down high schools
    by Conrad Amons
    
    "Who is in a position to judge the effectiveness of our schools? Those with inside experience or those with outside objectivity?

    "Having recently made a career change to secondary teaching, I am in an advantageous position to comment.

    "My first observation is that critics of the system are correct to point out that standards have declined. Much discussion has focused on literacy, but numeracy standards are equally worrisome.

    "I was amazed to discover that most of my students, regardless of year level, did not even come close to knowing their times tables. Having since grown used to the ineptitude of my students, from time to time I catch myself observing with surprise the ability of a shop assistant working out change in their head or a friend mentally dividing a restaurant bill. Skills that were once nearly universal, regardless of intelligence or higher educational status, are uncommon in today's school-leavers.

    "The reasons for the decline, in my view, are twofold. First, and most trivially, the senseless push for ever higher Year 12 completion rates has led unavoidably to a reduction in the average academic ability of students in post-compulsory education.

    "Since curriculums and teachers must pitch themselves at a level appropriate for most students, standards inevitably are reduced.

    "The deeper reason for the decline in standards is a complex set of circumstances that have led to reduced teacher effectiveness and a lack of public esteem for teachers and the education system. The latter, in turn, has dramatically worsened student behaviour to the extent that learning outcomes are severely affected in most classrooms.

    "This little discussed factor, in my view, is the elephant in the room and is far more damaging to the effectiveness of schools than any issues with teacher quality.

    "Conservative commentators are correct, to a degree, to apportion blame to the influence of socialist ideology, which is thoroughly entrenched in the system through an unholy trinity of the Australian Education Union, teacher educators and bureaucrats of the state education departments.

    "It is such ideology, and the view that all human difference is due to advantage or disadvantage rather than variations in innate abilities, that has motivated the push to increase Year 12 completion already discussed.

    "The same groundless Marxist viewpoint also leads the trinity to embrace mediocrity in the teaching workforce.

    "Instead of allowing a competitive employment market to maximise the effectiveness of the teaching workforce, the trinity attaches salaries not to positions but to individuals and bases the salary not on the basis of negotiation or even qualifications and merit but on the number of years of service.

    "Education departments set wages at levels where they are struggling to find anyone to do the job, instead of being in the position to select the most capable and effective from a surplus ofapplicants.

    "This effect is only partially mitigated by those highly capable teachers who altruistically keep teaching despite being capable of earning much more elsewhere.

    "The AEU is a complicit toothless tiger and will remain so for as long as it continues offering free election campaigns for the party that is driving every state education system into the ground. [emphasis added]

    "The recent disappointing agreement reached between the AEU and the Victorian Government is a case in point.

    "For most teachers, through its life the agreement falls well short of meeting overall wage growth in the Australian economy (at present close to 5 per cent a year), when this is the benchmark that must be significantly exceeded if teacher employers are to be better positioned in the market.

    "What little campaigning the AEU does initiate is motivated out of notions of fairness to teachers, not out of a desire to improve the quality of the teaching workforce.

    "This would conflict with the dominant socialist ideology.

    "Instead, it and the rest of the trinity believe that teaching productivity can be improved by providing further training to the existing workforce.

    "Professional development, as such training is mislabelled, is seen as the public system's saviour by the AEU, education departments and, of course, the teacher educators who are paid to deliver it.

    "Yet, with a few sycophantic exceptions, teachers widely doubt the value of the professional development they receive. At best it is a waste of time. At worst it is a facile, patronising debacle where, to take one example from my experience, grown adults learn to make a visual representation of their personal pedagogy with paper, scissors and crayons.

    "Effective teachers have a profession, not an occupation. The skills of a good teacher cannot be instilled by training.

    "Like other professionals, good teachers are constantly improving their practice, not through ongoing training but through processes such as critical reflection and peer discussion. Any teacher who is incapable of doing this unaided and who must resort to training is not really suited to teaching. (Perhaps the denizens of the trinity cannot understand this because they fall into this category of mediocrity.)

    "To succeed, we must start employing truly professional practitioners instead of paying bottom dollar and trying in vain to make up for it with training. However, with their vested financial and ideological interests, the union, teacher educators and state education departments will not allow this to happen.

    "It's time to bite the bullet. We must demand that our children get the teachers they deserve and our teachers get the pay and professional respect they deserve. Once this happens, teachers and schools will win back the respect and admiration of parents, and the final, most crucial and least discussed failure of the system will be ameliorated: student behaviour and motivation." [emphasis added]

    Conrad Amons (a pseudonym) teaches mathematics and science at a Victorian state secondary school. Previously, he has worked in Australia and abroad as a research scientist. He has used a pseudonym to guard against retribution.
    
    From The Australian at link

    
    
    
  • International research to guide teaching methods
    by Justine Ferrari, Education writer
    
    "The federal Government will provide direction on the methods used in the classroom, as part of its plan for the national curriculum.

    "Education Minister Julia Gillard yesterday told The Australian that the National Curriculum Board would examine "the best possible methods of teaching". "It's our intention to resource the National Curriculum Board so that it can both assess and if necessary commission original research," she said.

    "Ms Gillard said the evidence seemed clear on the best way to teach reading, with phonics and learning to sound out words giving students the foundation skills. "There's a fair degree of clarity around what works in literacy and numeracy teaching," she said.

    "She also ended speculation that the federal Government would walk away from its election commitment to publish the results of national literacy and numeracy tests.

    "We have a very clear commitment in this area about making sure that the full school performance is available in the public domain and we will deliver on that," she said.

    "Ms Gillard said the Government had already achieved more than the Howard government in convincing the states and territories to hand over their school-by-school results to the commonwealth for the first time.

    "But we'll be taking all the steps necessary to deliver our election commitment," she said.

    "In last week's budget, the Government announced a plan to raise literacy and numeracy standards that would use evidence from around the world to determine the best teaching methods.

    "In her budget statement, Ms Gillard said the Government would provide $10 million to gather research and data "to inform an evidence-based approach to literacy and numeracy programs and teacher professional developments".

    "My understanding of the research is that you need a variety of teaching methods but it's all a question of what stage of the learning process the student is at," she said yesterday.

    "Properly viewed, it seems to me a continuum of learning but the original foundations of literacy are sounds, sounding out and phonics."

    "Ms Gillard said the foundations were in sounding out words and as students progressed, building comprehension. "Those skills then would also involve decoding and sounding out new words to work out meaning assisted by looking at the word before and after."

    "In tackling the so-called Reading Wars, which pitted the teaching of phonics against whole language methods, Britain mandated a program called "Phonics First and Fast" to ensure children were taught letter-sound combinations as the first step in learning to read. [emphasis added]

    "Ms Gillard said the Australian Government would rely on advice from the NCB.

    "Specifying curriculum is not a task for politicians, it's a task for experts," she said. "I simply don't think Australian parents want politicians to specify curriculum; they want experts doing that and want it led by evidence."

    "As well as building evidence-based practice into the curriculum, the Government is intent on improving the quality of teaching. But Ms Gillard said the Opposition's proposal to lift the university entry score to study teaching would only mean fewer teachers were trained, and so exacerbate shortages.

    "It's a question of who's applying for teaching and how to make teaching a desirable profession to apply to do," she said.

    "It's about the quality of who's going into university teacher training; it's what's taught, it's the way in which teachers are trained, it's the support they get in schools, it's access to professional development, it's the question of rewards for excellence." [emphasis added]

    From The Australian at link
    
    
    
    
  • Oz lit on must-read list
    by Justine Ferrari, Education writer
    
    "High school students in NSW will have to study at least four works of Australian literature by the end of Year 10 under changes to the English syllabus.

    "The NSW Board of Studies has reworked the English syllabus for primary and secondary students to promote Australian literature in the classroom.

    "The changes specify the study of printed literature - books, poems and plays - over multimedia forms such as film, television shows and websites.

    "The move follows a directive last year from NSW Education Minister John Della Bosca to strengthen the study of Australian literature in schools.

    "Mr Della Bosca yesterday said a study of Australian literature was important in providing a sense of identity and insight into our national culture.

    "While Australian literature is already featured across the primary and secondary English syllabuses, these proposals will help to ensure that all students experience the wisdom, knowledge, and talent of our authors," he said.

    "The board will start consultations with teachers later this month to draw up lists of suggested books and writers for study.

    "The changes could be phased in as early as next year..."
    
    Full story in The Australian at link
    
    
    

  • IT classes don't click with girls at school
    by Lauren Wilson
    
    "Young computer-savvy girls continue to see IT as a geeky subject that boys are naturally better at, according to new research.

    While many female high school students are computer-fluent and spend hours on social networking sites, an Australian Research Council project has found girls are still significantly less likely than boys to see themselves as being "good at" computing and information technology.

    "The three-year Gender and IT research project, conducted by the University of Western Sydney in conjunction with Charles Sturt University and Deakin University, found that many girls continue to boycott IT subjects in the final years of high school because they find them boring and irrelevant to their career aspirations.

    "In a survey of 1334 Year 10 students from across NSW, Victoria and South Australia, only 13 per cent of girls indicated they would study computing or information technology subjects in their final years of high school.

    "And girls make up only 8 per cent of enrolments for what are considered to be the most demanding and most technical IT subjects offered at high school level. Professor Margaret Vickers, from the Centre for Educational Research at UWS, said girls' participation in computing subjects had declined significantly but the problem had received very little attention."

    From The Australian at link
    
    
    
    
  • Parents want junk food ads banned
    
    The vast majority of parents support a ban on advertising junk food to children, particularly on television, according to a new survey.
    
    Editorial on this topic: More nanny state
    
    
    
    
• The West Australian
  
  
  • Crowding in classes ignored: teachers (page 4)
    by Bethany Hiatt

    "The Department of Education and Training had failed to honour a commitment made nearly two months ago to tell schools to reduce overcrowded classes, the teachers' union claimed yesterday.

    "Figures revealed in negotiations over pay and conditions and leaked to The West Australian show that more than 1000 classes across 320 State schools had more students last year than the maximum allowed under the department's guidelines.

    "State School Teachers Union president Anne Gisborne said she believed department officials were shocked at the extent of the overcrowding when the evidence first emerged in confidential pay talks seven weeks ago.

    "The department had indicated to the union that it would be putting out an instruction on the matter.

    "Ms Gisborne said she understood the directive to all schools would advise them to focus on reducing class sizes. "And we're still waiting for the instruction," she said.

    "Education Minister Mark McGowan and the department refused to comment yesterday on whether that had backed away from the committee.

    "Department human resources acting director John Serich said only that the figures had been supplied in confidence as part of enterprise bargaining agreement negotiations with the union.

    "Both parties have given an undertaking to the WA Industrial Relations Commission that the information would remain in confidence," he said. "That being the case, the department is not prepared to comment."

    "Ms Gisborne said even though there was flexibility in the existing EBA to vary the maximum of 24 students in Years 1-3 classes and 32 in Years 4-10, the high number of schools not complying meant the problem had to be examined. She said teachers were pushed to take extra students partly because it was more convenient for school management.

    "I think there circumstances where people are coerced, sometimes against their better judgement," she said. "Sometimes people aren't aware that there's actually a legal obligation on behalf of the department at a school site to ensure that these conditions are complied with."

    "Ms Gisborne said teachers simply could not give individual attention to students in overcrowded classes.

    "I think you have to look at our more elite non-government schools and look at the class sizes that they offer their parents - and parents choose to go to those schools in part because class sizes are running under 20," she said."

    From The West Australian
    

    
    
  • Letter to the Editor (page 22)
    
    
    • In short

      "A couple of questions for D.Beldon (Home truths, Letters 14/5). Would he or she feel better if the "unskilled labourer" in the North-West earned less than his schoolteachers wage? Instead of bleating about being "stretched to the limit" on the double income from two schoolteachers, why doesn't he head to the North-West and try his hand at unskilled labouring for the big money he seems to envy? Or would that seem too much like hard work and interruption of his comfortable "lifestyle"?"

      John Hanley, Mt Helena
      
      
      

• The Age
  
  
  • The Monday Education Section has nine articles, including:
    
    
    • Are PCs for stopping blackboredom?
      by Darryl Coulthard
      
      "Do computers make learning better and easier? Should we be spending more and more of our resources on computers and software? For the past couple of years or so, I've been trialling software and pondering these and related questions.
      
      "I've always been puzzled by the claims made for computers, as I think of teaching and learning as being intrinsically social, interpersonal activities. If computers do help learning, I can't fathom how they bypass or supercharge the interpersonal.

      "Discounting those studies that seem to be more part of the cheer squad or have a clear interest in the outcome, I've come up with a virtual blank. I can't seem to find a study or an experience of a colleague that supports all the hype about computers and education. Along the way I think I've learned a great deal but much of it leaves me less than sanguine.

      "Indeed, I wonder whether much of it is something of a "convenient lie"- a great pretence in which all parties benefit in the short term, except for the fact that resources could be more usefully applied elsewhere. Governments and education departments can show their progressive nature and future orientation and can be seen to be doing something: "X million computers in schools" is a concrete goal that bureaucrats can easily measure and chart..."
      
      Full story in The Age at link
      
      

    • Kinder no longer?
      
      Traditional kindergartens could flounder under the biggest policy shake-up to hit the preschool sector, Victoria's peak parents' group warns.
      
      
      
    • Budget for the future
      
      Labor's first budget gets a positive reaction from most sectors, writes Ben Haywood.
      
      
      
    • Hard lessons
      
      Many university students, especially those living away from home, are struggling to survive financially. Jane Cafarella reports.
      
      
      
  • State faces outcry on higher fees for TAFE courses
    
    The [Victorian] State Government faces a backlash over contentious plans to introduce HECS-style loans to TAFEs, increase student fees and open Victoria's training system to greater competition.
    
    
    
    
• The Daily Mail
  
  
  • Universities in backlash against 'soft' subjects now accounting for one in three of all A-levels
    by Laura Clark
    
    "Universities are warning that students who take too many 'soft' A-levels run the risk of rejection.

    "One in three A-levels is taken in a subject that top universities deem poor preparation for degree courses.

    "Statistics show that 246,675 out of 744,675 A-levels taken last year were in subjects seen as less valuable - 8,000 more than five years ago.

    "These subjects include media studies, business studies, general studies, art and design and ICT (information and communication technology).

    "The Tories said a "cruel trick" was being played on bright students aiming for the best universities but hamstrung by poor subject choices.

    "They believe exam league tables may be putting pressure on schools to steer students towards subjects seen as easier to pass.

    "Cambridge advises students that it considers 20 A-level subjects "less effective preparation" for courses.

    "It recommends that sixth-formers do no more than one subject on this list - posted on the university website - while general studies does not count towards a conditional offer..."

    Full story in The Daily Mail at link
    
    
    
    
• The Melbourne Herald Sun
  
  
  • Videos fair game
    by Kevin Donnelly
    
    "It's obvious that violent video/computer games are popular and widely used - just look at the sales of the recently released updated version of Grand Theft Auto.

    "Six million copies of it have sold worldwide to the value of $530 million.

    "Along with games like Star Craft, Duke, Doom and War Craft, Grand Theft Auto is played by thousands of Australian children who spend hours blowing things up, killing people and fighting to come out on top.

    "Are violent video games bad?

    "Judged by two of the speakers at last week's forum organised by the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, called "Did I Really Kill Someone?", parents have little to worry about.

    "Video games, so the argument goes, are worthwhile forms of entertainment.

    "Games teach eye-hand co-ordination, players learn about decision making, that actions have consequences and violent games also allow kids to safely vent their frustration.

    "Such is the importance of computer games that not only are there tertiary courses dedicated to the subject, but supporters argue that games should be treated as works of art.

    "Critics are told to get with the 21st century - video games are examples of the new technology and, supposedly, in the same way film, television and the internet were first criticised and then accepted, video games will also be embraced.

    "Academics such as Catherine Beavis, at Deakin University, and groups such as the Australian Association for the Teaching of English, go as far as arguing that computer games should be taught in the classroom.

    "Reading print, so we are told, is obsolete as we now live in the digital age where multi-modal texts - videos, computer games and blogs - reign supreme.

    "Who needs to read great writers such as Jane Austen, William Wordsworth or David Malouf when Facebook, YouTube and Wikipedia are at one's fingertips and only seconds away?

    "If it were only that simple. [emphasis added]

    "As argued by the American Psychological Association, the reality is that violent video games are dangerous.

    "Research suggests that games promote aggressive behaviour and make violence more acceptable.

    "Just consider what such games involve.

    "The American Psychological Association says they "reward players for killing innocent bystanders, police and prostitutes, using a wide range of weapons including guns, knives, flame throwers, swords, baseball bats, cars, hands and feet".

    "Games such as Duke, Doom and Grand Theft Auto, with their gruesome, violent and bloodthirsty graphics, de-sensitise players.

    "How many headless corpses, blood-soaked rooms and broken limbs does a child have to experience before they are affected?

    "As well as the violence, video games are anti-educational.

    "As teachers well know, children addicted to computer games, based as they are on violent graphics, loud music and immediate satisfaction, lack the concentration and patience needed to study.

    "Playing games also takes valuable time away from other activities.

    "It's no secret that many children are overweight as physical activity is not a priority.

    "How many calories are burned up sitting for hours in front of a games console? Not many.

    "Every hour caught up in a virtual world of death and mayhem also takes time away from experiencing the world of literature, especially, those classic myths, fables and legends so necessary for a child's development and wellbeing.

    "As argued by the American psychologist, Bruno Bettelheim, reading to children not only shows a parent's love, but violent stories such as Jack and the Beanstalk teach about resilience and how to overcome grief and adversity.

    "Literature also shows that not everything can be condensed into a segmented game sequence - reading requires discipline, patience and often postponing immediate satisfaction as you are led through an imaginative world that takes hours to traverse. [emphasis added]

    "Unlike literature, where you are drawn into and empathise with the lives, thoughts and feelings of others, video games promote a self-centred, egotistical view of the world where you dictate what does or does not happen.

    "Boys, in particular, are drawn to violent video games as they are in control and violence offers an easy and immediate solution.

    "Taking on the persona of the central character they dictate events, overcome obstacles and solve problems.

    "Literature is also essentially ethical in nature, readers learn about right and wrong, and the consequences of good and bad actions.

    "Compare this with video games, where the prime motive is to outsell competitors and to make a profit."

    Dr Kevin Donnelly is an education consultant who spoke at the forum on violent video games held last week in Melbourne
    
    From The Melbourne Herald Sun at link

 

Tuesday 20 May

• The Australian
  
  
  • Board designing first national curriculum will rule on teaching methods
    by Justine Ferrari, Education writer
    
    "The National Curriculum Board will act as a clearing-house for education research, informing teachers of the best methods to use in the classroom.

    "The board has a wider brief than developing the first national curriculum, and will take a leading role in introducing evidence-based teaching practices.

    "Chairman Barry McGaw said the board was yet to determine whether it would provide direction on teaching methods as part of the curriculum, or separately. In any case, he said, the curriculum would influence teaching practice. "If we put phonics in the curriculum it means it will have to teach it, or if we don't put phonics in the curriculum it means it won't have to be taught," Professor McGaw said. "To that extent, the curriculum statement will imply the pedagogy as well as what it is you have to teach.

    "In the case of reading it will have both - it will talk about what you have to do to get students started with reading and developing basic skills, but also address questions of how to develop more in-depth skills."

    "The role of the board in bringing results into the classroom - as outlined by Education Minister Julia Gillard in The Australian on Monday - was welcomed yesterday by the public school teachers' union, the Australian Education Union. Federal president Angelo Gavrielatos said teachers were frustrated by the fads circulating in education.

    "Over the years, the real issue has been the political interference by politicians when they come up with another fad that gives them headlines," he said. "Let's have the evidence, let's have the research, and as teachers we will embrace that which is underpinned by intellectual rigour."

    "Professor McGaw said there was a need to build up a body of quantitative research, with the bulk of educational research today comprising qualitative studies of small samples of students."
    
    From The Australian at link
    
    
    

  • Editorial
    Restoring literature to its rightful place
    
    Hopeful signs are emerging in classroom education
    
    "For the past six years, The Australian has highlighted how English studies, grounded in the written word, can teach students to express themselves effectively, understand their own culture and evaluate the world. After years of reporting education shortcomings, from the lack of phonics in teaching reading to secondary English courses dominated by pop culture and multimedia, students and parents can take heart. Discernible improvements are under way. NSW Education Minister John Della Bosca's move to strengthen the curriculum means that before they reach the end of Year 10, NSW students will have studied at least four works of Australian literature. These will include novels, plays or poetry, rather than television programs, advertisements or websites. Just as his former boss Bob Carr did students a favour by saving Australian history in NSW schools, Mr Della Bosca has recognised that students are best served when they are taught to study and appreciate literature at a young age. He is to be commended for ensuring primary students, as well as those in secondary schools, will be given "a substantial experience of Australian literature". This means all younger students will be given the chance to study such books as May Gibbs's Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, Oodgeroo Noonuccal's Father Sky and Mother Earth, Ruth Park's When the Wind Changed and Colin Thiele's Blue Fin. As Mr Della Bosca says, this will provide a sense of identity and insight into our culture. The children who will benefit most are those who miss out on such works at home.

    "Western Australia has already moved to make a study of Australian writers compulsory in Year 11 and 12 literature courses. [emphasis added] From next year, the set-text list will include poets Les Murray, Kenneth Slessor and Banjo Paterson; playwrights Louis Nowra, David Williamson and Ray Lawler; and novelists Peter Carey, David Malouf, Christina Stead, Tim Winton and Henry Handel Richardson. Queensland's new senior curriculum specifies the in-depth study of at least one complete novel and a play, usually a Shakespearean drama, in Year 12.

    "The trend towards a more prescriptive approach signals an overdue recognition by state Labor governments that education systems exist not as experimental laboratories for the latest education fads but to service the needs of students. [emphasis added] If the trend continues, as it should, students will be better served in terms of education quality as Australia moves towards a national curriculum. Effective, transparent assessment and reporting of results will also be vital.

    "For this reason, Education Minister Julia Gillard has acted wisely in ending speculation that the federal Government would walk away from its election commitment to publish the results of national literacy and numeracy tests. [emphasis added] In showing she is prepared to override the misguided objections of some states, the Deputy Prime Minister has shown she is prepared to put students' interests first and, if need be, tread on the toes of teachers' unions and state education bureaucracies. Being unable to drive through these brick walls saw the Howard government fail to match its education rhetoric with action for 11 years.

    "Contrary to traditional objections, putting the Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 results of all children in the public domain will not disadvantage those from poorer socio-economic areas. To the contrary, the move will give parents a reliable yardstick by which progress in under-performing schools - across all parts of society - can be measured. Children will be the winners, and so will their future employers, and the wider community, in which poor literacy and numeracy skills are a real problem.

    "Equally important is Ms Gillard's commitment that the national curriculum will be built on the most effective teaching methods. As she told Justine Ferrari on The Australian's front page yesterday, the evidence is clear that the best way to teach reading is through phonics. Research has recognised this for years and its adoption across the nation, backed by sufficient resources, would be a significant achievement. So would equipping the new National Curriculum Board with the means to put students first by researching the most effective teaching methods in other areas.

    "In March 2002, at the outset of an intense phase in the long-running literary wars, The Australian quoted Nobel laureate VS Naipaul's lament that even his alma mater, Oxford University, has turned English into a "political romp through a few simple texts". This same inadequate philosophy has underpinned English teaching in Australia for years, shortchanging the most important people in the education process - students. Six years and thousands of column inches later, the education establishment returned fire earlier this year when Monash University researcher Ilana Snyder's book The Literacy Wars accused this newspaper of running an "ideological campaign". Universal skills tests, she claimed, advantaged "certain groups of students and marginalise others", while the push for correct grammar and basic literacy skills was dismissed as "something resembling the cultural heritage model associated with Matthew Arnold at the end of the 19th century". This flawed outlook remains the view of much of the education establishment, which will not give ground without a battle. But it is encouraging to see governments at last prepared to defy "provider capture" and put students first. If the Rudd Government succeeds in this, it will stand head and shoulders above its predecessors, on both sides of politics, in education."
    

    From The Australian at link
    
    
    

  • Letter to the Editor
    

    • Promotion depends on it
      
      "At last a practising teacher has dared comment on the sorry state of professional development. Having recently retired after almost 40 years of teaching in government schools, I can safely comment without the need to use a pseudonym.

      "I agree with Conrad Amons ("Unholy trinity drags down high schools’’’ Opinion, 19/5) that the “skills of a good teacher cannot be instilled by training’’.

      "Most professional development I have attended during the past 15 years has been the “paper, scissors and crayons’’ variety where, during one session, we were so bored that we were almost making paper aeroplanes. A growing number of teachers at the chalk-face are questioning the relevance of such sessions, with, as Amons says, “a few sycophantic exceptions’’.

      "Professional development of the “curriculum renewal’’ variety, which translates as “curriculum jargon renewal’’, is an insult to the professionalism of dedicated and experienced teachers, especially when many of the PD consultants may not have been near a classroom for years. This is about appeasing departmental bureaucrats who dream up new jargon to be discussed and categorised at PD sessions.

      "Thirty years ago, when teachers voluntarily attended PD, courses were challenging and always relevant to their specific subject areas. They were led by outstanding teachers or experts in the specific fields relevant to teaching who provided participants with opportunities to share innovative classroom ideas that worked. Many courses were residential, some as long as two weeks of the Christmas holidays, and were paid for out of the teachers’ own pockets. Now, of course, it is usually departmentally funded but rarely relevant. Any teacher who shows on their CV that they haven’t been taking up PD opportunities, no matter how puerile, is unlikely to be promoted."
      
      Patricia Beaton, Weston, ACT
      
      
      

• The West Australian
  
  
  • IRC orders teachers' union to find 'leaker' (page 5)
    by Bethany Hiatt

    "WA's industrial umpire has told the teachers' union to conduct a witch-hunt into who leaked confidential information about overcrowding in the State's classrooms, State School Teachers Union president Anne Gisborne said last night.

    "Ms Gisborne said she would follow the instructions of the WA Industrial Relations Commission in a bid to reveal who told The West Australian about the chronic state of student overcrowding.

    "The West Australian revealed on Saturday that 1004 classes across 320 State schools had more students than allowed under the terms of the teachers' enterprise bargaining agreement.

    "The information was conveyed by the department to the union during industrial negotiations over the teachers' next EBA. The department said it showed the union the figures on the condition they remained "strictly confidential" and were not to be distributed.

    "Publication of the figures, which prompted scathing criticism of the department by the State's main parents' body, sparked last night's IRC hearing.

    "Ms Gisborne said Commissioner Jennifer Harrison had taken the leaking of the documents "very seriously" and it would have been viewed as contempt of court if the union had been in arbitration.

    "It is not at all helpful to the union," she said. "She is considering some reporting back from both parties and she may bring down orders about confidentiality."

    "Ms Gisborne said the commission had set up the confidentiality terms around the class size documents. "This is seen to be an affront and a breach from the commissioner's perspective," she said. "We would certainly be following up on behalf of the commissioner with persons who may have the document."

    "Education Minister Mark McGowan has refused to comment on the figures.

    "Department guidelines recommend that classes are capped at 24 students for Years 1-3 and 32 for Years 4-10. The 2007 ALP platform says it's working towards limiting classes to 15 in Years 1-3 and 25 in the latter years."

    From The West Australian
    

    
    
    
• The Age
  
  
  • Melbourne Uni demotes transport dissident
    
    "Melbourne University has demoted one of its most outspoken academics after a complaint against him by the State Government.
    
    "Paul Mees, a senior lecturer in transport planning and a prominent public transport advocate, was told his pay would be slashed and his position downgraded after he made a strongly worded attack on the Government over transport privatisation.

    "In the attack, made at a public forum last year, Dr Mees said the authors of a 2007 report on privatisation were "liars and frauds and should be in jail". [emphasis added]

    "The university acted after a complaint from the head of the former state Department of Infrastructure, Howard Ronaldson, threatening legal action over Dr Mees' remarks and demanding that they be removed from a university website.

    "Documents obtained by The Age show that one of the university's reasons for acting against Dr Mees was a concern about its relations with the Government..." [emphasis added]
    
    Full story in The Age at link
    
    
    
    

• The Sydney Morning Herald
  
  
  • Students suffer in teacher shortage [18th May]
    by Sarah Price, Education reporter
    

    "A severe shortage of casual teachers means almost two-thirds of NSW schools cannot find one when they need one, teachers say.

    "A survey of NSW Teachers Federation members found that more than 60 per cent of 1800 respondents said their schools were not always able to fill casual vacancies.

    "This means that if a teacher is absent because of illness or any other reason, then students have their education disrupted," federation president Maree O'Halloran said.

    "In these cases, children have to be crowded into another class, or supervised in a large group."

    "A Department of Education spokesman disputed the findings, saying Casual.Direct, the department's computerised casual teacher staffing system, had an overall placement success rate of 95 per cent in the first term this year in more than 1500 schools.

    "Figures obtained by The Sun-Herald from the department under freedom of information found that 53,933 of the state's approximately 98,000 permanent and casual teachers took sick leave last year, equating to 464,428 teaching days.

    "Education Minister John Della Bosca said one in four public school teachers took no sick leave last year.

    "Our teachers are very dedicated and the amount of sick leave per person is extremely low," he said.

    "The federation's survey follows controversial new staffing arrangements that give principals greater control in choosing teachers. Teachers will strike over the change on Thursday and have warned of further stoppages.

    "The Government maintains the changes are not major, but the federation fears they will disadvantage hard-to-staff schools.

    "Ms O'Halloran said it was already difficult to find casual teachers for some schools and she believes it will only get worse under the new system.

    "Teachers in Condobolin took industrial action last week because they are so concerned that when someone called in sick or had caring responsibilities, the students just weren't looked after," she said."
    

    From The Sydney Morning Herald at link
    
    
    
    

  • Children of Burma junta studying here [19 May]
    by Harriet Alexander, Higher Education Reporter

    "Children of some of the most senior members of the Burmese regime are studying at Australian universities, local Burmese say.

    "They include the son and daughter-in-law of a minister, whose names are on a list of banned figures, and the son of a colonel in the Burmese military.

    "The former foreign affairs minister, Alexander Downer, said it was "likely that some elements of the regime would have children studying here"...
    

    Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
    
    
    

    • Blind eye to student junta links [20 May]
      by Harriet Alexander, Higher Education Reporter
      
      "The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has known since October that family members of the Burmese military junta who are banned from conducting business in Australia are living in the country, but has taken no action.

      "Burmese people living in Australia have identified children of the regime's most senior figures studying in Australian universities, despite some of their names being among the 418 Burmese political and military leaders on the Federal Government's financial sanctions list.

      "Macquarie University economics academics told the department and the Reserve Bank shortly after the list was released last October that at least three people on the list were living in Sydney..."
      

      Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
      
      
      
      

• The Daily Mail
  
  
  • One in five children leave primary school unable to read, write and add up properly [19 May]
    
    "One in five children leaves primary education without a proper grasp of the three Rs, the chief inspector of schools warned yesterday.

    "Christine Gilbert unveiled a crackdown on under-performing schools as she delivered a stark warning that academic standards are "stalling".

    "She said it was "unacceptable" that 20 per cent of 11-year-olds lacked a basic mastery of English or maths - a failure toll that had barely improved during her tenure as chief inspector.

    "Many of these children faced being consigned to the educational scrapheap at 16 - out of education, work or training, she warned..."
    
    Full story in The Daily Mail at link
    
    
    
    
  • Schools could be failed if children are fat or bored under radical Ofsted plans [19 May]
    
    "Schools face the prospect of being failed by Ofsted if too many of their pupils are obese or bored with their lessons.

    "Under a package of reforms proposed today, education watchdog Ofsted said it wanted to judge schools on a much wider range of indicators in future.

    "These will potentially include rates of obesity, teenage pregnancy and pupils' drug use and criminal records, as well as minimum standards of achievement in GCSEs and national curriculum tests.

    "The Chief Inspector of Schools said the "indicators of wellbeing" could include whether pupils felt happy or bored at school. Christine Gilbert said Ofsted intended to develop surveys which could measure the extent to which pupils felt happy in lessons..." [emphasis added]
    
    Full story in The Daily Mail at link
    
    
    

• The Guardian
  
  
  • Ministers to scrap pupil referral units
    by Anthea Lipsett
    
    "Ministers today announced plans to scrap pupil referral units, nicknamed 'sin bins', and replace them with a range of alternative provision from charities and businesses, including studio schools, virtual learning and other projects to be piloted..."
    
    "The measures are intended to ensure children outside mainstream schools receive "an education that puts them on the path to success in adulthood".

    "It sets out a new curriculum for teenagers focusing on core subjects of English, maths and information technology to make sure they leave school with basic skills.

    "The schools will be run as groups of businesses, where young people will be "workers as much as students". The first pilots are planned to start at the end of the year or in 2009..."
    
    "About 70,000 pupils are currently taught in PRUs after being excluded from mainstream schools. Most are boys aged 11 to 15 and just 1% of all pupils get at least five C grade GCSEs..."
    
    Full story in The Guardian at link
    
    
    

• The Washington Post
  
  
  • No Crisis For Boys In Schools, Study Says
    by Valerie Strauss
    
    Academic Success Linked to Income
    
    "A new study to be released today on gender equity in education concludes that a "boys crisis" in U.S. schools is a myth and that both sexes have stayed the same or improved on standardized tests in the past decade.

    "The report by the nonprofit American Association of University Women, which promotes education and equity for women, reviewed nearly 40 years of data on achievement from fourth grade to college and for the first time analyzed gender differences within economic and ethnic categories.

    "The most important conclusion of "Where the Girls Are: The Facts About Gender Equity in Education" is that academic success is more closely associated with family income than with gender, its authors said..."

    Full story in The Washington Post at link

Wednesday 21 May

• The West Australian
  
  
  • Editorial
    The leak is less important than crowded classes (page 20)
    
    "The WA Industrial Relations Commission is whistling in the wind if it thinks this newspaper will reveal the source of a report detailing Department of Education and Training statistics on overcrowding in the State's classrooms.

    "The newspaper's responsibility is not to keep the department's dirty secrets but to put before the public information that should be freely available to it. If the number of children in classrooms is outside the department's own guidelines, then the public has a right to know.

    "Commissioner Jennifer Harrison has told the department, and union president Anne Gisborne, to find out how the confidential information, given to the union during negotiations over a new enterprise bargaining agreement for teachers, ended up in The West Australian. Its publication drew scathing and justifiable criticism from the State's major parent body, the WA Council of State School Organisations.

    "What has been lost in the hunt for someone to blame are the points at issue: that WA's classrooms are overcrowded and that the public, and parents in particular, are entitled to know. The information belongs to the public, not the department, and should never have been regarded as confidential.

    "The contentious material showed that more than 1000 classes across 320 State schools had more students last year than the maximum allowed under the department's guidelines.

    "The union claimed that the department had failed to honour a commitment made two months ago to tell all schools to reduce class sizes.

    "If the bureaucratic zeal being applied to finding the source of the leak was applied to solving the problems in schools, particularly the management of staff which is at the heart of the overcrowding, the public would be better served.

    "This relentless culture of secrecy, and the accompanying search for a scapegoat, is to be deplored."

    From The West Australian
    
    
    

  • Another "Classic Alston" (page 20)
    
    

  
  © The West Australian
  
  

  • Parents left in dark about crowded classes (page 3)
    by Bethany Hiatt

    "The Department of Education and Training has refused to explain to parents why more than 1000 classes in WA schools are overcrowded, maintaining that the information is confidential.

    "The State Opposition yesterday attacked the secrecy, saying a witch-hunt to find who leaked the figures revealing the extent of overcrowding in State schools was an attempt to cover up information parents had a right to know.

    "The department supplied the class size figures to the State School Teachers Union during negotiations for a new teachers' enterprise bargaining agreement, on the condition they remained confidential.

    "The West Australian obtained the figures last week and sought an explanation from the department about the problem before publishing them on Saturday. But the department has refused repeatedly to say why so many classes have more students than allowed or to discuss the impact of the overcrowding on students' education.

    "A spokesman said the figures were supplied "in confidence" and therefore couldn't be discussed. Education Minister Mark McGowan also refused to comment, saying he did not intend to negotiate the EBA through the media.

    "The WA Industrial Relations Commission told the department and the union on Monday to try to find the source of the leak.

    "Shadow education minister Peter Collier said it was unbelievable that debate was centring on who leaked the information as opposed to why 320 public schools had class sizes above agreed limits.

    "Surely it is in the public interest for this information to be readily available," he' said.
    "Unfortunately this culture of secrecy is becoming the norm as far as the department is concerned. "

    "WA Council of State School Organisations president Rob Fry said the extent of overcrowding in State schools indicated it was a significant issue. "I'd prefer the effort to go into solving the problem rather than trying to find out how the information got out," he said. "If the information is accurate, is there really a problem with it being released?"

    "SSTU president Anne Gisborne did not believe there had been a cover-up. The parties had agreed to confidentiality to allow for "free discussion", she said yesterday, and any future leaks could jeopardise the progress of negotiations.

    "She agreed parents had a right to know classes were overcrowded, but said they could have been alerted without revealing the figures in the leaked documents.

    "The issue of class sizes and compliance is one that is of broad interest to the community, but it's a separate issue, I believe, to the issue that's occurring at the moment," she said. "In dealing with that matter, it appears to me that there's the potential to complicate further negotiations."

    From The West Australian
    

    
    
  • Principal considers last waltz for lavish school balls (page 3)
    by Bethany Hiatt and Nathan Schmook

    "An elite girls' college will consider scrapping school balls because they distract students from their school work and encourage extravagance.

    "Iona Presentation College principal Margaret Herley said school balls were originally meant to give young people a chance to socialise with the opposite sex, but now students had such busy social lives the event was "well past its use-by-date"...

    Full story in The West Australian
    
    
    

• The Australian
  
  
  • Catholic schools get honours in teacher recruitment
    by Justine Ferrari
    
    "It seems the nation's governments could learn something from the Catholic schools.

    "While state and territory governments face losing 40 per cent of their teachers to retirement in the next five to 10 years, Catholic schools in Sydney are enjoying the benefits of young blood entering the profession.

    "The average age of a teacher in a Catholic school is 40, almost 10 years below the national average, and more than one in five is younger than 30, compared with about one in 10 government school teachers.

    "The low attrition rate is even more impressive. While about 20 per cent of beginning teachers expect to quit the profession within five years, the Sydney Catholic schools system loses only about 6 per cent.

    "Executive director of schools at the Catholic Education Office Kelvin Canavan attributed the figures to a strategy to recruit students from school and university into teaching, and provide a mentoring program when they start.

    "The CEO offers six types of scholarships, including one targeting Year 12 students in southwest Sydney, where schools were hard to staff, and for students interested in subjects such as maths and science, which have teacher shortages.

    "Once the new teachers enter the classroom, the CEO has a support program that matches every beginning teacher with a mentor and provides time out of the classroom to attend professional development or other training programs. [emphasis added]

    "Crystal Ismanto, a teacher at St Pius school in Enmore, in inner-western Sydney, is in her second term of teaching after being picked through the CEO's graduate recruitment program.

    "Being able to face the challenge of these kids, you really need the support in the classroom," she said. "I have someone to support me no matter what. I feel very fortunate."

    From The Australian at link
    
    
    
  • HECS payback plan for sport stars
    
    Millionaire sports stars such as Lleyton Hewitt, Shane Warne and Mark Viduka would be forced to pay back the cost of their government-sponsored training under plans for a dramatic expansion of the HECS system.
    
    

  
  Maths teacher shortage crisis articles

  • Shortage of specialist maths teachers
    by Andrew Trounson
    
    "The national maths crisis has worsened, with the shortage of specialist teachers stretching into major suburban high schools.

    "At least one big Melbourne school has been forced to scrap plans to expand maths courses, sparking fears the teacher shortfall will exacerbate the declining number of specialist maths students in the senior years.

    "And with some schools unable to offer specialist maths, students face having to switch schools or study by correspondence.

    "A major high school with about 1500 students in an outer metropolitan suburb of Melbourne has been forced to shelve plans for an extended Year 9 and Year 10 maths course because it could not find a suitably qualified teacher. This was despite having about 40 to 50 students wanting to do the subject, according to a mathematics teacher at the school.

    "We advertised and there were zero applicants," the teacher told The Australian. "The kids are still excited to do it, but the decision the school had to make was that it didn't have enough resources." [emphasis added]

    "The teacher asked to remain anonymous because he did not want to identify the school. He said that without enough qualified maths teachers to encourage interested middle-year students to persist with the subject, the number of students at the school doing specialist maths at senior level would remain pitifully low.

    "He said there were just four or five students now enrolled in specialist maths. The school is able to keep offering it only because it has combined them into a special once-a-week class with two or three students from a neighbouring school with the same problems. He said a third high school in the area had been forced to drop specialist maths.

    "Jan Thomas, a veteran maths teacher and head of the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute, said: "If this trend continues, the only options for parents wanting a high-level mathematics education for their child will be a really expensive private school. That's where we're heading." [emphasis added]

    "A survey by the Australian Deans of Science in late 2006 that covered all main secondary schools and had responses from nearly 3000 teachers, found three-quarters of schools were finding it difficult to recruit qualified mathematics teachers.

    "One public school principal told The Australian yesterday a key problem was the number of maths teachers retiring. While he had recently been successful in replacing two retirees, the replacements had been taken from other schools, so the problem was just passed on. In response to the shortage, the Rudd Government has put $111 million towards HECS relief for mathematics graduates, especially those who go on to teach.

    "The Victorian Government has put up $900,000 to fund 100 maths and science teaching scholarships over three years, and has programs in place to retrain teachers and attract maths and science professionals to teaching. In all, it has promised to invest $76million over four years into boosting maths and science education.

    "According to Ms Thomas, such moves, while welcome, are band-aid solutions.

    "And Will Morony, executive officer of the Australian Association of Maths Teachers, said: "More and more teachers without appropriate preparation in mathematics are taking classes (in the junior high school years) as the shortage of qualified and well-prepared teachers bites, and you have to find someone to put in front of the class." [emphasis added] Sound familiar? Web
    
    From The Australian at link
    
    
    

  • Teacher drought looms in Britain
    by Aban Contractor
    
    "The shortage of qualified maths teachers in England will get worse, with the Government facing the prospect of imposing rationing to ensure most schools' needs are met.

    "Figures produced by independent think tank Education Data Surveys reveal that only about 2000 maths teachers are likely to be trained this year and even fewer in 2009.

    "As a consequence there will not be enough trainees to fill all the vacancies advertised by secondary schools for children aged 11 to 18, a situation that will benefit Australian-trained teachers seeking work overseas..."
    
    "[Education Data Surveys director John] Howson said the Government had failed to encourage enough people to enter the teaching profession, which would also likely lead to serious shortages in English, music, physics and chemistry. The lack of trained staff will have serious implications for an economy struggling to compete in the global skills market and make it even more difficult for the Government to implement plans to improve skill levels in the workforce..."
    
    "Howson says a shortage of teachers in England will create opportunities for Australian teachers who want to spend time working overseas, particularly as many of the vacancies will likely be in or around London, a magnet for Australians travelling overseas.

    "Whether the numbers of Australian teachers attracted in the next couple of years will reach the record levels last seen in 2001 and 2002, only time will tell," he says..." [emphasis added] [And thus the Australian teacher shortage gets worse... Web]
    
    Full story in The Australian at link
    
    
    

  • Best brains won't make the numbers
    by Andrew Trounson
    
    "Every morning on his way to work, mathematics professor Peter Taylor drives past the country's largest container port on Melbourne's Port Phillip Bay and is always amazed at the huge logistical exercise involved in unloading, loading, stacking and trucking out the containers.

    "But it isn't ordinary amazement. Taylor knows the key to making a complex system such as the Port of Melbourne run as efficiently as possible is mathematics.

    "The problem is that when in future the port seeks to keep Australia as competitive as possible in world trade by taking advantage of the latest mathematical research and logistical systems, chances are it will have to rely on offshore experts and use imported technology.

    "There will be next to no one locally grown who will be able to do the work or develop the systems.

    "Among the Group of Eight Australian universities, the number of mathematical and statistical teaching and research academic staff has fallen by almost one-third in the past 10 years and departments are continuing to shrink. Further down the chain the proportion of Australian university students who are graduating in mathematics and statistics is only about 40 per cent of the developed world average.

    "And at the critical start of the chain, schools can't even find qualified mathematics teachers to tutor those kids who are willing to do advanced and specialist maths.

    "In one Melbourne outer-metropolitan suburb, three public schools with more than 3000 pupils between them have only seven specialist maths senior students, because they haven't had enough qualified mathematics teachers encouraging students from middle years into the senior years. [emphasis added]

    "According to a maths teacher who could not speak on the record, last year when one of the three schools sought to expand its middle school mathematics offering with an extra unit for about 50 interested students, it advertised for a qualified mathematics teacher but received no applications. As a consequence the plan had to be shelved as the school had to husband its qualified maths teachers for the senior years. The tiny combined pool of seven specialist maths students now get together one afternoon a week at one of the schools for a three-hour lesson, which is far from adequate for the coursework.

    "According to Taylor, the University of Melbourne's head of mathematics and statistics, if the decline in mathematic skills in the country isn't addressed soon we will end up being unthinking consumers of someone else's bright ideas.

    "We will just be users of technology. We won't understand it, we won't be able to develop it, and we won't be able to modify it in a sensible way," Taylor claims. He says that if he needed another senior lecturer in his field - applying maths to managing systems and logistics for maximum efficiency - he would be largely wasting his time advertising locally, because there is unlikely to be anyone out there.

    "If there is no one teaching and researching it, the chances are Australian businesses will lag behind the world in taking advantage of operational research, or even be left completely in the dark about it while their competitors leap ahead.

    "And if you talk to enough mathematicians, the implications of our declining mathematics skills base go beyond falling behind because we are no longer producing the high-level researchers and engineers.

    "There is a concern that society does not understand mathematics to such an extent that it risks devaluing our thinking.

    "Maths gives you a way of looking at the world that values evidence, logic and clear deduction," says Will Morony, executive officer at the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers..."
    
    "The country's pool of highly qualified mathematicians and statisticians is shrinking as the baby-boomer professionals reach retirement age and there are fewer and fewer to take their place as senior school students shun advanced maths because there aren't the mathematics teachers to teach them.

    "Instead they increasingly favour what they see as easier subjects that offer higher status careers in finance, law, information technology or the arts.

    "The knock-on effect is that the number of students going on to study advanced mathematics is drying up, which will not only hit research and professions such as engineering, but also dry up the pool of qualified mathematics teachers that are desperately needed to ensure there are enough school children taking up intermediate and advanced maths into senior school.

    "At the same time university courses, desperate for enrolments, are dropping their mathematics prerequisites on courses and seeking to offer bridging courses to undergraduates.

    "In Victoria, specialist high school maths is no longer a prerequisite for any degree, creating another disincentive for students..." [emphasis added]
    
    Long but well worth a read. Web
    
    Full story in The Australian at link
    
    

  • Letter to the Editor [HES]
    

    • Check the textbooks
      
      "In all the comments and discussions about the poor state of mathematics teaching in schools, one topic seems to have been overlooked: the textbooks used by students. Most of these are written by schoolteachers, and this is probably appropriate, if the writers are thoroughly conversant with the subject matter.

      "And this is where things start to go wrong. I have regularly come across explanations that indicate that the writers have little familiarity with the subject matter.

      "Fifty years ago mathematics was taught largely as logical thinking, and this involved detailed applications of reasoning, with not very many applications to the real world. Now that all school subjects are supposed to be “life-oriented”, there has been a welcome change to teaching mathematics through applications.

      "Unfortunately, however, teachers, and hence the writers of textbooks for schools, do not know enough mathematics to be able to provide genuine examples of applications.

      "This seems particularly acute in the portion of the syllabus devoted to statistics. There is little about the basic idea of setting up a hypothesis and then testing it. In particular, the notion of the significance of any deductions is lacking, mainly because at school level little more can be done than provide a formula, since the students (and, I suspect, most of the teachers) don’t know enough mathematics to derive the formula used.

      "Can something be done to ensure that textbooks are submitted to a committee of professional mathematicians, who are not associated with education departments in universities, to at least check for genuine relevance to problems in the real world, and not problems devised by the minds of textbook writers?"

      Ken Smith, Honorary research consultant, Department of mathematics, University of Queensland

    
    
    University funding articles

  • 'Lock in' $6bn for infrastructure
    
    The peak university lobby has warned the Government that in the new, uncertain scramble for infrastructure funds, universities must end up with at least the $6 billion they were originally promised.
    
    
    
  • Op Ed / Blog
    Big bucks bypass vocational performers
    
    The Government’s formula for allocating the Better Universities Renewal Funding overwhelmingly favours more research-intensive, and to a lesser extent smaller, universities.
    
    
    • Sector splits over fund
      
      Delight at the unexpected, fast money of the $500 million renewal fund has been qualified by anxiety in some quarters that one of the Rudd Government's first new spending measures favours the research-intensive universities.
      
      
  • Funding allocation by university [table]
    Example: On a per student basis, UWA gets 37% more than the average allocation, while Curtin receives 12% less than average.
    
    
  • See related story in today's Age
    
    
    
  • Few make big money
    
    Aspiring high-flyers should weigh carefully whether they want to risk a general staff position at an Australian university: the average across the three salary bands into which most people fall is $45,000.
    
    
    
  • VC's parting shot
    
    The University of Sydney's retiring vice-chancellor Gavin Brown has slammed governments for their "unreasonable obsession with fees", saying there is no substitute for putting more public money into the university system for students.
    
    
    
    
• The Age
  
  
  • Gillard bids to allay fears over uni fees
    
    Federal Education Minister Julia Gillard has insisted 11,000 new university places will be enough to compensate for millions of dollars in lost revenue as the Government phases out full-fee undergraduate degrees within seven months.
    
    
    
  • Uni accused of 'hatchet job' on lecturer
    
    A prominent Melbourne University academic has accused the institution of a "secret hatchet job" after a colleague was demoted following an attack on the State Government's transport policy.
    
    
    
    
• The Washington Post
  
  
  • Teacher Contract Would End Seniority
    by V. Dion Haynes
    
    Union Is Reviewing Proposal From Rhee
    
    "The Washington Teachers' Union is discussing a proposed three-year contract from the school system that would eliminate seniority, giving Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee more control in filling vacancies, a union member familiar with the talks said yesterday.

    "Without seniority, Rhee could place teachers based on qualifications or performance rather than years of service, said the union member, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are confidential. The union member said Rhee sought the provision as a recruiting tool so she could offer talented candidates the position of their choice. She would be able to fill positions with less experienced teachers.

    "Under the proposed contract, teachers would give up seniority in exchange for annual raises of about 6 percent, more personal-leave days and more money for supplies, the union member said. In the last contract, which expired in the fall, teachers received a 10 percent raise over two years..."

    Full story in The Washington Post at link

Thursday 22 May

• The West Australian
  
  
  • Letters to the Editor (page 22)
    
    
    • In short
      
      "I'm surprised at the shock and outrage expressed at the news that school classrooms are overcrowded. For years teachers have been "whistle blowing" this information to the public only to be ignored or marginalised as "whingeing teachers". I eagerly await further leaks of DET reports, especially those regarding violence in schools, staff shortages, teachers' pay, curriculum incompetence and a host of other time bombs waiting to see the light of day.

      "On such report is the much-anticipated Twomey report, delivered to the Education Minister six months ago, on the staffing of our schools and which he stubbornly refuses to release to the public. There is little doubt these reports support what our teachers have been telling us for years. Maybe it is time we, as a community, listened to them before it is too late."

      Paul Andrews, Dunsborough
      
      

    • Easy solution to class sizes

      "Bethany Hiatt's report (Primary school classes overflow, 17/5) has prompted me to recall a lack of response from previous inquiries of mine on the State Government's apparent lack of action on its class-size policy in public schools.

      "The now lapsed and last enterprise bargaining agreement, struck between the Department of Education and Training and the State School Teachers'' Union of WA, states that classes should not exceed 24-students in Years 1 to 3 and 32 students in Years 4 to 10.

      "Yet amazingly, within the Australian Labor Party's own policy platform document, there is a commitment to work towards limiting class sizes to 15 in Years 1 to 3, and 25 in Years 4 to 7.

      "Labor also states that secondary school students will be supported by working towards maximum class sizes of 20. All that remains for the department to do is to implement Government policy on class sizes."

      Ferdinand Nicoletti, Como
      
      

    • Home schooling

      "With many teachers under stress and classrooms full to the brim and many public schools in desperate need of restoration, and with violence, weapons and bullying a serious problem, perhaps the Education Department could set up a school of the air for the suburbs?

      "This would work for stay-at-home mums or parents who work from home and even troubled students who get suspended from school. These students could get an education at home while the teachers could operate the school of the air from their own homes.

      "Let's face it, the way the public education system is going, home schooling is the best option and the way of the future."

      David Hickling, Toodyay
      
      

    • It's an insult

      "I met an old friend yesterday and was curious why she was not at her teaching job. She told me she had reluctantly resigned after her request for six months leave without pay to travel was denied. Arrangements had been made to cover her absence.

      "Now a small country town is without a teacher who, apart from being great at her job, was awarded on Australia Day for her contribution to the town. To add insult, she was told by the Education Department "you need us more than we need you".

      "It seems there is no shortage of teachers, just a shortage of grey matter in Silver City."

      Dave Blunt, Mosman Park
      
      
      

  • 'Ghost school' has just 12 pupils (page 7)
    by Suellen Jerrard

    "Alan Carpenter has been accused of commissioning a $27.5 million "ghost school" in Bunbury when he was education minister in 2004, after revelations that only a dozen students have enrolled at the secondary college built to cater for 600.

    "The Education Department has been forced to mount a $55,000 student recruitment campaign in an attempt to stave off criticism it wasted money on the secondary college at a time of unprecedented teacher shortages, a long-running dispute over staff pay rates and bulging classes.

    "Manea College, built between Bunbury's TAFE and Edith Cowan University and due to open next year, was aimed at providing an alternative, vocational-based education option for Years 11 and 12 students, given the increased school leaving age.

    "But critics fear poor enrolment and the introduction of TEE course will transform the college into a super senior campus, taking all Year 11 and 12 students away from existing State high schools, a model previously rejected by the local community.

    "Liberal MLA for Bunbury John Castrilli said the community had repeatedly questioned the need for a specialised senior campus and its impact on existing schools.

    "He said poor vocational enrolments and the introduction of TEE courses appeared to confirm fears the Government was trying to get a super senior campus by stealth.

    "Former ALP member for Bunbury and current high school teacher Phil Smith agreed, saying breaking a commitment not to teach TEE subjects at Manea College, along with the introduction of Years 11 and 12 studies at another two Bunbury State schools, would spread students and course options so thinly the Government could justify a super campus.

    "Mr Smith said the money wasted on Manea College could have been put to better use helping existing State high schools in the district.

    "Education Minister Mark McGowan reflected claims Manea College would be a ghost school, saying enrolments for new schools were not expected until fourth term.

    "It is not unusual for a new school, which does not have a feeder school, to undertake advertising and promotion prior to opening," Mr McGowan said. "We are doing this to inform parents that the college is opening and what it will be offering students."

    "A total of $30,000 is being spent on advertising, student enrolments packs and a prospectus. Another $25,000 is being spent on scholarships.

    "Bunbury District Education director Neil Milligan said it was always planned to offer TEE and technical studies at Manea College with links to TAFE and ECU. He rejected suggestions the department was trying to get a super senior campus by stealth.

    "He said about 200 Year 11 students were expected to attend Manea College next year, 50 studying TEE courses and 150 vocational courses."

    From The West Australian
    
    

    
    
• The Sydney Morning Herald
  
  
  • Teachers to continue strikes
    by Anna Patty
    

    "NSW teachers will continue rolling industrial action next month until the Government changes its plans.

    "Many school students stayed home today as teachers across the state staged a 24-hour strike over the NSW Government's refusal to negotiate on changes to employment procedures, including the transfer scheme.

    "The current scheme gives priority in appointments to teachers who accumulate points for years of service in remote areas or other regions where it is difficult to attract staff.

    "The Government wants school principals to have the power to directly employ staff, and not necessarily take them from the transfer list.

    "Thousands of teachers turned out for a rally in Sydney today outside the State Government and Education Department offices at Farrer Place.

    "Waving colourful banners and signs lampooning Education Minister John Della Bosca, the rallying teachers chanted "quality teachers here we are, Della Bosca's gone too far".

    "NSW Teachers Federation president Maree O'Halloran said industrial action was set to continue next month.

    "On June 14, teachers would vote on another statewide strike to be held early in term three, which begins on July 28, she said.

    "For 15 years, teachers have been able to negotiate with both Labor and Coalition governments a mixed staffing system, which contains local choice and transfers," Ms O'Halloran said in a statement.

    "With 16,000 teachers eligible to retire by 2012, it is clearly possible to allow transfers to occur and accommodate more local choice.

    "However, finding a solution does require both parties to be willing to negotiate.

    "Teachers stand ready to do so in the interests of public education."

    "Government hopes to resolve dispute

    "The NSW Government is prepared to work with teachers to resolve the disput, Mr Della Bosca said.

    "Mr Della Bosca said further industrial action could be prevented if teachers worked with the Government.

    "We're convinced that we've been very reasonable in this. If we need to be even more reasonable we will be, because we don't want any more industrial disputes," he told reporters.

    "But again, public education can't take a backwards step on this, public education must go forward, and we believe that the essential issues at stake improve public education.

    "The [Education] director-general's door remains open and my door remains open."

    "Acting Opposition education spokesman Brad Hazzard said Mr Della Bosca had been given ample time to resolve the dispute.

    "The fact that this has dragged on now for some months without any serious attempt to resolve the issue underlines Minister Della Bosca's immaturity and incapacity to deal with a complex issue," Mr Hazzard said.

    "It is such an obvious issue that it needed to be resolved behind the scenes, quietly, carefully with consideration and respect for teachers."
    

    From The Sydney Morning Herald at link
    
    
    

  
  
  • Teachers walk out in staff protest
    by Anna Patty
    

    "Most classes at public schools across NSW have been disrupted today, as teachers walk off the job over Government changes to school staffing arrangements.

    "Parents were advised to contact individual schools to determine whether they would be open today.

    "Teachers will hold a rally in Sydney outside the Department of Education and Training office and Governor Macquarie Tower to protest against the changes..."

    Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
    
    
    

  
  
  • School's out, but not for sisters
    

    Isobel Croft is celebrating her 11th birthday today in an almost-empty school.

    
    
    
  • Second Life provides virtual classrooms
    AAP
    

    "Two Queensland universities are using an online virtual world to reach students.

    "The University of Queensland has commissioned a builder to construct a virtual Great Hall on the three-dimensional online virtual world Second Life - where millions of "residents" from across the world build their own homes, go shopping, go on holiday and interact with each other.

    "It would join QUT Island, from where Queensland University of Technology course material is already being taught.

    "UQ Studies in Religion lecturer Dr Helen Farley today said one of the first projects planned for UQ's hall was a series of places of worship, including a mosque, synagogue, church, wicca circle and Freemasons Lodge that UQ Study of Religion students could visit.

    "The idea is that we can send students in there to recreate some rituals or to do some role playing and the idea is to try and immerse them in these experiences," Dr Farley said.

    "She said it overcame obstacles such as intruding upon people during prayer and gender restrictions.

    "Obviously if you're a woman you can't become a Freemason and so under normal circumstances a woman wouldn't get to participate in Freemasonic rituals but that becomes possible in Second Life," she said.

    "Dr Farley, who last year used Second Life to complete a Boise State University course on teaching in Second Life, had already trialled a virtual classroom in Second Life to teach a meditation class.

    "She said such classrooms would be an increasingly important space for students who lacked confidence, did not speak English well, had a disability, or lived too far away to attend a campus.

    "Meanwhile, QUT Law Professor Des Butler today launched an interactive program filmed in Second Life to teach law students the art of negotiation.

    "The story line is centred on the running of a fictional airline where students must negotiate buying an aircraft, contact staff and suppliers and expand the business to include an island tourist resort.

    "Prof Butler used Second Life to create video to teach from by filming virtual characters acting out scenarios he created.

    "He said other faculties were already using QUT Island to teach, including designing landscapes and writing source code to get other programs to interact with Second Life."
    

    From The Sydney Morning Herald at link
    
    
    

  • NSW teachers to strike on Thursday [21 May]
    AAP
    

    "Teachers in NSW have flagged further industrial action after a strike on Thursday to protest against the government's planned employment changes.

    "The teachers say they have no options other than walking off the job after the government refused to negotiate.

    "The strike is expected to disrupt all public schools in NSW, with parents urged to contact schools to find out if they will be open.

    "Education Minister John Della Bosca said some schools would be forced to close, but the majority would provide supervision for students.

    "Teachers from 2,200 public schools and 400 TAFE colleges will rally in Sydney on Thursday over changes to staffing arrangements, in particular a phase-out of the service transfer scheme.

    "The scheme gives priority in appointments to teachers who accumulate points for years of service in remote areas or other regions where it is difficult to attract staff.

    "The government wants school principals to have the power to directly employ staff, and not necessarily take them from the transfer list.

    "NSW Teachers Federation vice-president Gary Zadkovich said schools would struggle to retain teachers without the scheme.

    "He said teachers would continue to strike unless the government agreed to negotiate.

    "This industrial campaign will continue. There will be further disruption to student's education. Parents will be inconvenienced," Mr Zadkovich told reporters in Sydney.

    "No one wants this. We appeal to the minister, to the director-general, (to) return to the negotiation table. We can work this out."

    "But Mr Della Bosca said the government would not back down, saying the changes give teachers better employment options.

    "We can't budge on this position because it's good for public education ... to make sure that schools have a say in the teachers that come to their schools," he said.

    "Mr Della Bosca said the federation's threat of more strikes was regrettable.

    "It's something that shouldn't happen. This is a modest change, a small change, which improves public education, improves the options for teachers and enhances the teaching profession."

    "Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell lambasted the government's failure to reach a deal.

    "It's never acceptable to use the public as a bargaining chip in a dispute between the government and any union," Mr O'Farrell told reporters.

    "Tomorrow, parents across the state are going to be inconvenienced by a teacher's strike - a teacher's strike brought about by a state government that has once again failed to properly negotiate changes with the teacher's union."

    "Parents also have urged teachers and the government to reach a compromise, saying students were the ones who would ultimately suffer.

    "Parents care greatly about the future of the teaching profession, but its discussions and actions should not impact the teaching and learning that occurs in the classroom," NSW P&C president Dianne Giblin said."
    

    From The Sydney Morning Herald at link
    
    

  
  
  • Schools to pilot anti-drinking project [21 May]
    AAP
    

    "A new computer program used to combat high-risk drinking in more than 500 American schools and universities will be introduced to Australian schools.

    "Groups of students at Geelong Grammar School, Geelong-based Deakin University and the universities of Melbourne, NSW and Queensland will take part in the pilot of an American-developed online alcohol education software program, AlcoholEdu.

    "The program, designed by Boston-based health promotion company Outside the Classroom, has curbed problem drinking on many US campuses, Outside the Classroom founder and chief executive Brandon Busteed said..."
    

    Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
    
    

  
  
  • The cure for HSC stress: write less [21 May]
    by Anna Patty Education Editor
    

    "Higher School Certificate students will be forced to spend 10 minutes planning their exam responses and discouraged from writing excessively long essays under NSW Board of Studies proposals.

    "The State Government will today announce a review of the HSC examinations following a two-year investigation by the NSW curriculum authority, which is concerned about the poor quality of many student responses.

    "Last year, one student wrote 64 pages in response to one examination question. Essays of 20 to 30 pages were not uncommon. But teachers fear the proposals may mask cost-cutting in examination marking procedures and disadvantage students.

    "The president of the NSW Teachers Federation, Maree O'Halloran, said her members had raised concerns about any scaling back of rigorous double-marking of exam papers and external assessment of courses.

    "English teachers are particularly concerned that introducing an exam component to an advanced, research-project course could water it down..."
    

    Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
    
    
    

• The Age
  
  
  • Overseas teacher drive urged
    by David Rood
    

    "Victoria will need to immediately recruit teachers from interstate and overseas to avoid a shortage of high school teachers, according to an internal report to the Brumby Government.

    "Almost half of the state's government secondary schools had problems recruiting staff, the study found, with schools in Melbourne's urban growth fringes and Victoria's north and western regions the worst hit.

    "The average age of the teaching workforce is expected to continue to rise over the next five years, and a shortfall of almost 500 secondary-trained teachers a year is predicted.

    "The report on teacher supply, obtained by The Age, says this will require the recruitment of an extra 470 teachers each year "from interstate and overseas, previous years' graduates not working in the profession and from former teachers".

    "The ageing teacher population will result in increasing demand in areas such as special education, maths, science, physics, information technology and languages.

    "More than half of government teaching staff are older than 45, with the largest age group of teachers aged between 50 and 54.

    "Almost half of all state secondary schools reported difficulties filling vacancies, while half of combined primary and secondary schools had problems, up from 38.5% in 2006.

    "President of the Victorian branch of the Australian Education Union Mary Bluett said the teacher supply report had consistently forecast the huge shortfall in secondary teachers.

    "The depth of the teacher shortage in secondary schools is being masked by teachers having to teach in areas outside of their expertise — particularly in country schools," she said.

    "Ms Bluett questioned whether overseas recruitment was the best way to tackle the shortfall, saying Asian countries, Britain and New Zealand were already recruiting Victorian teachers.

    "The solution doesn't lie with the expensive overseas recruitment of teachers, which is a throwback to the 1970s. We need a significant recruitment campaign to get back those who have left the profession or studied teaching but never went on to work as a teacher."

    "The Education Department does not run a formal recruitment program for interstate or overseas teachers.

    "The number of teaching service staff on contracts has increased over the past year to 18.5%, but that remains lower than the 1999 peak of just under one in five staff on contract.

    "The report also found that since 1996 enrolments in government schools had risen by 3.8% and Catholic schools by 3.6%, compared with more than one-third at independent schools."
    

    From The Age at link
    
    
    

  
  
  • Op Ed
    To progress we need risk-takers
    by Robert Pascoe
    

    "Universities have a duty to society to foster freedom of ideas and encourage academic contributions to public debate without fear of retribution.

    "The Paul Mees episode at the University of Melbourne has put the spotlight on academic freedom in Australia. What is it? Why is it so important? For a start, it is not the same as freedom of speech. We owe our ideas about freedom of speech to the French Revolution, but academic freedom is a 21st-century idea, hard won by academics in a series of battles that began about 1900.

    "Paul Mees has, perhaps unwittingly, joined an illustrious lineage. In 1898, the distinguished University of Sydney professor, George Arnold Wood, was chastised by the Senate for his opposition to the Boer War. In 1921, the socialist Vere Gordon Childe was denied appointment at the University of Queensland because of his political views and took his considerable talents to Edinburgh, where he became the world's most prominent prehistorian of his day..."
    

    Full story in The Age at link
    
    
    

• ABC News
  
  
  • Student stabbed at school
    

    "A teenager has been stabbed at a suburban Adelaide high school this afternoon.

    "The boy suffered leg wounds when he was attacked by another student at Golden Grove High School.

    "Witnesses say the victim hit the alleged attacker in the head with a football, with the other student then retaliating with a knife..."
    

    Full story at ABC News at link

Friday 23 May

• The Australian
  
  
  • States holding back schools, warns Julia Gillard
    by Justine Ferrari, Education writer
    
    "The federal Government has effectively put the states and territories on notice over the reporting of school and student performance, saying they are hampering efforts to raise standards.

    "Education Minister Julia Gillard has also announced an overhaul of the funding model for private schools, which is understood to include the controversial guarantees that keep funding for about 60 per cent of non-government schools at inflated levels. [See related stories in The Age,The Sydney Morning Herald and The West Australian.]

    "In a speech to the Association of Independent Schools of NSW, Ms Gillard implicitly criticised states such as NSW, Queensland and South Australia, which are opposed to publicly releasing national test results.

    "It does not serve the interests of Australian students to have schooling policies delivered through structures and reporting systems which operate in parallel but allow no meaningful comparison or exchange between them," she said.

    "While different jurisdictions and authorities treat the use of data as part of a competition between themselves, they are short-changing the students and families who rely on them for a high-quality education."

    "Ms Gillard said she was not interested in establishing a crude form of league tables ranking schools according to raw test results.

    "(But) I believe there is an overwhelming public interest in developing a more comprehensive, more reliable and more open picture of school and student performance," she said.

    "Ms Gillard said the National Data Centre, announced last week in the budget, would act asan independent agency to validate and report on education statistics and that she expected the states and territories to contribute to its running costs.

    "She said the centre would examine the results of national tests as well as other sources ofdata measuring the effect oneducation, such as socioeconomic status and early development.

    "I want to promote a more sophisticated understanding of what influences educational success," she said.

    "In the speech on Wednesday night, Ms Gillard said she expected a government review of the funding model for private schools to conclude in 2011 and new arrangements to start from 2013 that provide funding according to student needs as determined by socioeconomic status.

    "The Government guaranteed existing funding levels for non-government schools until 2012 to defuse the issue during the election campaign last year.

    "The "hit list" of private schools to lose money drawn up by previous Labor leader Mark Latham is credited with being a major factor in the ALP losing the 2004 election.

    "Ms Gillard described the schools funding system as "one of the most complex, most opaque and most confusing in the developed world" and she called for an end to the debate pitting public against private schools.

    "As a first step to improving transparency, Ms Gillard will release the new socioeconomic status scores for all non-government schools, which will determine the amount of funding each school receives from next year to 2012."
    
    From The Australian at link
    
    Full text of Gillard's speech
    
    
    

  • Green light to reopen Aboriginal school
    
    An Aboriginal college that was closed last year amid factional fighting has been given the green light by the Victorian Government to reopen, after receiving financial help from one of Melbourne's leading Jewish philanthropists.
    
    
    
    
  • Paul Mees to sue University of Melbourne
    by Andrew Trounson
    
    "Academic Paul Mees plans prosecute the University of Melbourne in the federal court after the university found him guilty of misconduct for making "derogatory and insulting" remarks against a government official that brought the university into disrepute.
    
    "But Dr Mees, a lecturer in transport and planning and outspoken critic of the privatisation of public transport, has accused the university of seeking "to curry favour" with government in order to secure funding.

    "He claims the university has breached his enterprise bargaining agreement.

    "The case, if it goes ahead, would test the fine line between an academic's freedom to speak out and not exposing the university to defamation actions.

    "The National Tertiary Education Union has thrown its weight behind Dr Mees..."
    
    Full story in The Australian at link
    
    
    

  • Labor accord at risk from IR shake-up
    
    The Rudd Government's veneer of unity over plans for a national industrial relations system with a new independent umpire is set to crack as Julia Gillard confronts open resistance from most Labor states and the entire weight of the union movement.
    
    
    
    
• The West Australian
  
  
  • School told to dump TEE subjects to boost results (page 16)
    by Bethany Hiatt
    
    "A new flying squad set up to improve public education standards has ordered a high school with "unsatisfactory" Year 12 exam results to cut the number of TEE subjects it offers.

    "Armadale and Carnarvon high schools were the first examined by the squad of senior Education Department bureaucrats set up to visit under-performing schools and recommend changes.

    "Known as the expert review group [aka The Hit Squad... Web], it found the number of Armadale students sitting the TEE had declined steadily will less than 11 per cent tackling TEE subjects last year.

    "The majority of students are achieving well in wholly school assessed and vocational education and training subjects but performance in TEE subjects is unsatisfactory," its report said.

    "Only two of Armadale's eight TEE students achieved university entry this year. "More efficient use of teaching resources could be achieved through offering a reduced suite of TEE courses," the report said.

    "It also recommended that Armadale discuss "co-operative planning" with neighbouring schools to offer a range of upper-school subjects between them.

    "The group found Armadale had significant problems with behaviour and attendance. Suspension rates were 21 per cent higher than the average.

    "An "unacceptably high" number of students were below the minimum standards for maths and reading.

    "Carnarvon made progress in literacy and numeracy but its results were still unacceptable. Attendance was poor.

    "Shadow education minister Peter Collier said Armadale should look at improving students' performances rather than drop TEE subjects.

    "Education Minister Mark McGowan said Armadale would continue to adapt to changing circumstances. Schools had to tailor courses best suited to the interests, abilities and aspirations of students.

    "It's about meeting the students' needs," he said.

    "Both schools would develop strategies and checks would be made to make sure they were implemented."

    From The West Australian
    
    
    

  • Gillard will not change on school league tables (page 6)
    by Bethany Hiatt
    
    "The Ferdal Government yesterday confirmed it would not publish school league tables based on the raw scores achieved by students in national reading, writing and maths tests and would instead scale the results to reflect each school’s socio-economic status.
    
    "Federal Education Minister Julia Gillard, who has been under pressure to explain how she would implement an election pledge to reveal the results of the national tests, told a NSW Association of Independent Schools meeting on Wednesday night that any league table would not be based on the actual marks achieved.
    
    “I am not, repeat, not, interested in establishing a crude form of league table which simply ranks schools according to their raw test results,” she said.

    "But a spokeswoman for Ms Gillard’s office refused to give a definitive answer on whether that meant raw scores would not be published at all. “The Deputy Prime Minister is working through these issues co-operatively with her State and Territory colleagues,” she said.

    "Federal shadow education minister Tony Smith said he strongly believed parents should be told the truth about how their child’s school performed. “Parents should be given the raw score of how their child performs, not a sugar-coated version,” he said.

    "Following her speech to private school chiefs, Ms Gillard yesterday publicly released the new Socio-Economic Status scores for all private schools which will be used to decide school funding levels for the next three years.

    "She confirmed the Government would review the way schools were funded after 2012. She suggested that State Schools could be funded using a similar SES model to that used for independent schools, which is linked to the socio-economic background of the students who attend the school.

    “We need to look at using similar tools to or developed from SES to help us direct additional resources to all schools, public and private in (a) way that is targeted to the real needs of the students,” she said. “It’s not school systems but school communities to whom we must target school resources.”

    "She said Australia’s school funding system needed changing because it was one of the most complex and confusing in the world. There should be meaningful comparisons between all types of schools, whether public or private.

    "SES scores increased for 49 per cent of WA’s private schools, while 32 per cent generated lover scores than they had in 2005-2008 and 19 per cent showed no change.

    "Australian Independent Schools Association of WA deputy director Valerie Gould said SES scores had gone up only one or two points at most of the schools which showed and increase."
    
    From The West Australian
    
    See similar articles in The Australian, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, as well as Gillard's full speech.
    
    
    

• The Busselton Dunsborough Times
  
  
  • Students take on teacher dispute
    by by Clare Allen
    
    "More than 150 students supported a protest against teacher's pay and conditions at Busselton Senior High School yesterday morning, after Country Week events were cancelled.

    "Head girl Jo Schlueter was one of a committed group who organised the event. She said they were pleased with the big turnout and though it helped achieve a lot of publicity for the campaign.

    "We wanted to send messages to the State Government and the union," she told The Times.

    "To the government we are saying they need to come to the table over the dispute with teachers, for better wages and conditions. My mum is a teacher and I see how much work is done in the job behind the scenes. To the union we wanted to say directive one wasn't achieving what it should."

    "The Year 12 student said she felt passionate and frustrated about the dispute and said others did too as it was their final year and they would miss out on Country Week.

    "At the moment, we are sort of stuck with where to go now, but we want out voices to be heard by the Government," she said.

    "A student petition will be presented to the State Government and the education department.

    "This was very much student driven, we are all aware and are suffering under it,: Miss Schlueter said."

    From The Busselton Dunsborough Times
    
    
    

• The Sydney Morning Herald
  
  
  • Strike leaves hundreds of classes empty
    by Ellie Harvey and Anna Patty
    
    "... The State Government said about 250 schools were forced toclose yesterday when an estimated 34,000 teachers took part in a 24-hour strike.

    "The Government believes the proportion of teachers involved in yesterday's strike was at least 10 per cent less than during its previous disputes with the NSW Teachers Federation.

    "Yesterday morning about 2500 teachers filled Farrar Place, next to the Department of Education's headquarters in the city.

    "Among those who addressed the rally was Maurie Mulheron, the principal of Keira High School, who urged teachers to continue their industrial action for "as long as it takes" to reverse the Government's position on school staffing arrangements.

    "Teachers decided to follow yesterday's strike with rolling stoppages next month.

    "The dispute is about the Government allowing principals to hire teachers of their choice. Teachers fear that more than 600 schools in remote and hard-to-staff areas will be disadvantaged as a result of the dismantling of the transfer system.

    "The president of the Teachers Federation, Maree O'Halloran, said only 180 schools would be protected from the loss of transfer incentives, which reward teachers with a transfer to their school of choice after they serve a set time in a school that is hard to staff..."
    
    Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
    
    
    

  • Elite schools given pledge on funding
    by Anna Patty, Education Editor
    
    "Close to a third of private schools in NSW have become wealthier under the Federal Government's funding test, but the Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, has assured them they will not lose a cent in Commonwealth grants..."
    
    "In an address to the NSW Association of Independent Schools in Sydney on Wednesday night, Ms Gillard assured it that despite a new assessment of the socio-economic status of individual schools, their funding would be guaranteed at existing levels.

    "We will maintain the funding levels, including indexation, of non-government schools. Where a school's SES score changes we will guarantee that school's level of funding until the funding level generated by their new score reaches the level of funding they currently receive."

    "Describing the federal SES funding system as "one of the most complex, most opaque, and most confusing in the developed world", Ms Gillard said it was not serving the interests of students and their families, schools and teachers.

    "In fact, this lack of transparency has served to heighten the atmosphere of uncertainty and mutual suspicion which has characterised the politics of education in Australia over the last decade."

    "Labor has promised that a review of the schools funding system will be completed by 2012..."
    
    Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
    
    
    

  • Letters to the Editor
    
    
    • Teachers stuck in the sticks

      "I keep hearing the director-general of Education, Michael Coutts-Trotter, say teachers will be better able to apply for positions under his changes. There is a gaping hole in these arguments.

      "Consider the choice between someone who has spent five years in a town 1000 kilometres from Sydney in a school with only a handful of HSC students and a total enrolment of 100, and someone in a large high school with numerous HSC classes and regular involvement in their professional association. Who would you want the principal to choose?

      "Leaving people in rural and remote schools to apply for all positions on merit has not been successful in other states. While some enlightened principals may see the worth of someone who has worked in a small school and has a student-centred and whole-school focus as a bonus, others see the small class sizes, limited teaching experience and isolation from the metropolitan professional networks as a negative.

      "The problem is obviously going to be experienced not in a nice middle-class metropolitan school, but in the smaller regional school."

      Phil Roberts, Moss Vale
      
      

    • "Every teacher does not "have a school close to their home" ,as Gerard Hosier states (Letters, May 22). Try driving to the country. Teachers may make a country town their home, but if the NSW Department of Education has its way, that is where they will stay."

      Sharon McGuinness, Thirroul
      
      

    • "Gerard Hosier states that "the existing system still stands besides the new system". Would he still emphasise this if he were teaching in Wilcannia with many transfer points and wanting a lateral transfer to the northern suburbs?"

      Bob Warren, Forster
      
      

      
      
• The Age
  
  
  • Funding overhaul for private schools
    by Jewel Topsfield and Farrah Tomazin
    
    "Hundreds of private schools could be at risk of losing some of their federal funding under a radical overhaul flagged by the Federal Government.

    "In a move that will send tremors through the independent schools sector, Education Minister Julia Gillard has blasted the existing system as complex and confusing, and declared that a complete review of schools funding would be finished by 2011.

    "Funding cuts may not be confined to the nation's wealthiest private schools; a recent report also found a large percentage of Catholic schools were receiving more federal help than they were technically entitled to.

    "In keeping with Labor's pre-election promise to retain the existing funding model until 2012, changes would not be introduced until 2013. But Ms Gillard has made it clear she wants radical change across private and public schools funding.

    "In a little-noticed speech delivered late on Wednesday, Ms Gillard said she did not believe the existing funding arrangements served the interests of schools, students, teachers or families, and declared it was time to move beyond the "public versus private divide".

    "Her announcement prompted immediate speculation about a revival of former opposition leader Mark Latham's "hit list", the policy Labor took to the 2004 election that would have resulted in 67 of the nation's wealthiest schools losing federal funding.

    "Parents should have no doubt the planned review of funding is designed to allow Labor to change it all," Federal Opposition education spokesman Tony Smith said. "Labor never mentioned making changes to private health insurance before the election and look what they've done. Parents should be very worried private schools will be next." ...
    
    Full story in The Age at link
    
    
    

  • Best students kept eyes on the prize
    
    Last year's top students found VCE success with a mixture of setting ambitious goals, keeping calm, choosing subjects they loved and great teachers.
    
    
    
  • Letter to the Editor
    
    
    • Fair price = supply

      "The answer to the teacher shortage ("Overseas teacher drive urged", The Age, 22/5) is obvious, yet neither the department nor the union seems willing to acknowledge it. The words supply and demand were used in the article. Elementary economic theory tells us that the connection between supply and demand is pricing. Pay a decent price and supply will rise to meet demand.

      "There are plenty of excellent Victorian teachers who have left the profession, often for twice the salary offered by the department. Many would love to come back to teaching if only the pay was sufficient to support their families. Alas, this will not happen unless the union returns to the negotiating table to demand a better deal than the one they are currently asking members to accept."

      Russell T. Edwards, Whittlesea

Saturday – Sunday, 24 – 25 May

• The West Australian
  
  
  • Op Ed
    It's poor form to raise Cain for class-size leak (page 20)
    by Zoltan Kovacs, Opinion Editor
    
    "The fuss that has arisen around the leaking of class-size documents, witch-hunt and all, is misplaced. What the fuss should be about is that they were suppressed in the first place.
    
    "The information about class sizes in State schools was gathered at public expense by public servants paid from the public purse. It is about conditions maintained by taxpayers.
    
    "The real issue here should be about who initially decreed that the documents must be kept secret, on what authority and why - not who leaked them. Secrecy seems to be institutionalised in government agencies, the reflex refuge of bureaucrats.
    
    "That doesn't mean that people should just cop it without protest. Guilty secrets harboured by government departments on matters of legitimate public interest are insults to the people who are entitled to know what is being done on their behalf and with their money.
    
    "In this case, the suppression of information was a denial of the right of parents of children at State schools to know how many classes have been officially recorded as oversized.
    
    "People who were thinking about whether to send their children to public or private schools would have had information that was relevant to their deliberations officially withheld from them, had the information held by the Department of Education and Training not leaked.
    
    "The secrecy clamp on the documents would also have prevented the public from making fully informed judgments about the State Government's management of the public school system - again, a denial of democratic right.
    
    "Here is what officialdom decided that you should not be allowed to know: 1004 classes across 320 State schools have been found to have more students than allowed under a teachers' enterprise bargaining agreement. More than half of the State's primary schools have been found to have classes with too many students.
    
    "The figures don't reveal the extent of the overcrowding in individual classrooms and the department won't reveal this information. However, they undoubtedly point to a widespread overcrowding.
    
    "This is a matter of overwhelming public interest, which goes to the effectiveness and quality of education offered to children in State schools.
    
    "The ideal sizes of classes at the various levels of schooling are contentious. Much depends on the effectiveness of teachers, though it stands to reason that the smaller a class, the more attention the teacher can pay to each student.
    
    "In any case, the department accepted the need to set the specified upper limits on class sizes by agreeing to do so in the EBA. The department has an implicit contract of trust with parents that it will play by the rules. Parents are entitled to know whether this trust in honoured or breached.
    
    "However, the department was prepared to give the teachers' union the figures on class sizes only on the condition that they would stay "strictly confidential" and not be distributed. This happened as part of negotiations over teachers' next EBA.
    
    "That the union's negotiating team agreed to a condition that meant keeping its members in the dark is a matter between it and them. That the department sought secrecy is a matter for everyone who believes that the Government should be accountable for how it manages the school system.
    
    "The WA Industrial Relations Commission, evidently miffed at the apparent breach of the confidentiality agreement in a matter before it, has told the negotiators to find the source of the leak. From the commission's point of view about preserving the integrity of how it goes about its job, that is perhaps understandable.
    
    "From a wider community perspective, it is pertinent to ask what harm has been done by the publication of these figures, and to whom. Any embarrassment by education officialdom at what appears to be a breach of the EBA and acceptance of overcrowding in classrooms does not even begin to justify its attempt to suppress information in which the public has a legitimate interest."
    
    From The West Australian
    
    
    
    
  • Pupils miss Country Week due to pay row (page 9)
    by Suellen Jerrard
    
    "Country Week, the biggest school sporting event in WA, will be dramatically scaled back this year as a result of the pay stoush between the State Government and teachers.
    
    "The Education Department confirmed late yesterday that the event would go ahead from June 30 to July 4 but with only 27 schools participating.
    
    "While it is only 12 fewer schools than last year, the number of students participating will be at least halved from about 3000 to 1500 with the biggest high schools among those pulling out of the 81-year-old event because of a union directive that teachers not participate in unpaid extracurricular activities.
    
    "Students from North Albany and Busselton senior high schools protested this week against the decision not to attend Country Week.
    
    "Students have also written letters and sent petitions to the Government and State School Teachers Union stressing the importance of the event to country schools.
    
    "Union president Anne Gisborne said she could understand why country students were passionate about the event and why it had been a hard decision for members not to attend.
    
    "This year there might be teachers on the ground for this event but in the next four or five years if we don't address this issue there might not even be a choice for any students going to Country Week," she said.
    
    "Education and Training Minister Mark McGowan said he was disappointed some students would miss out on the event because of decisions made by the union leadership.
    
    "Disadvantaging students should not be used as industrial tactic," Mr. McGowan said.
    
    "North Albany Country Week co-ordinator and SSTU council member Dave Powell said the school only decided last week to pull out of the event after learning most of the other bigger high schools were not attending.
    
    "Mr. Powell said he had attended Country Week for the past 20 years and would miss it. But he said it involved 18 hours work a day over six days and teachers did not feel they could continue making such unrecognised commitments.
    
    "Mt. Barker Community College principal Jonathan Hoskin said his students refused to accept they could not go to Country Week. Rather than being supervised by eight or nine teachers, the school's contingent of 4- -50 competitors would be supervised by four staff during the day and five parents after hours."

    From The West Australian
    
    
    

  • Extra $1b from GST stuns unions locked in public service pay talks (page 4)
    by Robert Taylor

    "Public servants and teachers bogged down in pay negotiations with the Carpenter Government were stunned yesterday by revelations that the Federal Government expects WA to receive $1 billion more in GST revenue over the next four years than forecast by the WA treasury.

    "While WA Treasurer Eric Ripper and his Under-Treasurer Tim Marney say the Federal figures are wrong, public service union boss Toni Wlkington said the State Government had a habit of underestimating revenues.

    "Any discrepancy of that magnitude means that our confidence in what we're being told by the State Government is shaken, "Ms Walkington said yesterday. "It's a huge difference and obviously raises questions, and the State Government Department of Treasury and Finance has consistently underestimated surpluses, so there appears to be a track record and that might account for some of the difference."

    "The public service union is currently negotiating a new pay deal on behalf of about 35,000 members. They have rejected an offer from the State of 4.2 per cent year for the next three years.

    "Ms Walkington said that figure was below the Consumer Price Index figure for Perth and would not encourage people to stay in the public service.

    "Government services are deteriorating at the moment, that's clearly because staff are leaving and they're not able to replace people because their pay rates are just not comparative either with other government workers who have got pay rises like nurses, police and prison officers or with the private sector," she said.

    "State School Teachers Union president Anne Gisborne said the union would be asking for an explanation of the discrepancy between the two Budget figures.

    "The first question would be is where is this discrepancy being tucked away and why isn't it on show for the community and the public to see?" Ms Gisborne said.

    "And it would be in our view that it should be factored in to any expenditure and from our point of view provide an opportunity for the Government to address our log of claims."

    "The teachers union will go before the WA Industrial Relations Commission on Wednesday over its log of claims and the Education Department application for arbitration will be considered.

    "On Thursday, Mr Ripper said differences in both 'timing and methodology' meant the WA figures were more accurate that the Federal Budget figures and Mr Marney said the State was far more interested in getting accurate predictions than the Commonwealth because of the impact on the State Government's planning.

    "But Opposition Leader Troy Buswell said the State Government continually underestimated surpluses to its own political advantage and had been caught out doing it again.

    "Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan refused to comment on the issue."

    From The West Australian

    
    
    
• The Sunday Age
  
  
  • Editorial
    A 'clever nation' needs its teacher shortage filled, pronto
    
    "Calling all potential physics, maths, information technology, languages other than English, and special education teachers: your country needs you. More particularly, Victorian children need you, if a report to the State Government on teacher supply and demand is anything to go by.

    "The report paints the picture of a rapidly ageing workforce, set to rise over the next five years, with a predicted shortfall of 500 secondary-trained teachers.

    "Once the large group of teachers who were recruited during the 1970s start to retire, the teacher shortage will only worsen — in fact, the largest grouping of teachers in Victorian schools is those aged 50 to 54.

    "Alarming as a teacher shortage is, it is a story that seems to be on permanent playback. We have been hearing about a looming, then real, teacher shortage for many years now yet the situation does not seem to be improving.

    "We know that some subjects, such as sciences and languages, are in particular shortfall, as are some geographic areas.

    "It is time to stop talking about it and actually do something about it, to solve the immediate problem and ensure we don't continue hearing about it in years to come.

    "Few would disagree that a strong education system is one of the most important investments made by the public purse and vital to developing well-adjusted, engaged, capable young adults of the future. There is also little doubt that quality teachers are key to achieving that.

    "Reports of teachers teaching outside their areas of expertise to compensate for the shortfall are troubling, a situation that is unfair to students and teachers. There is no doubt that the teacher shortage is of concern to federal and state governments, but where is the clear, concerted plan to fix it? [emphasis added]

    "There are a number of potential measures that could be employed to attract and retain more talented people to these vital roles. Government could further expand the number of places in university teaching courses or perhaps offer more scholarships for training in specialist areas that are in the greatest need of teachers.

    "Similarly, there could be a more concerted wooing of professionals who might consider a career change to teaching — their professional and life experience would be of great benefit in the classroom, and many people have already taken up that option.

    "A point of consistent debate in education is teacher salary. How can we expect to attract and retain the most talented people if they are not paid properly?

    "Last year, then education minister Julie Bishop floated the idea of a performance pay system for teachers, which did not get off the ground. Since then, the new minister, Julia Gillard, has indicated her support for a merit pay system.

    "Whatever the model turns out to be — merit pay, more university places, scholarships, or a combination thereof — it is time for action on the teacher shortage. The situation as it is now fails teachers and students and does not bode well for a quality education system.

    "Both the Rudd and Brumby governments have nominated education as a key policy plank. Addressing the teacher shortage should be high on their lists."

    From The Sunday Age at link
    
    
    
  • Letters to the Editor
    
    
    • Cut and run
      
      "Last Sunday I was pleased to see, at last, a more honest media appraisal of the teachers' pay "agreement" as put forward by the AEU and the Victorian Government ("Teacher wage rise 'slap in face"', May 18).

      "Two key issues disturb me about the deal.

      "First, the obvious spin that the AEU has tried to feed its members and the public; trumpeting misinformation, withholding detail and rubbery figures are tactics we expect from modern governments but we should be deeply concerned about from grassroots organisations such as unions. Using the media to launch and celebrate the agreement before any information was revealed to members (and even now only in part) is a frightening precedent. As a consequence I get congratulations from shopkeepers who do not know that the majority of my colleagues and I, far from being the "best paid teachers in Australia", are among the worst. The public is on our side, our own union isn't.

      "Second, the deal will be ratified and the consequences will be catastrophic. There are a proportion of teachers who do quite well out of the agreement. The Government isn't silly: it is paying off the top band of teachers, many of whom are on the brink of retirement. The Government sees an opportunity for a short-term payout for a long-term saving. These teachers have survived the Kennett era and I understand their impulse to cut and run. But it is the wrong thing to do.

      "It is the system that suffers and ultimately it is students and consequently our society that lose out. Our education system will hemorrhage as middle band teachers like myself look to any other career for better conditions, less stress and a fair income."

      Lisa Shukroon, Brunswick
      
      

    • Catholic schools miss out
      
      "The Sunday Age (May 18) quotes former members of the Exclusive Brethren admitting that their schools receive "disproportionately high taxpayer funding", at the rate applying, "to schools for disabled and Aboriginal students". In the budget Catholic schools got no extra funding even though they support a significant proportion of students and face extra costs — some instigated at government level; for example, teacher wages."

      Pat Healy, Hamilton
      
      
      

• The Age [Saturday]
  
  
  • Private schools 'hit list' ruled out as funding review sparks fears
    by Jewel Topsfield
    
    "Education Minister Julia Gillard has been forced to rule out reviving the notorious private schools "hit list" after the announcement of a funding review sparked fears that wealthy schools could have funding cut.

    "In a speech that alarmed some private schools, Ms Gillard said this week that the existing funding system was one of the most confusing in the developed world and did not serve the interests of students, families, schools or teachers. She said yesterday that Labor was "absolutely not" seeking to reintroduce former Labor leader Mark Latham's "hit list". The list, which would have resulted in 67 of the nation's wealthiest schools losing funding, was one of the policies blamed for Labor's loss in 2004.

    "In a bid to appease the independent schools sector in the lead-up to last year's election, Labor pledged to keep the former government's private schools funding model until 2012.

    "Under the socio-economic status (SES) formula, funding is based on the income, occupation and education of parents in a school's census district. But after 2012, the Government is almost certain to scrap an historical anomaly that means 60% of Catholic and 25% of independent schools are funded above their SES formula.

    "The inflated funding levels exist because the Howard government guaranteed that no schools would lose money when the model was introduced in 2001. Ms Gillard denied that some schools were getting too much funding. "We're about increasing resources in schools, we're not about taking resources away from anyone," she told ABC. "There is nothing for anyone to worry about if they agree that we should be … focused on the needs of students."

    From The Age at link
    
    
    
    
  • $60m school software plan faces costly delays
    by David Rood
    
    "A new $60 million school software system faces delays and cost blowouts after the [Victorian] State Government failed to find a company to deliver the project.

    "The Ultranet system, designed to allow parents to check their child's progress through an online computer system, was a key Labor promise at the 2006 state election.

    "But almost two months after a contract for the system was to be awarded, the project will be put out for a revised re-tender after the response to the original tender was not accepted by the Department of Education.

    "The decision follows the bungled myki transport ticket system, which is running at least two years behind schedule and millions of dollars over budget.

    "Shadow education spokesman Martin Dixon said the decision to re-tender would mean the Ultranet project could not proceed on time.

    "This is effectively going back to scratch and if they are going to have a thorough tendering process it is going to add a lot more time to the project," he said. "And the longer the project goes, the more costs, whether for labour or materials, go up."

    "Ultranet will link all government schools, allowing students to submit work and communicate with teachers and classmates, as well as being used by teachers to plan and create lessons.

    "The software system is scheduled to be progressively introduced into schools later this year.

    "The Education Department and Minister Bronwyn Pike said the project would be delivered within the original budget and planned time frame of a finish in September 2010.

    "But the department would not say when the revised tender would be released or when a contractor would be announced."

    From The Age at link
    
    
    
    
  • Letters to the Editor
    
    
    • All students deserve adequate resources
      
      "I was intrigued and astounded to read that Haileybury receives $8.9 million in Federal Government funding while Presbyterian Ladies' College, at the lower end of the scale, receives $3.7 million. This is in addition to their considerable income from substantial fees.

      "When I arrived at the primary school where I teach in a comfortable middle-class area, I asked the principal what was the funding for our school of just over 500 students. The answer was approximately $2.75 million, which includes salaries, cash grants, utilities, minor works, maintenance, WorkCover levy and money for students with disabilities and impairments.

      "A voluntary curriculum levy of $130 per child is requested, plus families are asked to pay up to $199 to cover the library fund, computer levy, building fund, first aid levy and facilities levy.

      "Most parents are able and willing to contribute to these, which gives us about $6500 extra for curriculum needs and $10,000 for all the other needs. Other schools in areas where parents are struggling will receive far less.

      "Students from government schools also deserve the best facilities and resources to develop their abilities to their maximum potential. Yes, Mr Rudd and Ms Gillard, a review of private school funding is needed."

      Georgina McLean, Blackburn South
      
      

    • It all adds up
      
      "One basic fact seems to be overlooked in the school funding debate. If public school funding were to be increased significantly there would be less reason for families to struggle financially to send their children to private schools for a quality education. This would not please the private schools, however, as their enrolments, and thus income, would fall."

      Maureen Kutner, Glen Waverley
      
      

    • Overseas teacher drive misplaced
      
      "Re: "Overseas teacher drive urged," (The Age, 22/5), I am an overseas-qualified, experienced, Victorian registered teacher, fully trained to teach secondary and senior secondary students. I came to Australia in July 2006. Since then, I have applied for teaching vacancies all over Victoria, with no positive result. Even though there is a shortage of teachers, a double master's graduate like me cannot get a job.

      "It is hypocritical that the Government is urged to seek overseas-qualified teachers when those already here are not offered those jobs. With no formal recruitment program for teachers like me, how are we going to get the experience to teach if we are not given the opportunity to work here and our experience is not counted?"

      Swati Julka, Endeavour Hills

      
      
      
• The Guardian
  
  
  • Schools' summer break under threat
    by Anushka Asthana, education correspondent
    
    Think-tank calls for a shorter holiday to avoid 'learning loss' by children in low-income families
    
    "The long school summer holiday, which has stretched from July through to September for decades, should be abolished because it causes children to slip back educationally, a new study claims.

    "The Institute for Public Policy Research, a think-tank close to the government, found that children from the poorest backgrounds suffered most with 'summer learning loss' because they were the least likely to practise reading and writing during the six-week break. Calling for a four-week summer holiday instead, it also highlights an increase in youth offending over the summer months when children have less access to structured activities.

    "The report, 'Thursday's Child', criticises ministers for maintaining the structure of the school year despite the fact that it is based on the 'agrarian summer picking season'.

    "Particular elements of the school system developed through time,' said Sonia Sodha, who co-authored the study with Julia Margo, an associate director at the think-tank. 'The long summer holiday was because children needed to take time off in the summer to help pick fruit.' Sodha argues that a preferable structure would involve five terms, each eight weeks long, with two before Christmas and three after. There would be a two-week break between terms and a month off in the summer. 'At the moment there is a very long autumn term,' said Sodha. 'Teachers talk about the phenomenon of children getting burnt out towards Christmas.' ...
    
    Full story in The Guardian at link
    
    
    

• The Dore Group, which marketed its program as a drug-free solution to disorders including ADHD, dyslexia and Asperger's syndrome, has gone into voluntary administration.
  
  
  • Articles from ABC News and The Guardian
    
    
    
    
• The Sunday Times
  
  
  • Letter to the Editor (page 85)
    
    
    • "Declining standards in education, a severe shortage of teachers, experienced teachers leaving the profession in droves…someone put it quite nicely for me recently: you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. It's time for the Government to take its head out of the sand."

      Josie MacPherson, Warnbro
      
      
      

• The Sydney Morning Herald
  
  
  • Letter to the Editor
    
    
    • Telling teachers where to go is a question of equity

      "The strike by teachers this week has been largely misrepresented and almost completely misunderstood ("Strike leaves hundreds of classes empty", May 23). Most people have no real understanding of the issues at the heart of the dispute. Resistance to "performance-based promotion", as the parent at Summer Hill Public School maintained, was not the central issue driving teachers to take action.

      "The central issue was the transfer system. This system has meant that a school in a remote or disadvantaged area has as much chance of securing a talented teacher for a vacancy as a school in a blue ribbon area. It also means that teachers who take up positions in these areas are rewarded by the possibility of a transfer closer to home.

      "Many years ago I was transferred to teach in Tenterfield. At the time all I knew about the town was that Henry Parkes made his drunken Federation address there. Had I not been transferred to this little town on the top of the granite belt I would never have gone there. Three teachers had preceded me in the position I eventually filled and, for a variety of reasons, all had moved on. Without a transfer system it is highly likely that the students would have been short a teacher for the rest of the term and possibly the year.

      "Under the system proposed by the Government, the principal of Tenterfield High School would have had to recruit a teacher to fill the position. There weren't a lot of unemployed teachers living in Tenterfield or its surrounds at the time and I suggest there aren't now.

      "This issue goes to the heart of the notion of equity in public education. Does anyone seriously believe that given a choice most young teachers would head out of their comfort zones to pursue their teaching careers? The transfer system has ensured there is some equity in opportunity throughout NSW schools. It must be retained at all costs to prevent a further disintegration of the principles of a fair go for all young people."

      Ned Manning, Balmain
      
      
      

• The Daily Mail
  
  
  • Labour obsession with league tables is 'damaging children's education' (23 May)
    by Sarah Harris
    
    "Labour's obsession with league tables is damaging children's education, a damning international report has found.

    "Headteachers are overloaded with bureaucracy and their intense competition for high rankings is having a 'negative' effect on many pupils.

    "Some schools are suffering worsening results as poor league table rankings send them into a 'vicious' downward spiral.

    "The preliminary findings from the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development are a blow to the Government. They come shortly after the Commons' schools select committee warned that 'teaching to the test' is endemic.

    "The report looks at school leadership in 22 of the 30 developed nations that make up the OECD. It says that schools in England strive for a good reputation in order to attract 'gifted and high-achieving pupils'.

    "The ranking by exam results is therefore 'extremely important to establish and protect'.

    "But the report notes the consequences of these league table rankings 'are often negative' for both the school and its pupils.

    "While the tables favour schools that are already advantaged, less successful schools have to battle against a 'vicious circle'.

    "This includes, a 'bad reputation, worsening atmosphere, decreasing identification of the pupils with their school, decreasing number of pupils, reduction of resources, decreasing job satisfaction and motivation among staff, lack of applications of well-qualified teachers, worse quality of lessons, decreasing pupil achievement and worse results in the league tables'.

    "The report adds: 'Different studies show that most headteachers disapproved of the great competitive pressure open enrolment and league tables had produced.' ...
    
    Full story in The Daily Mail at link
    
    
    

• The Weekend Australian
  
  
  • Town planner 'against' Muslim school in southwest Sydney
    
    A proposal to build an Islamic school on Sydney's urban fringe has had a severe setback, with the local council's town planner recommending against the development.
    
    More detailed article in The Sydney Morning Herald
    
    
    
  • Op Ed
    Happiness 101
    
    My daughter comes home from school most afternoons with a story. Either the day was "cool" (translation: she had lots of girls to talk to, and may have been praised by a friend or teacher), or it was "terrible, horrible" (someone was mean to her, "it's not fair", etc).

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

This page last updated 11 August, 2008 11:48 PM