Monday 11 December

Tuesday 12 December

Wednesday 13 December

Thursday 14 December

Friday 15 December

Saturday – Sunday, 16 – 17 December

 

Monday 11 December

• Time Magazine / plus summary by CNN
  
  
  • How to Bring Our Schools Out of the 20th Century [Cover Story: "18 December" edition]
    by Claudia Wallis and Sonja Steptoe
    
    "American schools aren't exactly frozen in time, but considering the pace of change in other areas of life, our public schools tend to feel like throwbacks.

    "Kids spend much of the day as their great-grandparents once did: sitting in rows, listening to teachers lecture, scribbling notes by hand, reading from textbooks that are out of date by the time they are printed.

    "A yawning chasm (with an emphasis on yawning) separates the world inside the schoolhouse from the world outside.

    "For the past five years, the national conversation on education has focused on reading scores, math tests and closing the "achievement gap" between social classes. This is not a story about that conversation...
    
    "Knowing more about the world. Kids are global citizens now, whether they know it or not, and they need to behave that way. Mike Eskew, CEO of UPS, talks about needing workers who are "global trade literate, sensitive to foreign cultures, conversant in different languages" -- not exactly strong points in the U.S., where fewer than half of high school students are enrolled in a foreign-language class and where the social-studies curriculum tends to fixate on U.S. history.

    "Thinking outside the box. Jobs in the new economy -- the ones that won't get outsourced or automated -- "put an enormous premium on creative and innovative skills, seeing patterns where other people see only chaos," says Marc Tucker, a lead author of the skills-commission report and president of the National Center on Education and the Economy. That's a problem for U.S. schools, which have become less daring in the back-to-basics climate of No Child Left Behind. Kids also must learn to think across disciplines, since that's where most new breakthroughs are made. It's interdisciplinary combinations -- design and technology, mathematics and art -- "that produce YouTube and Google," says Thomas Friedman, the best-selling author of The World Is Flat.

    "Becoming smarter about new sources of information. In an age of overflowing information and proliferating media, kids need to rapidly process what's coming at them and distinguish between what's reliable and what isn't. "It's important that students know how to manage it, interpret it, validate it, and how to act on it," says Dell executive Karen Bruett, who serves on the board of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, a group of corporate and education leaders focused on upgrading American education.

    "Developing good people skills. EQ, or emotional intelligence, is as important as IQ for success in today's workplace. "Most innovations today involve large teams of people," says former Lockheed Martin CEO Norman Augustine. "We have to emphasize communication skills, the ability to work in teams and with people from different cultures..."
    
    Summary at CNN
    
    Original story at Time Magazine [LOTS of ads]
    
    
    

• The Australian
  
  
  • Carpenter to rebuild cabinet
    by Nigel Wilson and Jo Prichard
    
    "The decision by Premier Alan Carpenter to move embattled Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich will spark a radical overhaul of the West Australian cabinet.

    "Only four of the current 16-member team appear likely to retain their current portfolios.

    "A parliamentary committee found last week that Ms Ravlich had probably misled parliament over the extent of her knowledge of a Crime and Corruption Commission investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against teachers. But the committee stopped short of recommending any action.

    "Mr Ravlich's problems are part of a compendium of issues facing Mr Carpenter relating to the under-performance of ministers and the relations of some of them to former West Australian premier Brian Burke and his lobbying partner, Julian Grill.

    "An early cabinet reshuffle is thought necessary to allow the team to be established before the CCC embarks on its promised investigation of matters arising from an inquiry into a property development which hired Mr Burke and Mr Grill.

    "It was evidence to this inquiry that led to the sacking from cabinet last month of Norm Marlborough when phone taps revealed he was receiving instructions from Mr Burke.

    "Mr Carpenter yesterday remained tight-lipped about the reshuffle, saying only that he would make an announcement before Christmas.

    "He reaffirmed that Ms Ravlich, the leader of the parliamentary Centre faction, would remain in cabinet despite the party's Left faction arguing she should be dropped.

    "Everybody's got their opinion," Mr Carpenter said when asked to confirm that he had been lobbied on the issue.

    "Lil Ravlich will be in the cabinet and that's the end of the matter." It is understood some members of the Centre threatened to unseat Sheila McHale, the Indigenous Affairs and Arts Minister, if Ms Ravlich was dumped. Ms McHale has also come under intense criticism for her handling of child abuse allegations while minister for community development..."

    "Environment Minister Mark McGowan, who is close to Mr Carpenter, is tipped to take over the troublesome education portfolio, a move representing a rapid rise for the one-time naval officer and lawyer who became a minister only last year." [emphasis added]
    
    Full story in The Australian at link

    
    
    
  • Editorial
    Facts of science

    There's no Nobel Prize for rock and roll

    "It may come as a surprise to some Queensland teachers but neither Cat Stevens nor Midnight Oil have ever featured prominently in national or international awards for science. This year, for instance, the Prime Minister's science prize, and $300,000 cheque, went to Mandyam Veerambudi Srinivasan, whose study of the insect mind has helped redefine robotics. A $50,000 prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Primary Schools went to Marjorie Colvill who, after 30 years in the business, has a clear view of the perfect science class. It is one in which students set up their own investigations and make their own discoveries. It goes to the heart of Nobel Prize-winning scientist Peter Doherty's complaint about the way science is being taught in Queensland schools, where the butterfly net and microscope have been swapped for a CD player and the Cat Stevens tune, Where Do The Children Play. Students are being asked to analyse song lyrics from the 1970s, 80s and 90s to explore "historical and cultural factors (that) influence the nature and direction of science which, in turn, affects the development of society". But as Professor Doherty says, science is not just another body of knowledge. It is about getting objective facts based on experiment and observation and repeating findings. It is a matter of looking for evidence, which is the difference between science and philosophy. With climate change hysteria upon us, the ability to understand cause and effect and tell the difference between fact and a good story is more important than ever, however you sing it."

    From The Australian at link [scroll down to third editorial]
    
    
    
    
  • Rudd in push to heal ALP wounds
    by Matthew Franklin
    
    Selected excerpts RE the education portfolio:
    
    "... the new Opposition Leader has taken a political punt by handing low-profile Victorian Nicola Roxon the crucial health portfolio, and shifting former industrial relations spokesman Stephen Smith to education..."
    
    "Mr Rudd said last week he wanted to end the "blame game" between the federal Government and the states in key areas such as health and education..."
    
    "Mr Smith, another of Mr Beazley's closest supporters, took on education after telling Mr Rudd he hoped for a change of portfolio..."
    
    "Former deputy leader and education spokeswoman Jenny Macklin will move to families, community services, indigenous affairs and reconciliation..."
    
    Full story in The Australian at link [Similar stories in most newspapers.]
    
    
    
  • Editorial
    Rudd gives Labor economic frontline
    
    Selected excerpts RE the education portfolio:
    
    "... Mr Rudd has already reshaped Labor's industrial message away from rolling back Work Choices by equating the Government's IR laws to an attack on family values. This approach is more likely to strike a chord with voters, who -- as a report by social researcher Hugh Mackay shows -- are more concerned about their children's education and house renovations than the ACTU's scare campaign on Work Choices..."
    
    Full editorial in The Australian at link
    
    
    
  • Letters to the Editor
    
    
    • First Byte
      
      "Why is it that political strategists always target first the teachers, then the unemployed? Get a life, Kevin."
      
      Sue Clennell, Nedlands, WA
      
      
      
    • Most Talked About: Rudd and Education
      
      Good education is more than a matter of the teaching
      
      "The reported comments on education from Kevin Rudd do not justify the accompanying headline (Rudd puts teachers on notice, 9-10/12). Rudd does not mention teachers. He simply asks for an education system that gives guarantees of quality outcomes for working families.

      "Perhaps he is putting education departments or school principals on notice. After all, teachers have not cut their own pay, introduced performance bonuses to divide their own profession, put themselves on short-term contracts, cut their own numbers, increased their own teaching loads or removed the expectation of high educational standards from their own students.
      
      "Rather, they have stood up for a decent education for Australian children in the face of constant denigration from the legions of fact-free teacher-bashers with guaranteed access to the press."
      
      Chris Curtis, Langwarrin, Vic
      
      

    • "Good one, Kevin Rudd! Put teachers on notice, while penny pinching politicians continue to rip the educational standards out from underneath our children by underfunding and under-resourcing our schools.

      "Take a break from vote winning for a minute. Hold our state politicians accountable for hijacking our kids’ education and holding teachers to ransom with a lack of physical and human resources they need to deliver a good education.

      "When will political leaders learn that properly resourced educational leaders make better decisions about quality control in schools than career-driven politicians?"
      
      Kim Brown, Indooroopilly, Qld
      
      

    • "Opposition leader Kevin Rudd says that a future Labor government would demand strong results from its investment in schools. Because it is funded by subsidises, government schooling has the potential to decline in quality all the way to the point where it becomes clear to most people that what it offers is no longer worth even a zero price.

      "Governmental schooling suffers from four basic ills: peddling moral relativism, teacher unionisation, denial of competition and denial of choice.

      "Under present conditions it is virtually impossible for government public schools to develop the momentum of progressive improvement that would promote education and guarantee the children of working families a good education."
      
      Victor Diskordia, McKellar, ACT
      
      

    • "It is very disappointing that the Queensland education system thinks that actual science is something that gets in the way in science classes and should be excluded (Pop songs are weird science, 9/12). It really needs to try a lot harder if it thinks analysing pop songs will make students take an interest in the subject. All that does is disappoint those who genuinely want to learn real science, and bore the rest who are probably sick of doing the same thing in their English class.

      "A basic understanding of science and the mathematics which underpins it is vital for everyone. Looking back on my own high school education I realise that chemistry and mathematics were two of the most useful and enlightening classes I’ve ever taken.

      "While it’s also important to understand how science affects society, and the social implications of scientific developments, it’s more important to have a fundamental understanding of what that science is, and how the world works, as a starting point.

      "The Queensland Government and others might like to try a bit harder to make scientific learning and knowledge fun, rather than using cop-out strategies such as pop songs."
      
      Brad Ruting, Castle Hill, NSW
      
      

    • "Kevin Rudd could do better in “putting teachers on notice” than to cave in to the Coalition’s persistent campaign to introduce UK-type school reform arrangements to improve the quality of Australian school education.

      "In light of the McGaw Report, a market economist with a social conscience, as Rudd professes to be, should sharply contrast his policies with Howard’s by deregulating the public sector to fully fund Catholic and other low-fee systemic schools so as to give parents genuine choice without making such a thing conditional on the payment of fees.

      "Schools that fail to attract enrolments would close and more than compensate for increased public investment in Australian schooling that McGaw proposes. This would also solve Cardinal Pell’s and other non-state school providers’ problems, reported in your paper recently, to make educational choice available to the poor."
      
      Mike Furtado, Toowoomba, Qld
      
      

    • "You can put Phar Lap on a racecourse with a bunch of nags, but he won’t win the race if he’s hobbled. Rudd is right to say that quality control in schools is essential to ensure quality outcomes, but those outcomes are not determined just by quality of teaching.

      "Teachers are subject to administrative policies of schools which are in turn influenced by society’s pressures.

      "Just one example is disruptive behaviour. Students continue to disrupt because administrative authorities in education fear legal consequences as they try to deal effectively with these students."
      
      Lorraine and Dennis Chester, Boonah, Qld
      
      

      
      
• The Melbourne Age
  
  
  • Letter to the Editor
    
    
    • Consider return to old system

      "Kevin Rudd's concern about making university education more affordable (The Age, 9/12) could be solved by re-introducing the Commonwealth scholarship system. It allotted a percentage of university scholarships to every school in proportion to the number of year 12 students in each one.This enabled the less well-off to attend university, and minimised the ability of private and elite government schools to skim off the best students from local high schools. The latter retained their higher achievers and hard workers, who in turn helped to maintain academic and behavioural standards.

      "The system also enabled families to identify with, and support, local schools. Parents did not need to sacrifice family time with the need to work longer hours in order to send children to private schools. If this system were introduced, it could be means-tested, with partial scholarships awarded when family income was just over the limit. Of course, citizenship and residency criteria would have to be addressed."
      
      Hilary Poad, Frankston
      
      
      

  • Out with the old, Mr Rudd
    by Tony Cutcliffe
    
    "... The Federal Opposition has to recognise that the electorate is intelligent and discerning enough to choose wisely, providing it is offered a genuine choice rather than Bananas in Pyjamas..."
    
    "Equally, Labor will need to share an outward, global perspective on other issues. Forget debates about school reports and deal with the archaic pedagogical methodologies produced by depleted public investment and the protectionist policies of Luddite teacher unions..."
    
    Full story in The Melbourne Age at link
    
    
    
    
  • "Monday Education Section" appears to be on holidays -- last updated was 27 November

• The Sydney Morning Herald
  

• Students' academic success can be a matter of principal
  by Anna Patty Education Editor
  
  "Students' performance can soar under the influence of a good teacher, but school principals are just as important in getting results, a study has found.

  "The research into 38 NSW high schools shows principals have a key responsibility in raising educational standards.

  "Those who played an active role as educational leaders, who were not simply bogged down in management and administration tasks, made all the difference.

  "Good principals were identified as those who were open to change, were informed risk takers, and were friendly and approachable. Their leadership was highly influential in the development of a positive school culture.

  "Stephen Dinham, of the education faculty at the University of Wollongong, who conducted the study, said he was surprised to discover how much of a role principals played in influencing student results.

  "The degree of influence of the principal was somewhat surprising, given that the project aim was to identify and investigate faculties and teams producing outstanding educational outcomes in years 7 to 10, rather than effective schools as a whole, or effective principals," the study concluded.

  "This finding could partly call into question the current concentration on the individual teacher as the major within-school factor in student accomplishment.

  "While there is little doubt as to the importance of the individual teacher, based on these findings, principals can play key roles in providing the conditions where teachers can operate effectively and students can learn." ...
  
  Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
  

  
  
  
• The West Australian
  
  
  • Teens want lessons on love, not just the sex (page 3)
    Sydney
    
    "Sex education is set for a big shake-up in schools nationwide after a study for the Federal Government revealed teenagers are crying out for better advice on sexual intimacy and relationships.
    
    "The groundbreaking study, funded by the Australian Research Council, shows that while an increasing number of teenagers are sexually active under the age of 16, they feel they get little to no direction from parents or schools about the areas that matter most.
    
    "The research concludes that rather than the basic dos and don'ts of so-called "sexual mechanics", what teenagers crave is advice on the complexities of sexual intimacy, negotiating consent, handling peer pressure and the potential for violence..."
    
    Full story in The West Australian
    
    
    
    
• The Canberra Times
  
  
  • Plan to divert school funds
    
    
    
    
    
• The Guardian
  
  
  • Language lessons for all primary pupils
    by Anushka Asthana, education correspondent
    
    Lord Dearing says dull lessons should be changed to overturn foreign languages crisis
    
    "Languages such as French, German and Spanish should be taught compulsorily in primary schools and made more interesting at secondary level, Lord Dearing is expected to say in his interim report on language teaching, to be published this week.

    "Dull lessons are causing pupils to switch off and have created a crisis in language teaching, with the UK performing dismally on a world scale, experts have told Dearing during his inquiry into the problem. On Thursday he is likely to say lessons need to be made more engaging to persuade pupils to take part..."
    
    Full story in The Guardian at link [See following related story in The Independent]
    
    

• The Independent
  
  
  • Return of compulsory French and German lessons set to be rejected
    by Richard Garner, Education Editor
    
    "A report on the future of language-teaching in Britain's schools is to rule out a return to compulsory lessons for all pupils up to 16.

    "The interim report from Lord Dearing's inquiry, due on Thursday, is likely to dismay academics who have called on the Government to turn the clock back.

    "But amid fierce debate, even some language teachers now acknowledge that a U-turn would be wrong..."
    
    Full story in The Independent at link

    
    
    
• The Times
  
  
  • No school, no work and little hope for 1.24m young Britons
    
    
    
    
• The Sydney Daily Telegraph
  
  
  • You're a terrorist, student told
    Exclusive by Bruce McDougall
    
    "Racial tensions have erupted in the school system, with a teacher facing an anti-discrimination board complaint after branding a Muslim student a "terrorist"...
    
    "The clash exploded at Blakehurst High School when legal studies teacher Michael Seymour told Lebanese student Wagih "Zac" Fares "I don't want to negotiate with a terrorist" during a minor incident during lessons..."
    
    "Mr Seymour, a teacher for 20 years, was reprimanded and ordered to attend a multicultural sensitivity course..."
    
    Full story in The Sydney Daily Telegraph at link

 

Tuesday 12 December

• The West Australian
  
  
  • Worried teachers stall OBE course (page 4)
    by Bethany Hiatt
    
    "The head of the Curriculum Council has admitted he blocked a new outcomes-based literature course at the final hurdle partly because he was concerned that a sample exam paper did not clearly specify that students had to read more than one book.
    
    "Council chief executive David Wood said his "antennae" were raised when he received feedback from some teachers about the proposed exam. [Following his meeting with the new English Teachers Forum last week?   Web]
    
    "I asked that the examination and syllabus again be revised in light of this feedback," he said yesterday.
    
    "The literature course, due for final accreditation last week, was delayed for two weeks for more revision.
    
    "I think there was a need to be a bit more clear about certain things, like you have to read more than one book," Mr Wood said.
    
    "Teachers criticised the course after the release of the sample exam last month, saying students could sit the paper after having read just one text. They said it pushed cultural studies and creative writing at the expense of literary texts such as novels, plays and poems. Some teachers have said they would refuse to teach the course in its current form.
    
    "Notre Dame education dean Michael O'Neill agreed that the exam and the new course lacked emphasis on a rigorous study of literary texts compared with the current TEE course, which insisted students were exposed to a variety of literature.
    
    "You would expect to see some literature in the exam instead of comprehension and creative writing," he said. "The exam is a mirror of the course and if the exam says something like 'let's discuss what a literary text means', I worry about that. I think we should spend more time actually studying literature and less time debating what literature is."
    
    "The State Government delayed 13 OBE courses that were meant to apply to Year 11 next year after teachers threatened a boycott.
    
    "Eleven of those courses, including physics, chemistry and geography, have been revised and were accredited last week for implementation in 2008. History was also held back until December 19 for minor amendments.
    
    "The Geographical Association of WA said it was "gravely concerned" that a review of the geography course was not finished before it was accredited. It has informed members via its website that it has not endorsed the revised course and sample exam.
    
    "Association president Mike Fazio said in a letter to the council that although he welcomed changes that teachers had requested, he was disappointed that only part of the course had been scrutinised before accreditation. "Leaving the task partly completed can only lead to further cynicism among an already discontented teaching body," he wrote. "It is better to delay accreditation than again be faced with a teacher backlash."
    
    From The West Australian
    
    
    
    
• The Sunday Times Online / PerthNow
  
  
  • Carpenter's clean sweep
    by Nigel Wilson and Jo Prichard
    
    "The decision by Premier Alan Carpenter to move embattled Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich will spark a radical overhaul of the West Australian cabinet.
    
    "Only four of the current 16-member team appear likely to retain their current portfolios.

    "A parliamentary committee found last week that Ms Ravlich had probably misled parliament over the extent of her knowledge of a Crime and Corruption Commission investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against teachers. But the committee stopped short of recommending any action.

    "Ms Ravlich's problems are part of a compendium of issues facing Mr Carpenter relating to the under-performance of ministers and the relations of some of them to former West Australian premier Brian Burke and his lobbying partner, Julian Grill.

    "An early cabinet reshuffle is thought necessary to allow the team to be established before the CCC embarks on its promised investigation of matters arising from an inquiry into a property development which hired Mr Burke and Mr Grill.

    "It was evidence to this inquiry that led to the sacking from cabinet last month of Norm Marlborough when phone taps revealed he was receiving instructions from Mr Burke.

    "Mr Carpenter yesterday remained tight-lipped about the reshuffle, saying only that he would make an announcement before Christmas.

    "He reaffirmed that Ms Ravlich, the leader of the parliamentary Centre faction, would remain in cabinet despite the party's Left faction arguing she should be dropped.

    "Everybody's got their opinion," Mr Carpenter said when asked to confirm that he had been lobbied on the issue.

    "Lil Ravlich will be in the cabinet and that's the end of the matter." It is understood some members of the Centre threatened to unseat Sheila McHale, the Indigenous Affairs and Arts Minister, if Ms Ravlich was dumped. Ms McHale has also come under intense criticism for her handling of child abuse allegations while minister for community development.

    "New cabinet responsibilities could be announced as soon as Wednesday, after a special sitting tomorrow of the Legislative Assembly to pass amendments to the state's liquor laws.

    "According to political sources, only Treasurer and Deputy Premier Eric Ripper, Attorney-General Jim McGinty, Planning Minister Alannah MacTiernan and Agriculture Minister Kim Chance will find their portfolio areas untouched.

    "Mr Carpenter will resist pressure from the state's Chamber of Commerce and Industry to cut the size of cabinet by two to 14.

    "Environment Minister Mark McGowan, who is close to Mr Carpenter, is tipped to take over the troublesome education portfolio, a move representing a rapid rise for the one-time naval officer and lawyer who became a minister only last year."

    From The Sunday Times Online at link
    
    Readers' Comments on this story
    
    
    
    
• The Australian
  
  
  • Teachers to get a report card
    by Samantha Maiden, Political correspondent
    
    "Teachers should be marked on their performance in the classroom, according to Labor's newly appointed education spokesman, Stephen Smith.

    "The father of two, who sends his teenage children to Catholic schools, said yesterday he backed parents' right to choose a public or private school based on their children's needs.

    "Like his opposite number, Education Minister Julie Bishop, Mr Smith is a privately educated MP from Western Australia who has degrees in law and arts, and in his case, a masters degree from London University.

    "Mr Smith, who has previously held the portfolios of health and most recently industrial relations, said he believed teachers deserved more respect, but should also accept more assessment.

    "All of the studies show that one of the single most important factors in determining the quality of a child's education is the quality of the teacher in the classroom," he told The Australian yesterday.

    "Former Labor leader Kim Beazley had already flagged a form of performance pay for teachers, offering the best teachers up to $100,000 a year to work in the most difficult schools.

    "Mr Rudd said last week he would demand "quality control" from the nation's schools to guarantee the children of working families a good education.

    "Mr Smith said yesterday he was not concerned about the old divides between public and private schools. The ALP has previously pledged to guarantee a no-loser policy in its funding formula for education at the next election, after previously guaranteeing the overall level of funding to private schools at the 2004 election but redirecting cash from the richest private schools to poorer Catholic and independent schools.

    "I'm much less concerned about the label on the archway on the school when they walk in than I am about the quality of the education when they walk out," Mr Smith said.

    "I'm very strong believer in choice - whether kids go to private schools, religious schools or secular schools. My very strong view is that the commonwealth must fund schools on the basis of need and on the basis of fairness."

    "Mr Smith pledged to consider HECS relief for university students in targeted areas, an issue already flagged by Mr Rudd. "Individual students and the nation now have a massive HECS burden, and obviously that's going to be an area of focus for me," he said.

    "But I have a strong view that university is not the be-all and end-all of our education system. I want kids who complete secondary school to have not just the opportunity to go to university, but also tertiary education that helps them in a technical way.

    "Parents don't expect that all their sons and daughters will end up at university - what they do want is to make sure their kids have the chance to maximise their potential."
    
    From The Australian at link
    
    
    

  • Letters to the Editor
    
    
    • Give public schools the freedom to hire and fire
      
      "Kevin Rudd’s vow to raise the standard of schooling is music to my ears ("Rudd puts teachers on notice”, 9-10/12). I have long believed that the greatest defect of our commonwealth is that low-income children are forced into low-achieving schools.

      "But can we believe Rudd? Can Labor defy its own unions? Will Rudd have the stomach to replace weak teachers with strong teachers? We are not talking here about merely sacking the few teachers who abuse children. We are talking about replacing teachers who are not confident in literacy, numeracy or effective classroom performance.

      "Furthermore, it’s a fact of life that good teachers cannot be identified by qualifications alone, nor by any remote-control procedure operated by state education departments.

      "The only hope of raising teaching standards in poor suburbs is to give those schools the huge advantage that independent schools have long enjoyed – self-government, which enables them to employ the best teachers they can get to meet their students’ needs."
      
      Philip O’Carroll, North Fitzroy, Vic
      
      

    • "NSW can easily match Queensland when it comes to dumbing down science classes ("Pop songs are weird science”, 9-10/12). My Year 7 daughter may not be listening to pop lyrics just yet, but she and her friends are kept entertained during science classes with episodes of Futurama, the TV cartoon series by the creator of The Simpsons.

      "I’m impressed that the school managed to change her attitude towards science from fascination into boredom within the first term. How is this possible? Children are natural scientists – they love exploring and experimenting. Good schools and a good curriculum channel this natural aptitude and make the natural world a fascinating place. Mediocre schools don’t expect much from their students and find it easier to stick them in front of a TV screen to watch cartoons. I wonder how many of our potential organic chemists and medical researchers will wither under this inane teaching environment."
      
      Peter Gibson, Medowie, NSW
      
      

    • "It's high time a federal government demanded “quality control” from all education systems and not just public schools. A federal Labor government would of course see that this quality control is matched by a return to much-needed “quality funding” of public education by a federal government, will it not?"
      
      Narelle Grant, Dubbo, NSW
      
      

    • "Will the ALP’s Baldrick please own up. Whose cunning plan was it for Kevin Rudd to curry favour with swinging voters by getting stuck into public education? I mean, if a bloke wanted to vote for a short-arsed, dorky-voiced, teacher-bashing, God-bothering right-winger, don’t you think he’d choose the experienced one we’ve already got?"
      
      Clive Forster, Coromandel Valley, SA

      
      
      
• The Adelaide Advertiser
  
  
  • Editorial
    Making our schools more accountable
    
    "The teachers' union doesn't want public comparisons made between the performances of South Australian schools.
    
    "As part of Federal Government funding arrangements, schools are compelled to record student outcomes, satisfaction levels and teacher quality in next year's annual reports.
    
    "The statistics must include, for example, the number of students continuing in Year 12, student and teacher attendances, senior secondary subject results and what students do or intend to do once they leave school.
    
    "It also would include the proportion of students meeting national reading, writing, spelling and numeracy benchmarks.

    "But the Australian Education Union's state president, Andrew Gohl, has advised principals to limit their reports to general comments.

    "This will avoid the possibility of the public – taxpayers who pay for the schools and parents whose children are educated in the schools – being able to make direct comparisons between individual schools.

    "In reality, the union is avoiding the scrutiny and accountability of its members. Why shouldn't parents know where their schools rank? Why shouldn't they know that their children could receive a better education, a better start in life, at a neighbouring school or perhaps a private school?

    "If the statistics created some form of league table with the best at the top and the worst at the bottom, then public demand would force improved standards from poorly rated schools. By withholding the statistical details, rumours are certain to circulate about the suspected outcome of the performance comparisons. Schools, and teachers, could be harmed unfairly by innuendo.

    "Also there is a danger targeted or strategic sections of the restricted findings could be leaked to the education or the media, creating confusion and uncertainty.

    "The union should withdraw its opposition to the release of the statistical information and allow the schools to make it public."

    From The Adelaide Advertiser at link
    
    
    
    
• The New York Times
  
  
  • In Twist on Tuition Game, Popularity Rises With Price
    [Worth a look   Web]
    
    
    
    
• The Melbourne Age
  
  
  • Public pupils excel in VCE results
    by Chee Chee Leung
    
    "A suburban public school has rocketed up the VCE tally board, with four of its year 12 graduates achieving the "perfect" tertiary ranking of 99.95.

    "The result puts Glen Waverley Secondary College second in the state for perfect ENTERs, behind Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School, where five students had the top ranking.

    "Glen Waverley's quartet of perfect ENTERs also places it ahead of elite private schools, including Xavier College, Ivanhoe Grammar and Melbourne Grammar..."

    Full story in The Melbourne Age at link [see related story in The Melbourne Herald Sun]
    
    
    
• The Melbourne Herald Sun
  
  
  • Scholarships added bonus
    by Milanda Rout and Nikki Protyniak
    
    "Some of Victoria's top-scoring VCE students received an added bonus yesterday -- a university scholarship.
    
    "Melbourne and Monash announced their prestigious scholarships to this year's VCE brainiacs...."
    
    [Melbourne University continues to offer very generous scholarships [HECS PLUS cost of living] to the top students in ALL states – ensuring a "brain drain" east. WA universities appear to be totally uninterested...    Web]
    
    Full story in The Melbourne Herald Sun at link
    
    
    
    
• The Sydney Morning Herald
  
  
  • Student union's lurch to the left delights the right
    by Harriet Alexander Higher Education Reporter
    
    "University students have voted to topple Labor's dominance of their national union for the first time in its history, in the most significant demonstration that the party is losing its stranglehold on the student movement..."
    
    Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
    
    
    
    
• The Sydney Daily Telegraph
  
  
  • Praise for slammed teacher
    by Bruce McDougall and Henry Budd
    
    "Embattled high school teacher Michael Seymour, who sparked a race row by calling a Muslim student a "terrorist", received overwhelming support yester-day as he faced calls for his removal.

    "Parents, teachers and students rallied behind the Blakehurst High School teacher after The Daily Telegraph revealed that he faces investigation by the Anti-Discrimination Board. Mr Seymour, a legal studies teacher at the southern Sydney school, said he had been instructed by the education department not to comment.

    "But staff and parents said Mr Seymour, who has been teaching for 23 years, was highly dedicated and widely admired for his work with teenage students.

    "They said they were "distressed" that his positive contribution to the education of generations of students had been overlooked during the row..."
    
    Full story in The Sydney Daily Telegraph at link
    
    

    • Op Ed on this story: A slip of the vulgar tongue
      
      
      

Wednesday 13 December

• The West Australian
  
  

Ravlich dumped


Photo © The West Australian

[from online edition, story posted at 12:00 noon]

"Ljiljanna Ravlich has been dumped as Education Minister after Premier Alan Carpenter announced a Cabinet re-shuffle.

"Mr Carpenter denied his embattled former Education Minister was being punished for her handling of the Outcomes Based Education issue, saying she was being given a new challenge.

"While acknowledging Ms Ravlich had had a "tough year", Mr Carpenter said he retained confidence in his Cabinet colleague and was sure she would do a good job in her new portfolio.



"Ms Ravlich remains in Cabinet, looking after Government Enterprises, Multicultural Interests and Citizenship, Youth and Minister Assisting the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure.

"Former Environment Minister Mark McGowan takes over the Education and Training portfolio."Losers in the revamped Cabinet include Sheila McHale, who lost Indigenous Affairs to Michelle Roberts and John Ford who lost Local Government to John Bowler.

"Riverton MLA Tony McRae will take on Environment and the new Climate Change portfolio."Mr Carpenter said the Climate Change portfolio was needed to manage a major challenge facing WA.



"Climate change is an emerging environmental, social and economic issue that now deserves a special focus in Government thinking," he said."



The new Cabinet

Alan Carpenter: Premier; Federal-State Relations; Trade; Innovation; Science; Public Sector Management.

Eric Ripper: Deputy Premier; Treasurer; State Development.

Kim Chance: Agriculture and Food; Forestry; the Mid-West and Wheatbelt.



Ljiljanna Ravlich: Government Enterprises; Multicultural Interests and Citizenship; Youth; Assisting the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure.



John Kobelke: Police and Emergency Services; Community Safety; Water Resources; Sport and Recreation.


Jim McGinty: Attorney General; Health; Electoral Affairs.

Michelle Roberts: Housing; Works; Heritage; Indigenous Affairs; Land Information.

Alannah MacTiernan: Planning and Infrastructure.

Sheila McHale: Tourism; Culture and the Arts; Consumer Protection.

Mark McGowan: Education and Training; South-West.

Francis Logan: Energy; Resources; Industry and Enterprises.



John Bowler: Local Government; Employment Protection; Racing and Gaming; Goldfields-Esperance and Great Southern.

Jon Ford: Regional Development; Fisheries; the Kimberley; Pilbara and Gascoyne.

Margaret Quirk: Corrective Services; Small Business; Women’s Interests; Assisting the Minister for Federal-State Relations.

David Templeman: Child Protection; Communities; Seniors and Volunteering; Peel.

Tony McRae: Environment; Climate Change; Disability Services.

From The West Australian Online at link

Similar story in The Sunday Times Online / PerthNow




• Labor's plan for a national curriculum [Front Page]
  by Rhianna King and Bethany Hiatt
  
  "Labor's new Federal shadow education minister Stephen Smith has put himself at odds with the WA Government just days after taking over the portfolio, taking a swipe at the State's handling of outcomes-based education and declaring his support for a national curriculum.
  
  "But Mr Smith said rather than "riding roughshod" over the States as the Federal Government had done, he wanted to work co-operatively with them to produce national consistency in education.
  
  "Outlining his early plans for the portfolio, Mr Smith also said he supported merit-based pay for teachers, wanted teachers to be assessed on their performance in the classroom and backed Federal Education Minister Julie Bishop's push for a national curriculum.
  
  "The Perth MHR also said there was serious concern in the community over OBE and he planned to meet Premier Alan Carpenter to have a "serious and sensible discussion" about it.
  
  "I know from speaking and listening to my own constituents over the last year that (OBE) has been an issue of considerable concern to parents, which frankly the WA Government detected far too late," he told The West Australian. [emphasis added]
  
  "The State Government was forced to delay introducing 13 OBE courses from next year until 1008 amid an outcry from teachers and parents.
  
  "Mr Smith said Australia's transient population, which meant children were often moved interstate during their school years, made it important to develop national standards.
  
  "In an ideal world, we would have common school years, a common curriculum, commonality to all our primary school and secondary school education so if mum and dad move from WA to Victoria.. there would be an almost seamless transition," he said.
  
  "Ms Bishop's push for a national curriculum has fallen flat with the States, which have accused her of using Federal funding to force a takeover of education.
  
  "Mr Smith's criticism of the WA Government's implementation of OBE came as a report prepared for the Department of Education and Training said the introduction of OBE courses in Years 11 and 12 in 2008 could push the number of teachers suffering stress to even higher levels.
  
  "The report by counselling services provider PrimePsych, a copy of which has been obtained by The West Australian, says the number of clients requiring help for work-related stress had reached unprecedented levels this year and that could increase with the extension of OBE.
  
  "It is unlikely that this situation will improve over the coming year with the introduction of OBE to Years 11 and 12 and the increased level of responsibility and accountability placed on teaching and administrative staff," the report says. [This report could prove to be very useful ammunition, in workers compensation claims and potential litigation.   Web]
  
  "But Education Department deputy director-general Peter McCaffrey said the number of people seeking help for work-related stress was still less than one per cent of all staff."
  
  From The West Australian
  
  




• ABC News
  
  
  • WA ministers sworn in after Cabinet reshuffle [4:49 pm; a bit slow off the mark compared to The West]
    
    "The new ministers in the Western Australian Government have been officially sworn in to their roles after Premier Alan Carpenter announced a major reshuffle earlier today.

    "Only five ministers out of 16 are unaffected by the changes.

    "As expected, Ljilianna Ravlich has lost the Education portfolio to Mark McGowan.

    "John Bowler has been stripped of the Resources portfolio and Sheila McHale has lost Indigenous Affairs to Michelle Roberts.

    "A new portfolio of Climate Change and the Environment has been filled by Tony McRae.

    "Despite demoting Ms Ravlich, Mr Carpenter says he still has confidence in her as a minister.

    "We've had a difficult year in education, I've acknowledged that previously and Ljilianna has acknowledged it," he said.

    "Ljilianna Ravlich has been given a new challenge, new challenges, and I am confident she has got the capacity to meet those challenges."

    "In a sign the Department for Community Development is about an undergo a major shake-up, the Minister responsible for the Department, David Templeman, has had his title changed.

    "Mr Templeman will now be known as the Minister for Child Protection."
    
    From ABC News Online at link
    

    
    
    
• The Sydney Morning Herald
  
  
  • Wholesale rejection of student gradings
    by Anna Patty and Stephanie Peatling
    
    "Four out of five schools have rejected the new A to E grade format for school reports, a survey of 380 NSW schools shows.

    "The survey results, to be released today by the NSW Teachers Federation, show that 53 per cent of schools said they were using an alternative five-point scale and 47 per cent said they were not.

    "Asked if they used A to E grades, 80 per cent said "no" and 20 per cent said "yes".

    "The Federal Government has made it a condition of its $3.7 billion funding to NSW for all schools to use the A to E grades, or an equivalent scale, that describes each grade. In NSW, the grades are outstanding, high, sound, basic and limited.

    "In the NSW Industrial Relations Commission last month, the State Government failed to obtain a dispute order to force teachers to lift their ban on the new reports..."
    
    "The Federal Opposition's new education spokesman, Stephen Smith, said he was comfortable with a common school starting age and even the same curricula between the states and territories.

    "However, unlike the Federal Government's approach, Mr Smith said any attempt to bring the states into line would need to be done with their co-operation.

    "One of the things that we have to do much better is to try and get better symmetry in the way we deal with primary and secondary school education," Mr Smith said.

    "In an ideal world we would have common school years, common school terms, holidays, common starting ages and a common curriculum." [emphasis added]

    "Mr Smith's new portfolio (he was formerly the spokesman for industrial relations) will pit him head-to-head with a fellow West Australian, the Minister for Education, Julie Bishop.

    "Ms Bishop is already trying to make the states adopt a federally approved history curriculum and has hinted she will make schools' funding contingent upon it.

    "Mr Smith said he wanted to focus on primary school education as a way of helping children from low socioeconomic backgrounds get the best start in life. "Their educational outcome is often determined by the time they reach years 6 or 7." ...
    
    Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link [See Op Ed on this topic in The Sydney Daily Telegraph]
    
    
    

• The Sydney Daily Telegraph
  
  
  • Op Ed
    D for a dunce of an idea
    by Maralyn Parker
    
    "There has been an interesting turn in the A to E reporting debacle.
    
    "According to an analysis by University of Newcastle academic Sharon Cooper, if the idea was to get some consistency between states then the whole thing is a failure.

    "Dr Cooper compared the meanings different states have given to the A to Es and she has found many anomalies.

    "For example, in NSW an E means "limited" but in Western Australia a D means "limited" and in the ACT an E is "very limited".

    "If that is confusing then you should try the meanings given to B. In NSW B is "high" while in SA it is "good" and in the NT it is "above."

    "Then comes C. In NSW and the ACT, C means "sound" but in WA and SA, C means "satisfactory"...
    
    Full story in The Sydney Daily Telegraph at link
    
    
    

• The Australian
  
  
  • Higher Education Supplement has 17 articles, including:
    
    
    • Smith has serious homework to do
      by Brendan O'Keefe
      
      ... "The beauty of education is it's the convergence of the social policy of opportunity and the chance of getting ahead, and the economics of retaining the prosperity we need to be internationally competitive," Mr Smith said.

      "But I don't hide from the fact that I've got a lot of work to do."

      "The tenets of the Labor white paper on education, released in July, will stand "until Kevin Rudd says something to the contrary". So no departure from pillars such as improved indexation of grants; no more full-fee degrees for domestic undergraduates; increased financial support for student services; and the removal of workplace relations and governance requirements for extra funding. Equity for poorer students is top priority.

      "Are we really making sure that young Australians, particularly from working families, are genuinely getting a chance to go to uni in an affordable way?" Mr Smith asked..."
      
      Full story in the Higher Education Supplement at link
      
      

    • Have we got a uni for you
      by Lisa Macnamara
      
      "The annual university race to grab the nation's top school leavers with scholarships has gone global as Australian campuses compete with overseas institutions.

      "As the University of Melbourne announced its 2007 scholarships for Victorian students this week, vice-chancellor Glyn Davis predicted Australia's subsidised study system would become more Americanised as the rivalry intensified..."
      
      "If you want to get a sense of how much the world's changed, this year a number of ivy league universities from the US turned up at schools in Sydney and Melbourne and pitched for students to go to Princeton or Yale," Professor Davis said. "The National University of Singapore has also run ads for students interested in going to NUS so we're now in a global competition for the very best students."... [emphasis added]
      
      Full story in the Higher Education Supplement at link
      
      
      

• The Melbourne Age
  
  
  • Letter to the Editor
    
    
    • "Congratulations to VCE students — particularly those who, regardless of ENTER scores, have learnt some of life's most valuable lessons from the experience. A note of caution, however, regarding the importance that so many place on a single number as an indication of achievement from 13 years of schooling.

      "I am reminded of a year 9 class I struggled with some years ago. My class showed little interest in my emphasis on learning for understanding, instead pleading with me to "just tell us the answer".

      "In frustration at some point, one student stood up, threw her chair against the wall and yelled: "School is not about learning. School is about working hard and getting good marks!" Sadly, I fear she was right."
      
      Chris Curnow, Mordialloc

      
      
      
• The Canberra Times
  
  
  • Closed schools may go to court
    
    
    
    
• The Adelaide Advertiser
  
  
  • Editorial
    Superschool system must be open to all
    
    "The State Government is right to press ahead with plans to establish a series of superschools in the metropolitan area and close small schools which cannot provide the depth and variety of educational opportunities.
    
    "It is significant that since the proposals were outlined by the Education Minister Jane Lomax-Smith earlier this year, parents involved in the existing schools and kindergartens have given strong support to the superschool concept.

    "The growing need for flexibility and multi-skilling in the workforce must be reflected in a more diversified education system.

    "Children educated in the narrow channels available at small local schools are being denied the choices which the superschools will be able to provide..."
    
    Full editorial in The Adelaide Advertiser at link
    
    

Thursday 14 December

• The West Australian
  
  
  • Alston (page 16)
    
    


© The West Australian



• No new blood in Ravlich reshuffle [Front Page Headline]
  by Graham Mason and Ben Spencer
  
  "Alan Carpenter has avoided a bitter factional brawl by retaining poorly performing ministers Ljiljanna Ravlich and Sheila McHale in his revamped Cabinet at the expense of young up and comers Ben Wyatt and Jaye Radisich.
  

  "As widely expected, Ms Ravlich was sacked from the Education and Training portfolio after her handling of the outcomes-based education issue culminated in the State School Teachers Union demanding Mr Carpenter sack her last month.

  "Ms Ravlich will take on three junior portfolios of Government Enterprises, Multicultural Interests and Citizenship and Youth and will also assist Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan, a move which Mr Carpenter and Ms Ravlich denied was a demotion. [emphasis added]

  "Ms McHale was demoted for the second time in a year, yesterday losing the Indigenous Affairs portfolio after failing to respond adequately to the deplorable living conditions of Aboriginal children in the State’s north. She was sacked as community development minister in February.

  "John Bowler was stripped of the Resources portfolio with the Premier admitting there had been an increase in the level of “smear and innuendo” associated with Mr Bowler after he was forced to admit the extent of his close relationship with banned lobbyists Julian Grill and Brian Burke.

  "Michelle Roberts will take on Indigenous Affairs, a move she requested and one Mr Carpenter said would sit well with her Housing and Works portfolio, which will assume responsibility for services to 91 Aboriginal communities next year.

  "The big winners were Treasurer Eric Ripper, who adds State Development to his workload, Mark McGowan and Tony McRae.

  "Mr McGowan, the Premier’s golden-haired boy, now takes on the troubled Education portfolio after a successful year passing several key pieces of legislation, including the liquor licensing reforms, outlawing betting exchanges and navigating the Alcoa Wagerup expansion

  "Mr McRae, who became a minister in May after the demise of John D’Orazio, leap-frogged several colleagues to become Environment Minister. He also takes on the new portfolio of Climate Change.
  
  "Mr Carpenter was adamant he was not hiding Ms Ravlich in junior portfolios. “If I didn’t have confidence in Ljiljanna’s capacity as a Minister she would not be a Minister.”
  
  “We’ve had a difficult year in Education and I’ve acknowledged that previously. Ljiljanna has acknowledged it.”

  "State School Teachers Union president Mike Keely said Ms Ravlich’s removal was a “very good idea”.

  "Greg Williams, president of teachers’ group People Lobbying Against Teaching Outcomes, said much more would have to change if the Government was to reverse the fortunes of the education system.
  
  “All they have done is change the jockeys and unless they change the horse all the flogging in the world won’t bring it back to life,” he said. “It would be great if he is not the obstinate sort of person that Ljiljanna was and it would be great if he is prepared to talk to us.” [emphasis added]

  "Mr Bowler said he did not ask to have the Resources portfolio taken from him but acknowledged that the stigma of his relationship with Mr Burke and Mr Grill had attached to the Government.

  "Opposition Leader Paul Omodei said Mr Carpenter had backed incompetent ministers and should have rejuvenated his Cabinet by introducing backbenchers."
  
  From The West Australian at link
  

  
  
• Editorial (page 16)
  Cabinet shuffle underscores ministerial talent famine
  
  "It would be fair to say that there were sighs of profound relief among people across WA’s education community at the news that, at last, Ljiljanna Ravlich had been shifted out of their lives. The perpetually besieged minister who never quite got a handle on the key Education and Training portfolio moves on to a collection of lesser responsibilities, presumably to fill another set of bureaucrats with acute apprehension.
  

  "That Ms Ravlich was allowed to stay in the portfolio so long, though key bureaucrats fell in a series of amazing political and educational disasters, made the Government look as if it were intent on self-harm.
  
  "That she was allowed to stay in Cabinet after all that, albeit on just about its lowest rung, suggests that the tribal imperatives of Labor’s factions continue to defy reason.
  
  "Of course, it’s been generally expected for weeks that Ms Ravlich would be demoted from the key portfolio, basically because she made a hash of it. Therefore, Alan Carpenter’s facile attempt to camouflage this with the glib comment that nobody stayed with portfolios for ever was disingenuous and demeaned him.
  
  "Perhaps the Premier felt a measure of responsibility because he did not intervene until the outcomes-based education program had just about collapsed into a heap of ideological rubble — a failure of his leadership.
  
  "In any case, Mark McGowan inherits a mess of a portfolio. Though he might console himself with the thought that he could hardly do a worse job than his predecessor, he faces a formidable job in trying to rebuild public confidence in an education system that has lost its way. There have been so many shifts and changes in the planned introduction of OBE at upper high school level that it would be surprising if anyone has an overall grasp of precisely what is going on.
  
  "One of the lessons Mr McGowan should learn from his predecessor’s misadventures is that being a minister does not mean just occupying a position and rejoicing in a title: he must accept ministerial responsibility, keep himself fully informed about what his bureaucrats are up to and be guided by the public interest.
  
  "And if the ungainly OBE hybrid he inherits doesn’t make any sense to him, as it doesn’t to people generally, he must have the courage to stand up and tell Mr Carpenter that it should be abandoned. His first obligation is to the people, not to an ideological theory that has infested educational bureaucracies, and his job is to deliver a public system that offers proper education and can be understood by everyone. [emphasis added]
  
  "That Mr McGowan, who has relatively little ministerial experience, has emerged as a shining light of the Cabinet because of an ability to get things done serves to underscore the poverty of talent available to Mr Carpenter, given that he was apparently unable to promote promising backbenchers for factional reasons. Sadly the other side of politics is no better off.
  
  "The best Mr Carpenter could do was to build on the perceived strengths of competent ministers — most notably Treasurer Eric Ripper, who picks up State Development — and consign the others to relative political obscurity. The mysterious exception to this general rule is Tony McRae, who unaccountably has been promoted to Environment.
  
  "Only time will tell whether Mr Carpenter’s strategy for obscuring the talent famine can work."
  
  From The West Australian at link
  
  
  

• Carpenter rolls dice on his Cabinet duds (page 6)
  Robert Taylor: Political Sketch
  
  "Alan Carpenter took a gamble yesterday when he decided to hide his non-performing ministers rather than dump them altogether..."
  
  "Now he has... opted to keep Ljiljanna Ravlich and Sheila McHale in the tent rather than kick them out and bring on a fight with their factional backers.
  
  "Ms Ravlich, an abject failure in Education and largely responsible for a steady slide in the Government's fortunes over the past year, will pick up her $213,000-plus a year for one of the lightest workloads ever assigned to a minister.
  
  "If she sill does manage to find something to make a mess of, the Premier will not be able to escape blame, especially given he has bright young talents such as Ben Wyatt and Jaye Radisich at his disposal..."
  
  "Mark McGowan has been rewarded for succeeding on liquor reforms and shepherding through the Wagerup and Gorgon approvals. He is now clearly the Premier's go-to man and the next cab off the rank for the top job."
  
  Full story in The West Australian
  
  
  
  

• Op Ed
  Wild ride a steep curve of learning for Premier (page 17)
  by Robert Taylor: Inside State
  
  "Alan Carpenter's first year as WA Premier has been a rollercoaster ride for the former broadcast journalist who was catapulted into the State's top job when Geoff Gallop resigned suddenly last January.
  
  "... He's had major policy confrontations to deal with on outcomes-based education, failures within the community development area and a running pay battle with police and public servants generally..."
  
  Full story in The West Australian
  
  
  

• Private school fees outstrip inflation (page 3)
  by Bethany Hiatt
  
  "Private school fees are soaring at up to double the inflation rate, with Catholic schools ramping up next year's fees as much as 9 per cent and elite independent schools raising charges between 5 and 7 per cent.
  
  "The changes mean the cost of sending a child to high schools such as Christ Church Grammar and Presbyterian Ladies College will break the $14,000 mark – more than 50 times the cost of going to a State school..."
  
  Full story in The West Australian
  
  Similar story on ABC News
  
  
  

• Esperance school gets the go-ahead (page 6)
  by Suellen Jerrard
  
  "One of Ljiljanna Ravlich's last official duties as education minister was to approve a new private high school in Esperance, seven months after initially rejecting the project..."
  
  "Earthworks would start within two months and Year 8 students would be accepted from the start of 2008, expanding to Year 10 by 2010. The [Anglican Schools Commission] would have to continue to fight to include Year 11 and 12 students..."
  
  Full story in The West Australian
  
  
  
  

• The Australian
  
  
• Taint ministers shuffled
  by Amanda O'Brien, WA political reporter
  
  "Brian Burke and perceptions of ministerial incompetence have sparked the most extensive cabinet overhaul in Western Australian in years, with Premier Alan Carpenter reshuffling his besieged team after a disastrous year of end-to-end scandals.

  "Two-thirds of his 15 ministers were moved yesterday, with three big winners and three clear losers from the shuffle.

  "As predicted in The Australian, links to the disgraced former Labor premier proved insurmountable for resources minister John Bowler and education minister Ljiljanna Ravlich, who have each admitted contact with him and were relegated yesterday to low-profile safe portfolios.

  "At the other extreme, Deputy Premier and Treasurer Eric Ripper gained the tag of super minister after adding the massive state development portfolio to his responsibility for state finances. Up-and-comer Mark McGowan was given the task of fixing the crisis-ridden education portfolio vacated by Ms Ravlich after a solid performance as environment minister..."
  
  "Ms Ravlich lost education and training for a grab-bag of responsibilities in youth, multicultural interests and government enterprises. Her downfall came after a year of calamities ranging from the stalled introduction of outcomes-based curriculum changes to her links to Mr Burke and dramas arising from a Corruption and Crime Commission report into her department..." [emphasis added]
  
  "Mr Carpenter put on a brave face yesterday, describing his team as talented and capable.

  "But he warned them of challenges ahead to show the community that services in health, education and community safety were being delivered well. "We have got to deliver in those key service areas," he said..."
  
  Full story in The Australian at link
  
  
  

• Carpenter does some repairs
  Analysis by Amanda O'Brien
  
  "By anyone's reckoning, Alan Carpenter has had a shocking year.

  "The Premier has lost two ministers - John D'Orazio and Norm Marlborough - to sensational scandals.

  "He's watched the Department for Community Development implode over child protection and child death scandals.

  "There's been uproar in education, bitter attacks over native title and months of acrimony in a drawn-out police pay claim - now settled, but soon to be replaced by a nursing campaign.

  "And lurking everywhere is the dead hand of the Corruption and Crime Commission tapping telephones, lobbing bombshells and making headlines.

  "Carpenter's comment yesterday that "all governments strike trouble from time to time" was cheeky.

  "He's well aware of the damage sustained. The extent of his reshuffle shows this.

  "While no one was dropped from cabinet, no one thought they would be - it would have been a far too public admission of defeat.

  "But Carpenter did bite the bullet, serving up public humiliations to some ministers to jump-start his Government.

  "His demotions were expected, his promotions generally made sense..."
  
  Full story in The Australian at link
  
  
  

• Schools not Little Athletics, says academic
  by Justine Ferrari, Education writer
  
  "The architects of a revised South Australian Certificate of Education show "academic cringe" in arguing that subjects in years 11 and 12 are too abstract and academic.

  "Flinders University's Institute of International Education director, Kelvin Gregory, yesterday accused the review of the SACE, released last month, of adopting a "Little Athletics" approach to education. "Little Athletics has the idea that everyone is a winner," Dr Gregory said.

  "We need to move away from the Little Athletics approach in years 11 and 12, but that's what SACE is."

  "In an article to be published this month in the International Education Journal, Dr Gregory argues that the recommendations of the SACE review panel are based on flawed research. The review argues that the low retention rates in South Australia are in part caused by "academic creep" in the curriculum, with subjects becoming too abstract and the assessment too academic.

  "There was a widely held view that curriculum in (Year 12) in particular is content-driven rather than learning-focused and that, for many teachers and students, the amount of content that has to be covered in some subjects is unmanageable," the review says.

  "There was support for the emphasis of the curriculum, and therefore students learning, to be oriented more towards an understanding of concepts and the application of what is learned, and less towards detailed content." Dr Gregory argues that the review fails to present any statistical evidence that the SACE is responsible for students leaving school early.

  "Research shows that schools with academically challenging curriculums have higher retention rates, he says.

  "He cites a study which found that Year 12 dropout rates were about 28 per cent in schools with a strong vocational education focus, compared with 9 per cent in schools without any vocational subjects. In addition, Dr Gregory says South Australia has the smallest proportion of students applying for university -- about 59 per cent compared with 70 per cent or more in NSW, Victoria and Queensland -- and also the second lowest proportion of the population holding a bachelor degree or higher, only 15.7 per cent of the state compared with more than 20 per cent in NSW, Victoria and the ACT.

  "Given that ... surely an argument could be made to increase the academic thrust of the SACE?" he says in the article.

  "But one of the authors of the review, University of South Australia professor of education Alan Reid, said the SACE recommendations would better prepare students for university study."

  From The Australian at link
  
  
  
• Op Ed
  Peter Holbrook: Literary paradise may soon be lost
  
  But our educators and leaders can help revive imaginative writing
  
  "News that the University of Sydney will soon possess the sole remaining chair in Australian literature signals a genuine crisis in our literary culture.

  "In Australia we seem to be witnessing a disinheriting of the national mind - the alternately rapid and gradual, wilful and accidental disappearing of our literary heritage, from Beowulf to Virginia Woolf. I say "our" advisedly, for this heritage, which stretches back to medieval times, is certainly ours, as much as Henry Lawson or Patrick White is..."
  
  Peter Holbrook, a member of the Literature Board of the Australia Council for the Arts, teaches English literature at the University of Queensland.
  
  Full story in The Australian at link
  
  
  

• The Sydney Morning Herald
  
  
  • NSW likely to escape report card penalty
    by Anna Patty, Education Editor
    
    "The Federal Government is unlikely to strip NSW of up to $3.7 billion in funding, despite its failure to force all schools to comply with mandatory student reporting requirements.

    "The former education minister, Brendan Nelson, made it a condition of federal funding for all schools to grade student subjects from A to E or with an equivalent five-band scale.

    "But his replacement, Julie Bishop, has signalled a softening of that position in response to indications that states including NSW and South Australia have failed to meet complete compliance from all schools.

    "The NSW Government failed in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission last month to overturn teacher bans on the new reports.

    "The NSW Teachers Federation released results yesterday of a phone poll of 380 schools that showed 80 per cent were not using the strict A to E grading system. Just over half the schools said they were using the alternative scale that describes grades as outstanding, high, sound, basic and limited.

    "Ms Bishop told the Herald she would not comment on the teacher poll. She said she would base her decision on whether NSW had met its funding requirements after she received a formal report from the NSW Government in mid-February.

    "It seems that the Teachers Federation is determined to withhold information from parents," she said.,,"
    
    Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
    
    
    

• The Canberra Times