The national curriculum plan has just been released and already Christopher Pyne is up in arms about the amount of times indigenous culture is mentioned. Has he actually read the report? asks Grog
Education
Getting back to basics or ignoring the key issues?
After years of individual state curriculums for school, the first national curriculum has been released for public discussion. How does the new curriculum hold up? Is the ‘back to basics’ attitude a positive one or an oversimplification?
Suffering in silence: the plight of the international student
A quarter of Australia’s student population are international students. But our universities remain almost segregated, international students are seen to get preferential treatment because they are paying and yet they are often at threat of violence or mistreatment.
Can My Schools close the gap?
The recently launched My School website is a perfect opportunity to use that transparency of school information and focus specifically on indigenous education, says Andrew Penfold.
Race Mathews slams Melbourne Uni over VCA “rent”
A war of words has erupted over the Victorian College of the Arts’ financial ties to the University of Melbourne, with a former state arts minister Race Mathews branding rent payments to the university as “morally unconscionable”.
Give death a chance
We need to stop demanding that “everything be done” to prolong elderly lives. Do we want a high-tech death, involving expensive but futile interventions? Or do we want to refocus health spending?
Calories, cakes and cookies: the horror of school cafeteria food
You think Jamie Oliver had it hard? Michelle Obama has launched an anti-obesity program, with a focus on American school cafeteria food. With meals being made for US$1, it’s no surprise that they’re neither healthy nor tasty.
If cost was no object, most Aussie kids would attend private schools
A new study by Independent Schools Queensland has found that 42% of parents with kids at public schools would switch them to private education if cost were no object. Perhaps it’s time to question the common wisdom of public schools as the “norm”, suggests Andrew Norton.
Leigh Sales: My first day of kindergarten
It’s back to school time! Leigh Sales, as “a rather big fly on the wall”, chronicles the first day of school for a new kindergarten teacher. There’s name tags, singing, a visit from the principal and even a princess.
What a difference disclosure makes
With all the noise in the My Schools debate, it’s crucial that we are properly informed about the background of participants. Like, John Mardsen in SMH. Shouldn’t it be mentioned that he is also a school principal? asks Dave Gaukroger.
Uni campus’ reloadable ANZ card draws some heat
In an Australian first, Sydney University and ANZ have announced an all-in-one access card, ID card and Visa reloadable prepaid card, as part of a move towards a “cash-free campus”, writes Bhakthi Puvanenthiran.
graph pr0n Creating “smart school” heat-maps with My School data
Joel Pobar has done some impressively nerdy things with data from the My Schools website to create heat-maps of where Australia’s top schools are located.
Foreign students: Cité Universitaire à coté de la Yarra?
The story about violence and racism against Indian students in Melbourne isn’t going anywhere, but the real issue is our reliance on international students to fund our universities, writes Michael R. James.
Why NAPLAN’s a bad plan for your kid’s education
Rather than spending time figuring out how to motivate, inspire and engage children across key learning areas, NAPLAN tests are forcing teachers to just teach children how to take tests, writes Allan Sheffield.
The fallacy of My School
The government’s My School website confirms that we have gross inequalities in our education system — but it tells us very little about which schools are working hard to overcome them, says Eva Cox.
Bad teachers: name ‘em and shame ‘em
The AEU is worried that the government’s My School website will stigmatise under-performing teachers. Good, says Alan Howe, that’s exactly what it should do.
graph pr0n Elite private schools vs. their Black & Gold public counterparts [PDF]
It’s like those ACA exposes where they compare expensive ice cream with the no-name stuff: The Oz uses My School data to compare elite Australian private schools with their nearby public counterparts. Do you really get more for your money?
Grattan: My School is your win
Despite heavy criticisms from the unions, the Government is onto a winner with the My Schools website, says Michelle Grattan. Parents are happy — and so they should be.
The school league table we had to have
With the aid of some crude mathematics that would no doubt make our high school maths teachers cringe, Crikey intern Flint Duxfield pulled together a five minute league table of the Crikey team’s schools.
Don’t let NAPLAN tests be misunderstood
NAPLAN tests are a very useful tool for teachers and schools in guiding the development of teaching programs for literacy and numeracy, but not for for comparing students or schools, writes David Hardie.
What makes a great teacher?
An apt analysis from The Atlantic, given the local flap about ranking schools and educators: what traits set apart the Susan Kennedys and Mr Chips from the Mrs Krabapples and Mr Gs? US researchers say they’ve nailed it down.
My School gets an F
The government’s new My School website went live this morning — and promptly fell down like the roof of a 20-year-old portable classroom. But that hasn’t stopped the pundits weighing in…
NAPLAN tests and My School: one size doesn’t fit all
The information on the Government’s My School website will only offer flawed data based on a useless test, writes Trevor Diogenes.
A principal’s defence of league tables
Although educators are right to be concerned about the government’s new My School website, it will also offer great opportunities for them improve student performance, writes the principal of exclusive Sydney private school The King’s School, Tim Hawkes.
revealed Australian unis infiltrated by organised crime?
The Oz has its hands on a confidential government report that reveals overseas organised crime outfits are attempting to “shoehorn illegal migrants into the country as fee-paying students” via student visas.
