In the News, for week ending 18 December 2011
Our In the News feature provides an overview of news stories
relating to education over the last week. We focus particularly on news
items referring to significant new developments or reports, issues
affecting students with learning difficulties, and issues relating to
education more generally. We hope that this feature will help to keep
our members and website visitors informed of current issues in
education, and to generate debate and discussion of these issues. To
initiate debate and discussion on news stories listed, comments can be
posted on the LDA Discussion Forum.
Kids click on to the pastBethany Hiatt Education Editor, The West Australian, December 17, 2011 A
word used in children's play since the 14th century is being overtaken
by the digital age, a national study has found. Curtin University
folklore professor Graham Seal said Australian children had been crying
out "barlees" to call for a break in chasing games since the arrival of
the First Fleet. The truce term is believed to have originated from
"parley", a discussion of terms of surrender. But in some schools
"barlees" has been replaced by "pause" or the US version, "time out".
"That's one of the things about children's folklore - a lot of it can be
traced back a very long way, but at the same time what we see is it
adapting all the time to new realities in social life," Professor Seal
said.
Why one degree is no longer enough Sydney Morning Herald, December 17, 2011Many
young adults now spend most of their twenties studying, writes Andrew
Stevenson. About 32,000 students received an HSC mark this week good
enough to have them on their way to university. Most are 18, many of
them thinking they'll have a degree - a passport to a career - and be
free of study just after their 21st birthday. But not if the
universities have any say in it.
Baking cakes doesn't bring in the dough needed for schools Alexandra Back, Sydney Morning Herald, December 17, 2011WHEN
it comes to school fund-raising, the traditional bake sale and the
lamington drive just don't go as far as they used to. The arrival of
interactive whiteboards and online teaching tools has forced parents and
citizens groups to look for more lucrative ways of raising funds. Last
year, Crown Street Public School released a recipe book, Crown Street
Cooks, to raise money for a new playground and interactive smart boards -
the latter priced at more than $5000 each.
Melbourne Grammar takes out top VCE honoursJewel Topsfield, The Age, December 16, 2011Melbourne
Grammar students have triumphed in this year's VCE, with 20 per cent of
the 34 students who received the maximum possible score of 99.95
hailing from the Anglican school. It was a memorable present for Henry
Li, who discovered he was one of the seven boys at the school to receive
the perfect score on his 18th birthday. Henry's brother Hanbo was one
of seven boys at Melbourne Grammar who received the perfect score in
2009.
Results prove there's power in the pack Kim Arlington Schools, Sydney Morning Herald December 16, 2011THE
principal of Sydney Boys High School, Kim Jaggar, says ''the lone wolf
is dead'' and that collaborative learning - students working together,
teachers sharing their knowledge with each other - is key to the
school's success. Forty-seven students at the selective school, which
ranked fourth in the state, yesterday learned they had achieved
Australian Tertiary Admission Ranks of 99 or above. ''In a highly
competitive environment, I think collaboration amongst boys … has
[delivered] a more consistent set of results,'' Dr Jaggar said.
Boys come out on top in ATAR table Jen Rosenberg, Sydney Morning Herald, December 15, 2011MORE
boys than girls achieved the highest tertiary rankings in NSW, which is
out of step with the higher marks girls received in the Higher School
Certificate and those who go on to university. In the results released
at 9am today, there are 49 students who gained a possible 99.95 in the
Australian Tertiary Admission Ranking, 30 were boys and 19 were girls.
The figures from the Universities Admissions Centre are deliberately
vague - the aim is not to create a league table - but it is known they
are from a mix of government and independent schools and across a
variety of courses.
Private schools all but vanquished from top 10 Andrew Stevenson, Jen Rosenberg, Sydney Morning Herald, December 15, 2011THE
stellar performance of students at NSW selective high schools continues
apace with only one private school, Moriah College, making the top 10
of the Herald's annual list of top-performing schools as judged by HSC
results. Sydney Grammar (ninth last year, now 12th) and SCEGGS
Darlinghurst (13th) both dropped from the top 10 this year. James Ruse
again topped the rankings, based on HSC subject scores of more than 90
compared with number of students. Among the elite academic schools,
North Sydney Boys produced particularly outstanding results, moving from
eighth to second place.
Mid-year VCE exams to be axed Jewel Topsfield, The Age, December 14, 2011MID-YEAR
exams will be abolished in all VCE subjects from 2013 after schools
complained they were disruptive and ate up too much time. Since the VCE
was introduced 19 years ago, mid-year exams have been held in
accounting, biology, chemistry, environmental science, physics and
psychology. The results of the June exams contribute up to 33 per cent
of students' final marks in these subjects.
Flexible education helps students go the distance Kim Arlington, Sydney Morning Herald December 14, 2011THEY
barely saw their teachers all year, but it did not stop them topping
the state. Ten HSC students who tackled subjects through distance
education came first in their courses this year. Eight studied at the
Open High School, a specialist language school in Randwick, which gives
students who cannot access courses at their home school the flexibility
of studying via distance education.
Coaching culture must end, say top students Andrew Stevenson, Sydney Morning Herald, December 14, 2011THE
NSW Board of Studies should do all it can to produce sufficiently
challenging HSC exam papers to build a bulwark against the impact of
coaching colleges, drilling and memorisation, say two of the smartest
young minds in the state. Topping an HSC exam is one thing; topping
two, especially in different subject areas, puts a student in an
entirely different realm, says Tom Alegounarias, the president of the
Board of Studies. Even more remarkable is when the two standouts at the
presentation yesterday of students who came first in a course are
friends, debating partners and schoolmates for eight years who undertook
identical course programs.
Gender numbers in VCE maths just don't add up Jewel Topsfield, The Age, December 14, 2011VCE
maths is failing the gender test, with the number of boys enrolled in
the most difficult subject - specialist maths - double that of girls.
Despite decades of research into gender differences and ways to make
maths more appealing to girls, just 6.2 per cent of girls enrolled in
specialist maths last year in Victoria compared with 13 per cent of
boys. Girls were also less likely to choose the subject mathematical
methods, with 26 per cent of girls enrolled in 2010 compared with 37.4
per cent of boys.
The Education Revolution Jon King, Sydney Morning Herald, December 13, 2011At
this time of year those of us with children or grandchildren, have very
likely spent a few hours or more clapping as students and educators
alike take to the stage at the many and various speech days and
ceremonies marking the end of the school year around the country.
Change unfair school funding, says Garrett Misha Schubert, The Age, December 11, 2011AUSTRALIA
needs a ''game changing approach'' to the way schools are funded
because the current system is ''letting down some of our kids'',
particularly in public schools, Education Minister Peter Garrett says.
Laying the groundwork for a shake-up of the formula that sets the level
of public funds for each school, Mr Garrett said the nation needs to
have a ''mature discussion'' about change. A review panel chaired by
businessman David Gonski is due to hand its reform blueprint to the
Gillard government in the next fortnight. It will be released publicly
early next year. Observers are tipping the panel will recommend
sweeping changes, including a base level of funding for every student,
plus extra cash loadings for disadvantage, disability, remoteness and
indigenous children.
Mother's crusade against Bibles at Urangan State High School sparks Education Queensland review Tanya Chilcott, The Courier-Mail, December 10, 2011A
MOTHER who took Education Queensland to task over Bibles being handed
out at a school assembly has influenced a review of the state's
religious instruction policy. Birgette Linding said she was mortified
when her daughter came home earlier this year and recounted how Gideons
Bibles had been handed out to students at the end of a Year 8 assembly
at Urangan State High School. "In Hervey Bay we don't have
non-religious private schools so we sent our child to a state school to
avoid religion and within the first four weeks of being there she is
handed a Bible," Mrs Linding said. She offered to organise the Koran
and Buddhist texts for students because she believed state schools did
not favour one religious organisation over another, but was declined.
Education Queensland director-general Julie Grantham recently has
written to Mrs Linding stating she had been advised the school did not
inform parents of the Gideons visit, despite a department policy stating
parents should be informed of any activity with religious content.
Educators put $5b price tag on reform Andrew Stevenson, Sydney Morning Herald, December 10, 2011THE
long wait for Gonski is almost over, with the federal government
announcing its plans to release the epic report into education funding
at the beginning of the next school year. The big ticket item is
expected to be a massive increase in federal funding, with the
government looking for a headline figure of between $4 billion and $5
billion. The Herald understands negotiations are under way with the
states to ensure they will maintain funding levels, with the fear being
they will withdraw funds as the federal investment arrives. The head of
the review panel, Sydney businessman David Gonski, has been briefing
key stakeholders in recent weeks. It appears likely the review will
call for the creation of an education resource standard - the funding
needed to allow students at schools serving communities with minimal
levels of educational disadvantage to reach agreed standards. Top-up
funding would then be calculated to combat entrenched disadvantages in
schools with many students with disabilities, from low socio-economic
backgrounds and from Aboriginal communities.
Many Queensland state schools not teaching foreign languages despite education policy Tanya Chilcott, The Courier-Mail, December 10, 2011STUDENTS
at nearly 80 state schools weren't taught a foreign language this year
despite the subject's mandatory status being reinstated. Schools have
particularly struggled to find Japanese teachers, with many applicants
failing a proficiency test. Figures revealed in the latest Queensland
Teachers Union journal show 76 schools were not teaching a foreign
language in Semester 2. The Courier-Mail revealed nearly two years ago
that Education Queensland had dropped the mandatory status of foreign
languages, prompting a backlash from the State Government who ordered
that status be reinstated in Years 6, 7 and 8. Of the 76 schools not
yet delivering a language, 41 were seeking Japanese teachers in
September with high failure rates among those taking the language
proficiency exam.
When the best start in life turns out to be an early start Dan Harrison, Sydney Morning Herald, December 9, 2011HUMAN
capital - the skills and know-how of our people - is the biggest
positive contributor to wellbeing after net national income. The index
measures it through a combination of indicators that track learning and
innovation. The human capital score is made up of four elements.
Measures of early childhood development and school education contribute
25 per cent each. The proportion of adults with post-secondary school
qualifications contributes a further 40 per cent, while a measure of
productivity growth contributes a further 10 per cent. These weightings
are based on evidence gleaned from international literature. For
example, US research suggests that up to half of the inequality in
lifetime earnings is due to differences in development to the age of 18.
Brits sneer at STEM subjects while international enrolments are up The Australian, December 09, 2011JUST
as Australian students en masse have not taken advantage of a HECS
discount to study maths and science a new British report points to a
fall in undergraduate interest in science and technology, engineering
and maths. According to Stephen Clarke, a research fellow at the
Civitas think tank, while UK university enrolments rose by 600,000 in
the decade to 2006-07, the number of British students enrolled in
engineering and technology fell by 5,500.
Retirement avalanche to hit teacher numbers Andrew Stevenson, Nicole Hasham, Sydney Morning Herald, December 8, 2011THE
NSW Auditor-General has highlighted concerns about the ageing teacher
workforce at public schools as thousands of teachers prepare for
retirement. In this year's report to Parliament, Peter Achterstraat
warned that more than 44 per cent of public school teachers are more
than 50 years old. In 1986, more than half of Australia's teachers were
under the age of 35. ''In NSW, around 20 per cent of public school
teachers are now under 35 and I am concerned that less than 10 per cent
are under 30,'' Mr Achterstraat said. ''We need to do more to attract
and retain young teachers to a profession that is essential for our
children and our future prosperity.''
Schools IT scheme a 'stuff up' Anna Patty, Sydney Morning Herald, December 8, 2011$176
million already spent and now "disaster" implementation will be
delayed. A $386 million information technology system for the NSW
Department of Education, which has so far cost it $176 million, has
failed to deliver what it promised. The state's Auditor-General, Peter
Achterstraat, yesterday confirmed what school teachers and principals
have long suspected - that the program has been a ''disaster''. The
so-called Learning Management and Business Reform software program was
aimed at replacing finance, human resources, payroll and student
administration systems. Mr Achterstraat said the IT program, which was
introduced in March last year, had failed to deliver expected benefits
to the bureaucracy and NSW's 2300 schools. ''I am concerned that
another large government IT project is failing to deliver, is over
budget and is behind schedule,'' Mr Achterstraat said.
Up-end attendance rules for tutorials and lectures Peter van Onselen, The Australian, December 07, 2011DEBATE
rages about whether class sizes are too large at universities. All I
have to go by is my own experience, as a student and an academic. And
you bet they are, but simply complaining about it is unlikely to yield
change. Governments have little by way of extra funding to improve the
situation and vice-chancellors, when they do find extra money, are
likelier to funnel it into research (the decider of quality within the
system).
Parents, neighbours wage war against Wesley Jewel Topsfield,The Age, December 7, 2011ONE
of Melbourne's most prestigious schools is under attack from parents, a
neighbouring school and local residents, who claim the school has
''lost its moral compass'' over its push to buy and develop property.
Wesley College has also been criticised for a lack of financial
transparency over its refusal to publish audited annual financial
accounts and hold open annual general meetings or open elections for
membership of its governing council. The school, which has an annual
income of more than $70 million, was accused by Monash councillor Geoff
Lake of ''adopting the approach of a hard-nosed, profit-obsessed
developer'' over plans to build 84 apartments on the Glen Waverley
campus. The Victorian College for the Deaf also opposes Wesley's plans
to buy Crown land on St Kilda Road currently occupied by the deaf
college's primary school and vegetable garden. And a group called
Wesley Parents and Former Students for Governance Reform, convened by
parent Dr Simon Smith, has launched the website
makewesleyaccountable.com.
Schools line up to take chess boys Andrew Stevenson, Sydney Morning Herald, December 6, 2011SEVERAL
Sydney private schools have offered places to the young brothers told
by Sydney Grammar to find another school because they took unauthorised
leave to compete in the World Youth Chess Championship in Brazil last
month. The boys' father, Ignatius Willathgamuwa, has spoken with the
preparatory schools at Knox Grammar and The King's School about
enrolling Kevin, 8, and Rowan, 9, next year. ''The headmasters of both
schools are welcoming the two boys and are saying that, when it comes to
the world championships, it will be a matter of submitting a leave
application and that it won't be a problem,'' Dr Willathgamuwa said.
Private schools get top report Dan Harrison,The Age, December 6, 2011PRIVATE
schools produce better results than government schools, even after
differences in student background are taken into account, according to
an analysis of data from the My School website. But the research,
published in the latest edition of The Australian Economic Review, does
not consider the influence a school's resources has on outcomes, because
it is based on data from the first version of the website, which was
published last year. Information on the funding available to each school
was first collected for the second iteration of the site, published in
March this year. Paul Miller and Derby Voon of Western Australia's
Curtin University examined year 3 grammar scores from national literacy
tests, and found that independent schools produced average scores 33
points higher than those of government schools. Average scores in
Catholic schools were 25 points higher than those in government schools.
Schools band together and tune in to underprivileged students' needs Jonathan Swan, Sydney Morning Herald, December 5, 2011AN
INNOVATIVE program in which underprivileged schools pool their money to
build shared facilities is delivering surprising academic results in
one of Australia's most disadvantaged communities. Eagle Vale High
School, in the Campbelltown suburb of Claymore, recently opened a $1.7
million recording studio and performing arts centre using funding from a
federal government pilot program. The principal of Eagle Vale High,
Robert Duncan, said a performing arts centre could be seen as a
frivolous investment in a suburb where 94 per cent of the population
lives in public housing and almost a third of working age adults are
unemployed.
Private school fee growth tops inflation Andrew Stevenson, Sydney Morning Herald, December 3, 2011LEADING
private schools will again increase their fees by almost double the
inflation rate, with Sydney school fees set to break the $30,000 ceiling
in 2013. SCEGGS Darlinghurst, The King's School, St Andrew's Cathedral
School and Kincoppal-Rose Bay have all increased their year 12 fees by 5
per cent or more for next year. Charges will rise in most low-fee
schools but at a lower rate, with Catholic school fees increasing by 3
per cent. Two schools, Mamre Anglican School in Erskine Park and Tudor
House, have cut their fees. The head of SCEGGS, Jenny Allum, in a note
to parents, said the school was ''committed to keeping fees as low as
reasonably possible''. The year 12 tuition fee next year will be
$28,911, with an additional $500 technology fee.
HSC students told to wait on exam complaints Nicole Hasham, Sydney Morning Herald, December 2, 2011EXAM
authorities have refused to release all details of potential errors in
this year's HSC exams before students receive their final marks, despite
an investigation which confirmed a mistake in the biology paper. The
Board of Studies yesterday refused a Herald request for details on
complaints about other HSC exams, and would not comment on whether it
was investigating other alleged mistakes. The information will be
released when a final HSC analysis is delivered after student results
are released on December 14. The board confirmed it had received 66
complaints, comments or questions relating to the content of this year's
exams, 33 of which pertained to the biology paper. It received 52
similar queries last year, and 213 in 2009.
Fast forward: gifted students keep on giving with the right support Andrew Stevenson, Sydney Morning Herald, December 1, 2011TEACHERS
are holding back children who would benefit from being pushed ahead a
year at school because of a ''genuine but misplaced'' concern for their
welfare, according to the author of a major study of accelerated
learning. The fear ''that if you place a child with children older than
he or she is that child will not be able to form friendships'', Miraca
Gross, the director of the Gifted Education Research, Resource and
Information Centre at the University of NSW, said. But in fact, it is
misplaced. She argues that the reverse is true. ''Kids who are
intellectually in advance of their years have social and emotional
abilities beyond their age and they tend to gravitate towards older kids
for their friendships,'' she said. ''If you've got a five-year-old
entering school who is more like a seven-year-old in the way she thinks,
she will gravitate towards children in the grade above and they will
accept her.''
Class revolution is the wheel deal Jewel Topsfield, The Age, December 1, 2011IT
IS pedal-driven, has two wheels and brakes and is responsible for a
spike in school attendance on Wednesdays at Kensington Community High.
The humble bicycle is also being credited for reducing the number of
suspensions and improving the fitness and classroom behaviour of a group
of 12 to 16-year-old boys at the school. Teacher Ollie Claydon
introduced an applied learning subject at Kensington Community High in
July called bike ed. Every Wednesday, the students learn about bike
safety and maintenance before plotting a course on a map and then riding
around Melbourne. ''We ride around to skate parks and stuff. It helps
me go to school, I come nearly every Wednesday just to go biking,'' says
year 9 student Chris Asafo.
Year 12 exams may be cut back Jewel Topsfield, The Age, November 29, 2011A
THESIS could replace exams in some VCE subjects under a state
government plan to make year 12 more relevant to the skills required for
the workforce. A senior secondary qualification called the Victorian
Baccalaureate, which would offer a broader education than VCE, could
also be introduced. In a speech outlining his reform agenda today,
Education Minister Martin Dixon will reveal he has asked the state's
curriculum body to investigate options for the introduction of a
Victorian Baccalaureate.
Handling of Steiner closure criticisedJewel Topsfield, The Age, November 29, 2011EDUCATION
Minister Martin Dixon has criticised his own department's handling of
the decision to axe the alternative Steiner stream at Footscray City
Primary, saying the way parents found out was ''not good''. The
criticism comes as Education Department deputy secretary Chris Wardlaw
announced the Footscray City Primary council would be sacked, because it
opposed the decision to close the Steiner stream and ''the new
direction decided for the school''. Parents first learnt that the
Steiner program would no longer be offered next year when they received a
note in their children's bags on October 26, eight weeks before the end
of the year. They were not consulted over the decision and many
students found out before their parents and the school council.
After decades in front of class, Mrs Jones chalks it up to passion Elisabeth Tarica, Sydney Morning Herald, November 28, 2011FOR
Jaclynn Jones, deciding to become a primary school teacher was
instinctive, even in her teens. "I wanted to teach because I wanted to
work with children and that's never changed," she says. "And I didn't
want to become a principal or move away from the classroom — it's always
been about the children." In 1978, she started work at St Albans
Heights primary school, a school she had been assigned to on her
teaching rounds and was inspired by its cultural diversity. At the
time, the area was mainly populated by Croatian, Bosnian, Serbian and
Maltese families. She moved briefly to St Albans Meadows before leaving
to have her two children, then joining Sunbury Heights, which was close
to her home, in 1988.
A new take on kids behaving badly Denise Ryan, The Age, November 28, 2011THE
classroom wall is covered in obscenities. The teacher knows the
culprit, but decides to clean up the mess and not tell anyone. This
decision to stay quiet may sound unusual, but many teachers struggling
with difficult students don't know what to do and fear censure rather
than support from colleagues. Those who battle on often lose their
temper more frequently, which in turn means they lose control of their
classes. Some become so stressed they leave teaching.
Dealing with dyslexia (again) Denise Ryan, The Age, November 28, 2011 AUSTRALIA
is 20 years behind Britain when it comes to diagnosing and treating
dyslexia. That’s the claim of the head of a UK company that supplies
dyslexia screening software to about 25 per cent — or more than 8000 —
British schools. Kevin Thomas, a psychologist and the head of Lucid
Research — who was in Melbourne last week — says UK primary school
children are routinely screened for dyslexia and he can’t understand why
the same doesn’t occur here.
And from overseas…Two-thirds 'fail new primary phonics reading check'Hannah Richardson, BBC News education reporter, 8 December 2011 The
test-run of a new primary school reading check suggests two-thirds of
pupils are likely to fail it when it is introduced in England next
year. Government statistics show just 32% of the six-year-olds in 300
schools who took the test last summer passed it. The test is
controversial because it contains non-words as well as real words. This
is to ensure that pupils are using the government's chosen method,
synthetic phonics, to decode words. Children who learn to read using
synthetic phonics are taught to decode words by breaking them down into
individual sounds. Most schools use phonic methods to teach children to
read. But the Department for Education says only 27% uses phonics
systematically.
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