Posts Tagged ‘News’

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Drunken Teachers Beat-Up

November 21, 2010

The Sunday Telegraph should be reprimanded for an appalling article which claims that teachers in Catholic schools drink alcohol in the staff room on a Friday evening.  The article doesn’t ring true, seems designed for shock value rather than true journalism and fails to give proper evidence to back up its claims.  Read the article here:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/happy-hour-in-school-staff-rooms/story-e6freuy9-1225957381180

Example 1:  The Sunday Telegraph understands many of the 200-odd Catholic schools in NSW to have refrigerators stocked with alcohol in staff rooms and to publicise cheap alcohol.

Yeah?  How many of these schools?  Prove it!

Example 2:  Drug & Alcohol Research & Training Australia’s Paul Dillon said he had grave concerns about the example being set for students by the behaviour.

What behaviour?  You have yet to prove such a culture of drinking exists.  You have yet to name 1 of the 200 schools.

Example 3: “Certainly I have confronted schools and principals about the practice and the worst thing I’ve seen is actual prices of alcohol pinned on fridges,” Mr Dillon said. “Young people go into the staff room, they see the fridges.”

Students do not have access to staff room fridges.  Heck, they shouldn’t have access to the staff room!  How many schools have you visited with alcohol prices?  Does it really matter anyway?

Example 4:   “There is also the issue that [teachers] are doing this on a Friday night. They are then getting behind the wheel and driving home.

“When I’ve raised this, the teachers have become very, very defensive. They say things like, ‘It is our right to do this’.”

If they went straight to the pub it would be none of your business, and since you have yet to establish that this is a clear problem, I still ascertain, it is none of your business.

So what do we have here?  Figures to prove its a problem?  Nope.  Pictures or video footage of beer-loaded fridges and booze-ups? Nope.  Can we name and shame a school that has transgressed in this way?  Sorry, we don’t have that information.  How about a quote from a student who witnessed this behaviour or saw evidence of alcohol in the staff room?  No, we don’t have that either.

There is no story here.  If I was affiliated with a Catholic school I would be ropable.  What an abominable piece of gutter journalism!

Shame on you Sunday Telegraph!

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What Are We Doing to Our Kids?

November 19, 2010

It’s unbelievable how political correctness has infiltrated our schools. The intentions may be noble, but the results are sure to be disastrous. Yesterday, I wrote of the incredibly stupid hugging ban at a Gold Coast primary school. Today, I was informed of another shocking school rule at Mt Martha’s Osbourne Primary School in Victoria.

The primary school principal of Osbourne has banned students from being in groups of more than three while at school in a radical plan to combat anti-social behaviour.

Principal Liz Klein said the ban was a short-term measure to tackle anti-social behaviour around the schoolyard.

But Ms Klein denied the school, with more than 600 students, had a bullying problem.

“This is not about bullying, it’s about silly, annoying behaviour at the hands of a select few,” Ms Klein said.

But that’s not all!  Two months ago a Queensland school principal was under pressure to perform a policy backflip after he banned students from doing cartwheels and hand stands in the playground.

This is just wrong!  School is tough enough as it is.  We should be investing more time and energy into making school a far more friendly and inviting place.  Draconian rules like these are so counter-productive.

What’s next?  Outlawing monkey bars?  Bunsen burners?  Sharp pencils?  Scissors?  Smiling?

Get a grip!  If you want to make schools safe, let go of political correctness and instead change your culture!

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Posted in School Rules | 2 Comments »

Political Correctness at School

November 18, 2010

I realise schools try to avoid controversy wherever possible, but what was William Duncan State School in Nerang doing?  Banning primary school aged kids from hugging?

Reports indicate that the children at the William Duncan State School are being punished with detention for hugging or touching their friend.

Parent Ross Kouimanis’s whose daughter Emily was given a warning for hugging her best friend calls it “Political correctness gone mad.”

”They are making something so innocent seem dirty or wrong. It’s just normal”, he said.

So what is the reason for this new policy?

Education Queensland South Coast Regional director Glen Hoppner said there was no EQ policy banning hugging in schools.

”William Duncan State School has determined that unwanted or unnecessary physical contact, which in some circumstances can include hugging, is inappropriate playground behaviour,” Mr Hoppner said.

”The school is mindful of protecting their right to not be touched in an unwanted or inappropriate way.”

Why are we making schools, which you could already mount an argument, isn’t the most natural surrounding for a child, into a cold and gloomy place?  Whilst teachers all around the world struggle to keep kids engaged, happy and motivated at school, bureacrats work hard at making school as difficult a proposition for our children as possible.

School should be as fun and exciting as possible.  We should focus our students to get on, co-operate, care for each other and thrive.

Less rules!  Less political correctness!

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Nurturing the Inquiring Mind

November 16, 2010

One of the most important contributions a teacher can make to their students is the ability to get them to think for themselves.  Essentially that involves giving them the tools to ask the important questions and make their own conclusions.  Just simply filling students up with facts is hardly good enough.  For our students to thrive we have to nurture their inquiring minds.

Academy-award-winning film producer Lord David Puttnam is now a member of the British House of Lords, whose policy focus is on improving education standards.  In a recent television interview, Lord Puttnam called for teachers to make inquiry in the classroom a priority.

“The most important thing I think teachers can do for young people is to make them inquiring, is to ensure that they know how to gather information, that they check information and they take their information from a multiplicity of sources.

If you can get a child to do that and then become interested in the whole process of information gathering, you’re halfway towards becoming a learner. And once you’re a learner, you’re a learner for life. That’s certainly been my experience.”

It’s certainly something to consider when reflecting about how well we are teaching our kids.

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Girls and Maths

November 15, 2010

At a time when so much time and effort is exerted into getting better academic results from the boys, I wonder if we’re doing enough, if anything at all, to make maths more appealing to girls.

A study to be presented at an education conference in Melbourne this month shows girls performing poorly compared with boys in areas of high achievement and enrolment trends in year 12 maths subjects.

Its findings show a clear pattern of male dominance among the Victorian students who achieved the top 2 per cent of the study score results in each of the maths subjects between 2007 and 2009. //

Boys were heavily over-represented among the top scorers, relative to their enrolment proportions in each maths subject.

Sure, boys may be wired to excel in maths, but should that stop us from rethinking the way we teach it to girls?

I love teaching maths.  As a Grade 4 teacher, I teach all general subjects, yet maths is my favourite.  I find that there is so much scope for teaching the subject in a creative fashion rather than rote memory skills and algorithms, which can be boring and off-putting to many.  In class we become top-secret spies, prisoners, fashion designers and architects.  Sometimes the class don’t even realise it’s a maths lesson!

A creative approach to maths, especially in the early years, is just the tonic to make the subject more exciting and accessible – especially to girls.

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What is the Perfect Class Size?

November 15, 2010

A report came out recently by the Grattan Institute which claims that reducing class sizes does not necessarily improve schooling.

The study’s author, Dr Ben Jensen, says that while the drive to reduce class sizes is well intentioned, his research suggests that it has little impact on the quality of education for children. He says that more effective teachers would produce a better result.

But the Teachers Federation disagrees with his report, which is based on research carried out in the US state of Florida.

“Any parent given a choice between a large class or a smaller class will choose the smaller class because they know their child will get more teacher time and support,” federation vice president Joan Lemaire said in a statement.

Just because good teachers are a better indicator of success, doesn’t mean that our classrooms aren’t too crowded.  Whilst I appreciate that there is a big cost in cutting class sizes, you can not tell me for a second that a teacher is just as capable of teaching 27 as she/he is of teaching 17.  A good teacher will flourish in most environments and will rise to most pressures, but imagine how much more influential they would be in a smaller class.

I have 17 in class which would probably be the envy of many teachers.  I feel that 17 is a good number, and I wouldn’t ideally want to teach a class of 25 or more.

How many students do you have in your class and what do you think is the ideal (being realistic of course) amount?

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Lessons to be Learnt from the Sticky Tape Incident

November 14, 2010

I was disturbed to read of the alleged incident involving a teacher accused of sticky taping students’ mouths shut in dealing with unruly students.  Whilst I am horrified at the alleged incident, and the teacher involved, if found guilty, will get a justifiably serious penalty for her actions, I think there are other issues worth considering in relation to the case:

The report says that, “the school has been aware of previous occasions where the teacher has struggled to manage her students.” If that is the case, what was done to support this teacher?  If a teacher is struggling to deal with the management of their class, it is up to the school community to support the teacher.  When a teacher struggles to manage their class, it can have a very negative effect on their self-esteem and can make them impatient and irrational.  Whilst that in no way excuses unprofessional behaviour, it is a sign that the teacher requires some assistance and support.

Teachers, more often than not, join the profession to make a difference to the lives of their students.  They often have the best of intentions and a selfless approach to their job.  However, they soon realise that it can be a very difficult and under-valued profession.

Studies often show that teaching is among the most stressful of occupations, with difficult parents, students, school boards and staff members all factors in pushing teachers to the limit.  While I again stipulate that there is no excuse for acts of aggression against students, it is important to have structures in place that help teachers that are suffering from some of the difficulties that come with the job.

 

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Finally, a Voice of Reason!

November 11, 2010

It is my vision that both private and public schools should be looked after and properly funded.  I am tired of the private vs public school debate over funding.  If our Government is really serious about education, they will invest in private education to ease the burden on the taxpayer whilst also ensuring that our public schools are appropriately funded and given every chance to thrive.

In steps a voice of reason.  Dr Kevin Donnelly, the Director of Education Standards Institute, makes the following points in defence of funding our private schools:

The facts are that non-government schools have been underfunded for years. While state school students, on average, get $12,639 in funding from state and federal governments, non-government students only receive $6,606. Schools and parents have to pay the rest.

The saving to governments is about $6,000 a year for each student, adding up to a saving of about $7 billion a year. It’s also true that the state school system would collapse if it had to enrol all those thousands of students currently in non-government schools.

Critics like the AEU argue that non-government schools are drowning in government funding. Wrong. Wealthier non-government schools like Scotch College and Melbourne Grammar only get 13.5 per cent of the cost to government of educating a state school student. Even less well off non-government schools only get 70 per cent of the state school cost.

Let’s put the non-government vs government school debate to bed, and focus our energy on making sure that all of our schools receive the appropriate amount of support.

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Pay Attention to our Principals

November 10, 2010

Just a week after the damning State of our Schools survey that shone light on some of the challenges faced by teachers and schools, a new survey has surfaced. Actually, the survey which shows that principals thought students were being dumbed down by poor resources, red tape and stressed principals, is not new at all.  It was completed in 2008 and summarily ignored by the Victorian State Government.

The report was so bad the Government swept it under the carpet for two years until it was leaked to the Herald Sun this week.

In the 220-page report, principals complained of:

RED tape being a huge hurdle in teaching kids.

SCHOOLS crippled by a lack of resources.

UNDERSTAFFING being a major issue in more than half of schools and extreme stress affecting 42 per cent of principals.

A CHRONIC breakdown in Education Department decision-making and support for teachers.

PRINCIPALS being worn out by the pace of change forced by bureaucrats.

It is time politicians stopped talking about how passionate they are about education and started taking decisive action.

Don’t talk!  Pay attention and fix the problem!

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Jamie Oliver to the Rescue

November 9, 2010

Just what we needed after last weeks downplaying of our childhood obesity problems.

British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver launched his “Ministry of Food Australia” scheme on Monday, aiming to teach people “down under” how to cook and eat more healthily.

“Today will be a landmark day in the history of Australia’s fight against obesity,” Oliver said in a statement.

As you may know, I am so passionate about this issue, I have written a novel featuring a boy grappling with body image issues.  It is great to see that Oliver’s successful British campaign is now coming to Australia.

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