Brendan's education news

[brendan]

I think it's important that in education news we hear from the people most directly affected - the students. So tell us what you think about the latest issues affecting education.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/federal-election-2007-news/howards-education-fightback/2007/11/11/1194766508060.html

PRIME Minister John Howard will offer tax rebates worth billions of dollars to help parents pay for their children's education in an attempt to recapture crucial political momentum today.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/education-news/schools-urged-do-better-on-data/2007/11/11/1194749385622.html

Under recent changes to the Commonwealth Schools Assistance Act all government and independent schools must give parents information about their performance, including student achievement, the proportion of pupils in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 meeting national benchmarks such as the Achievement Improvement Monitor (AIM), staff turnover and satisfaction levels of parents, students and teachers

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/state-eyes-private-funding-of-schools/2007/11/11/1194766508119.html

PRIVATE funding of new state schools, "one-stop shop" education and community centres in the outer suburbs, staggered school starting times and a push for underperforming schools to lift their game are key elements of John Brumby's education revolution for Victoria.

[brendan]

The marketing behind private schools: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22747176-5011680,00.html

[brendan]

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/boys-reading-skills-a-worry/2007/12/05/1196812824851.html

"THE State Government has singled out the declining reading skills of teenage boys in NSW for special attention.

Commenting on the release of data that shows Australian 15-year-olds are slipping behind in literacy and maths world rankings, the Minister for Education, John Della Bosca, said the performance of boys relative to girls was of particular concern."

I suspect that this is because schools keep shoving fiction novels in their face. If a teacher is reading this: not all boys like fiction novels. Fiction novels aren't all there is to read. There actually exists non-fiction books. I got turned off reading for 12 years because the schools just assumed that fiction novels was all there was to reading, and that's what every boy likes. THE State Government has singled out the declining reading skills of teenage boys in NSW for special attention.

Commenting on the release of data that shows Australian 15-year-olds are slipping behind in literacy and maths world rankings, the Minister for Education, John Della Bosca, said the performance of boys relative to girls was of particular concern. Who could blame a kid for not wanting to read stories that are simply not true?

[brendan]

State schools struggling to find teachers
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/state-schools-struggling-to-find-teachers/2008/01/27/1201368944842.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

One in five students falling short in maths
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/state-schools-struggling-to-find-teachers/2008/01/27/1201368944842.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

Pressure builds on education spending
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/pressure-builds-on-education-spending/2008/01/30/1201369229697.html

I'll say two things:
1. What is important is outputs and results (student learning) not inputs (spending).
2. You have a teacher shortage because you have a gigantic state bureaucracy and monopoly over schools.

[brendan]

US expert to spruik school transparency
http://news.theage.com.au/national/us-expert-to-spruik-school-transparency-20081005-4u31.html

New national education authority flagged
http://news.theage.com.au/national/new-national-education-authority-flagged-20081002-4sps.html

New standard on the way for pupils
http://www.theage.com.au/national/new-standard-on-the-way-for-pupils-20081005-4uc7.html