Education

The 'furore' surrounding the release of the 2015 NAPLAN results last week and the accompanying explanations by various dons and pollies certainly made for a gripping read. 'No significant progress made by students in both literacy and numeracy since NAPLAN testing was introduced in 2008' emanated as a common cry from these educational hangers-on.   Now you have to wonder. Why has it taken seven years to be in a position to make this fearless 'call'? There is a political perspective to this timing which I'll address a tad later. More importantly, is it an accurate 'call' and why has it been made now?   Let's start with the second question first. Has there been no significant progress made by students in literacy and numeracy since NAPLAN testing was introduced? Well, that's a really difficult question to answer given the state of play in school education at a national level. If students' attainments were pegged from a common ...

  That clown prince of Cumberland Plain education, Greg Whitby, rattles the tin can of 'change' this week in our local rag.   Greg adroitly sets the scene with a few motherhood statements, namely- 'If you look at the past 20 years, every other profession has undergone significant change. We have seen companies emerge such as Uber and Netflix that have changed the business models for transport and broadcasting. Increasingly the use of technologies has radically transformed industry after industry, yet schools remain largely the same.'   Boom! ..............double NOT!   Where has Mr Whitby been over those twenty years that he references? Has he heard of annual school reports, national schools' testing and two complete revisions of curriculum, that is, everything that's taught in our classrooms?   Has Greg not noticed the huge increase in teachers' workloads through accreditation, assessment and reporting (teachers now genera...

  I often wonder about the mental capacities of some- and I stress 'some'- of our educational leaders here in Sydney.     That zany executive director of catholic schools, Greg Whitby, is at it again in the local press. 'When you look at all the research done on class sizes, there is agreement that reducing class size does not have a significant impact on learning.'     Now Mr Whitby just has to be kidding. There has been a huge number of studies done, both in Oz and overseas, on the effects of class sizes on educational outcomes and there is certainly NO agreement on such effects. In fact, many studies show a high correlation between lower class sizes and improved learning attainments of students.      Put it another way....... if the blow-torch of intellectual rigour was applied to Whitby's statement above, then his fuckin' pants would catch on fire. But what is more frustrating about Whitby's stance is that he shakes t...

I agree that writing is becoming a problem area for school students here in Oz but, unfortunately, it's reflected across all ages and groups in my opinion.   It's too easy, however, to blame technology alone for this and I reckon that such finger pointing misses the central issues. I'm also suspicious of the alluded to research that links handwriting fluency with writing outcomes.   The big problem with writing is that we don't 'write'. I know that sounds inane because writing is a basic communication tool but it's exactly what I'm proposing. The opportunities for writing are decreasing markedly. For many punters, the only real 'writing' activities they engage in are status updates and/ or postings on social media sites.   Now I'm not suggesting that such activities aren't 'writing'- they most certainly are- but any quick examination of these offerings leads to the realisation that many of the crucial componen...

2016 NAPLAN WASH-UP     The wild and wacky flames of NAPLAN testing are again ignited in schools across Australia this week and punters will need to don the asbestos-coated gloves to protect themselves from the embers and spot fires that will follow. In 2016, one really has to question the efficacy of this assessment ‘event’.   From what started, way back in 1989, as a ‘tool’ for NSW schools to identify both weaknesses and strengths in their literacy and numeracy programs, the NAPLAN tests have now morphed into a high-stakes yearly ritual that has far more cons than pros.   Apologists for the testing loudly herald that it only captures a ‘snapshot’ of each school on a particular day in a particular week during a particular phase of the moon etc. etc. etc. The ‘snapshot’ allusion is so bloody prevalent that I once considered opening a photo development store (pre-digital) because I reckon I would have made a fortune from schools developing the...

JOHN HATTIE (Dated 24 February 2017)          http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/school-life/the-reality-tv-revolution-our-schools-need/news-story/d10abe452c184f0e7e680af3bd9b5b5d   Joe Hildebrand's article today from news.com.au serves as yet another floodlight being pointed towards Professor John Hattie and his theories on those things that positively influence the educational outcomes of students within Oz schools.   Some punters may remember how the good prof was featured in the ABC's 'Revolution School' documentaries last year. Hattie is rapidly garnering a guru-like status amongst many politicians and educational administrators.   Briefly, Professor Hattie has composed lists of literally thousands of 'factors' that influence students' educational achievements and apportioned a numerical rating for each factor. Of course, the higher the 'number', the more significant that factor is in securing a better out...

MORE CLASSROOM DISCIPLINE STUFF (Dated 11 February 2017)                       https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/feb/05/almost-half-of-australian-school-students-bored-or-struggling-says-grattan-institute?CMP=soc_567     Establishing a rapport with his or her students is one of the crucial jobs that any teacher does because it influences not just the positive stuff that occurs within a classroom but also, just as importantly, the proportion of time spent on that positive stuff.   It’s not surprising that classroom discipline and management can be sources of angst among teachers, as highlighted in the attached article, when the ‘positive’ makes way for the ‘reactive’. Whether the incidence of disruptive student behaviour is increasing or not depends on who your source is but the challenges that face the humble classroom/ subject teacher regarding discipline an...

  THE PERFECT STORM (Dated 14 October 2016)       Some of you may remember my post from early September outlining some of the shockers that are occurring in schools under the Local schools, local decisions banner. This is just one component of a group of factors that are beginning to ‘bite’ and, unfortunately, I’m pegging 2017 as the time when all these coalesce and the previously alluded to perfect storm will come into play. Apart from the increasingly toxic workplaces being mentioned in the initial post, some of these factors include- TEACHERS’ SALARIES The current award is near completion in terms of its duration so a new case will be mounted in the coming months. I believe the prospects are gloomy for anything substantial being offered from the department. The state government hasn’t had a good record with salary negotiations and I’m tipping political intransigence will stymie the process even further. Don’t let Baird and Piccoli fool...

CLASSROOM DISCIPLINE (Dated 7 March 2017) http://online.isentialink.com/theaustralian.com.au/2017/02/20/b2a62ea0-e267-44d7-8344-c07b687576b0.html  Just couldn't let this article in The Australian from a couple of weeks ago bounce through to the keeper.   The gist of said article proceeds like this-   1. Egg heads find a 'massive' correlation between classroom discipline and student achievement. 2. Discipline outstrips financial investment as an influencer of academic performance. 3. 'Lighthouse' Oz schools have recognised and implemented classroom discipline strategies. 4. Coded message to the masses? Activate 'discipline' and we'll attain educational Nirvana by the Easter holidays.   Well fuck me dead. Have these 'researchers' ever ventured into a real classroom like those that exist in Sydney's south-western and western suburbs, or those in regional New South Wales? How come Brisbane Girls' Gramm...