Monday 17 March

Tuesday 18 March

Wednesday 19 March

Thursday 20 March

Friday 21 March [Good Friday]

Saturday – Sunday, 22 – 23 March [Easter]

Monday 17 March

• The Australian
  
  
  • Schools back Gillard funding plan
    by Milanda Rout
    
    "Teachers and principals have backed Julia Gillard's call to tie public school funding to socio-economic status, but have called for an urgent revamp of the existing SES model used federally for private school funding.

    "The Australian Education Union and the Australian Primary Principals Association welcomed the proposal by Ms Gillard to extend SES funding from Catholic and independent schools to government schools, but said the current private school SES funding model had "serious flaws" and "anomalies".

    "They argue it is the perfect time to review the controversial model because it does not measure individual parent wealth - rather the average wealth of the suburb parents live in - and therefore incorrectly gives some private schools too much funding.

    "State and territory governments kept relatively quiet on the issue yesterday, with some declining to comment until they received more detail on the proposal and others welcoming the discussion on school funding.

    "It is expected Ms Gillard, who revealed her SES funding expansion plan in The Weekend Australian, will take it to the next Council of Australian Governments meeting. Australian Education Union national president Angelo Gavrielatos said while he welcomed the move to introduce SES funding for government schools, the current model was unacceptable. "I am not embracing the SES funding model as it currently exists," he said.

    "It has serious flaws. It does not measure the individual wealth of parents, it measures the wealth of the census area." [emphasis added]

    Mr Gavrielatos said the current SES model meant 60 per cent of private schools "get more than they are entitled to" - which amounts to an extra $2.7 billion.

    "But he said if the federal Government implemented a different "SES index" for both public and private schools, it would dramatically improve public school funding.

    "Australian Primary Principals Association president Leonie Trimper agreed the SES funding model had to be reviewed.

    "West Australian Premier Alan Carpenter said he welcomed any discussion on more funding for schools in disadvantaged areas. "At last we have a federal Government that's willing to have meaningful discussions about issues like this," he said.

    "Tasmanian Education Minister David Bartlett also welcomed the proposal.

    "A Victorian government spokeswoman said it supported the principle of a uniform funding system for both private and public schools. "We would welcome any move by the commonwealth to provide federal funding for public schools, especially for those schools most in need," she said.

    "Queensland Education Minister Rod Welford was more reserved. "We are in-principle supportive of needs-based funding allocations, however I would want to talk to her further about how she might consider using the SES index in any allocation of future funding to state schools," Mr Welford said.

    "But both the NSW and South Australian governments refused to comment on the issue.

    "The Deputy Prime Minister yesterday rejected claims by Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson that the Government would take funding from public schools in high-income areas and give it to other more needy schools."

    From The Australian at link
    
    Similar story on ABC News
    
    
    
  • Editorial
    School profiles help funding decisions
    

    Governments are flying blind on socio-economic data

    "As Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard pointed out in an interview with Paul Kelly on the front page of The Weekend Australian, the federal Government has access to information on the profile of private schools via the socio-economic (SES) funding model. Frustratingly, however, it lacks that same information about government schools. It makes eminent sense that it should have it, which is why state governments need to co-operate with the Rudd Government on the matter through the Council of Australian Governments.

    "At present, government schools are funded through state governments on a per capita basis, with little reference to socio-economic disadvantage. Private schools are funded on the basis of their socio-economic index, introduced by the Howard government in 2001. Funding is based on the socio-economic status of school communities, using student addresses and census data to calculate the relative wealth of the school's families. Ms Gillard wants to extend that model to state schools to help redress educational disadvantage.

    "Yesterday, in response to concerns raised by Brendan Nelson, a former education minister, she gave the important commitment that under such a model, the Government would not take funding from public schools in high-income areas and give it to needier state schools. This is important. Undoubtedly, some schools need more funding to help students overcome disadvantage, but no school deserves to be worse off. [emphasis added]

    "When the SES model was introduced in 2001, the Coalition government guaranteed that no schools would lose money, even if their socio-economic status changed. As a result, about 60 per cent of Catholic and 25 per cent of independent schools are actually exempt from the full SES model.

    "In opposition, Labor paid a heavy price under Mark Latham's leadership at the 2004 election for its "hit list" of 67 private schools that would have had their funding cut and 111 that would have had it frozen. Despite growling from some teachers' unions, the Rudd Government, wisely, has no intention of relaunching such bitter and counterproductive class warfare. This is why, in The Weekend Australian, Ms Gillard repeated the ironclad election pledge to "maintain the current funding system for private schools for the next quadrennium." This ends in 2012.

    "No school funding model will ever be perfect or ever please all stakeholders, but the SES model enjoys widespread support from principals and teachers. Yesterday, Ms Gillard's proposal drew support from some states, and silence from others. Operating within it, the private school sector appears to have found few problems. In principle, provided the schools with the greatest needs gain extra support, and that those at the top of the tree are at least no worse off in real terms, it has much to recommend it. Given that they are much closer to their local school communities, it is surprising that no state has adopted such a model on its own initiative. The states and the federal Government, have, however, used special purpose education programs to target areas of need, such as schools falling below literacy and numeracy benchmarks.

    "Ms Gillard was wise to be careful not to overplay the links between socio-economic status and educational achievement. As she said, there is "nothing inherent about a low-SES family leading to a poor school outcome". Many of Australia's highest achievers, including the current and previous prime ministers, and the Deputy Prime Minister herself, attended state schools in regional and suburban Australia. So did many of the nation's leading figures in a wide range of fields, including business and science. Aside from funding, other issues also matter, including the quality of teacher training, curriculum rigour, effective school discipline policies and encouraging parental involvement.

    "In the technological age, however, resources are more important than ever. At secondary level, money for the best science, language and music programs, for IT support to draw the best from school computers, for library upgrades and for specialist teachers can make the difference between good and outstanding education. At primary level, well-directed extra investment is vital to improve the essential building blocks of literacy and numeracy. Reliable evidence points to the fact that most often, these tend to be below par in more isolated areas and those where socio-economic disadvantage is widespread. It is in the national interest, both economically and socially, that such areas of need be addressed with the good practices and resources. In order to do so, governments should not be "flying blind" without relevant socio-economic data about state school communities."
    

    From The Australian at link
    
    
    
  • Comment
    Improved student targeting long overdue
    by Justine Ferrari
    
    Finally, a policy from Labor that deserves the moniker Education Revolution.

    "The Rudd Government's decision, revealed in The Weekend Australian, to fund public schools based on the wealth of their community in a push to better target disadvantaged students is long overdue.

    "It heralds a first step in a revolutionary approach to school funding, one based on the needs of students and the capability of parents to contribute to their child's education. It will fund all schools - public, private and Catholic - on the same basis. It recognises that some students are more expensive to teach, namely those from disadvantaged backgrounds. And it recognises that some schools are more expensive to resource because they're in remote areas.

    "If this all sounds self-evident, you're right. But it was not until 2001 that the capability of parents to contribute to their child's education was taken into account. It's not an ideological stance but a fact. At government schools in affluent areas, children start school knowing what a book is, generally able to write their name and count to 10. Their parents contribute financially, whether paying extra for language or music teachers, or buying raffle tickets.

    "At present, the federal Government hands out schools funding to the states and territories based on the Average Government School Recurrent Costs, an index supposed to reflect the cost of educating the average student.

    "The index is widely criticised for being a crude measure that fails to take into account differences in school populations.

    "If the federal Government is to continue to fund private schools, the next step must be to review the flaws in the way they are funded. The SES model has wide support from government and private school systems, their teachers, principals and the community. If it is a good model, every school should be funded on that basis. No exceptions."

    From The Australian at link
    
    
    
• The West Australian
  
  
  • Teachers back funding rethink (page 18)
    by Bethany Hiatt

    "A Federal Government proposal to extend to State schools the model of funding that private schools get based on the socio-economic status of their students should start now rather than waiting four years principals and teachers said yesterday.

    "The State School Teachers Union and the Australian Primary Principals Association said that if Federal Education Minister Julia Gillard was acknowledging that many State schools were disadvantaged by funding arrangements, she should fix those inequities immediately.

    "Ms Gillard has flagged changes to the way public schools are funded that will be put to State education ministers at the next Council of Australian Governments meeting on March 26.

    "Private schools are funded by the Federal Government using a socio-economic status index which links students' home addresses and census data to build a profile of the financial background of the parents who send their children to private schools. Ms Gillard has pledged this model would continue for private schools until 2012.

    "Public schools are mostly funded by State governments, based on the number of students.

    "Ms Gillard said yesterday she wanted to help children who came from homes where they might not have learnt to recognise colours or hold a crayon or count before they came to school.

    "It's obviously got implications for resources, and that's the conversation we're having with our State and Territory colleagues," she said.

    "But SSTU president Anne Gisborne said that if Ms Gillard had already identified areas of weakness in the current funding model, it should not be allowed to continue for the next four year funding period, which starts next year.

    "That's four years worth of students potentially missing out," she said.

    "Australian Education Union president Angelo Gavrielatos called on the Government to act immediately because the use of an SES funding index for public schools would result in a significant boost in funding for those schools.

    "The Australian Primary Principals Association, which represents more than 7000 private and public primary schools, said the proposal dovetailed with a key recommendation in its latest submission for Federal funding, released yesterday.

    "AAPA president Leonie Trimper said public schools could not wait until 2013.

    "Our poorer schools are massively under-funded," she said.

    "That's why we are calling for a safety net or funding guarantee between States and Commonwealth that something will happen immediately until everything becomes operational."

    "Education Minister Mark McGowan backed the idea in principle but was yet to see any details.

    "The good thing is now we have a much more co-operative arrangement with the Commonwealth so we can actually talk to them sensibly about these sorts of issues," he said."

    From The West Australian

    
    

  • Changes make it easier to expel kids (page 18)
    by Bethany Hiatt

    "State school principals have welcomed moves to make it easier for them to expel violent and disruptive students.

    "Education Minister Mark McGowan yesterday announced changes to streamline the removal of disruptive pupils which is likely to increase the number suspended or excluded.

    "WA Secondary Schools Executive Association president Rob Nairn said principals would embrace anything that simplified the process and resulted in a safer working and learning environment.

    "He said many disruptive or violent students were better off in alternative educational programs such as those offered at the three behaviour centres which opened last year in Fremantle, Belmont and Kalgoorlie. WA Primary Principals Association president Stephen Breen said the exclusion process needed to be simplified.

    "But he called on the State Government to also fast-track the opening of specialist behaviour centres for primary school pupils.

    "Mr McGowan said the crack-down would stop disruptive students driving other pupils away from public schools.

    "It would also ensure that students who were expelled did not end up at another public school. They could attend a behaviour centre, workshops, TAFE programmes or private schools that specialised in troubled students.

    "If you bash your teacher and you are excluded from school, you shouldn't end up the next day at the school down the street," he said.

    "Asked how reducing paperwork would make principals more confident to expel students, Mr McGowan said: "What is does is send a message from me as Minister and from the department to schools that they can exclude and suspend students without any concern that there will be adverse findings or adverse perception of their school on the basis of excluding and suspending students."

    "Shadow education minister Peter Collier said that while he backed the move, its timing was political given the continuing pay negotiations with the teachers' union.

    "State School Teachers Union president Anne Gisborne welcomed the initiative but called for more behaviour management centres for disruptive students.

    "Last year, 28 students were expelled from State schools and there were 10,536 suspensions."

    From The West Australian
    
    

    
    
• The Sydney Morning Herald
  
  
  • You're out: long suspensions from school rise
    by Anna Patty Education Editor
    

    "NSW school principals are suspending one in 50 students for a week or more, mostly for physical violence and persistent misbehaviour, data shows.

    "NSW Department of Education figures to be published today show the number of long suspensions has increased by more than 2000 in the past three years. Last year there were 13,406 suspensions for at least five days, compared with 12,326 in 2006.

    "Most occurred in the Hunter and Central Coast region (2627) followed by south-western Sydney (2366) and the North Coast (1629). The NSW Minister for Education, John Della Bosca, said school principals were taking tougher action earlier, reducing the need to expel as many students for bad behaviour. Last year 187 students were expelled for misbehaviour, compared with 221 in 2006 and 243 in 2005.

    "However, the total number of expulsions, including those for unsatisfactory school participation, rose from 299 to 308 last year. "Bad behaviour won't be tolerated, and a small minority will not be allowed to disrupt the learning of the vast majority of hard-working students," Mr Della Bosca said.

    "Legislation strengthening the authority of principals, and revised departmental policies and increased resources had led to a steady increase in the numbers of students suspended, he said.

    "Given we have 740,000 public school students, these numbers are relatively small: fewer than two long suspensions for every 100 students."

    "Mr Della Bosca said there had been a steady decline in the number of suspensions for possessing illegal drugs and weapons.

    "The new data will be published for the third consecutive year on the Department of Education's website.

    "Mr Della Bosca said 88 per cent of students sent to suspension centres improved their behaviour and did not return."

From The Sydney Morning Herald at link

• The Age
  
  
  • Few want to be principal
    by Caroline Milburn
    

    "Most new school leaders do not feel well prepared to do their job and two-thirds of Australia's principals believe teacher pay structures are not effective in keeping good staff.

    "The snapshot of the nation's school workforce reveals high levels of dissatisfaction with two areas considered crucial in lifting student results: leadership quality and the ability to attract the brightest minds to teaching.

    "Only 10% of teachers and 20% of deputy principals intend to apply for jobs as school heads within the next three years, according to findings from the Staff in Australia's Schools survey, a nationwide study commissioned by the Federal Government.

    "Heavy workloads and the difficulty in balancing work and family demands were teachers' main reasons for not wanting to be principals. The survey revealed secondary school principals spend an average of 59 hours a week on school-related activities, while primary principals spend an average of 55 hours.

    "Dr Phillip McKenzie, the survey's project leader, says the reluctance of deputy principals to apply for the top job in schools posed a big problem for policy-makers.

    "It is worrying that among deputies - those closest to the demands of the job - so few want to be principals. There's a message there about role overload," says Dr McKenzie, a research director at the Australian Council for Educational Research.

    "And there are large levels of dissatisfaction among principals and teachers about the current pay structure for teachers. These findings add weight to calls for a restructuring of school leadership and salary structures."

    "The survey canvassed the views of more than 13,000 primary and secondary teachers and school leaders working in government and independent schools last year.

    "Its findings about the poor quality of leadership preparation are reinforced by another study released by the government in January, the Australian section of the OECD Improving School Leadership Report. The study concluded Australia did not have a consistent or co-ordinated national framework for training school leaders.

    "It found the diversity of state and territory-based programs made it hard to gauge their effectiveness.

    "Fred Ackerman, president of the Victorian Principals Association, says the findings about poor leadership preparation are depressing in light of the fact the peak national organisations representing primary and secondary school principals identified it as a national problem more than 10 years ago. Both groups asked the then federal government to do something about it. The result was the establishment in 2005 of Teaching Australia but principals were disappointed the institute's role was expanded to include professional development for teachers.

    "We need a national college and we're still training and preparing our school leaders in the most minimal way: on shoestring budgets with largely on-the-job training," Mr Ackerman says.

    "The current system has grown over time in an unco-ordinated and incoherent fashion. The community is no longer prepared to accept that because there's an urgency about what schools need to deliver."

    "The Australian Secondary Principals Association's executive team raised concerns about the matter with federal Education Minister Julia Gillard last month.

    "They told Ms Gillard that Teaching Australia's dual role of representing teachers and school leaders was too broad and the input from leadership groups and teacher associations on such matters as national standards had clouded and hindered reform.

    "According to notes of the meeting posted on the association's website, Ms Gillard told the executive she was interested in the topic of leadership preparation but did not want to comment on Teaching Australia or its future. After Ms Gillard left to attend another meeting, her adviser, Tom Bentley, told the association members the Rudd Government would like to develop a national leadership framework.

    "Mr Ackerman says the school survey's finding that most principals believed their schools' salary structure was ineffective in retaining or attracting good teachers also showed that the piecemeal approach to a national problem had failed.

    "We tinker with changes to teacher salaries and career structures at the state level, and every few years state and territory governments get caught up in debilitating wage negotiations because teacher salaries are so inadequate," he says.

    "The profession's salary structure should be reviewed at the national level in co-operation with the states so better incentives and rewards are created to recognise excellent teaching."

    School snapshot: What the teaching profession thinks
    
    Most principals did not feel well prepared for their first leadership job.

    Most new teachers say their pre-service training did not prepare them well for pupils with learning problems.

    Two-thirds of principals say their school's pay structure fails to attract or keep good teachers.

    70% of teachers believe higher pay based on competence or qualifications would keep teachers in schools.

    More than half of primary teachers say they need more professional development, especially in student assessment and computer use in class.

    Source: Staff in Australia's Schools 2007, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.

    From The Age at link
    
    
    

• News.com.au
  
  
  • Father wants refund on Brighton Grammar school fees
    by Fiona Hudson
    
    * Twins humiliated by 'disastrous' exam results
    * Father wants up to $400K in fees be refunded
    * Elite school says it gave special assistance to boys
    
    "A father whose twin sons flunked their final exams is demanding an elite private school repay up to $400,000 in fees.

    "Victorian Steven Weybury, unhappy with his sons' VCE results, has challenged Brighton Grammar to refund the money spent educating his twins from kindergarten to year 12.

    "He has alleged his boys were humiliated by their VCE results.

    "Mr Weybury - a partner in a city law firm - claims he warned the school that his boys were headed for academic disaster in their final year and attempted to remove them at the end of year 11.

    "But school bosses persuaded him to let the boys stay on and assured him that they could cope emotionally and academically, he claims.

    "The boys did not successfully complete year 12 in any respect," court documents allege.

    "The boys obtained placements in courses of a type which did not require year 12 attendance."

    "Mr Weybury has sought a refund of fees paid for the boys between 1994 and 2007, as well as damages and legal costs.

    "The plaintiff paid fees to (the school) for a total of 28 years in an amount of the region of $400,000," court documents allege.

    "The lack of achievement of the boys in all areas considered important . . . confirms that the payment of fees were (sic) excessive and unnecessary."

    "Mr Weybury has alleged his sons suffered psychological and emotional harm arising during their VCE year.

    "In a defence filed with the court, lawyers for Brighton Grammar said the school had provided special assistance to the boys throughout their schooling.

    "The boys were also given extra language and maths classes and speech therapy in primary school years, according to the school.

    "The school also claimed in its defence that each boy completed VCE and each was offered and accepted a place in a tertiary course of his choice."

    From News.com.au at link

Tuesday 18 March

• The West Australian
  
  
  • Teachers bid for strike option (page 15)
    by Bethany Hiatt
    
    "Parents are facing the prospect of more teacher strikes, with the teachers’ union preparing to appeal against an order by the WA Industrial Relations Commission which banned it from holding any further stop-work meetings.
    
    "The State School Teachers Union defied the commission’s directive to call off a half-day strike on February 28, though it has backed away from threats of further industrial action since then.
    
    "But SSTU president Anne Gisborne said yesterday the union was seeking to change part of the commission’s order, which put a blanket ban on any other stop-work meetings being called during the current pay negotiations.
    
    “We’re saying that’s unreasonable,” Ms Gisborne said. “We want to be able to have an option to consider this type of industrial action again. It’s an issue of principle because the order itself effectively prevents any consideration of that type of industrial action and as a union we would consider that type of industrial action as a right . . . and it’s a mechanism to put pressure on an employer.”
    
    "Ms Gisborne said the union’s legal advice was that the commissioner’s order was “unreasonably broad”. It would seek to have the matter dealt with in the next few weeks.
    
    "She conceded that the union might hold another stop-work meeting if the order was changed to remove the ban. “It could mean that, if that were the case, we may consider that (a stopwork meeting) as an option,” she said.
    
    "IRC registrar John Spurling confirmed that an appeal to the full bench against Commissioner Jennifer Harrison’s order was lodged late yesterday.
    
    "In a separate matter, the union is due to appear before the full bench next week to explain why it went ahead with the February stop-work meeting in defiance of the order.
    
    "State school teachers are seeking across-the-board pay rises of more than 20 per cent over three years in the increasingly bitter enterprise bargaining agreement with the Department of Education and Training.
    
    "More than 7000 teachers walked off the job for half a day when the union went ahead with its strike last month. Thousands attended the stop-work meeting held in Langley Park, which was also podcast to other centres around the State.
    
    "Teachers who attended the Langley Park rally voted in favour of a series of resolutions, including pledging support for further industrial action if the Government did not speed up pay negotiations.
    
    "Teachers have also imposed a ban on any work outside normal hours, including attending camps, excursions and sporting events, since the start of the school year.
    
    "The department also sought to have the union ban lifted but the commissioner refused, saying that the work ban did not constitute industrial action."
    
    From The West Australian at link
    
    Similar story on ABC News
    
    
    
    
  • Letter to the Editor (page 22)
    
    
    • Shame on teachers
      
      "I have just seen an advert on TV which has prompted me to write this letter. It totally disgusts me. It's an advert for a pay rise for teachers using children to plead their cause. Children should never be used for an ad like that. I think it was authorised by the teachers' union. Shame on you. Have you no scruples?"
      
      J Tate, Port Denison
      
      
      
      
• The Australian
  
  
  • Children to form part of fund mix [Lead story]
    by Justine Ferrari, Education writer
    
    "A child's language and social skills, their health, emotional maturity and their parents' occupations will determine public school funding under a plan being considered by the Rudd Government.

    "Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Julia Gillard is considering a comprehensive model to identify disadvantaged schools that takes into account a child's development as well as socioeconomic indicators.

    "The plan, which would extend to the public sector the model used to fund private schools, will be considered by the Council of Australian Governments meeting in Adelaide next week.

    "But the Government is still working out the best way of measuring socioeconomic status and will not necessarily transfer the private school model to the public system.

    "The present funding model, introduced in 2001 by the Howard government, matches students' addresses with census data to calculate socioeconomic status (SES). But critics argue that this allows distortions to occur, particularly with boarding schools that attract students from affluent rural families.

    "A student's postcode may lower a school's SES score, even though that family's income may be much higher than other households in the area.

    "The Government is considering methods of measuring socioeconomic status used by the states and territories, such as the Victorian model that includes a parents occupations.

    "Ms Gillard also favours using a developmental index in conjunction with socioeconomic factors to identify students at risk of falling behind when they start school. A model using the Australian Early Development Index would be used for primary school funding.

    "A socioeconomic index is one way of (identifying disadvantage)," Ms Gillard said.

    "Another way of doing it is a special index we've funded.

    "It's a population measure, which will enable us to identify those schools that have numbers of children that are at risk of education or developmental delay.

    "It is a very powerful tool to work out where we need to intervene to make sure that those children end up with a great education."

    "The AEDI uses a checklist of 100 factors to assess children's physical health and wellbeing, social competence, emotional maturity, language and learning skills as well as communication skills and general knowledge.

    "The AEDI is designed to identify children at risk of falling behind in the first five years of life."
    
    From The Australian at link
    
    
    

  • One in three UK teachers attacked
    by Alexandra Frean
    

    "Violence in British classrooms is on the increase, but it is not only the pupils who are the victims, according to a survey that has found that nearly a third of teachers have been punched, kicked, bitten or pinched by children or attacked with weapons or missiles.

    "More than half of teachers in Britain say that their school’s policy on pupils’ poor behaviour is not tough enough and two thirds have considered leaving the profession because of physical aggression, verbal abuse and threats.

    "The survey, published today by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, suggests that excluding the most violent youngsters does not help because they will repeat the pattern of violence at neighbouring schools.

    "Mary Bousted, the union’s general secretary, said that no teacher should have to put up with the behaviour seen in schools today.

    “Not only is poor behaviour driving teaching staff away at an alarming rate, it is also damaging the chances of other pupils during lessons by causing major disruptions,” she said.

    "Speaking ahead of the union’s annual conference in Torquay today, Ms Bousted said that one in 10 teachers had received physical injuries in the classroom.

    "Twelve per cent said that they had needed to visit a doctor and 8 per cent had taken leave from teaching as a result of pupils’ aggression..."

    Full story in The Australian at link

    
    

• ABC News
  
  
  • Teachers union to scrutinise 'disadvantaged schools'
    
    "The State School Teachers Union says the Federal Government must be careful when deciding which schools are singled out as disadvantaged to receive extra funding.

    "The Education Minister Julia Gillard plans to give extra resources to disadvantaged public schools and is considering a new model to identify which schools qualify.

    "Ms Gillard would not quantify the amount of funding required but told the ABC's Lateline programme the funding would be part of the next four year agreement between the commonwealth and the the states and territories.

    "The Union president Anne Gisborne says big salary levels as a consequence of WA's mining boom distort traditional socio-economic indicators, which show disadvantaged schools are those in areas of low household income.

    "You may well find very strong incomes going in to a family but you may find there are low levels of literacy," she said.

    "You may find that there are social problems etc that interfere with the child's capacity to learn, they may still continue to be disadvantaged in the learning context.

    "I think Gillard is picking up something that's important to examine and have a look at that there may well be other factors that need to be wrapped into that mechanism and recognised so that we get a genuine identification of disadvantage.

    "The notion of looking at addressing specifically disadvantaged schools, on the surface looks positive, but we would need to have a closer look at what it looks like once they apply that particular mechanism."

    From ABC News at link
    
    
    
    
• The Age
  
  
  • Editorial
    You get the universities you are willing to pay for [late update from 17 March]
    
    The Rudd Government is not the first to talk of an education revolution. It is time to lay the foundations of a university system that will endure.
    
    
    
  • Cost of uni no barrier, study finds
    
    Teenagers from poor families are not deterred from going to university, despite the increasing costs, a new study has found.

    But the sons of blue collar workers are less likely to study at tertiary level as their family income rises, partly because they have seen their fathers do well without a degree.
    
    
    

  • The Monday Education Supplement has 13 articles this week
    
    
    
    
• The Sydney Morning Herald
  
  
  • Lures on campus as bosses compete
    
    Employers are so keen to snap up top graduates at careers fairs they are offering sweeteners such as competitions for overseas travel and electronic games and free food.
    
    
    
    
• Law Institute Journal
  
  
  • Edukashonal negligence
    by Jason Newman
    
    Cite as: (2008) 82(1&2) LIJ, p. 34

    "With the US rejecting educational negligence claims and the UK allowing claims in limited circumstances, how should Australian courts deal with such claims?
    

    "In recent years two Melbourne private schools have faced claims from disgruntled parents that the schools failed to provide an adequate education to their children.[1] Both claims settled prior to trial. A similar claim against the Victorian Education Department is likely to be heard this year. [2] So far Australia has not had a successful case for what has been termed "educational negligence". [meaning they've been settled pre-trial... Web]

    Actions against schools

    "There is no shortage of examples of successful claims against schools in Australia for negligence in almost every area of school life. In the seminal case of The Commonwealth of Australia v Introvigne,[3] the High Court stated that: "A school authority owes to its pupil a duty to ensure that reasonable care is taken of them whilst they are on school premises" (at 269). That duty encompasses responsibility for all aspects of students' physical and mental wellbeing. However, the High Court has yet to decide whether that duty extends to ensuring reasonable care in the fundamental activity in which schools are engaged: the teaching of students.

    "In other influential jurisdictions, such as the US and UK, many more claims have been brought against schools for educational negligence. If an Australian case for educational negligence reaches a higher court, can it succeed? A review of some of the US and UK cases, and the way Australian courts have treated some of the principles involved, may provide an answer.

    The US experience

    "Perhaps the most surprising trend in educational negligence cases is that the US does not lead the charge. Ever since the first "educational malpractice" claims (as they are called in the US) in the 1970s, the US courts have consistently denied plaintiffs relief on the basis of public policy.

    "In the case of Peter W v San Francisco Unified School District,[4] an 18-year-old student sued the educational authority due to his poor reading and writing ability. He alleged the school had been negligent in failing to determine that he had a reading disability. The court rejected the claim as not disclosing an actionable duty of care. The court cited a number of policy reasons, including that it was not able to decide an acceptable standard of care, as there were conflicting theories "of how or what a child should be taught" (at 824). Other factors included that to allow an actionable duty of care against a school would expose them to a "flood" of claims and that the court did not want to add to the problems of "limitations imposed upon them by their publicly supported budgets" (at 825).

    "In the case of Donohue v Copiague School District,[5] another allegedly illiterate student sued his school for failing to provide adequate reading assistance. The court, in refusing to allow the claim, held that "recognition in the Courts of this cause of action would constitute blatant interference with the responsibility for the administration of the public school system" (at 445).

    "Since the Peter W and Donohue decisions, and several other similar cases, the US courts have steadfastly refused to allow almost all educational negligence claims to get past the first hurdle. There is only a handful of examples of successful cases, and they generally fall outside the "standard"
    educational negligence claim - for example, the successful claim of Snow v State of New York,[6] where the failure to diagnose deafness and place the student in an appropriate educational setting "constituted a discernable act of medical malpractice on the part of the State rather than a mere error in judgement vis-a-vis claimant's educational progress [sic]" (at 964). The court clearly distinguished the case from the educational malpractice cases on that basis.

    "The US shows no signs of reversing the long line of cases refusing to recognise educational malpractice.

    The English experience

    "Almost as surprising as the US responses have been the more recent English decisions in educational negligence claims. The first major decision to reach the English House of Lords was in 1995 in the case of X (Minors) v Bedfordshire CC.[7]

    "That case involved five plaintiffs, three of whom claimed educational negligence against school authorities. The claims were based on alleged breaches of statutory duty, as well as common law negligence.

    "The House of Lords would not allow the claims based on direct liability for negligence in providing an educational service, but did allow the pleadings to stand on the basis of the authorities' vicarious liability for its employees - in these cases, mostly the educational psychologists. Lord Brown Wilkinson said: "In my judgement a school which accepts a pupil assumes responsibility not only for his physical well being but also for his educational needs. The education of the pupil is the very purpose for which the child goes to the school" (at 45).

    "The X (Minors) case was followed by the landmark House of Lords decision in Phelps v Mayor Etc of the London Borough of Hillingdon Anderton and Clwyd County Council and In Re G (A Minor) v Hampshire County Council.[8] In the Phelps decision four cases were heard together. Three of the children were dyslexic and the fourth child, "G", was suffering from Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The plaintiffs claimed the schools and their employees either failed to diagnose their learning disability or, in the case of "G", did not provide a proper education taking into account his special needs.

    "The Court again distinguished between claims directly against education authorities for their own negligence, and those in which the local authority or school was said to be vicariously liable for the breach of duty of its employees. On the question of breach of statutory duty, after a review of the statutes under which the schools operated, the Court concluded that Parliament did not intend "that there should be a remedy by way of damages for breach of statutory duty".[9]

    "The Court had no such trouble confirming the view in X (Minors) that "a head teacher owes a duty of care to exercise the reasonable skills of a headmaster in relation to ... a child's educational needs" (at 518c).

    "In direct contrast to the policy reasons given by US courts, the House of Lords said that "questions as to causation and as to the quantum of damage, particularly if actions are brought long after the event, may be very difficult, but there is no reason in principle to rule out such claims".[10] In answering the question of whether there were any public policy reasons why the courts should not recognise liability, the Court held that as long as teachers were held to the standard of "ordinary skill of an ordinary competent man exercising that particular art" (which is a restatement of the Bolam test),[11] then the policy arguments are no reason to remove the right to pursue the cause of action.

    "Since the Phelps decision, while there has not been the opening of floodgates predicted in the US decisions, there has been a steady growth in educational negligence claims. It is interesting to note that the subsequent UK decisions involve students with specific learning difficulties, and not students for whom there was no identifiable learning disability and who nevertheless failed to succeed in the regular classroom.

    "The court in Phelps was careful to point out that "the existence of a duty of care owed by teachers to their pupils should not be regarded as a basis for the mounting of generalised 'educational malpractice' claims".[12] Nevertheless, the principles in both the Phelps and X (Minors) cases would arguably extend to allowing claims for educational negligence based on a repeated failure of a teacher or an educational institution to adequately teach a student.

    The position in Australia

    "As yet, there have been no reported decisions in Australia on the question of educational negligence. Certainly Australia's court system is comfortable with attaching liability to the acts or omissions of a very broad range of professionals.

    "There is arguably, in the Australian legal system, a much less marked reliance on public policy as a determinant for liability than appears to be the case in the US in educational malpractice cases. As was pointed out in the English cases, the limits on professional liability can and have been made by legislators throughout common law countries, and it has been argued that it is not for the courts to decide which professions should be protected and which not. In the rare cases where higher courts in Australia have allowed professionals immunity from liability, the basis on which such immunity has been given, for example, is a duty to the court[13] rather than the sorts of public policy arguments put forward by the US courts, such as the "floodgates" arguments, or the inability to set a standard of care.

    Duty of care

    "As neither English nor US courts have denied the possibility of a duty of care that schools and teachers owe to their students, it seems likely that this would not be a major hurdle in the Australian context. As the court in Donohue stated: "If doctors, lawyers, architects, engineers and other professionals are charged with a duty owing to the public whom they serve, it could be said that nothing in the law precludes similar treatment of professional educators".[14]

    Standard of care

    "Where US courts found it impossible to establish a standard of care, the House of Lords simply applied the Bolam test. In Australia the Bolam test for professional negligence was overruled by the High Court in the case of Rogers v Whitaker,[15] but has been reinstated to a large extent by the recent tort reforms.[16] The post-Phelps decisions in the UK involved evidence from educational professionals as to the appropriate actions to be taken in the particular circumstances of the student alleging negligence.
    
    "For example, in the case of Liennard v Slough Borough Council[17] the court applied the Bolam test and, based on expert evidence, found that the teachers "acted in a way which reasonably competent teachers between 1985 and 1989 would have acted" (at 166) and could find no negligence.

    Problems of proof

    "Perhaps one of the reasons that an educational negligence claim has not reached an Australian court for decision, and that the English decisions have only occurred in the past 10 to 15 years, is that there are significant problems of proof in educational negligence not faced by those alleging other kinds of professional negligence. First, children are taught by many teachers, and sometimes many schools, making the exact breach difficult to identify. There are sometimes myriad reasons for academic failure, only one of which may be negligent teaching.
    
    "Second, determining exactly what damages flow from the inadequate teaching is often a major difficulty.

    "Unless there has been a clear and unambiguous negligent act, it is very difficult to reason from a student's poor academic performance that there has been an educational failure. Most of the cases, either successful or unsuccessful, have arisen in circumstances where there has been an identifiable teaching failure, or overlooking of a specific disability, rather than a student's failure in academic progress without a clear act or failure to act by a teacher or teachers. Lord Nicholls in Phelps commented that "proof of under-performance by a child is not by itself evidence of negligent teaching. There are many, many more reasons for under-performance".[18]

    "As an example, in the case of Liennard the plaintiff claimed a school had failed, over a three-year period, to assess properly, or at all, his learning difficulties and refer him to the appropriate services. Even at trial, the plaintiff was said to be suffering from a number of conditions and "the experts ... struggled to describe his condition with any degree of unanimity".[19] The court was not convinced that the plaintiff's presentation at the relevant time at school was enough to suggest that he was suffering from "exceptional difficulty" requiring "some exceptional response".

    Non-tortious claims

    "Although this article is chiefly concerned with tortious claims, there are other bases on which schools may be held accountable for educational failures.

    "Most of the public policy reasons surrounding schools' immunity from suit revolved around the state's duty to educate children. These arguments are less relevant for the non-government sector. In addition, in non-government schools there is a contract between the parents of the child and the school.
    There is also the possibility of an action under the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth). Those potential liabilities for non-government schools have yet to be explored by the courts.

    "Finally, there have been a number of successful claims against schools for discrimination in provision of educational services to children with specific learning disabilities that have resulted in these children not reaching their full potential.[20] Perhaps it is the very success of these discrimination claims that has obviated the need for parents to sue schools for negligence in Australia.

    The future

    "Commentators have predicted the coming of educational negligence claims in Australia for many years.[21] The expectation was particularly high after the X (Minors) and Phelps cases. Nevertheless, the height of the hurdles should not be underestimated.
    
    "First, an Australian court will need to decide whether the law will allow a claim of educational negligence. Second, the standard of care and its breach must be established. Third, and most importantly, there must be adequate evidence that the breach caused some measurable and identifiable loss. It may be many years before an Australian court has to answer the question of why Julie can't spell, whether she suffered any loss as a consequence and whether, if a school is found responsible, it should compensate her for that loss."

    Jason Newman is a partner with TressCox Lawyers, practising in insurance and common law litigation. The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Eve Temple Smith in the preparation of this article.

From the Law Institute Journal

 

Wednesday 19 March

• The Australian
  
  
  • Disadvantaged schools to get new cash
    by Justine Ferrari, Education writer
    
    "The federal Government will seek to establish a new funding arrangement targeting disadvantaged schools, rather than overhauling the existing programs.

    Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Julia Gillard will take a proposal to the Council of Australian Governments meeting next week to develop a measure of disadvantage in schools based on socio-economic and child development factors.

    Ms Gillard is proposing that schools identified as disadvantaged receive targeted funding over and above the resources that are provided at present.

    The Government currently pays specific purpose grants to the states and territories that are tied to individual programs, such as providing extra resources for disabled and rural students or children from low socio-economic backgrounds..."
    
    Full story in The Australian at link
    
    
    

  • Method is the message
    
    A report by economists into school productivity since the 1960s ignores some vital sociopolitical shifts, writes David Zyngier
    
    Economists Andrew Leigh and Chris Ryan attempt to show in their recent paper that the productivity of schools and their teachers has declined by 73 per cent between 1964 and 2003 compared with an overall increase of 64 per cent across the Australian economy.
    
    These are among the claims they make:
    
    
    • A small but statistically significant fall in student numeracy and literacy has taken place during the period 1964-2003.
    • Factors such as demographic or social changes are not sufficient to explain these changes.
    • Between 1964 and 2003, government spending for each child increased by 243 per cent.
    • Most of this increased expenditure can be explained by a decrease in class sizes and student-teacher ratios. Therefore, smaller class sizes have not increased educational productivity (and presumably are a waste oftime).

  
  

  • New funds for unis off until 2010
    
    A process for funding reform outlined by federal Education Minister Julia Gillard confirms 2010 as the first year in which universities are likely to see significant new money from the Rudd Government.
    
    
    
    
  • Comment / Blog
    Let’s aim for the top 10
    by Margaret Gardner, vice-chancellor of RMIT University
    
    "There has been a decade of reducing government investment per student in Australia while many of the higher education systems in our region, such as China and Singapore, have had major increases in investment.
    
    "There are significant skills shortages in many fields in Australia, and demographic projections suggest that, without major investment and new strategies, those skills shortages will be more acute in the coming decades. The development of the Australian economy is dependent on access to new knowledge and new technology.

    "The need for skilled graduates, ensuring a population with the education to support innovation and adaptability in the face of fast-changing global conditions, and a strong research base to create knowledge and fuel innovation, all rely on a strong higher education system.

    "The success of international higher education depends on clear policy and investment. International education contributes to Australia from the international graduates who stay as migrants - more than 40 per cent of all our skilled migrants come from people who completed their qualifications here.

    "Given the decline in public investment per student over the past decade and the rise of investment in many countries around the world, questions arise about what it takes for Australian higher education to contribute at the level and quality needed..."
    

    Full story in The Australian at link
    
    
    

  • Foreign students a local necessity
    

    Universities could mount a public relations campaign to make sure Australians do not turn against the education export market that brings large numbers of foreign students to Australian campuses.
    
    

  • Fund to serve wider sector
    

    The higher education endowment fund is to be spread around the sector and not concentrated at a small number of universities, following advice from the federal Government.
    
    

  • Staff say uni bosses 'incompetent'
    

    Almost half of our academics believe their university management is incompetent. That is the sobering picture from a survey of 1200 academics in 21 local institutions for the worldwide Changing Academic Profession study.

    
    

• The West Australian
  
  
  • Letters to the Editor (page 22)
    
    
    • Put fun back into learning

      "Instead of adding to stress and conflict in the home, especially through the ubiquitous and dreaded "project", why don't schools run a couple of workshops a year on "parents as educators" thus encouraging reading for enjoyment or information, shared time between adults and children through picture books, stories, painting, drawing, playing indoor and outdoor games, visiting art galleries and museums, sculpture by the sea, family festival events and concerts in the park.

      "Most of these educational and enjoyable shared experiences can be accessed free of charge. The time teachers save can be directed towards the motivational teaching and learning workshops, with time to spare once homework becomes a rare and meaningful pursuit.

      "Learning should be fun. The fun should not switch off at the end of the first year of school because the child now has entered the "serious" phase. Let them be kids and retain their wide-eyed wonder of learning, their innocence and passion.

      "Discipline is rarely an issue when children are engaged in their own learning and have opportunities for independent learning, small-group learning and a good degree of autonomy in their learning.

      "And while we are at it, let's toss out the concept that a "quiet classroom" is an industrious classroom, Yes, we all need time for silent reading, time alone and a little mediation every day. What we don't need is to stifle the verbal side of communication, the sharing of ideas while we work, the acquired self-discipline that comes from knowing when to keep quiet and when to talk, when to listen and when to contribute.

      "Silence is not a precursor to learning. Communication, spoken, written, visual, auditory and tactile is the key. And it has nothing to do with puerile and meaningless homework tasks."

      Carol Peters, Shenton Park
      
      

    • Amazing pay

      "After reading Heather Blackwell's letter (11/3), I too was amazed at the pay that teachers get. I am a nurse/midwife/lactation consultant with 20-plus years of nursing experience.

      "I do shiftwork, get six weeks annual leave, do 99 per cent of my professional development in my own time (no such thing as "patient-free" days for us, unlike teachers having pupil-free days for professional development), struggle with parking every time I go to work, put up with sometimes rude adult clients and visitors, be asked if I can do a double shirt at least once a fortnight and get about half of what teachers get in pay.

      "I tell you what, how about we swap jobs, conditions and pay packets? I think I might even change my profession."

      T. Davidson, Duncraig
      

      
      
      
  • I feared being killed: boy in bully case (page 17)
    by Christiana Jones

    "The young victim of a violent assault allegedly carried out by a group of schoolboys has described being so scared and in pain that he cried and wet his pants and feared he might be killed while his alleged attackers laughed."

    "The 13 year-old boy gave evidence in Perth Children's Court yesterday where another 13-year-old is fighting charges of deprivation of liberty, making threats to kill, assault occasioning bodily harm and common assault."

    "It is alleged the accused boy is one of four students who took part in a group assault on their fellow pupil in bush just outside their high school in June last year."

    "Prosecutor, Sean Stocks, said the accused boy confronted the teenager before class and was part of a group who took him to a makeshift hut where he was given painful wedgies, hung by his underwear from a tree stump, pinned around the neck with a branch, whipped with branches and threatened with an axe."

    "The accused boy was a party to the attack, Mr Stock said."

    "The victim was allegedly forced to kiss another boy, punched, had his sandwiches smeared on his face, his lunchbox urinated in and was made to get into a "grave" where dirt was shovelled over him. The accused boy, who was 12 at the time of the attack but described as "twice my size" by the alleged victim, also allegedly punched the teenager the next day at school and placed his school bag under a tap."

    "Yesterday, the student described his alleged attackers laughing while he hung from the tree stump by his pants, telling the court he at times cried and wet his pants out of fear."

    "(I thought) they might kill me because some stuff had already happened and they had an axe," he told the court."

    "However, the boy's evidence wavered during cross-examination, with defence lawyer Vesna Amidzic suggesting he was inconsistent and suddenly adding allegations against her client because he was on trial."

    "Ms Amidzic suggested the teenager had "tagged along" with the group wagging school and things only turned ugly in the afternoon when the group, who had dispersed when they thought they heard a teacher, found the alleged victim rifling through their bags."

    "What was done to you was horrible but it isn't the whole story," Ms Amidzic said. The trial continues."

    From The West Australian
    
    
    

• The Sydney Morning Herald
  
  
  • Students call for cheaper degrees, more support
    
    University students are rallying at campuses across Australia to call for better income support and cheaper degrees for the launch of the National Union of Students' 2008 campaign.
    
    
    
• ABC News
  
  
  • Teachers dismayed at lack of pay offer
    
    "The Australian Education Union (AEU) has expressed disappointment that teachers have not been given a firm pay offer by the South Australian Government.

    "The union has been in discussions with the Education Department in recent weeks and says it had expected a formal offer to be put on the table today.

    "It wants a 21 per cent pay rise over three years, reduced class sizes and incentives to attract and retain teachers.

    "AEU president Correna Haythorpe says the current enterprise agreement expires in less than a fortnight.

    ""We're probably at the very beginning of our negotiations and we'll be calling on the State Government to treat education workers with respect and to table an offer that strengthens public education in South Australia," she said."

    From ABC News at link
    
    
    
    
  • Regional public servants stop work in support of better pay
    
    Public sector workers have held stop work meetings across regional Western Australia. [I wonder if the Government will attempt to get the IRC to ban those, too. Web]
    
    
    
  • Public servants to stop work in regional centres
    
    The State Government has been warned it will struggle to staff government agencies in the regional Western Australia unless it agrees to a new pay claim by public sector workers.
    
    
    
    
• The Washington Post
  
  
  • New Program To Take Early Action to Help Those Failing
    by V. Dion Haynes
    
    Many Agencies Joining In-Home Counseling Effort
    
    "Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's administration plans to introduce early intervention programs next month that extend beyond the classroom for students who display academic and behavior problems. The pilot program includes in-home substance-abuse counseling, solutions for public-aid problems and other programs for students' troubled families.
    
    "Urban educators have long recognized that the academic failure of many students can be traced to dysfunctional homes. Intervention programs offered at such schools focus mainly on academic support, such as after-school tutoring and Saturday classes.

    "In the new program, called D.C. START, which was formed in cooperation with 17 D.C. agencies, specially trained school counselors will seek to uncover the root of students' classroom problems, city officials said. If the problems are determined to stem from the home, counselors could get involved in trying to solve a range of issues, including substance abuse, domestic violence, job training and illiteracy.

    "The pilot program, formally known as the Student Assessment and Resilience Team, will begin next month at Truesdell and Barnard elementary schools in Northwest Washington, said Deputy Mayor for Education Victor Reinoso, whose office is overseeing the program..."
    
    Full story in The Washington Post at link

Thursday 20 March

• The West Australian
  
  
  • State schools, parents free to pick principals (page 17)
    by Bethany Hiatt

    "State schools will be given the freedom to choose their own principals from next term, with parents given a greater say in the process, instead of being assigned their leaders under a complex bureaucratic scheme.

    "Department of Education and Training director-general Sharyn O'Neill told senior staff yesterday she was modernizing recruitment practices in line with recommendations made in a damning report released last year by recruitment firm Gerard Daniels, which said they were antiquated and impersonal.

    "Ms O'Neill said that under the current system, which appoints principals from a central pool once a year, some schools have had as many as seven principals in four years.

    "Schools would now get principals assigned much sooner, rather than have an acting principal in the role for up to a year. Parent representatives could be included on school selection panels.

    "This way it will be rolling appointments continuously, at the point of need, which is an enormous difference for schools," Ms O'Neill said.

    "Education Minister Mark McGowan said the appointment of principals had long been a source of frustration and concerns for teachers, principals and parents. "This new system will give local communities and principals a far greater say while still having the appropriate checks and balances in place to ensure a fair recruitment system," he said.

    "About 600 schools will be eligible to choose their own principals but 187 smaller schools will not.

    "WA primary Principals Association president Stephen Breen hoped the move was the first stage of a review of all principal and teacher transfers and promotions. WA Secondary School Executives Association president Rob Nairn said it welcomed anything that simplified the current cumbersome process and which gave school communities a chance to have some input into choosing their principals.

    "But State School Teachers Union president Anne Gisborne feared that some schools would be disadvantaged because desirable schools would be more likely to attract more quality applicants. "There are higher risks of nepotism and selection of people that you are familiar with," she said.

    "WA Council of State School Organisations president Rob Fry said parents had to be involved in selection processes to ensure they worked properly."

    From the West Australian
    
    Education Minister Mark Mcgowan's Media Statement: Appointment shake-up for principals

     

  • Inside Cover
    Sneakers slips up on bra-strap bait (page 2)
    Edited by Luke Morfesse

    "The Government is still trying to make mileage out of Liberal leader Troy Buswell's ill-judged encounter last October with a Labor staffer's bra strap.

    "On Tuesday, Parliament's least funniest frontbencher Mark "Sneakers" McGowan was given the job but made a hash of baiting Bra Boy with the lamest of lines.

    "When the Leader of the Opposition sets an example for students in schools where he undermines his colleagues and he undermines his leaders when he promises not to … he sets an appalling example for students around Western Australia," the Education Minister told the Legislative Assembly.

    "Mr Speaker it is true, the Leader of the Opposition has committed acts of bastardry against those members of this place."

    "But Speaker Fred "Chainsaw" Riebeling immediately ordered Sneakers to withdraw the comment, saying it was unparliamentary.

    "I do withdraw that comment but it's also true that he is now guilty of acts of brastadry …in this place," said Sneakers.

    "Brastadry?

    "Gawd.

    "How pathetic.

    "Labor backbencher Jaye "Super Nanny" Radisich, didn't think much of Sneakers' lines either, or whoever writes them, and noticeably shook her head in disapproval.

    "If Ms Radisich wasn't shaking her head about Mr McGowan's attempt at humour, maybe she was casting her mind back to a Labor love-in at a South-West resort in 2004 when one of her senior Labor colleagues engaged to women pollies in what Sneakers likes to call (snicker, snicker cue laughter) … brastadry."
    

    From The West Australian

...
© The West Australian

• ABC News
  
  
  • Government gets poor report card on health, education
    
    "A survey shows Western Australians are increasingly dissatisfied with the State Government's performance in health.

    "The survey was commissioned by the State Government and was tabled in State Parliament this morning.

    "The report found 68 per cent of those surveyed last July rated the Government's performance in health as poor or very poor.

    "That is an increase of 20 per cent on the previous survey.

    "Respondents also damned the Government's recruitment of doctors and nurses, and more than half of those surveyed believe that under Labor, mental health services, elective surgery waiting lists and emergency departments have all deteriorated.

    "There has also been a big increase in the level of dissatisfaction with the Government's performance in Education, with 50 per cent describing it as being either poor or very poor.

    "That is an increase of 14 per cent on the previous survey. [emphasis added]

    "The Government has been strongly endorsed for its economic management and its handling of WA's public transport system."

    From ABC News at link
    
    
    
    
  • Premier admits delivery of health and education must improve
    
    "The West Australian Premier Alan Carpenter says the Government must take stock of a community survey which shows people are unhappy with Labor's performance in the key areas of health and education.

    "The results of the survey done last July reveal 68 per cent of people condemned Labor's performance in health while 50 per cent rated the Government's efforts in education as poor or very poor. [emphasis added]

    "Most believed mental health services have deteriorated under Labor, along with elective surgery waiting lists, hospital emergency departments and the incidence of anti-social behaviour.

    "The Liberal Leader Troy Buswell says it's clear voters are angry.

    "How can a government with so much be delivering so little to the households of this state," he said.

    "Mr Carpenter says the information is useful.

    "It does I think from time to time provide saliatory stocktaking information," he said.

    "The Premier says it is a reminder to Government that it must always strive to do better."

    From ABC News at link
    
    
    
    
• The New York Times
  
  
  • Passing Eighth Grade Gets a Little Harder
    by Elissa Gootman
    
    "The Bloomberg administration won approval for a new eighth-grade promotion policy last night at a meeting repeatedly interrupted by the chanting and heckling of parents who contend that the policy amounts to blaming students for the failings of the city’s middle schools.

    "The policy requires next year’s eighth graders to pass classes in core subject areas and to score at a basic level on standardized English and math exams to be promoted. [emphasis added] The Panel for Educational Policy, which oversees the city schools, approved the policy by a vote of 11 to 1 in its meeting at Tweed Courthouse, the Education Department’s headquarters. Eight of the 13 members on the panel — there is one vacancy — are appointed by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, and the five borough presidents appoint one each..."
    
    Full story in The New York Times at link

    
    
    
• The Washington Post
  
  
  • Emphasizing Phonics, Even if the Teacher Isn't
    by Jay Mathews
    
    "Dear Extra Credit:

    "At the beginning of the school year, I asked my child's kindergarten teacher about the reading curriculum. I got an ambiguous answer. Further questioning revealed no more, but the materials coming home in the backpack did. Once I saw the whole-language approach was being used, I bought a phonics book.

    "I've been teaching phonics at home nights and weekends ever since. I have observed my child guessing incorrectly at words for which she has the phonics skill set to sound out. We have talked about this, but it still happens. How do I undo the damage done by the whole-language reading curriculum?

    My child seems to be meeting the teacher's expectations. My child has told me about another student in the class who "sounds out" but was not taught that skill by the teacher. So I know I am not alone in teaching extracurricular phonics."

    Adeline Wilcox, Prince George's County

    "Educational researchers are still fighting the whole language vs. phonics battle, but, as you say, the phonics people have more evidence on their side. I am all for parents deciding how their children should be taught, but it takes hard work. Collect data and materials in support of your position on phonics and show them to the teacher. Listen to what she says. You are trying to be polite, I realize, but the teacher deserves your frank statement that you don't like the way she is teaching reading.

    "She may surprise you and say that she agrees, and that she is about to bring more phonics into her lessons. Or she may say she doesn't agree. If so, go to the principal and then the district's reading specialist, and see whether they can help. If not, you are going to have to look for another school. At least this time, you will know what questions to ask before you enroll your child..."
    
    Full story in The Washington Post at link

  
  By Julie Zhu, Montgomery Blair High School





• The Herald [UK]
  
  
  • Labour aims to tackle high rate of illiteracy
    by Andrew Denholm, Education Correspondent
    
    "A new literacy commission is to be established by the Scottish Labour Party to look at ways of tackling the estimated 10,000 pupils who currently leave school unable to read or write properly.

    "Under the plan, a group of experts will be assembled to look at the benefits of synthetic phonics, one-to-one tuition and more vocational courses.

    "In particular, the commission will look at the success of West Dunbartonshire in tackling illiteracy and look at how the techniques used can be rolled out across Scotland.

    "Current estimates suggest 25% of the primary school population goes on to secondary without achieving basic literacy requirements - some 15,000 pupils. In addition, a report by schools inspectors in 2003 found only one in three second-year pupils in secondary school had reached required standards in writing.

    "In West Dunbartonshire, a groundbreaking literacy initiative, running since 1997, has virtually eradicated illiteracy. Pupils have been taught using a number of techniques, including synthetic phonics, and those who have struggled have been given more help.

    "Since 1997, more than 60,000 children at 58 nursery and primary schools have taken part, with 400 teachers given special training. At the start of the project, 28% of 11-year-olds leaving primary school were functionally illiterate, but that has now been cut to just three pupils.

    "Wendy Alexander, the Labour leader, said: "Too many of Scotland's children are leaving primary school unable to read or write effectively and urgent action is needed. Labour will take evidence from those who are leading the way in improving schools and make sure that no child gets left behind.

    "This will lead to the creation of a literacy commission with representatives from parents groups, teachers and the business community, tasked with finding the best way to ensure that illiteracy is abolished forever in Scotland."

    "The literacy commission has been set up in the wake of the the Labour-commissioned OECD study into Scottish education, which found that schools do not adequately compensate pupils for the effects of coming from deprived backgrounds.

    "Stuart Ritchie, director of curriculum at Learning and Teaching Scotland, said: "Reading, writing, listening and talking skills are the stepping stones for children learning throughout their life. The new curriculum guidelines, emphasises the responsibility of all teachers to nurture these core skills."

    "Maureen Watt, Minister for Schools and Skills, said: "Literacy and numeracy are essential building blocks in a child's education and provide the foundations upon which a vibrant and exciting school experience can be had. Once a child has been equipped with the ability to communicate in words and numbers, then they can embark on a rich learning journey.

    "We are placing literacy and numeracy at the heart of Curriculum for Excellence to help young people become successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors so that they can make the transfer into the world of work equipped with skills for life."

    From The Herald at link

    
    

• The Sydney Morning Herald
  
  
  • Op Ed
    Sentences of guilt for parents
    by Miranda Devine
    
    "The children's author Paul Jennings was on Radio National this week, declaring again how easy and natural it is for children to learn to read by osmosis. All that is needed, it seems, is for their parents to read them bedtime stories before they start school.

    "It is no coincidence that megabucks children's author Jennings has joined megabucks children's author Mem Fox in this misguided mission to offload responsibility from schools to already guilt-ridden parents.

    "Do you think they could have become megabucks children's authors without the enthusiastic endorsement of the education establishment? No way. They would be consigned to the dust-covered corner of the school library.

    "Jennings is an advocate of the discredited "whole language" theory of reading, which holds that reading, like talking, comes naturally to children, who will absorb the meanings of words if exposed to enough books..."
    
    Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link

Friday 21 March [Good Friday]

• ABC News
  
  
  • Pay more attention to education: Teachers Union
    
    "The State School Teachers Union (SSTU) says a survey which shows more than 50 per cent of people think the government has failed in the education portfolio should be a wake up call.

    "The survey was commissioned by the State Government last July and was tabled in State Parliament yesterday.

    "It shows West Australians believe school discipline is a major problem.

    "The President of the SSTU Anne Gisborne says the results reflect the problems with curriculum changes and teacher shortages in recent years.

    "However, she says at a school level children are still receiving quality education.

    "People take the broader picture of education and present it more negatively than their consideration of delivery locally for themselves," she said.

    "That being said I think there are some key messages here to government that it needs to pay attention in the area of education and training."

    From ABC News at link
    
    
    
  • Fire hits Broome high school
    
    "Fire has caused $50,000 damage to the Broome Senior High School.

    "Fire crews were called to the school just after nine o'clock last night and took more than an hour to bring the blaze under control.

    "A transportable classroom was destroyed.

    "Police are investigating the cause of the fire and are treating it as suspicious."

    From ABC News at link
    

Saturday – Sunday, 22 – 23 March [Easter]

• The West Australian
  
  
  • $480,000 teacher report a secret (page 2)
    by Keryn McKinnon

    "The State Government has spent nearly $480,000 on a task force charged with solving the teacher shortage crisis but the group's final report has been kept secret by Education Minister Mark McGowan for more than three months.

    "It has been revealed the 12-member task force chaired by former Curtin University vice-chancellor Lance Twomey has racked up a $477,316 bill since it started investigating in February 2007 how to counter the critical teacher shortage. Its work covered a range of issues including teacher salaries, workloads and problems associated with country postings.

    "The completion of the task force's final report has coincided with a protracted and bitter pay dispute which has already seen teachers strike for half a day. The Opposition and the teachers' union has accused the Government of sitting on the report because it is likely to recommend significant pay rises and better conditions for the profession.

    "This week, a Freedom of Information request to access the report, lodged after repeated requests to see the document had been rejected, was also refused by Mr. McGowan on the grounds of Cabinet confidentiality.

    "A spokeswoman for Mr. McGowan said this week the report would be released only when it had been considered by Cabinet. But she then refused to say whether it had been shown to Cabinet. Nearly two-thirds of the task force money had been paid to consultants, while the rest was spent on travel, accommodation, printing and stationery.

    "Shadow education minister Peter Collier said if Cabinet had yet to even look at the report it was a severe abrogation of its responsibilities. "This is politics at its most sinister," he said. "This was supposed to be the panacea for all of the problems with the teacher shortage. If he (Mr. McGowan) really does care, he will release the report and implement its recommendations as a matter of priority."

    "State School Teachers Union president Anne Gisborne said it was incomprehensible that a report to address the school staffing crisis was being kept secret, particularly in the middle of enterprise bargaining negotiations. "It could be inferred that he is deliberately withholding it," Ms. Gisborne, who was one of the 12 task force members, said.

    "She had not seen the final report but had read a version close to it. While she could not reveal its details, Ms. Gisborne said the themes of the report such as teachers' pay, workloads and career paths, were already in the public domain.

    &