From Monday 17 December 2007 through Sunday 20 January 2008, PLATO's Breaking News coverage is on "Summer Holidays", and will be limited to MAJOR Western Australian education articles, editorials, Op Ed pieces and Letters to the Editor. Important national stories from The Australian [and if time permits, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald] will be included whenever possible. The home page will be updated only once a day, normally in the evening.

We anticipate that full coverage will resume on Monday 21 January 2008.

Monday 31 December 2007

Tuesday 1 January 2008

Wednesday 2 January

Thursday 3 January

Friday 4 January

Saturday – Sunday, 5 – 6 January

 

Monday 31 December

• The Australian
  
  
  • Teacher training without the TEE
    by Janine MacDonald
    

    "More than 50 West Australian high school leavers will be able to study teaching without qualifying for admission to university.

    "In an effort to combat the dire shortage of teachers, Edith Cowan University has asked principals to recruit suitable Year 12 students who have not sat the tertiary entrance examination to train to become teachers.

    "The move has the support of the Education Minister Mark McGowan and the teachers' union, which hopes to recommence negotiations this week over a stalled pay deal for the state's 20,000 teachers.

    "Mr McGowan said he supported ECU's efforts to attract good candidates by taking other factors into account, including interviews and experience.

    "I think there may be people who have not done TEE who may become great teachers," hesaid.

    "Mr McGowan also extended the olive branch to the teachers' union yesterday, offering to relaunch negotiations on Wednesday over a second pay offer the union rejected before Christmas. [emphasis added]

    "I want to reward teachers properly, that is the Government's aim and ambition," Mr McGowan said.

    "It is believed the 52 non-TEE students will qualify for direct entry if they have As and Bs in their final year subjects and have a level five in Year 12 English. Level eight is the highest English level attainable.

    "People Lobbying Against Teaching Outcomes, the group that campaigned heavily against the controversial outcomes-based education framework, is concerned about the move.

    "President Greg Williams said the students who did not sit the TEE were generally those who struggled at school.

    "I am just wondering whether the kids who struggle at school should be the ones we want as the next generation's teachers," he said. "I still think that a teacher should be a person who has a great love of academia."

    "Mr Williams, a former school principal, said he had been asked to identify potential student teachers from among non-TEE students 10 years ago, but said ECU was now more transparent about selecting students outside the academic stream. [emphasis added]

    "The State School Teachers Union has put the teacher shortage at 600, but claims there are more teachers who are teaching subjects for which they were not trained, so the total figure could be higher.

    "Senior vice-president Anne Gisborne said she was interested in restarting pay talks with the Government as soon as possible.

    "Although supportive of ECU's direct entry for non-TEE student teachers, she said that the university and principals would have to make sure teaching standards were maintained."

    From The Australian at link
    
    
    
    

• The West Australian
  
  
  • Letter to the Editor (page 22)
    
    
    • School worry

      "I echo the sentiments of J Coggin (Letters, 28/12). The Education Department appears far more concerned with unbending adherence to internal human resourcing bureaucratic processes regarding the appointment of school principals and teachers than it is with the stability, continuity, effective operation and good governance of the State's primary and secondary schools.

      "The school my children attend is about to lose an outstanding principal simply because he was appointed on an acting basis and doesn't qualify for the substantive principal's position. Before his arrival 18 months ago the school suffered under the directionless management of a succession of ineffective principal appointments and the staff, parents and school community are angry that the school yet again faces a prolonged period of instability.

      "Despite my appeals to the Minister, the department's response is to play a dead bat and hide behind impenetrable "public sector standards" as a justification for its human resource management practices.

      "The process that is unfolding at our school is precisely the sort of episode that undermines public confidence in the State school system and engenders widespread dissatisfaction with that is perceived as a complacent, arrogant and disconnected departmental culture. [In other words, business as usual at DET. Web]

      "Bit if we, the end clients of the system, don't hold the department to account, then who will? Plainly, not the politicians, and certainly not the mandarins who are charged with management of the system."

      Michael Knight, Dianella
      
      

    • In Short

      "You took the words right out of my mouth, Owen Martin (Letters, 24/12). If the Government took the advice of the never-ending whinging of the "schools and hospitals" brigade, we would end up with the most over-educated and healthiest people on Earth, with nothing to do and nowhere to go, no new stadium, no new railways and no cultural development."

      Brian Hannon, Redcliffe
      
      

    • [Let's over-stuff the curriculum some more, and continue to do the job of parents... Web]

      "The major problems of today's society are drug abuse, alcoholism and other forms of bad conduct. Why not tackle them realistically in the coming school year? The problems can be dramatically reduced by providing schoolteachers with PETS - parent effectiveness training skills. These simple skills can be readily sourced from any psychologist and made part of our primary and secondary curriculums. Good school discipline can flow on to good parental discipline and self-discipline."

      Ian Davie, Success
      
      
      
      

• The Washington Post
  
  
  • Internet Access Is Only Prerequisite For More and More College Classes
    
    Studying on YouTube won't get you a college degree, but many universities are using technology to offer online classes and open up archives. Sure, some schools have been charging for distance-learning classes for a long time, but this is different: These classes are free. At a time when many top schools are expensive and difficult to get into, some say it's a return to the broader mission of higher education: to offer knowledge to everyone.

Tuesday 1 January 2008

• PLATO's New Year's Resolutions
  
  
  
• The West Australian
  
  
  • Letter to the Editor (page 22)
    
    
    • Good result
      
      "Your report about the disastrous OBE engineering exam (Curriculum chief to meet angry parents over poor OBE scores, 29/12) gave me reason to reflect.
      
      "If it had not been for PLATO and the continued coverage from The West Australian, almost all the upper school OBE courses would have been in place this year.
      
      "The unions did nothing, WACOT did nothing. PLATO alone pointed out the nonsense that is OBE.
      
      "Now that the Minister has publicly acknowledged that OBE was an "educational fad of the 90s", all WA owes a debt of gratitude to PLATO."
      
      Patrick F Whalen, Yokine

 

• Small year group means slashed subject choices (page 16)
  by Bethany Hiatt
  
  "The number of subjects offered in State high schools could be slashed because of an imminent drop in student numbers from the change to the kindergarten starting age seven years ago, principals warn.

  "The change in 2001 meant only children who turned four by June 30 that year could enter kindergarten, which cut the year group in half because children born within only a six-month period were included. All other year groups extend for 12 months.

  "The under-strength year group is due to enter high school in 2010 when only about 17,000 students will start Year 8 instead of the normal 29,000..."

  "The WA Secondary School Executive Association says the drop in numbers means fewer teachers so schools will not be able to offer as many options in lower school or in Years 11 and 12. Teacher numbers and funds are based on pupil numbers..."

  "[WASSEA president Alison] Woodman said principals had raised concerns with the Department of Education and Training about the drop in numbers. They feared it could become a simplistic way to overcome the teacher shortage because fewer staff would be needed.

  "But students would suffer for five years because schools would not be able to employ as many specialist teachers in different fields..."

  Full story in The West Australian
  

  
  
  
• Progress stalls on education overhaul (page 16)
  by Bethany Hiatt
  
  "Education Minister Mark McGowan has not given a detailed response to a crucial report by an education expert despite it being finished a year ago.

  "The wide review of literacy and numeracy chaired by University of WA education dean Bill Louden recommended ways to help children who struggle to reach minimum standards.

  "But there has been no progress on many of the recommendations..."

  "[The report] also called for resources to be developed for teachers to teach phonics better, test to assess reading ability when children started school and higher pay and promotions for teachers who completed post-graduate studies.

  "Professor Louden said he was not concerned about the lack of progress, delays were caused by Education Department staff changes. "A fair few of the things that I recommended have already been adopted," he said..."

  "In a wide-ranging interview, Mr McGowan said his first year in the education portfolio had been one of massive change. When he began in December 2006, he was faced with a hostile workforce, worn down by constant changes caused by the shift to outcomes-based education, and parents worried that OBE was dumbing down education. "What I had to do was get it (education) to a state where people could once again feel they had an even keel," he said.

  "In the past year, he announced changes to assessment in Years 11 and 12 to let teachers mark in grades and percentages instead of OBE levels of achievement. He also decreed that nearly all students would sit for exams, not just those bound for university, and set up teacher juries to assess new OBE courses, which resulted in most of them being delayed.

  "We rolled back lots of what was put in place in 1998," he said..." [Yes, the Liberals clearly are to blame for all the disasters over which Ljiljanna Ravlich presided! Web]

  "Mr McGowan faces new challenges early this year, with teachers threatening industrial action if renewed pay negotiations are not successful.

  "He criticised the teachers' union for claiming that State schools could be up to 600 teachers short at the start of the school year. Though he did not have any firm figures, he did not believe the shortage would be anywhere near that. "I am a bit disturbed they would just be throwing these figures out," he said. "Why would they want to create an unsettled atmosphere?" [And in a few weeks, we'll know who was correct. Web]

  Full story in The West Australian
  
  
  

• The Australian
  

• Howard's changes get through
  by Matthew Franklin and Patricia Karvelas
  

  "The Rudd Government has decided not to block a range of administrative changes devised by the Howard government that will take effect today, including new help for struggling students.

  "Labor, which has wide-ranging plans for the education sector, has confirmed that from today families with children who do not achieve literacy and numeracy benchmarks in Years 3, 5 and 7 will be given a $700 tutorial voucher per child. The proposal was put in place by John Howard.

  "A spokesman for Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Labor welcomed any help for families to lift the educational standards of their children.

  "Another Howard government change to take effect from today - the abolition of a cap on how many full fee-paying degrees a university can offer - runs counter to Labor policy, which favours the phasing out of domestic full-fee degrees from 2009.

  "Until now, full fee-paying places have been capped at 25 per cent in most courses and 35 per cent for medicine.

  "Universities have also been given the green light to jack up fees in commerce, economics and accounting courses by more than $1000 - measures the previous government introduced in its last budget. ..."

  Full story from The Australian at link
  
  
  

• 'Extremist' unions prompted ban debate
  AAP
  

  "The federal government considered banning compulsory student unionism as far back as 1977.

  "The Coalition federal government ultimately voted to ban compulsory student unionism in 2005, but in 1977, cabinet rejected the idea to outright ban compulsory joining of unions, then effectively in place in all 19 universities.

  "Instead, it opted for education minister John Carrick's recommendation that compulsory fee arrangements continue but with the provision for an individual student to opt out of some or all student activities by seeking exemption on conscientious grounds.

  "Carrick, later Sir John, told cabinet on February 22, 1977 that public concern about student activity had arisen from publicity given to the support by the Australian Union of Students to "extremist political causes and radical social issues".

  "The union had manipulated the processes of student union officials and there had been intimidation and violence by student extremists, he said.

  From The Australian at link

 

Wednesday 2 January

• The Age
  
  
  • Editorial
    Start the revolution, but don't forget the workers
    
    "It is temptingly easy in this holiday time to believe that even an education revolution is entitled to time off — especially with the fanfare and fervour it received during the recent election campaign when the zealotry of Kevin Rudd was unbounded. Indeed, the trumpets sounded with enough force to carry him into the Lodge. "The cornerstone of my vision for Australia's future is an education revolution," he cried at Labor's launch in November. "I spoke about Australia's need for an education revolution in my very first speech to Parliament nearly 10 years ago. I have been speaking about it all year. Because I believe passionately in the power of education. I believe education is the engine room of equity. The engine room of opportunity." Robespierre could hardly have been as eloquent. The revolution, as it should, continues without a break.

    "That maiden speech by Mr Rudd, given on Remembrance Day 1998, went to the heart of the problems that still beset this country's education system: in saying "education is both a tool of social justice as well as a fundamental driver of economic development", the new member for Griffith identified impediments to achieving these aims, which included state curriculums of variable quality, decline of vital subjects such as science, a teaching profession "demoralised" by administrative rather than educative matters, and the need for state and federal funding to equip institutions with information technology. [emphasis added] The last of these foreshadowed the main part of Mr Rudd's ambitious $1 billion election promise to equip every child in years 9 to 12 with a school computer. The rest of his words on the subject were not only impassioned but persuasive — so much so that if, as Prime Minister, Mr Rudd cares to heed them, his Government would be in a fine position to practise what he preached.

    "Mr Rudd also said: "I believe we need to do something radical about teachers' salaries and the overall status of the teaching profession." This, the most elementary of Mr Rudd's beliefs, espoused all those years ago, has never been tackled in anything other than superficial tinkering rather than wholesale revision. As this newspaper said in November, as Victoria's teachers prepared to strike for more pay, substantial salary reform is the only way to reward a profession so integral to the achievements and rewards of later life: "It is teachers who lay the groundwork for Australia's economic success by generating the intellectual capital and skills crucial for effective participation in the workforce." Victoria aims to be the "smart state" but, curiously, paying teachers what they deserve is not part of the plan. Mr Rudd concluded his maiden speech by saying: "I have no intention of being here for the sake of just being here. Together with my colleagues it is my intention to make a difference." The biggest difference Mr Rudd, his Education Minister, Julia Gillard, and their colleagues could make is to work with the states to ensure teachers are properly paid on a uniform national scale that would encourage continuity of position and discourage teachers from moving to higher-paying states. At the same time, better salaries would attract more teachers to jobs in government schools, whose students are equally deserving of quality education. Ultimately, the revolution is not going to be won merely by supplying school students with PCs; apples for the teachers are even more crucial. [emphasis added]

    "The tertiary sector is also not immune from financial worry. In September The Age reported that in the decade to 2004 — covering both Labor and Coalition governments — Australia was the only one of 34 OECD nations to cut public spending on tertiary education, despite a rise in student numbers. By 2004, the Government provided 47.2% of higher education revenue against the OECD average of 75.4%. Australia was also below average for all spending, private and public, on education. Last month more than 140 senior academics expressed concern in an open letter to Mr Rudd that underfunding was so serious that universities were being forced into what they described as "cash crop" exercises designed to attract more full-fee-paying students from overseas with cheaper high-volume courses, such as IT or business, at the expense of providing more expensive quality courses.

    "For some wealthier and more influential institutions, change has been necessarily self-propagating. For example, the biggest overhaul of the Australian tertiary system begins this year with the introduction of the "Melbourne model" at the University of Melbourne — a system that, in the words of its vice-chancellor, Glyn Davis, defines "our own future rather than having it chosen for us, which is our current fate". Over the next four years the university will shift from the traditional English-type degree course to a two-tier structure. In the process, 96 existing undergraduate degrees will be abolished, to be replaced by six broad-based degrees in arts, biomedicine, commerce, environments, music and science. The second-tier graduate degrees begin this year with law, architecture, nursing and education. Demand so far has shown a fall in first-preference student applications by 6% — by comparison, Monash University had a 1.3% increase, including a 98% rise in demand for law, which has been scrapped by Melbourne as an undergraduate degree.

    "This alternative style of higher education at once acknowledges the university's right to be different along with making key changes to its funding system: even though half of all graduate positions will be partly funded by the Federal Government, the rest are full-fee places that could cost students more than $80,000 to complete a law degree. To its credit, the university has introduced an ambitious three-year scholarship program, funded from its own resources, which offers every VCE student with a university entry score above 98 $2500 to enrol at Melbourne.

    "In Victoria, Premier John Brumby, whose Government is honouring its 2006 election promise to rebuild, extend or renovate every existing state school in Victoria by 2017, has indicated public-private partnerships could be used to rebuild some of the schools. As part of this, Mr Brumby sees new state schools sharing facilities such as sports grounds, swimming pools and libraries with local communities and private schools. It should not be forgotten that the fundamental intention is for all children to receive a good, well-rounded education. Let the revolution begin!"
    

    From The Age at link
    

 

• The West Australian
  
  
  • School leaving age raised to 17 [late update: online only]
    AAP
    
    "New school legislation requiring West Australians to continue school until 17 or take part in approved training or employment will better prepare young people for a modern economy, WA’s Education Minister says.

    "In 2005 the school leaving age was 15, but in 2006 it was raised to 16, and now 17, under a new law which came into effect yesterday.

    "Education Minister Mark McGowan said it would help ensure the state’s young people were well prepared for life in a modern economy.

    “Today’s society demands that workers be literate, numerate and competent and we want to make sure no young person is left behind,” Mr McGowan said.

    “It is no longer acceptable to quit school and hang around at home.”

    "All WA 17-year-olds now have to be at school, studying full-time at TAFE in a traineeship, be in an apprenticeship, or employed in a job with “genuine career prospects” from the beginning of the 2008 school year."

    From The West Australian at link
    
    
    • Education Minister Mark McGowan's Media Statement
      
      
      • School leaving age increases to 17 in 2008

    
    

  • Letter to the Editor (page 22)
    
    
    • Not my role

      "Can anyone explain to me when parenting became the role of the teacher (Ian Davie, Letters, 31/12)? As a teacher it is not my duty to parent my 30 students. My role is to provide relevant and engaging learning programs, combined with pastoral care and values education. Their parents are responsible for parenting, and my experience has taught me that good parenting can flow into good school discipline, not the other way around. Please five us a break! No wonder there's a teacher shortage. What graduate wants to be responsible for parenting?"

      J Major, High Wycombe
      
      
      

• The Times
  
  
  • How dare they sneer at ambition [from 1 Jan]
    by Libby Purves
    
    There are plenty of things wrong with our education system, but blaming the middle classes is a cheap distraction
    
    "Let's make a 2008 resolution, politicians and polemicists together. Let us renounce certain chippy clichés when talking about schools and social mobility. Let it become a mockable offence to refer — as Michael Gove MP did yesterday — to “the sharp-elbowed middle classes” who “colonise” the best schools. Let professors of education like Alan Smithers feel a stab of shame when they take an easy pop at academies getting “taken over by ambitious parents”. Let columnists beware of jeering at the “stupid spawn of the rich”.

    "Fun though it may be, it is all a wicked distraction from the main task: the improvement of all British schools — yes, all — and an absolute intolerance of the shoddy, the dull, the undisciplined and the woolly. The new figures hauled out by the Conservatives only reinforce a swath of others, which make it clear that, after ten years of Labour government, the gap between rich and poor children's attainment is actually widening.

    "But jeering at “sharp-elbowed middle classes” is a pure distraction technique, blurring the inconvenient truth that many of our schools are (if not actually chaos) intellectually unambitious and overburdened with irrelevant duties. It leads to such class-war fatalism as the ridiculous theory that places should be allocated by lottery: which implies accepting that some schools will always be rubbish, so let's spread the misery around by ballot..."

    Full story in The Times at link

Thursday 3 January

• The West Australian
  
  
  • Lift in leaving age delivers 1400 more students (page 9)
    by Bethany Hiatt
    
    "Up to 1400 extra pupils could be in WA schools this year because the school leaving age has been raised to 17, but Education Minister Mark McGowan said the change was unlikely to exacerbate the teacher shortage.

    "In 2005, the State Government raised the school leaving age from 15 to 16 in 2006 and to 17 in 2008.

    "Mr McGowan said that under the new law, every 17-year-old must be in school, in training or in a job with “genuine career prospects”.

    “From this year onwards, 17-yearolds no longer have a choice, they have to be in some form of education or approved employment,” he said.

    "The Department of Education and Training said it could not predict accurately how many more Year 12 students would stay at school because many would be undecided about whether to stay or study at TAFE or take up an apprenticeship or job.
    
    "However, the number of Year 11 students who stayed on after the leaving age was raised to 16 jumped 5 per cent. With about 29,000 in WA turning 17 this year, a similar increase in retention would mean an extra 1450 students.
    
    "State schools are likely to be short of teachers at the start of the year, with the teachers’ union predicting a shortfall of up to 600, but Mr McGowan said the age change was unlikely to affect the shortage.
    
    "Education Department metropolitan schools executive director Allan Blagaich said the effects of the change to the leaving age had been included in 2008 staffing projections."

    From The West Australian at link
    
    
    
    
• The Australian
  
  
• Comment
  Educators can also learn from what already works
  by Kevin Donnelly
  
  "As our approach to teaching embraces more traditional methods, the overseas experience can inform our choices.
  
  "Looking back over the past 12 months, it is clear that 2007 was a watershed year for education. Much of what has been argued on these pages in terms of increased testing and more rigorous examinations, adopting a back-to-basics approach to curriculum, holding schools accountable and better rewarding teachers, is now mainstream in terms of the debate and is being advocated by ALP state and federal governments.

  "How can we ensure, though, that initiatives planned for 2008 and beyond will be effective in raising standards, better supporting teachers and schools and ensuring that students receive a well-balanced, academically sound and fulfilling educational experience?

  "One approach is to learn from what is happening overseas, in addition to our own experience, and to evaluate classroom practice by what the research suggests works.

  "Ensuring that children are literate and numerate in the early years of primary school is critically important and there is an increasing consensus overseas about the best way to teach such skills.

  "In Britain, the Rose report, in part based on the success of the Scottish school Clackmannanshire, recommends adopting a synthetic phonics approach to teaching reading, a recommendation the British Government has accepted. In opposition to the prevailing whole-language approach -- whereby, on the assumption that learning to read is as natural as learning to speak, children are taught to look and guess and memorise words by sight -- synthetic phonics "is a sounds-based approach that first teaches children the sounds of letters and how they blend into words, before moving to letter combinations that make up words".

  "Adopting a more structured approach to literacy and numeracy is also supported by the US research associated with Project Follow Through. The billion-dollar nationwide project evaluated different approaches to teaching and concluded that formal methods of classroom interaction, described as direct instruction, are more effective than the type of teaching associated with Australia's adoption of outcomes-based education.

  "Summarising what we can learn from Project Follow Through, Australian mathematics researcher Rhonda Farkota noted: "Student-directed learning has consistently more negative outcomes than those achieved in traditional education ... On all measures of basic skills, cognitive development and self-esteem, it (student-centred learning) was shown to be vastly inferior to traditional education."

  "One of the most respected and influential international tests is the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, held three times since its inception in the mid-'90s, involving 46 countries and testing students at years 4, 8 and 12. On identifying the characteristics of education systems that achieve at the top of the table -- the results place Australia in the second 11 -- it is possible to identify what leads to success.

  "Stronger performing systems place a greater emphasis on competitive examinations and testing (which are often used to stream students in terms of ability), give teachers clear and succinct road maps detailing what is to be taught, and expect students to master essential knowledge and understanding associated with the key disciplines at each year level.

  "Research carried out by German academic Ludger Woessmann also concludes that top-performing TIMSS countries have a robust non-government school sector, which leads to increased competition and pressure to do well, schools have autonomy over hiring, firing and rewarding successful teachers, and the influence of teacher unions is restricted.

  "While critics of George W. Bush's initiative No Child Left Behind -- whereby federal funding is linked to education systems setting clear objectives in terms of raising standards, students are regularly tested, classroom practice is based on what the research suggests works and there are consequences for underperformance -- argue that NCLB has failed, the evidence suggests otherwise.

  "As noted by US Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, setting performance targets, regularly testing students and holding schools accountable have raised standards, as reflected by the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

  "She states: "According to NAEP, more reading progress was made by nine-year-olds from 1999 to 2004 than in the previous 28 years combined. Maths scores have reached record highs across the board."

  "Given that many overseas education systems have been implementing the types of initiatives on the agenda in Australia for 2008, such as moving to a national curriculum, increased testing and holding schools accountable, it is also vital that we learn from their mistakes.

  "As argued by the conservative US think tank the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, too much testing, forcing teachers to focus on the basics and imposing a centralised, top-down approach that fails to recognise the unique quality of individual schools can be counterproductive.

  "Forcing unproven and faddish curriculum change on schools and making them conform to inflexible and intrusive accountability measures can also overwhelm and frustrate teachers, leading to the type of situation evident in Western Australia, where teachers are deserting classrooms and it is impossible to attract newcomers to the profession." [emphasis added]

  Kevin Donnelly is director of Melbourne-based Education Strategies and the author of Dumbing Down.

  From The Australian at link
  
  
  
  
• Editorial
  Net-nanny state worth watching
  
  State censorship always raises difficult questions
  
  "From the moment the internet was declared the new frontier of free speech and expression, governments everywhere have agonised over how to control it. For totalitarian regimes, free political speech represents a direct threat. For law-enforcement agencies, the ability of terrorists to build networks more easily increases the risks to public safety. For parents, the fear that chat-room sex-pests are stalking children is one more thing to worry about. It is understandable that governments want to aid police and give parents peace of mind. The decentralised nature of the internet makes exerting control over what is on it difficult. Nonetheless, state censorship is a growing trend worldwide.

  "In Australia, the Rudd Government has reaffirmed its commitment to increased monitoring and greater restrictions. Under Labor's plan, all internet service providers will be required to offer a "clean feed" internet service to all homes, schools and public internet points accessible by children. Internet sites that have been deemed as prohibited by the Australian Communications and Media Authority will be blocked. ACMA will not have to publish a list of blocked sites.

  "Like Communications Minister Stephen Conroy, The Australian's definition of free speech does not extend to the right to view child pornography. But that does not mean we do not have some concerns about Labor's plan. In August, when John Howard raised the issue of net censorship in response to Labor's proposal, we said it was always prudent to maintain a healthy scepticism about government censorship of any type. Dealing with child pornography, we maintain, is foremost a matter for the police.

  "Despite its good intentions, there are worrying aspects to Labor's censorship plan. Among them is the fact that Labor's sweep will be much broader than what happens elsewhere, notwithstanding Mr Conroy's European comparisons. The plan risks giving parents a false sense of security because it will not be possible to block all offensive material. Equally, educational and other non-offensive sites will almost certainly be blocked in error. And research shows blanket restrictions can have a dramatic impact on the speed at which broadband services operate.

  "According to OpenNet - a collaborative partnership that includes the University of Toronto, Harvard Law School, the University of Cambridge and Oxford University, formed to investigate internet filtering and surveillance practices - Australia already maintains some of the most restrictive internet policies of any Western nation. This comprises a strict take-down regime for offensive content, backed up by state legislation that makes distribution of offensive content a criminal offence. In Europe, Project CleenFeed has been blocking a blacklist of websites since 2004. The ban is restricted to sites that contain images of child abuse as defined by the amended Protection of Children Act, 1978, hosted anywhere in the world.

  "It is possible, however, to be simultaneously opposed to spreading images of child abuse and concerned about state programs that restrict the performance and worth of new technology. The opt-out provision contained in Labor's plan suggests an uncensored version of the internet will remain available for those who resent state intrusion to block otherwise legal material. However, it is difficult not to conclude that the Howard government's proposal for an opt-in system for concerned parents would be less demanding on the system and far preferable."
  
  From The Australian at link
  
  Related story in The Age
  
  

  • Net filter fails to block porn sites
    
    The "clean feed" filtering system Communications Minister Stephen Conroy hopes will halt internet porn has already been defeated by British researchers.
    
    
    
    
• Laws of physics idealised, says Davies
  
  Cosmologist Paul Davies has given up his life-long faith in perfect physical laws that rule the universe. "The orthodox view of perfect physical laws is a thinly-veiled vestige of monothesim," Davies explains in his contribution to the Edge, a web forum that puts an annual question to a broad cross-section of scientists and thinkers.

Friday 4 January

• The West Australian
  
  
  • Letter to the Editor (page 22)
    
    
    • In Short
      
      "Ian Davie (Letters, 31/12) suggests that all forms of bad conduct which cause major problems in today's society could be dramatically reduced by providing teachers with parent-effectiveness training skills which could be incorporated into their already overloaded curriculums.

      "Don't the words "parent effectiveness", Ian, give you a clue to the fact that the responsibility for imparting discipline, good behaviour, respect for self and others lies squarely with the parents of children?

      "The need for a child to attain these skills starts long before they reach school age. Parents who fail in their responsibilities for their offspring should not be given an excuse for passing the buck to schoolteachers."

      Kathleen Platts, Hamilton Hill
      
      

      
      
• The Age
  
  
  • 'Criminal' teachers in NSW schools
    AAP
    

    "More than 120 new teachers with criminal records were employed in NSW public schools last year, News Limited reports.

    "Data obtained under Freedom of Information by The Daily Telegraph showed 263 applicants for classroom teaching jobs had criminal pasts with 52 were employed in government primary schools and 76 in secondary schools.

    "The data from 7,084 teacher applicants during six months from November 2006 to May 2007 shows 263 applicants had a "general criminal history".

    "But the Department of Education can not reveal the nature of the offences or jail times as it destroys the records.

    "Deputy Director-General Peter Riordan said under the education department's contract with CrimTrac all documents were destroyed after 180 days because of confidentiality laws.

    "The department does not hold documents relating to the criminal history records of teacher employment applicants for the period November 1, 2006 to May 1 2007," Mr Riordan told the paper.

    "Disclosing criminal history records ... would breach the agreement and prejudice the future supply of information from CrimTrac," he said.

    "But Mr Riordan said a large number of the crimes were driving offences." [emphasis added]

    From The Age at link

    
    

• The Times
  
  
  • Supersize comprehensives blamed for bad behaviour in the classroom [from 3 January]
    by Alexandra Frean, Education Editor
    
    "An explosion in the number of supersize schools with 1,500-plus pupils has led to a decline in classroom discipline and limited academic achievement, new research suggests.
    
    "Pupils in schools catering for more than 1,000 children are nearly three times more likely to be excluded than those in smaller establishments. There is also evidence that children in smaller schools are performing better academically — only 38 per cent of secondaries in England have fewer than 1,000 pupils, yet these include eight of the ten top state schools.

    "Analysis of government data by the Conservatives follows research from the charity Human Scale Education, which suggested that students behaved better and achieved more in smaller settings. The charity is now advocating the approach of some American education authorities, which are breaking down giant comprehensives into smaller units sharing a single site..."

    Full story in The Times at link
    
    
    
    
• The Guardian
  
  
  • Enemies of thought [from 3 January]
    
    A very public feud between two philosophers involving damning book reviews, professional roastings and personal slights shows how bitter, unforgiving - and unwittingly hilarious - academic spats can be, says Stuart Jeffries

Saturday – Sunday, 5 – 6 January

• The Sunday Times
  
  
  • Public schools snub (page 34)
    by Paul Lampathakis

    Parents voting with their feet, claims Omodei

    "Public school enrolments in WA have plunged to their lowest level - as a percentage of overall enrolments - in almost a decade.

    "There were 209,932 Year 1-12 public school students last year - 66 per cent of all schoolchildren.

    "In 1998, there were 226,583 public students - 72 per cent of the school population. Figures go back only to 1998 on the Education Department's website. Since 2000, there has been a decrease of 15,835 government students, while private student numbers have risen by 16,088.

    "Opposition Leader Paul Omodei said the WA Government's own figures showed that increasing numbers of parents were losing faith in the public system under Labor and were voting with their feet.

    "At the very least, parents should be able to expect enough properly qualified teachers in the classrooms, a system where the course of study and assessment are effective and clear, and schools that are resourced properly and provide students with the facilities they need," Mr Omodei said.

    "He believed WA's standard of education was still "pretty good", though it had suffered under Labor, which came to power in February 2001.

    "But he said it was not "anywhere near where it could or should be" because the WA Government had failed to properly resource and manage public schools.

    "The past 20 years had seen a drift to private schools, but this had accelerated under Labor.

    "But Education Minister Mark McGowan said the public system provided an outstanding education and was an excellent choice for parents.

    "But parents had a choice about where they sent their children and present economic prosperity had increased choices.

    "I would like to ensure that the state school system in WA provides parents with a quality choice," Mr McGowan said.

    "The public education system is available to all students regardless of the level of their education needs or their social, economic, cultural and language background.

    "It also needs to be remembered that roughly 70 to 75 per cent of the funding for private schools comes from government sources."

    "Rob Fry, president of the WA Council of State School Organisations, said a significant portion of the public student decrease could be attributed to the growth in recent years of federal funding to private schools."

    From The Sunday Times
    
    
    

• The West Australian
  
  
  • Alston's New Year Wishes (page 20)
    
    
    © The West Australian
    
    
    
    
  • WACOT advertisements (pages 82 and 100)

LAWYER (Salary: $70,564 to $88,131) As Legal Officer to the College Board, Committees and Director, the position is responsible for assisting the Manager, Legal Services in reviewing the rules, policies an legal procedures for the College, provision of legal and policy advice, and undertaking research as required to fulfil the College's mandated role under the Western Australian College of Teaching Act 2004. The primary role of this position is to provide legal and policy advice for the College. The specific duties include preparation of legal advice, development of precedents and procedures that ensure compliance with the act. Please refer to the Job Description Form on our website for further details regarding this position and for the application requirements (www.wacot.wa.edu.au). Please contact the Office Manager for any queries on 08 6467 8668 MANAGER PROFESSIONAL LEARNING & STANDARDS (Salary: $70,564 to $88,131) This position manages the professional learning and standard division and provides executive support to the Director, Committee and to the Board of Management of the Western Australian College of Teaching, particularly in the area of Professional Learning and Standards and other projects related to the enhancement of the quality of teaching. The College has as one of it functions under the Act, a responsibility to monitor, advise on and promote the continued professional learning of teachers. The primary role of this position is the management of the Professional Learning & Standards team in liaison with the Director. Please refer to the Job Description Form on our website for further details regarding this position and for the application requirements (www.wacot.wa.edu.au). Please contact the Office Manager for any queries on 08 6467 8668

• The Sydney Morning Herald
  
  
• School fees to rise as government grants soar
  by Anna Patty, Education Editor
  

  "Private school fees are continuing to soar despite a 20 per cent increase in public funding over the past four years that has rewarded some wealthy schools with more than $10 million in annual government subsidies.

  "One of the most exclusive institutions, The King's School in Parramatta - known for its 15 playing fields, 50-metre swimming pool and indoor rifle range - received $5.5 million in taxpayers' money last year, a 32 per cent increase since 2003.

  "King's will increase fees by 5.5 per cent this year, bringing the cost for a year 12 student to $22,062 ...."
  

  Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
  
  
  
  

• IB or not IB? For some students, the answer is clear
  by Anna Patty, Education Editor
  
  "Chamath Ariyasinghe bypassed the HSC and gained a university entrance score of 99.8 yesterday when he received his results for the International Baccalaureate.

  "The Baccalaureate, or IB, is an internationally recognised year 12 qualification offered in 120 countries and in NSW as an alternative to the HSC.

  "Chamath, 18, travelled from Strathfield to St Paul's Grammar School in Penrith every day last year to repeat year 12 after receiving a university entry score of 99.75 at Trinity Grammar, which was not enough to qualify for a medical degree. ..."

  Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
  
  
  

• Letter to the Editor
  
  
  • Costly medical entrance exams are failing us all
    
    "We all know doctors are, and should be, smart. We also know there is a massive shortage in this country of medical professionals. So why is it made harder and harder for aspiring doctors to pass convoluted entrance exams?

    "I understand the need to weed out the good from the bad, but there are thousands of people desperate for a crack at the medical profession who, for whatever reason, find it hard to pass the extremely difficult exams that are in place to keep them out.

    "I've taken the Graduate Australian Medical Schools Admissions Test twice and the Undergraduate Medical Admissions Test once. This is at a princely sum of approximately $300 a pop for GAMSAT (plus a prep course to the tune of $1000), and $150 for UMAT.

    "Both times at GAMSAT I estimate there were at least 1700 sitting the exam.

    "Multiply that by thousands of others sitting the same exam around Australia and in other countries and it's hard not to consider the possibility that this is just a government profit-making scheme.

    "Wanting to become a doctor is not a decision made on a whim. I pity those who are running out of steam simply because they don't cut the mustard on tests that are clearly designed for the academic elite. There should be another system in place for those with the potential but maybe not the hardcore entrance exam technique.

    "In New Zealand all potential medical entrants first do a year of a health science degree before they decide if it is for them, then those with a B+ average are eligible to apply to get in to the second year of medicine.

    "As a country facing a medical emergency staff crisis, surely we should address the medical education system?"

    Jennifer Dowd, North Bondi
    
    
    
    

• Business Spectator
  
  
  • Commentary
    Educating creative thinkers
    by Christopher Scanlon
    
    "In David Lodge’s satirical novel Nice Work, English literary academic Robyn Penrose is asked to follow Vic Wilcox, who manages an engineering company, for two weeks as part of university–industry exchange program. From their first meeting, it’s clear that Vic and Robyn hold radically different views about education.

    "Vic thinks education should be about training people in practical skills that have immediate application to industry. ‘Give the people polytechnics, with no frills. Not imitation Oxford colleges,’ he exclaims after a walk through the lavish university grounds. If education doesn’t have an immediate economic benefit, then it’s an elitist luxury we can ill afford.

    "Robyn, by contrast, specialises in feminist literary theory. For her, education is a creative and critical enterprise with many diverse applications. Considerations of the economic value of knowledge are, for Robyn, irrelevant to the business of university teaching.

    "Lodge’s characters are fairly crude stereotypes, though it doesn’t take a genius to work out which view of education has held sway in Canberra these past last eleven-plus years. The Howard government might have hired Vic Wilcox as an education consultant.

    "The 2007 Budget saw $549 million spent on funding first and second year apprentices and funding to establish three technical colleges in Western Australia, Queensland and New South Wales. Funding was also given to training nurses and pilots.

    "The higher education sector hasn’t been immune from the push for more vocational training. Government pressures for university researchers to get closer to industry have driven this, although it is also a response to student demands.

    "Enrolling in a degree program that costs an arm and a leg and doesn’t seem to have a defined career path — philosophy or physics for instance — would strike many students as economic folly. Vocationally-oriented courses, whether it’s law or leisure and tourism management, are safer bets for students about to be lumbered with a higher education debt.

    "There are also good reasons for focusing on education as training. At a time when there is a national shortage of skilled trades people and workers, investment in apprenticeships is long overdue. Skilled professionals are also necessary for an advanced economy like Australia.

    "However, an emphasis on the training aspects of education shouldn’t come to the detriment of the creative and critical aspects of education. In an era where knowledge and information are traded as commodities, and where complex problems — from climate change to disease outbreaks to the threat of terrorism — confound easy solutions, open-ended forms of research and teaching are as vital as ever.

    "In theory, the university ought to be perfectly placed to thrive in this environment. But in reality, the university’s place in the production of critical and creative knowledge is under threat as never before. [emphasis added]

    "While universities have been pushed to take on a training role, many large firms, such as Google and Microsoft, and global leaders such as Gore Tex and 3M, now undertake the kinds of open-ended research that were formerly the preserve of universities and government funded agencies. Such firms also have the money to lure the best and brightest students away from research roles at universities.

    "The humanities and social sciences are being affected by the same trends. Professional service firms such as the Boston Consulting Group and Booz Allen Hamilton, for example, often undertake projects that are intellectually more stimulating and better resourced and remunerated than university jobs.

    "One of the Boston Consulting Group’s projects, for example, investigated the role of reading poetry on the development of cognitive and thinking skills. While it might be an unusual case, it highlights the point that the university’s leading role in creative and critical thinking is being chipped away in the humanities and social sciences as well as high-tech sectors of the economy.

    "It would be wrong, though, to write off the university, for the simple reason that every one of these organisations is heavily dependent on the university both for research and staff.

    "While there is an overlap between the training imperative and the creative and critical view of educations, from my experience in the higher education, many of Australia’s universities seem to be caught somewhere in an incoherent middle, excelling at neither.

    "There are some indications that the Rudd Labor government is moving to correct this, putting creative and critical thinking at the centre of education. In a recent statement, Innovation, Industry, Science and Research Minister Kim Carr committed the government to restoring ‘public benefit as a fundamental objective’ of the higher education system — a pointed departure from the previous government’s focus on using education to boost industry.

    "There is much to do, however. Some changes are relatively easy. Ending the mindless obsession with meaningless global university rankings and freeing academic and administrative university staff from the administration and audits that accompany these exercises would be a good start.

    "Other changes are more challenging and risky. Offering fee assistance to students for taking up pure degrees in areas without a clear career path is one such move. Federal Labor has pledged $111 million in financial incentives for students considering maths and science d, but this should be extended to other fields where there is no pre-defined career path. New innovations can, after all, come from many diverse areas.

    "Trying to have universities do everything is a mistake that needs to be resisted. Vocational training ought to be supported through a well-resourced TAFE system, while universities should be supported to focus on open-ended and experimental research where the outcomes are unclear.

    "This is a risky strategy for a government which is conservative by nature. While focusing on practical, vocationally-oriented teaching and research might seem a prudent course, in the long run it is a luxury we can’t afford. Universities’ must be supported to engage in imaginative, innovative and open-ended research and teaching to secure our future economic prosperity and our cultural wealth."

    Christopher Scanlon is a research associate with RMIT University’s Globalism Institute

    From Business Spectator at link
    
    
    

• The Brisbane Sunday Mail
  
  
  • Move to trades hits universities
    
    The booming demand for tradesmen has accelerated a disturbing education trend, with the number of male school-leavers applying for university [in Queensland] falling for the 10th year in a row.

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

This page last updated 13 August, 2008 0:43 AM