In a recent article published by The Guardian, a UK teacher has raised concerns about political bias. Statements of concern include the following: ‘A large majority of staff at our school vote Labour. As a Labour supporter, this thrills me; as a…
Author: admin
Don’t fence the family in!
Fences and gates are physical boundaries. For schools, their value is clear. Physical boundaries fulfill their literal intent – to keep people in or out. Decisions about those boundaries rest with the principal. Outside the school’s gates and fences, though,…
Home and School: Where Do we Draw The Line?
Schools usually expect parents to be active in support of their child’s learning and to engage in school initiatives – with regard to homework, committees, working bees, fundraising and social events. You could say it’s the norm. In a similar…
SCHOOLS: FROM INDUSTRIAL AND ORGANISATIONAL CHAOS TO AN ENTERPRISE OF CHOICE
Consider this scenario: A family chooses the local public school as the ‘primary school’ for their 5-year-old child. This school is like many other local schools. It specialises only in the core curriculum. Subjects include English, mathematics, music and gymnastics.…
Collaboration in education: fundamentally flawed
Schools often get caught up in the ‘next big thing’. Collaboration, it seems, remains hot on the 2019 agenda. And, like most big-ticket items, it will be misunderstood, misrepresented, and poorly implemented, if at all. Collaboration is a model that…
Does (Class) Size Matter? Performing Under Pressure
As the school year begins in earnest, teachers around the country will come under renewed pressure to achieve the unachievable: optimal student outcomes. Why unachievable? Allegedly because of unmanageable class sizes and high student-teacher ratios. The debate has been going…
To Educate or Indoctrinate: Who’s taking the RAP?
On 1 January 2019, implementation of the National School Reform Agreement (NSRA) came into force. It has one objective: “Australian schooling provides a high quality and equitable education for all students”. Achievement of the NSRA faces three major challenges. First,…
Innovation and Change: Navigating the Future
Science, technology, innovation and change, and their widespread integration into society, are changing 21st century teaching and learning. Schools and universities are making the most of the advantages they bring. Books are no longer limited to hard copy editions, whiteboards…
Peace and (Deafening) Quiet: Educating in Silence
At the end of WWII, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) was established to promote peace and goodwill across the globe, and to prevent another world war. The founding nations of UNESCO believed education would provide the…
2019 – Celebration Of A Nation
Celebrations to welcome a New Year filled with promise, possibility, optimism and change are just hours away. For Australians, the celebrations have even greater significance. The first day of January is the anniversary of the greatest document ever negotiated in…