I lost my Dad a few weeks ago. It was way too sudden. Initially, I wasn’t ready to say good-bye. Not because of unspoken love – we said it often; I wasn’t ready because I felt I hadn’t learned all…
Relationships and the Law
Tania and Rose were high school students. Their parents had separated more than a decade ago, and had shared responsibility for the girls, putting in place a ‘week-about’ strategy for their care and residential arrangements. The girls’ mother worked full-time.…
To Be Fair
Sharing a point of view is easy. All that’s required is an opinion, a voice and a platform. It’s a cheap way of talking. Robust debate, on the other hand, requires making a genuine investment in what you stand for.…
Be, Choose, Live
We can all probably understand how people might continue to exist, and even function, without really ‘living’. Teenagers aged 15 and 16 –Year 10 students – are selecting subjects for their final two years of secondary schooling. For some, it’s…
Minority Rules
There are 6.3 million people in Victoria. 3.5 million are employed full time. Of this figure, 45,500 are teachers, employed in just over 1,500 State schools. The operating hours of the businesses and services that employ these 3.5 million employees…
No Business Of Mine
It’s none of your business what other people think of you. What are your views on this statement? We can never be absolutely sure what anyone is really thinking at any given time, or know what is behind a thought…
Bedding Down Savvy Thinking
Every morning in Melbourne, between 5.00 and 7.00am, Bourke Street and Little Collins Street are powerful places of learning. No fewer than 25 sleepers can be found on cold slabs of concrete and in doorways. Some lie on cardboard, some…
Closing the Gap on English at Work
Guided Reading has long been considered the stalwart strategy for the effective teaching of reading. The truth is, students’ plummeting performance in English can also be largely attributed to guided reading. Despite the time dedicated to assessment, reporting and reviewing data,…
A Step Toward Community
On the coffee table in the reception area there was a bowl of fresh fruit. A few children popped in and helped themselves, before returning to their friends, their skipping ropes and their ball games, in the playground that smelled…
Dial 73 For SD: Self-Discipline
The latest government intervention in Victoria – the banning of mobile phones in schools – has raised widespread debate. Some applaud the move; others disapprove. Despite the various positions people might take, there is one key element their arguments have…