Monday 3 December

Tuesday 4 December

Wednesday 5 December

Thursday 6 December

Friday 7 December

Saturday – Sunday, 8 – 9 December

 

Monday 3 December

• The West Australian
  
  
  • Office staff ordered back to classrooms [Front Page]
    by Bethany Hiatt
    
    "Senior education bureaucrats have been ordered back into schools as part of increasingly desperate measures to keep teachers in classrooms.

    "Education director-general Sharyn O'Neill is cancelling secondments from schools to other agencies, such as the Curriculum Council, and telling those working in central and district offices whose contracts have expired that they must return to schools.

    "In July, the Department of Education and Training called for volunteers from its central East Perth office, dubbed Silver City, to return to schools to ease the shortage. About 25 returned to schools temporarily.

    "But now the bureaucrats are not getting a choice in the matter. Ms O'Neill said last week that about 50 people from district offices would be returning to schools and "quite a number" from central office.

    "I want teachers teaching," she said. "My focus is on having teaching expertise in the classroom."

    "State schools are about 50 teachers short, with the teachers' union predicting a deficit of about 600 at the start of next school year.

    "Shadow education minister Peter Collier said it was another band aid solution to the teacher shortage to push teachers who may not have taught for a decade and who may have failed to keep pace with curriculum changes back into classrooms just to make numbers look better for the Government.

    "He said the Government had to tackle the fundamental reasons for the teacher shortage, including low salaries, the need for better career opportunities, poor student behaviour and the disconnect between teachers and the department. [emphasis added]

    "Education minister Mark McGowan said last night that he wanted teachers to leave office jobs and go back into the classroom.

    "This is a sensible and long term approach to workforce issues and I'm shocked that Peter Collier would criticise this strategy," he said. "Does he want out teachers to be in offices or the classroom?"

    "State School Teachers Union president Mike Keely said it was unfair that staff in district offices were only now being informed they would be teaching next year, giving them no opportunity to apply for jobs in the schools where they might prefer to work.

    "They weren't given this advice earlier when they could have had an opportunity to seek a transfer back to a school of their choice, to seek a promotion, anything like that," he said. "

    From The West Australian
    
    
    

  • Interim board wants to sack unlicensed teachers (page 7)
    by Bethany Hiatt
    
    "The teachers' professional registration body is not likely to wait until after the election of its new board before it strips members of their licence to teach, despite calls from the teachers' union and Opposition.

    "WA College of Teaching chairman Brian Lindberg said the Government appointed interim board was reluctant to hand over power on when to cancel the membership of hundreds of teachers for failing to pay their $70 professional registration fee to the new and "inexperienced" board.

    "Mr Lindberg said the ruling should be made before the election results were announced to allow the new board to start with a clean slate.

    "This current board set in place the whole process for 2007 and I believe the board want to see that through," he said. "With a new board, you may have a number of inexperienced people. The last thing you want is when they arrive for their first meeting, the first thin on the agenda is deregistration, when they haven't had the history of it."

    "WACOT director Suzanne Parry added that it would be too difficult to notify teachers of membership cancellation before the start of their holidays if the decision was delayed until after the new board was able to meet.

    "But shadow education minister Peter Collier said any decisions on teacher deregistration should be made by the newly elected board. He said it would be absurd for the interim board, which had no credibility with the teaching fraternity, to deregister teachers. He said it was patronising to suggest that new board members lacked experience, because most of those running for election had years of classroom experience.

    "The whole point of this board was to give teachers a voice," he said. "What they're doing with this action is denying them, yet again, a voice." [emphasis added]

    "The board will meet on Wednesday to decide the fate of about 1500 teachers who still have not paid their registration fee, which was due in April. WACOT registration is essential to be allowed to teach in WA schools.

    "WACOT was forced to change the date on which it would consider deregistering thousands of teachers for failing to pay their fee from October 26 to December 5 to avoid mass walk outs by teachers or school closures during Year 12 final exams.

    "Many teachers refused to pay their fees until an election was held for 10 teacher representatives on the WACOT board. The results of the election will be announced on December 11.

    "An Education Department warning in September requiring principals to make contingency plans for teacher shortages resulting from its plan to sack teachers who refused to pay their fee on time caused widespread outrage among teachers.

    "State School Teachers Union president Mike Keely said WACOT should delay deregistering teachers until after the election. Education minister Mark McGowan, who had previously refused to concede there was a serious risk that teachers would sacrifice their jobs for the sake of $70, is now urging the college to avoid any moves that could exacerbate the teacher shortage. He said yesterday he was writing to WACOT to remind it that it was set up as a "professional and criminal screening body". [emphasis added]

    From The West Australian
    
    
    

  • Don't ignore us in pay talks, say principals (page 7)
    by Bethany Hiatt
    
    "Principals and school administrators are being ignored amid negotiations for higher wages for teachers, a new principals' group claimed yesterday.

    "The WA Principals' Federation, which was formed earlier this year and already has more than 600 members, has applied to be recognised as a union to provide an alternative voice for administrators disenchanted with the State School Teachers Union

    "Speaking publicly for the first time yesterday, federation president Noel Strickland said the recent enterprise bargaining agreement offer put to teachers, contained no mention of improved salaries and conditions for principals.

    "That offer, which included a pledge to create a new class of "executive teachers" who would be paid $100,000 a year by 2011, was rejected by the teachers' union.

    "We're concerned that we're going to have executive teachers getting paid more than principals," he said.

    "Mr Strickland said members feared they would be the losers in any pay deal hatched between the State Government and the SSTUWA.

    "We have a number of issues that we would like put on the table and we don't even know whether they've been taken to the table," he said.

    "Federation members believed that the Education Department had deliberately concealed any reference to improved pay for principals in the first EBA so that it left negotiators room to move. A second offer is expected soon.

    "We're concerned that where there's a limited amount of money, and there's been an offer made to teachers, and nothing's been said about us, that if they have to up the teachers' offer - where are they going to take it from?" he said.

    "Mr Strickland said principals were retiring in increasing numbers and new principals needed more support because they lacked training previously provided by the Education Department.

    "They were also losing support provided by district offices because bureaucrats with teaching backgrounds were being sent back into schools.

    "As the teacher shortage gets worse, principals and deputies will have to carry an even greater load as ultimately they are responsible to ensure that all children have a teacher in front of their class every day," he said.

    "State School Teachers Union president Mike Keely said the attempt to set up an alternative union would divide educators and weaken their ability to defend their profession and industrial rights.

    "It will weaken the whole education union movement," he said. "From a government's point of view it's probably quite a good thing because it's divide and conquer. We think it's a very bad proposition."

    From The West Australian
    
    
    

  • Op Ed
    Look at the evidence, Mr Rudd (page 21)
    by Brian Toohey
    
    "It’s good to hear Kevin Rudd say he wants to implement “evidence-based” policies now that he’s Prime Minister. The only pity is that he did not pay more attention to the evidence before announcing several bad policies before the election..."
    
    "Unfortunately, he looks like continuing in full campaign mode between now and the 2010 election. He should forget about stunts like last week’s edict for Labor parliamentarians to look at the needs of two schools and one homeless shelter in their electorates. If he wants to fulfil his promise to govern for all Australians, a comprehensive professional survey is needed in every electorate, not just Labor ones..."
    
    "A policy based on the evidence about the state of tertiary education requires Mr Rudd to rectify the glaring defect in his campaign launch in which universities missed out on a commitment to any real increase in funding. This was despite his constant complaint that university funding is 48 per cent below the average in advanced countries.
    
    "Many private school principals agree that the current funding system for their students is riddled with anomalies. Yet Mr Rudd intends using this flawed model for a new round of funding from July 2008 until 2012. No one accuses him of indolence. He has the time and energy to put a better system in place long before 2012..."
    
    Full story in The West Australian at link
    
    
    
    
  • Letter to the Editor (page 22)
    
    
    • "What a surprise. Our society is illiterate. Given a couple of decades of first steps, whole language and OBE, where reading is learned by osmosis, it's little wonder no one can read."
      
      Greg Williams, Bicton
      
      
      
      
• ABC News
  
  
  • McGowan moves to stop teachers being sacked
    
    "The Education Minister Mark McGowan will intervene to prevent hundreds of teachers who have refused to pay their annual registration fees being sacked this week.

    "The West Australian College of Teaching (WACOT) will decide on Wednesday whether it will deregister about one thousand people who have not payed a $70 registration fee.

    "About 350 of those are classroom teachers.

    "Mr McGowan says he is concerned the move will exacerbate the teacher shortage, and he will contact the college today to urge the board not to deregister the teachers before the end of the year.

    "I'm going to suggest to WACOTT today that when the 5th of December rolls around [they] do not deregister teachers," he said.

    "I will be contacting the college of teaching today, formally, to suggest to them that to deregister teachers before the end of the school year is not a good idea."

    From ABC News at link
    
    
    
    
  • Union: Bureaucrats ordered back to teaching may quit
    
    "The State School Teachers Union says it is concerned that a plan to order about 50 education bureaucrats back into schools could force some to leave the profession altogether. [If they'd rather quit than teach, how big a loss?  Web]

    "The Education Department will move some staff from district offices whose contracts are due to expire back into the classroom as part of efforts to solve the teacher shortage.

    "The union says it recognises that reducing the shortage is the priority but it is concerned that staff have been given no opportunity to apply for jobs in the schools they prefer.

    "The union's president Mike Keely says teachers are being punished because of the failure of consecutive Governments to address the shortage.

    "I've got no doubt that some teachers will say sorry I can't do that, you've deprived me of reasonable benefits that I expect, I'll go get a job elsewhere, you can't treat me like this, I'm gone," he said."

    From ABC News at link
    
    
    
    
  • Teacher Of The Year awarded $100,000
    
    The Teacher Of The Year in Western Australia has been awarded $100,000 in prize money.
    
    See also: Carpenter and McGowan media statement
    
    
    
    
• The Australian
  
  
  • Teachers facing sack over fees [Lead education story]
    by Janine MacDonald
    
    "The school year in Western Australia may end in chaos as hundreds of teachers face deregistration in the second last week of term for not paying their registration fees.

    "In the middle of a continuing critical shortage of teachers in the state, Education Minister Mark McGowan has intervened to caution the teachers' registration body against making rash decisions about teachers who have not paid the $70 annual fee.

    "Despite his recent claim that teachers would pay the fee rather than face deregistration, Mr McGowan is now warning the board of the West Australian College of Teaching that it was "not there to exacerbate any teacher shortage".

    "The relationship between the WACOT board and the Government that set it up has deteriorated sharply amid rumours the Government plans to downgrade its role.

    "Teachers who have refused to pay the fees are angry because promised elections to choose 10 teacher representatives took three years to organise.

    "Official figures put the statewide teacher shortage at 52, but the deregistration proceedings could stop hundreds more from teaching.

    "The board's chairman, Brian Lindberg, yesterday accused Mr McGowan of wanting to "protect his back" and said the board would consider the issue on Wednesday, despite the fact the ballot to elect teacher representatives closes on December 10.

    "The Government needs to have a good hard look at itself because they did not get the legislation right and that has caused these sorts of problems," Mr Lindberg said."
    
    From The Australian at link
    
    
    

  • Gillard wants history taken back to basics
    by Justine Ferrari and Lauren Wilson
    
    "Incoming education minister Julia Gillard yesterday backed the traditional interpretation of the nation's history, saying she believed Australia was "settled", rather than "invaded".

    "In a sign that she will adopt an orthodox approach to overseeing Labor's education policies, including the creation of a national schools curriculum, Ms Gillard supported students being exposed to different interpretations of Australian history and reaching their own conclusions.

    "She also reiterated that Labor would focus very strongly on the basic skills of maths, reading and writing in the development of the curriculum.

    "Asked yesterday if Australia was settled or invaded, Ms Gillard said it depended on one's perspective.

    "I would say Australia was settled," she told the Ten Network's Meet the Press program. "I can understand that many indigenous Australians would say that it was invaded and I think for senior students who study history in our secondary schools, one of the things they would consider is the conflict of views."

    "Ms Gillard's comments were interpreted as a clear message to the Left, and the teachers unions, that she would not support the opening of a new front in the culture wars, specifically not in the areas of educational theory or Australian history. "We need to make sure that kids end up with all of the basic skills," she said. "You've got to be able to read, you've got to be able to write, you've got to be able to do maths. Unless you have those basic skills, you can't unlock the door to wider learning. Our focus will be on literacy and numeracy."

    "Describing herself as an "educational traditionalist", Ms Gillard referred to a story in The Weekend Australian that revealed maths skills among Year 7 students last year fell to their lowest level in the five years of testing. "We can't let that happen. They're never going to cope with wider curricula if they don't have those enabling skills of reading, writing and doing numbers." [emphasis added]

    "Ms Gillard's comments on European settlement of Australia similarly align her with a conservative view of the history wars, one shared by new prime minister Kevin Rudd, who was accused in the 1990s of reinstating a Eurocentric view of Australian history in Queensland school texts.

    "Writing in The Weekend Australian, indigenous leader Noel Pearson referred to Mr Rudd's role, while working for the Goss government in Queensland, when a primary school book drafted by the state Education Department pushed the idea that Australia was "invaded".

    "The resource for teachers said terms such as settlement, explorer or pioneer were not acceptable and the preferred term was invasion. After intervention by then premier Wayne Goss, the cabinet office, of which Mr Rudd was then head, produced a replacement book, which said many Aborigines interpreted the First Fleet's arrival as invasion but "colonisation" or "settlement" also accurately described the same event.

    "Mr Pearson said the incident demonstrated that Mr Rudd was loath to take up the fight for the Left in the culture wars and would need a political strategy to move the debate beyond polarity.

    "A spokeswoman for Ms Gillard later confirmed that she believed people could form their own views about the interpretation of Australia's history and those discussions should be part of learning history at school.

    "John Maynard, chair of Aboriginal Studies at the University of Newcastle, said Ms Gillard's response to the settlement/invasion question was "disappointing" but "not unexpected".

    "It is a great shame that this new government missed an opportunity to settle some of the disputes of recent years and set us on a new course," Professor Maynard said yesterday.

    "The indigenous historian remains sceptical Australia can move beyond the culture wars under a Rudd government. "I had hoped he'd matured and come a lot further, but the warning bells were there, so to speak," he said, referring to Mr Rudd's past involvement in the Queensland school curriculum. "I think they'll be quite conservative and not much will change. I lived in hope last week but this is not unexpected."

    "Chris Sarra, head of the Indigenous Education Leadership Institute, said he was surprised by Ms Gillard's comments, given she was from the Left. "But there's a truth that exists, whether or not people want to acknowledge it. I think all of us know what that truth is regardless of how we euphemise it and at some stage we have to have the courage to face up to the reality of the past," he said.

    "But right-wing historian Keith Windschuttle endorsed Ms Gillard's opinion. While he would not be drawn on the politics, he said: "I certainly agree Australia was settled rather than invaded. Except for the cases of Queensland and Tasmania, most people on the Left of politics accept this."

    "Australian Education Union acting federal president Angelo Gavrielatos said Ms Gillard's comments were perfectly reasonable and measured. "Of course we want kids to have the best possible grasp of literacy and numeracy and as they get older to be able to challenge and delve more deeply into areas of Australian history, literature and politics," he said."
    
    From The Australian at link
    
    
    

  • Editorial
    Gillard hot seat on history, work
    
    "Deputy prime minister-elect Julia Gillard has made a welcome promise to put basic skills at the centre of a national curriculum and for Labor to take its time reimposing unfair dismissal laws on small business. Both issues are likely to provoke strong reactions and demonstrate the heavy workload Ms Gillard has accepted by taking responsibility for both industrial relations and education. With cabinet not yet sworn in, the potential is already there for Ms Gillard to get bogged down fighting demands that Labor abandon moderate positions put forward during the election campaign in favour of more extreme policies. On education, Ms Gillard has been quick to highlight the importance of basic numeracy and literacy skills and keeping social agendas out of the teaching of history. Ms Gillard mirror's Kevin Rudd's stand on these issues, but faces the potential of deep conflict with elements of the state teachers' unions over development of a national curriculum..."
    
    Full Editorial in The Australian at link [the rest deals with IR, not education]
    
    
    
    
• The Age
  
  
  • Fears school plan may spark suits
    by Farrah Tomazin
    
    "A plan by governments to provide more information on how schools perform could open the floodgates for "endless litigation" by families who believe their school has failed their child, parents have warned.

    "The Rudd Government and the states are committed to giving parents more information on academic results.

    "The push for better reporting will begin next year, when the first national literacy and numeracy tests are introduced for students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9, giving parents data on how their children fare against their peers, and on national benchmarks in literacy and numeracy across the four year levels.

    "Schools may also be judged against "like schools" — those with students of a similar social background — and parents will get more information on their child's strengths and weaknesses, and commitments on how schools could help them.

    "But the Australian Parents Council, which represents the parents of children in private schools, has warned that families could sue schools for not delivering on commitments.

    "While laudable in its intent, a written undertaking to provide a comprehensive commitment to parents and the community may pave the way to endless litigation by parents perceiving that schools have failed their child in any of the commitments listed," Australian Parents Council executive director Ian Dalton writes in the latest edition of the group's newsletter.

    "A safer and more productive way may be to ensure that all schools engage parents in their children's learning through meaningful family/school partnerships."

    "The plan to give parents more information is outlined in a policy paper, The Future of Schooling, produced by the Council for the Australian Federation.

    "The council is made up of leaders from every state and territory government, and when the report was released — almost three months before the election — it was endorsed by federal Labor and its then education spokesman Stephen Smith.

    "But the way the Rudd Government works with the states to implement the plan could prove politically sensitive: while all agree that parents should get more information, the way in which such data should be presented is unclear.

    "The acting federal president of the Australian Education Union, Angelo Gavrielatos, said teachers would oppose any plan to create "league tables" comparing school results — an initiative Mr Smith appeared to support earlier this year.

    "We believe parents have a right to additional information about the performance of their children, but we do not support the concept of league tables as they serve no educational benefit and result in the naming and shaming of schools," Mr Gavrielatos said.

    "Victorian Government spokesman Tim Pigot said the states and territories would discuss the report with the Rudd Government at the next education ministers' meeting early next year, and would work with the new federal Education Minister Julia Gillard.

    "While we do not favour ranking schools, we do favour providing parents with more information," Mr Pigot said."

    From The Age at link
    
    
    
    
  • Catholic teachers on verge of face-off with church
    by Farrah Tomazin
    
    "Catholic school teachers are preparing for an industrial showdown with the church in a bid for better wages and working conditions.

    "Less than two weeks after 20,000 public school teachers walked off the job as they pushed for more money from the Brumby Government, the Catholic teachers' union is considering a similar campaign, as they attempt to broker a wage deal and lower class sizes.

    "A union survey, to be released today, found that seven out of 10 primary and secondary Catholic teachers were prepared to take industrial action if talks with Melbourne's Catholic education chiefs did not progress well.

    "It would be fair to say we want to prepare our members for the possibility of an industrial campaign," said Victorian Independent Education Union general secretary Deb James.

    "It's too early to say exactly what form that will take, but our members have shown that they're prepared to fight for a reasonable outcome."

    "About 180,000 children in Victoria attend Catholic schools. According to the union survey, 85% of their teachers said they wanted a wage rise beyond 3.25%, while 82% of teachers said it was important that their 10 weeks of school holidays were protected.

    "Class sizes are a particular problem because Catholic school employers have not been able to invest as much money into reducing class sizes as the State Government has in public schools. This year, average class sizes in public schools hit a record low of 20.7 students in prep to grade two. But in Catholic schools, classes have an average of 22.4 students.

    "Teachers want class sizes capped at a maximum of 23 students in years prep to two; 26 students in years three to six and 24 students in VCE. The union negotiating with the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria.

    "Acting chief executive Dr Teresa Angelico said "amicable discussions" were continuing. But she added that the push for better wages would depend on the outcome of negotiations between the Government and public school teachers."

    From The Age at link
    
    
    
    
• The Sydney Morning Herald
  
  
  • Election promises to go before cabinet soon: Gillard
    by Mark Metherell
    
    "Labor's Julia Gillard has pledged rapid action in both of her mega-portfolios, education and workplace relations.

    "The Labor government's $1 billion plan to supply computers to high school students will go before federal cabinet before Christmas, she said. Another of Labor's big-ticket policies, trades training at all secondary schools, will also go to cabinet this month, as will plans for transitional legislation to axe Work Choices laws.

    "Ms Gillard yesterday deflected questions on which portfolio would get priority, saying "these things can be done together … I will be working with a first-class team."

    "She told Channel 10's Meet The Press the two portfolios were "all of a piece". To fix its woeful productivity performance, Australia needed a better industrial relations system and better training and education.

    "As well as reporting back on computers, MPs who visited schools last week had reinforced the need for an overall look at other areas including electrical systems, air-conditioning and space."

    From The Sydney Morning Herald at link
    
    
    
    
  • Fury over plan to overhaul TAFEs
    
    Within days of Kevin Rudd's federal election win on the promise of an education revolution, the NSW Government has launched plans to restructure the TAFE system and slash key services.
    
    
    
    
  • Letter to the Editor
    
    
    • Librarians key to this plan

      "As a teacher librarian, I was pleased to see Kevin Rudd launch his "education revolution" in a school library last week. However, I would have been more impressed had he mentioned why he chose a school library.

      "Would it be that he recognises the important role a school library and its teacher librarian plays in the education of our children?

      "While there has been much focus on Labor's desire to improve student access to computer technology, there has been no mention of how students will gain the skills to navigate their way through myriad information confronting them. This is a specialist skill of a teacher librarian.

      "Research here and overseas has shown a direct correlation between students' literacy levels, a well-resourced school library and a qualified teacher librarian.

      "On Thursday, public librarians marched on the NSW Parliament House to focus attention on decreasing government funding to council libraries. We are facing a shortage of qualified teacher librarians in NSW, while in Victoria many positions are being slashed."

      Sharon McGuinness, Thirroul
      
      
      

• The Washington Post
  
  
  • 'Checkbook Math' Increasingly Rare [late update from 2 December]
    by Daniel de Vise
    
    "In her final year at James Hubert Blake High School in Silver Spring, Amber Rountree chose to take consumer math, a course designed to teach students how to balance a checkbook and shop for a home loan. She rates it the easiest math class she has taken in high school but also the most useful.

    "Once a common course offering, consumer math is being phased out as school systems raise their expectations of how much math students should know when they graduate. Twenty or 30 years ago, Algebra I might have sufficed. Today, that course is regarded as an absolute minimum, a gateway to Advanced Placement study and college. Students routinely take it in middle school.

    "That leaves consumer math and other "checkbook math" classes relegated to a handful of schools, mostly in poor communities. College-bound students generally avoid the class, reasoning that it would look bad on a transcript..."

    "The gradual elimination of the course from high schools comes as lawmakers, corporate leaders and many parents are decrying the financial illiteracy of the young. Fourteen states, including Virginia, have created new mandates for personal finance education since 1998, bringing the number of states with such requirements to 28, according to the National Council on Economic Education..."
    
    "Over the course of the year, the students will learn how to shop for a loan, pay their taxes and negotiate for an hourly wage..."
    
    "The financial literacy objectives adopted by the Virginia school board last year fill 20 pages. Essential skills include learning the benefits and risks of an ATM card and how to contest an errant bill. The state board lists several courses in which each skill might be taught..." [emphasis added]
    
    Full story in The Washington Post at link
    
    
    

• Media Statement from Alan Carpenter and Mark McGowan
  
  
  • Teacher of the Year prize money quadruples to $100,000
    
    Premier Alan Carpenter has today announced that the Teacher of the Year prize money has been quadrupled to $100,000.

    The Premier announced the massive funding boost at the 2007 Teacher of the Year award ceremony this morning, as he presented winner Ray Roberts from Ballajura Community College with his award.

    Prize money for the highly commended award winners has also increased from $5,000 to $25,000 each.

    Mr Carpenter said the significant increase in prize money for this year’s awards was in recognition of the work done by the State’s top performing teachers.

    “Teaching is one of the most important professions there is - the quality of a child’s teacher can determine their chances of success in later life,” he said.

    “That is why it is so important that the best among the profession are recognised and rewarded.”

    The Premier said this year’s winner, Ray Roberts, was the brainchild behind the award-winning Access Program for students at educational risk.

    The program, which now involved seven classes across Years 10, 11 and 12, had been adopted by several other schools.

    Mr Roberts’ innovative program had transformed the lives of his school’s most challenging students.

    “Through his extraordinary dedication, initiative and belief, Mr Roberts has demonstrated that even the most challenging students are capable of high achievement,” Mr Carpenter said.

    “The students on the Access Program face a range of difficulties including language barriers, physical disabilities and extreme academic, social and behavioural problems.

    “Mr Roberts establishes a positive rapport with the students and devises teaching programs and workplace learning opportunities to meet their individual needs, making them feel valued and supported.

    “The program’s results are truly remarkable with 100 per cent of students achieving graduation in 2005 and 2006, and many embarking on promising careers that seemed unlikely just a few years ago.

    “This is really an outstanding achievement.”

    Among Mr Roberts’ many other commitments to the wider community is a leadership role with the WA Police Rangers, which he integrates into the educational programs of his students.

    Mr Roberts was selected from 323 public school teachers and TAFE lecturers from across the State nominated by students, parents, colleagues, businesses and industries.

    The Premier also congratulated highly commended award winners Ken Gwyer from Challenger TAFE Peel Campus and Gail Linton from Mount Lockyer Primary School in Albany, both of whom will receive $25,000.

    The schools and colleges of the overall and highly commended award winners will receive a $5,000 prize to be spent on teaching and training resources, courtesy of award sponsor ExxonMobil.

    Education and Training Minister Mark McGowan congratulated the 120 finalists and said they epitomised the outstanding quality of Western Australia’s teaching and lecturing workforce.

    “Teachers and lecturers are the unsung heroes of our community who play a pivotal role in the development of our future citizens,” Mr McGowan said.

    “Many go beyond the call of duty by organising programs and activities outside normal classroom hours which make a real difference to their students’ lives.”

    Now in its fourth year, the award recognises the outstanding skills and excellence of teachers and lecturers in public schools and TAFE colleges across WA.

    Winners are selected by a panel of high profile community and Government representatives based on nomination statements, which demonstrate their innovation, commitment and collaborative approach to teaching and lecturing.

    2007 Premier’s Teacher of the Year: Ray Roberts, Ballajura Community College
    Ray’s award-winning Access Program has been widely adopted by schools which share his commitment to the needs of students at educational risk. As a foundation member of the college, Ray has made a significant contribution to its ethos, culture and successful educational outcomes. A mentor and motivator, he engages colleagues and students in exciting community activities from environment studies on Rottnest Island to experiencing the Bibbulmun Track. He is acknowledged as a driving force behind the WA Police Rangers. Ray was nominated by a colleague.

    Highly Commended: Gail Linton, Mount Lockyer Primary School, Albany
    For more than 20 years, Gail has been a role model and mentor, regarded as the quintessential professional teacher. Her commitment is to all students and their families, but she is best known for her work with children with special needs. A philosophy of tolerance and understanding underpins Gail’s curriculum, especially in relation to Aboriginal studies. Her expert knowledge is recognised State-wide, with a number of her lessons being published on the Aboriginal Perspectives Across the Curriculum website. Gail was nominated by a colleague.

    Ken Gwyer, Challenger TAFE, Peel Campus
    Ken Gwyer is a dedicated lecturer and driving force behind the outstanding success of a partnership with Winjan Aboriginal Corporation. His teaching initiatives have inspired students to showcase their considerable talents and share their local knowledge, language and traditional culture with the wider community, including thousands of school students. Ken liaises with local government and industry to form sustainable partnerships to ensure positive outcomes and career prospects for his students. Students blossom under his guidance, especially as artists and eco-tourism guides. Ken was nominated by a colleague.

Tuesday 4 December

• The West Australian
  
  
  • Teachers' board averts final week school chaos (page 3)
    by Bethany Hiatt

    "Schools are expected to be spared a crippling teacher shortage in the last week of the school year, with the industry registration body set to provide a last minute reprieve for teachers who have not paid their compulsory professional fees.

    "After furious last minute lobbying by education minister Mark McGowan, the WA College of Teaching is expected to delay until next year the deregistration of teachers who have not paid their $70 annual fee by Friday's deadline. [Bethany advises that is incorrect due to a sub-editor's mistake: it should read "to delay until after school breaks up"... Web]

    "Mr McGowan told WACOT yesterday that any decision to deregister teachers by Friday would be rash and cause "significant disruption".

    "Four months after Mr McGowan tried to hose down the prospect that hundreds of teachers could disappear from schools because they had not paid the fee, he has intervened to stave off the prospect of a chaotic end to the school year.

    "I am exercising my right to provide the WACOT board with advice that may be relevant to its deliberations," he said in a letter, which was sent to the board yesterday and has been obtained by the West Australian.

    "The board will decide tomorrow whether to deregister more than 1000 teachers who still have not paid. WACOT director Suzanne Parry said that only about 350 of those were current classroom teachers and many would pay their fees at the last minute.

    "Mr McGowan urged the board to reconsider its proposal to cancel teachers' membership at its meeting tomorrow, with that deregistration taking effect from Friday.

    "This would have required unregistered teachers to cease teaching in schools from that date," he said. "In my view, any decision to deregister teachers during the transition phase of WACOT's establishment would be rash and cause significant disruption to government, Catholic and independent school sectors."

    "He called on the board to recognise the "significant challenges" the education system had faced to keep enough teachers in classrooms and urged it to bear in mind the potential disruption to schools in determining when deregistration should occur.

    "Under the WACOT Act, the board must give "due regard" to any advice from the Education Minister about how it uses its powers.

    "Board chairman Brian Lindberg said that did not mean the board had to do what Mr McGowan asked. "As it was set up, it was always meant to be in independent body," he said.

    "But Mr Lindberg said that while he could not pre-empt the board's decision, it was likely that it would rule that deregistration should not take effect until after the last day of school, which is December 13.

    "Many teachers had refused to pay their fee until an election was held to 10 teacher representatives on the WACOT board. The results of the postal election should be known by next Tuesday. "

    From The West Australian

    Mark McGowan's letter to WACOT and Brian Lindberg's reply
    
    
    

  • Top teacher inspired by the needs of his students (page 14)
    by Bethany Hiatt

    "Teacher Ray Roberts will not have to wait 4 years to get the $100,000 salary the State Government has promised elite teachers - he received a cheque for the entire amount yesterday.

    "As WA's teacher of the year, the Ballajura Community College teacher was the surprised beneficiary of Alan Carpenter's decision to quadruple the annual $25,000 prize for his efforts to help students who might otherwise fall through the educational cracks.

    "Education Minister Mark McGowan recently pledged to create a new class of "executive teachers" who would be paid up to $100,000 a year by 2011, but the teachers' union rejected that pay offer because it offered no pay rise to the majority of teachers until 2009.
    
    "Mr Roberts will have to pay tax on his winnings, which he plans to put towards finished a house he is building.

    "A primary school teacher who entered the profession in 1979, Mr Roberts started teaching Year 7s at Ballajura in 1995.

    "Three years later there was a group of students that no one wanted to teach, thrown in a class together," he said. "Every teacher who went in was basically eaten alive and I said 'we can't keep doing this, we've got to try a better way'."

    "That group inspired Mr Roberts to design his access programme for students at risk of dropping out of school because of academic, social or behavioural problems.

    "Under the access programme, the students are taught all subjects in the one class so "that teachers can spend more time with them. "We can look at their strengths and build on them and if they have any weaknesses we can work on them across the learning areas, just like in primary school," Mr Roberts said. "By building a strong relationship with these kids you can find what they're good at and help them improve."

    "The programme now extends to seven classes across years 10, 11 and 12 at Ballajura. Other schools have also adopted the programme.

    "Mr Roberts said he knew he had been successful when students walked across the stage at the end of Year 12 to accept their graduation certificates with pride.

    "The Premier said the significant increase in prize money for this year's awards was recognition of the importance of the work of WA's top teachers.

    "Teaching is one of the most important professions there is - the quality of a child's teacher can determine their chances of success in later life," Mr Carpenter said.

    "Highly commended teachers Gail Linton, of Mt Lockyer Primary school, Albany, and Ken Gwyer, of Challenger TAFE Peel campus, each received $25,000."

    From The West Australian
    
    
    

  • Letters to the Editor (page 22)
    

    • Failing our teachers

      "I am disenchanted and discouraged by the lack of support for the teachers who work so hard to educate often reluctant students.

      "My friend who teaches at a notoriously difficult to staff school, and who has done so for several years, has many issues to contend with.

      "She is a temporary teacher whose job is subject to change every year, she sees new graduates who have achieved permanency, before actually teaching, because of good academic grades. They are awarded positions before she is.

      "Despite loving her job, and being very effective in it, her working conditions are often miserable - the least of which is no air conditioning. Teachers are leaving en masse which adds further strain to those who remain.

      "She is abused and threatened daily - by both students and parents who are not prepared to abide by schools rules.

      "Attempting to enforce schools rules, such as students not being allowed to talk on mobile phones during class, has led to verbal abuse from child and parent, as well as threats of physical abuse and a lock down of the school grounds.

      "The child was not suspended, or apparently punished in any way, and continues to flout the rules and be abusive.

      "Other students see this and believe that it is their right to behave in the same manner. We wonder what sort of world is being created when there seemingly are not consequences for wrong actions.

      "The principal of this school has failed in his duty to make learning safe for everyone and seems to have abrogated any responsibility for his staff.

      "What is WACOT's stance on this matter? How does it propose to raise the status of teachers when they are faced with obstacles such as this? What is the department's reaction? How does Occupational Health and Safety respond? What will the teachers' union do? How will broadband availability to all students help?

      "Paying "top teachers" and new graduates extra money is a slap in the face to those who have persevered through changes of policy and curriculum.

      "And for those who believe that "long holidays" are not earned, maybe they can step into the classroom and see what is really happening. Perhaps school administrators could return to the class for a term. I'd like to see that.

      "To protect the identity of my friend please do not publish my name.

      Name and address supplied

      
      

    • More support

      "A teaching colleague of mine was in a supermarket on election day and overheard two women with trolleys discussing their vote.

      "They were enthusiastic about voting for Kevin Rudd because he was going to "give all our kids laptops". The contents of the trolleys included a big number of desserts and confectionary items, no doubt intended to keep their children happy, an apt metaphor for their focus on the "goodies" in Labor's election promise. I hope the promise amounts to more than a sweetener for the electorate.

      "I have a pessimistic view of schools in 3 or 4 years time full of broken down and obsolete computers taking up more space than they are worth and destined for landfill sites around the country.

      "Computers, properly deployed in schools, integrated into a variety of learning programmes are a very valuable resource. Unfortunately, it is not simply a matter of getting a laptop in front of the bum on the seat. Computers require technical support and regular upgrades to remain effective.

      "They also need teaches with relevant skills to incorporate them into their own programmes.

      "Unfortunately, in my experience in schools in WA the level of technical support and teacher training is inadequate.

      "Before new laptops arrive in schools, the issue of funding for support and maintenance, including regular upgrading, must be addressed. As I said, the level of technical support is inadequate.

      "The Department of Education and Training does not provide the remuneration necessary to attract and hold technicians with the skills and experience we require.

      "Most teachers, even those who are computer literate, cannot make effective use of computers in the classroom without good technical support.

      "I would like to suggest that the roll out of computers is linked to a requirement for adequate funding by State governments, which will provide enough fully qualified technicians to support them in every public school."

      Stephen Faulds, Lynwood

      
      

  • And will this be the next "solution" to the teacher shortage ?
    
    Five-year-old chimp beats college kids in computer game (page 28)
    
    Japanese researchers pitted young chimps against human adults in two tests of short-term memory, and overall, the chimps won.
    
    [No chimpanzee shall go without a laptop... Web]
    
    
    
    
• The Sydney Morning Herald
  
  
  • Gillard connects dots with productivity push
    by Mark Davis, Political Correspondent
    
    ... "My portfolios cover a wide range of policy areas, and some have suggested they are a slightly unusual combination," [Gillard] told an Australian Industry Group conference in Canberra.

    "But the reason why they have all been joined together is simple. In today's world the areas covered by my portfolios - early childhood education and child care, schooling, training, universities, social inclusion, employment participation and workplace co-operation - are all ultimately about the same thing: productivity.

    "So while my portfolios can be a mouthful, I'll be happy to be referred to simply as the Minister for Productivity." ...
    
    Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
    
    See the Letter in today's Australian on this very topic
    
    
    

  • Letters to the Editor
    
    
    • TAFE students miss out on the 'education revolution'

      "I have read the document discussed in "Fury over plan to overhaul TAFEs" (December 3). It is called Doing Business because that is precisely what it is about: business.

      "Nowhere does it mention students or education. When TAFE was an acronym and not a word, the E stood for education. It would seem that Marie Persson and Michael Coutts-Trotter have forgotten this.

      "Marie Persson says students don't want to come to TAFE on Thursday nights. Where is her evidence for this?

      "As a TAFE teacher, this semester I have been running an online group of units to enable students to finish their certificates more quickly. While some students have taken advantage of this, many have chosen to come back next year to a face-to-face class.

      "How will flexibility and relevance be increased by getting rid of curriculum centres and equity units?

      "It would appear that the push to increase workplace and online learning is from those employers who don't want to release their workers to study and policymakers who think it will reduce cost. I can't help but think this restructure is about cost-cutting and not improving educational delivery."

      Annette Bonnici, Warriewood
      
      

    • "The Rudd Labor Government has just come to power federally with the welcome promise of an "education revolution". Yet it seems its state counterparts have not yet heard about it.

      "Instead, a largely back-to-the-past vision of doing more with less, including the carving up of TAFE's open learning network, has just been released. The consequences of the short-sighted policymaking flagged in the discussion paper TAFE NSW, Doing Business In The 21st Century will mean the needs of many TAFE students are sacrificed. Among those most likely to be adversely affected are the 38,000 enrolled through the open learning network, with its focus on a wide range of innovative and specialised skills training and equity programs."

      Dr Frank Hutchinson, Annandale
      
      

    • "Don't even think about it, John Della Bosca. Why would a Labor Government propose cuts to services that support students with a disability in TAFE?

      "My deaf son availed himself of the support services at Meadowbank TAFE to get the HSC and, with the help he received from a dedicated support teacher, entered the University of NSW, and graduated in social work. He is now co-ordinating support services to deaf students in a TAFE college where others will become useful and productive members of society. Without support, their futures are grim. What do you plan for the deaf, a life on welfare?"

      Leone Healy, Pennant Hills
      
      
      

• The Australian
  
  
  • Op Ed
    Howard's legacy lives on in new era
    by Kevin Donnelly
    
    "If one wants evidence of the power and longevity of John Howard's influence on Australian politics, then look no further than Julia Gillard's comments on Sunday about teaching Australian history and the need for a back-to-basics approach to curriculum.

    "Sounding like the conservatives so despised by the cultural Left, Labor's deputy leader said on the Ten Network's Meet the Press that she preferred the term settlement, as opposed to invasion, when describing European colonisation.

    "Mirroring concerns raised on these pages during the past 12 months or so about educational standards, Gillard said: "We need to make sure that kids end up with all the basic skills. You've got to be able to read, you've got to be able to write, you've got to be able to do maths. Unless you have those basic skills, you can't unlock the door to wider learning. Our focus will be on literacy and numeracy."

    "That the Rudd Government's new-found cultural conservatism represents a sea change to past Labor policy is even more obvious on reading speeches on the culture wars given by Gillard when in Opposition.

    "In a speech to the Sydney Institute in 2003, which she described "as a call to arms to the Centre and the Left", Gillard bemoaned the Howard government's ascendancy in the culture wars, which she portrayed as "fuelled by bile and venom" and orchestrated by journals such as Quadrant and so-called neo-conservative commentators associated with The Australian.

    "Immediately before last month's election, Gillard refused to accept that terms such as Left and Right had any political currency. Not so in her Sydney Institute speech. Not only did Gillard describe the Australian Left as including those from "liberal Left to radical Left", she also argued that Labor and the Australian Left must combine "for the hard task of winning the culture war and creating a new vision for this nation".

    "Gillard's 2006 speech to the NSW Fabian Society, once again, concluded that a significant reason for Howard's electoral success was his pursuit of the culture wars, described as based on "fear and division", and that the ALP and progressive forces must not resile from fighting the good fight: "To end the Howard government, we have to understand the reasons for its success to date and the underlying attitudes of our community. Then we have to stand and fight for our values. We cannot shy away from the so-called culture wars out of fear of being wedged by right-wing caricatures of Labor values. While fighting for our values, we have to expose the true values of the Howard government."

    "The ALP's education policy paper, dated November 18, for which Gillard as Education Minister will be responsible for implementing, provides further evidence of the resilience of Howard's conservative social agenda. Under the heading Greater Accountability, the ALP policy promises - as did Brendan Nelson when he was education minister - to have report cards in plain English, where students are graded A to E and the word fail returns to the classroom.

    "In contrast to the present lowest common denominator literacy and numeracy testing, in which students are assessed only in terms of a minimum standard, Labor also promises to measure student performance in terms of levels of proficiency; one would hope similar to the US, where national tests are measured in terms of basic, proficient and advanced.

    "Holding schools accountable for performance is another initiative that signals a change to the ALP's view of education. Instead of measuring how successful the education system is in terms of money spent, the focus is on learning outcomes and how best to identify and turn around underperforming schools.

    "Although it is not going as far as the league tables introduced under the Blair government in Britain, the Rudd Government intends to make school performance data publicly available, allowing parents to identify successful and underperforming schools. During the primary years, a minimum of five hours of mathematics is in; spell checks are out; spelling is in; self-expression is out; learning correct grammar, punctuation and syntax is in. The ALP policy paper is happy to state: "Sustained attention to the basics should be evident throughout a student's entire schooling career, but particularly in the early years and primary school."

    "When describing its approach to developing a national curriculum, the ALP paper thankfully acknowledges that to be effective any national curriculum must be clear, concise and concrete. In addition to benchmarking the proposed national curriculum against existing state and territory best practice, one also hopes that those developing the curriculum will look internationally.

    "While Kevin Rudd repeats his mantra of an education revolution, especially when it comes to computers, ironically there is something very old-fashioned about the ALP's agenda. The present funding formula for non-government schools is guaranteed, at least until 2012; accountability and a back-to-basics approach is centre stage; and curriculum, to be acceptable, must focus on content instead of new-age competencies and generic skills.

    "To win elections, it is vital to remedy one's weaknesses and to nullify opponents' strengths. With the culture wars, especially education, it is clear that the ALP successfully staked the Howard government's conservative agenda. Whether the Rudd Government will be able to deliver, only time will tell."

    Kevin Donnelly, a former Howard government employee, is director of Education Strategies in Melbourne and author of Dumbing Down (Hardie Grant Books).

    From The Australian at link
    
    
    
    
  • Student interview selection scrapped
    
    Australia's biggest medical school is scrapping interviews for student selection as "useless", saying they are too prone to bias and there is no evidence interviewers can pick which applicants will perform well during the course.
    
    
    
    
  • Letters to the Editor
    
    
    • First Byte
      

      "I don’t mind Julia Gillard having a super portfolio, but she should not seek to justify it by telling us that this portfolio is all about productivity. Education is not about productivity. It’s about developing fulfilled and discerning individuals who contribute to a well-functioning and just society."
      
      Anne Di Lauro, The Gap, Qld
      
      

    • Most Talked About
      
      "Kevin Rudd’s promise of a computer for every senior school student is to be commended. The way he goes about delivering on this promise will tell us a lot about how he intends to govern our nation.

      "Will he fork over millions of dollars to the big computer companies and Bill Gates and Microsoft, or will he take the initiative and encourage the students to estimate their own school’s needs, source the necessary components and expertise from local small business, and build their own machines and network. Add to this the free, open source Linux operating system (every bit as good as Windows), and not only would we save a fortune, but, more importantly, we would teach our young people to be more resourceful and self-reliant.

      "I understand, of course, that it’s not that simple. However, if the new government adopts a ``can do’’ approach to this, the relevant minister/s could get their heads together and make it happen."
      
      James McHugh, Maryborough, Qld
      
      

    • "Given the importance Kevin Rudd has placed on his so-called education revolution, many would argue that the new Prime Minister has diminished the education portfolio by including it with the equally important portfolio of employment and industrial relations. Surely each of these crucial areas warrants the oversight of a separate minister. I’m sure Julia Gillard is quite capable of carrying out the orders of the trade union movement, but for her to take on the responsibility of both these key ministerial positions, in my view, is asking too much..."
      
      Tom Griffin, Pambula, NSW
      
      
      
    • Consider an alternative
      
      "So it’s back to basics with Australian history - "settlement’’ rather than "invasion’’ ("Gillard wants history taken back to basics’’, 3/12).

      "The former implies the peaceful occupation of virgin territory (ie, terra nullius), the latter calls to mind a "D-Day’’ type armada battering an enemy coast.

      "Perhaps it’s time to consider an alternative more relevant to the actual situation at the time of the First Fleet. For example, “expropriation’’ - defined as "dispossession (especially by the state) of property from its rightful owner’’ - seems to me to be a concise summary of what took place.

      "There is historical support for this view. In 1802, the French explorer Nicolas Baudin wrote to his friend Philip King, the then governor of NSW: “I have never been able to conceive that there was justice and equity on the part of Europeans in seizing, in the name of their Governments, a land seen for the first time, when it is inhabited by men (who) were but the children of nature (and were owners of) the soil which has given them birth.’’
      
      Anthony Brown, Paradise, SA
      
      

    • "Julia Gillard, a Welsh Celtic, is wrong. Australia was invaded rather than settled. Settled might be valid if Britain had not known that the country had indigenous inhabitants but James Cook reported that fact in 1770. Britain and other European powers invaded the various countries they colonised. I well remember being told in primary school in the 1950s that Celtic Britain was invaded by the Romans, Danes and Vikings, Angles, Saxons and Jutes and, finally, the Normans. Was Britain "settled’’?"
      
      Keith Parsons, Newcastle, NSW
      
      
      

    • "In her review of the achievements of the Howard era, Janet Albrechtsen ("Election debacle doesn’t devalue crucial triumphs’’, Opinion, 28/11) includes John Howard’s challenging of a "black-armband version of history with a narrative that embraced a more balanced Australian history’’. To the contrary, it’s the Howard view that is unbalanced and which seeks to return to a state of denial about the less noble aspects of our history.

      "The reality is that until about 40 years ago, a great silence surrounded the Aboriginal experience of white Australia, founded on a deeply entrenched racism. Consider, for example, the prejudice which the freedom rides organised in the 1960s by the now NSW Chief Justice Jim Spigelman, the late Charles Perkins and others sought to highlight, or the child removal polices explored in the Stolen Generations report.

      "This experience was absent from our school history books and rarely acknowledged in the media. Since then, great strides have been made in bringing this experience into the public consciousness. This is not a black-armband view of history but an attempt to face up to the facts of Australian history in a balanced and fair-minded way.

      "It does not mean that the great achievements of our history, and the success of our wonderful democracy, should not be celebrated but, rather, when our children learn (for example) about the heroic feat of Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth in crossing the Blue Mountains, they also learn about what this meant for the Aboriginal people on the other side of the divide. They were not invisible."
      
      Jim Neely, Curtin, ACT

Wednesday 5 December

• The Australian
  
  
  • Brightest pupils falling behind world
    by Justine Ferrari, Education writer
    
    "Australia's top students are failing to keep pace with their international peers, with the latest OECD tests of high school pupils showing a drop in reading and maths skills.

    "Results from the latest Program for International Student Assessment, released yesterday by the OECD group of 30 developed nations, show that while Australian students still perform in the top 10 of the world in reading, maths and science and well above the OECD average, their ranking dropped.

    "The PISA test of 15-year-olds shows the reading scores of Australian students fell about 15 points over the past six years, with the decline caused by a fall among the highest-performing students.

    "It is noteworthy that, among the countries with above-average performance levels, only Australia has seen a statistically significant decline in their students' reading performance," the report says.

    "In maths, Australia's mean score remained about the same, but this was due to an improvement among the weakest students that counteracted the fall in performance among top students.

    "Ben Wilcox, 13, is one of the nation's brightest students, attending a selective high school in Sydney that takes the state's top performers.

    "Ben's mother, Leonie, describes her son as exceptionally busy rather than exceptionally bright, saying he just does a lot - playing three instruments in five bands, cricket and swimming in summer, soccer and debating in winter.

    "I don't have many free afternoons," Ben said, adding that is the way he likes it.

    "While Ms Wilcox said Ben had been lucky in having primary school teachers who gave him more advanced work, some were reluctant to excuse him from the rote tasks such as times tables and spelling lists.

    "Researchers in gifted and talented education argue that Australian schools need to better provide for the academically gifted, in the same way that elite sports people are fostered, and encourage bright students to forge ahead at their own pace rather than tie them to the class rate.

    "Analysis by the Australian Council for Educational Research, which conducts the PISA test on behalf of the OECD, shows that the main decline in maths scores occurred among girls and in the states of Western Australia and South Australia. [emphasis added]

    "ACER chief executive Geoff Masters said the result was a warning sign, and for the first time boys were outperforming girls in maths. "Girls made good gains over recent decades in maths and we need to keep an eye that it's not starting to erode," he said.

    "In reading, Professor Masters said fewer students were demonstrating skills at the highest levels, which involved sophisticated reading and understanding the nuance of language. Students had to read complex and unfamiliar texts and find information that was not obvious.

    "New federal Education Minister Julia Gillard said the PISA results showed an urgent need for reform in the education system, and she attributed the decline to the "decade of neglect" by the former Howard government.

    "Australia needs a fresh focus on the basics of literacy and numeracy to ensure our kids get the best start to life through a world-class education system," she said.

    "The Government is committed to developing a consistent, rigorous and high-quality national curriculum in the key areas of English, maths, science and history." [emphasis added]

    "The PISA tests have been conducted every three years since 2000, with the most recent last year testing about 400,000 15-year-olds in 57 countries, including more than 14,000 Australian students in about 350 schools across the country. Rather than testing factual knowledge, the PISA tests assess students on their ability to apply their knowledge and skills to problems in the areas of reading, maths and science. Australia's ranking has slipped in all areas since 2000.

    "In reading, Australia ranked equal sixth, while in 2000 it ran second behind only Finland. Australia now falls behind Korea, Finland, Hong Kong, Canada and New Zealand.

    "Australia now ranks equal in reading to Ireland, Liechtenstein, Poland, Sweden and The Netherlands.

    "In maths, Australia ranked equal ninth last year compared with equal eighth in 2003 and second in 2000, now falling behind Chinese Taipei, Finland, Hong Kong, Korea, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada and Macau.

    "The science questions changed between 2003 and last year, making it difficult to compare results, but Australia ranked equal fourth last year behind Finland, Hong Kong and Canada.

    "More than half the 2006 PISA test was devoted to science, and Australian students performed above the average in their knowledge of the content areas. But nationally, physics and living systems or biology were weaker, while Earth and space systems, environmental science, geology and astronomy, were strongest.

    "About 13 per cent of Australian students failed to meet the baseline level of proficiency in maths and science, and 14 per cent in reading. The lowest level is deemed to be the minimum skills required to adequately participate in the workforce.

    "The report adds further evidence to the low standards of indigenous education, with about 40 per cent of students failing to meet the baseline in all three areas."
    
    From The Australian at link
    
    Similar stories in today's Age and Sydney Morning Herald
    
    

  • Editorial
    Dumbing Down
    
    The sooner Julia Gillard takes on teachers the better
    
    "Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made much of his education revolution over the past 12 months, promising to address the digital divide he claims is affecting the performance of students. His plan is to put a computer on the desk of every Year 9 to 12 student. Yet the disturbing evidence that has emerged from the latest results of the OECD Program for International Student Assessment is not of socio-economic inequity. Rather, it shows Australian schools are dumbing down their high achievers, particularly girls.

    "While Australia continues to outperform most OECD countries in educational achievement, there are disturbing trends behind the generally good average scores. Australian outcomes in literacy have become more equitable, with socio-economic factors playing less of a role in determining success, but this has come about because of a decline in performance at the upper end of the achievement scale without any improvement at the lower end. In other words, our best and brightest children are performing less well while the stragglers have not made any appreciable progress.

    "The OECD report also shows that gender differences have re-emerged in maths for the first time in many years, with a significant decline in mathematics achievements of 15-year-old girls compared with 15-year-old boys. Once again, ominously, it has come from the higher end of achievement.

    "But the most damning result for Australian educators is the performance of indigenous students, whose scores were on average 2 1/2 years behind non-indigenous students. In scientific literacy, a key focus in the 2006 tests, 40 per cent of indigenous students performed below the OECD baseline. If ever there was a statistic that highlighted the poor educational outcomes of indigenous students who until recently have been allowed to simply not go to school in remote communities in the Northern Territory, this is it. Yet left-wing Aboriginal activists like Michael Mansell, Larissa Behrendt, and Terry O'Shane have launched an attack on Aboriginal academic Marcia Langton, simply because she dared to defend the Northern Territory intervention, which they call an invasion.

    "Education Minister Julia Gillard will have her work cut out in getting state government education departments, who are the captives of the Australian Teachers Federation, to accept her back-to-basics approach to a national curriculum and her orthodox approach to history, in which she said that Australia was settled rather than invaded. The sooner Ms Gillard has a showdown with the black armband activists and the unionists, the easier it will be to start making the changes which are necessary to raise Australia's educational levels to the top of the OECD instead of creating a culture of mediocrity that discourages high achievers." [emphasis added]

    From The Australian at link
    
    
    
  • Op Ed
    Lessons to learn from the success of others
    by Kevin Donnelly
    
    "As evidence that there is no crisis in education, groups such as the Australian Association for the Teaching of English and the Australian Education Union point to the results of our 15-year-old students in the PISA 2000 literacy test, where the nation was ranked second only to Finland.
    
    "Such optimism is misplaced given last year's PISA results just released, in which Australian students dropped from second to sixth, and the fact the fall was caused by a decline in the students performing at the high end of the scale.

    "That Australian students were ranked fourth in terms of scientific literacy, while commendable, cannot disguise the fact that compared with many other OECD countries, Australia has a significant number of disadvantaged students performing badly - especially indigenous students, those from remote schools and those with poor socio-economic backgrounds.

    "The PISA results mirror Australia's poor performance in a second international series of tests, known as the Trends in International Science Study tests.

    "Not only is Australia placed in the second 11 when it comes to results, consistently outperformed by countries such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Czech Republic and The Netherlands, but fewer students are able to perform at the highest level.

    "In the 2002-03 science test, 9 per cent of Australian students performed at the advanced level, compared with 25 per cent from Taiwan and 15 per cent from Japan. In maths, only 7 per cent of Australian Year 8 students performed at the advanced level, compared with 44 per cent from Singapore.

    "What can be done to raise standards? The question is more than academic, given Labor's promise to address falling standards and develop more effective curriculums. Identifying the characteristics of better-performing education systems provides one avenue to strengthen our system(s). Countries that outperform Australia emphasise competitive external examinations; the curriculum is academic-based and there is a greater emphasis on effective classroom practice; students are streamed in terms of ability; and there is a differentiated curriculum, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.

    "Teachers are provided with clear syllabus road maps detailing what is to be taught. They are, thus, able to put more time and energy into evaluating what works best in the classroom." [emphasis added]

    Kevin Donnelly, a former Howard government employee, is director of Education Strategies in Melbourne.
    
    From The Australian at link
    
    

  • School courses scramble basics
    by Justine Ferrari, Education writer
    
    "School geography courses leave students with a "scrambled" understanding of the subject and lacking in the basic knowledge required to study the discipline in Years 11 and 12 and beyond.

    "A study into the teaching of geography commissioned by the Howard government and obtained by The Australian says that the integration of geography into social studies courses, such as Studies of Society and the Environment, has stripped the subject of its disciplinary integrity.

    "As a result, the geography taught in primary schools and up to Year 10 in high schools had lost the content, rigour and skills it had when it was a stand-alone subject.

    "There are more important gaps in continuity of geographic thinking, content, skills and ideas through the curriculum, particularly from Year 6 to Year 10," the study says.

    "This gap in continuity ... means that many students have a 'scrambled' understanding ofworld patterns of places, resources, developments and issues.

    "More importantly, this gap in continuity occurs because there is little guarantee all students will actually be taught any geographic skills or knowledge in any particular school, even though it is possible or even mandated within current state/territory curriculum and syllabus frameworks."

    "The study, conducted by management consultants Erebus International, was commissioned by former education minister Julie Bishop amid concerns of a decline in the quality of the content and rigour in teaching geography.

    "The study highlights some significant gaps in geography teaching, including generally inadequate study of basic physical geography, little study of the geography of the economy and population mobility being generally ignored, as are the socioeconomic characteristics of communities and the geography of advantage and disadvantage.

    "Aside from NSW, where geography is taught as a mandatory separate subject from Years 7 to 10, curriculums fail to specify the content to be taught.

    "Given that many teachers of SOSE have no training in geography, and often no enthusiasm for the subject, the quality of geography teaching varies enormously from school to school.

    "It depends too much on the teacher, not the system, as to whether a student will gain geographical understanding, knowledge and skills," the study says.

    "The study emphasises the need for practical activities, making the point that "geography without fieldwork is like science without experiments".

    "Computers and technology need to be integrated, and teachers should link the curriculum to current issues."

    From The Australian at link
    
    
    
  • Your Say Blog [invites reader somments]
    Do we give bright kids a fair go?
    
    "Australia's top students are falling behind their international counterparts, especially in the areas of reading and maths, according to the OECD, and have been doing so since 2000.

    "These findings prompt the question: Are we doing enough in our state-based education systems to give bright kids a fair go?

    "While NSW and Victoria have well-developed systems of state-run “selective schools” designed to foster the talents of “gifted” children, other states have a more disparate approach.

    "There can be little debate that gifted children face as many difficulties coping within the regular school environment as those who struggle.

    "The attitude that exceptionally bright children will simply “do OK” in life because of their high intelligence is still prevalent in some sections of the community, and ignores the emotional and social impact the regular school environment can have on these students.

    "Do we need a nationwide system where every secondary school has a “selective stream” where children are encouraged or required to go more quickly through the basics and to delve more deeply into the subjects?

    "Importantly, this would give intelligent, hard-working children from less well-off backgrounds - and from states other than NSW and Victoria - the chance to compete on more level terms with children born into more advantageous circumstances."

    What do you think?

    Post / read comments at link
    
    
    
    
  • Study finds learning is a casual business
    by Brendan O'Keefe
    
    "Up to two-thirds of undergraduate teaching in Australian universities is done by casuals, a study has found.
    
    "Some academics remain casuals for years, unable to land a permanent job because of university budget restraints.

    "University of NSW learning and teaching project officer Lynn Sheridan, who ran the study for the Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching, said "60 per cent plus of undergraduate teaching is now being taught by a casual workforce. In some faculties, schools or units this proportion was up to 80 per cent.".

    "A 2003 study found 40 per cent of teaching was done by casuals.

    "Ms Sheridan discovered one unit with 20 sessional staff, one full-time convenor and three full-time lecturers for 1700 students.

    "National Tertiary Education Union industrial officer Josh Cullinan said the union was "very concerned about the level of casualisation".

    "We would say there are far, far too many," he said.

    "Some of them provide pretty core functions, like subject co-ordination and teaching entire subjects.

    "There is no security. Universities cut off their library and email access between semesters."

    "Up to half of casuals would prefer to be made permanent.

    "Ms Sheridan said lack of permanency hurt universities.

    "You lose corporate knowledge," she said.

    "The NTEU yesterday held a conference on the problem.

    "University of Technology, Sydney, casual humanities tutor Paddy Gibson helped broker a deal to have casuals paid more for spending time outside of normal working hours marking essays.

    "Documenting the amount of time spent marking revealed massive underpayment and exploitation of casuals," Mr Gibson said.

    "PhD student Chris Latham, who works at Murdoch and Curtin universities, struggled to tide himself over during unpaid semester breaks. He said he didn't know at the end of one semester whether he would have work in the next.

    "Another PhD student, Beth Rankin, has been a casual tutor for 15 years: 10 at the University of Melbourne and the past five at La Trobe.

    "She said every end of year was the same: "Every department says 'we have no money'. The dean says 'we can't appoint anyone yet, we can offer only casual year-to-year contracts'.

    "And always, the next year, they say 'we realise we need you to come back'."

    "An NTEU survey this year found 56 per cent of respondents had been in casual academic work for five or more years. Four in 10 had applied for more secure work but more than half had been knocked back. More than two-thirds of the respondents said casual work was their only source of income.

    "Universities Australia chief executive officer Glenn Withers said universities were no different from other businesses in the "trend towards greater workforce flexibility".
    
    From The Australian at link
    
    
    

  • Sector slips in international rankings
    by Luke Slattery
    
    "An overall decline in the higher education sector's international performance highlights the challenge faced by the new Rudd Government in achieving its education revolution.

    "In the two big international measures of university performance -- the Shanghai Jiao Tong index and The Times ranking -- Australia's international standing has slumped despite some strong individual performances.

    "In the 2007 Jiao Tong index, highly respected as a gauge of research intensity, Australia's two top universities lost ground this year against their international competitors and both suffered in the individual r