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What does MySchool do for non-academic kids?

Jayne Kearney

by Jayne Kearney

15 Mar 05:45am

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Filed under: Curriculum, Education, Myschool, Society

55 comments

I don’t know what my nine-year-old daughter wants to be when she grows up. She’s a sensitive, quiet kid who seems to spend a large portion of her time in a dreamland of her own creation. She’s not an academic terrier in the Hermione Granger mould like I was. She isn’t the bookworm I hoped she’d be, and a recent tussle with the seven times tables almost caused me to drop the supportive parent ball altogether.

Julia wasn't having any trouble with the answers. Picture: Amos Aikman

So what will all this that mean for her in the current My Schoo , NAPLAN  Australian Curriculum?

Being a child of Australian education circa 2010 I worry that she might never get the chance to discover her passion or talents if they lie beyond the scope of traditional education.

Ok, so it’s a given that literacy and numeracy are important. I don’t think any of us would advocate a return to the 70s where the baby was unceremoniously thrown out with the educational bathwater.

But let’s not do it in reverse today. Isn’t there a hybrid model which nurtures talent and passion while achieving functional literacy and numeracy results?

When the modern spin comes down it’s usually about stopping kids from, “falling through the gaps”. But, rather than trying to stop them, failing, and then letting them tumble down a long hole that doesn’t lead to Wonderland, can’t we embrace the gaps themselves as an educational opportunity?

The problem is, if this opportunity isn’t acknowledged in the rush to push through the twin gods of literacy and numeracy, then kids - like my daughter - slip through. Maybe not in a spectacular, front page fashion, but in a quieter, loss-of-potential kind of way.

Teaching to the test and rote learning - the outcomes feared by opponents of the My School website -  leave less time and energy available to be spent on these gaps.

Former science teacher and Australian Education Union Victorian branch president, Mary Bluett, says that, if the NAPLAN becomes a high-stakes test for state governments with the introduction of the My School website then, “certain students who are likely to lift the schools will get extra resourcing and assistance, which means high and low achievers miss out.’‘

Gaps.

Now, imagine those gaps with safety nets. Not nets made up of more tests, more words, more numbers. But nets made up of the other wonderful parts of life: art, music, sport, ethics, philosophy, kindness, compassion.

Think about building the nets based on Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. My daughter undoubtedly possesses intrapersonal intelligence, but will this be nurtured in between getting ready for the NAPLAN?

Think about helping kids who aren’t ‘words’ kids or ‘numbers’ kids to find their passion.

Think about filling the gap between where real talent and passion lies and the continued obsession with teaching styles based on literacy and numeracy.

Because these are the gaps kids fall through. What we need is to make them safer in order to stop the creep of learned helplessness  which the zealous red pen creates (are you listening My School?)

Some schools - but not enough - are already doing it. Schools like Glen Waverley Secondary College whose teaching space - the Middle Centre - “disturbs a traditional model of schools and learning spaces and allows teachers and students to be liberated from past practices and organisational structures”.  That’s what I’m talking about.

Or there’s the Heidelberg Teaching Unit  - “an education centre for teenagers who, for a range of social or emotional reasons, cannot cope in mainstream schools.”

Teacher Mick Butler - who ‘rescued’, for want of a better word, a student by enrolling him at Heidelberg - says, ‘‘There’s no such thing as a level playing field in education. Kids come from all sorts of different backgrounds and we need to … teach them in different ways. Yet there’s no structured approach for alternative education programs.”

There’s the gap.

I once read a piece about tightrope walker, Philippe Petit - the Frenchman immortalised in the Oscar winning documentary ‘Man on Wire’ . Petit has called himself “a completely misanthropic child” and yet, through some quirk of nature, he identified his passion at the age of four. Climbing and magic eventually led him to achieve a feat which is seemingly beyond the realm of human endeavour - a 45 minute high wire walk between New York’s Twin Towers in 1974. Without a safety net.

Not all kids are as self-possessed as Petit, but I believe it’s a trait that we can nurture, under the right circumstances. After all, if we can teach learned helplessness surely we can teach its opposite.

So Mr Rudd, sir, spend our money on literacy and numeracy certainly, but please also spend more on alternative education programs - not just in specialised settings but in mainstream schools as well.

Because, if we fill these gaps with safety nets for our kids, then one day - like the French guy - it might be easier for them to walk between the metaphorical twin towers of life without a net at all.

I’d love to see my daughter up on that wire.

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55 comments

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    • Bec says:

      06:08am | 15/03/10

      Please fill these spaces with more opportunities for the arts. It’s wonderful for developing confidence and oracy, the selff-esteem boost kids get from seeing a major project completed is incomparable, and when you involve parents whole communities benefit.

      There are real, tangible benefits to incorporating more arts into primary years: academic, social, and in terms of quality of life. In particular, boys are missing out because their families don’t appreciate the benefits or they’re too scared of being called names. Sad.

      Reply

    • Claire says:

      04:05pm | 18/07/10

      I agree with Bec, though literacy and numeracy are both very important subjects and are required in everyday life we should be filling these gaps with art subjects like music are visual arts. This may not seem like such a good idea as teachers already struggle to cover the curriculum in a year (and the national curriculum will be even busier) but introducing these subjects will have double benefits for both numeracy and literacy. Firstly they are more engaging, especially for younger children. When used in literacy and numeracy activities they will naturally motivate the students to work harder and for longer. Secondly, as Bec said, the arts aid the learning of literacy and numeracy. Subjects like Drama increase a child’s oracy and non verbal communication. Studies have also found that an increase in music teaching increases students ability in maths (and vis versa).

      But the most important reason to introduce more art subjects in to the curriculum is so that students who do not perform well in academic subjects will not feel like failures. As adults we understand that our maths and English ability are not the only important skills to have but it is hard to explain this to a child when all they do at school is spelling, writing and maths.

    • Joel says:

      07:08am | 15/03/10

      The labor government must realise that creating the myschool website means that the results and expectations of schools and the public will require more investment my the government into education as the system dictates. Can the government hold up its end? Unlikely as it is a labor government.

      Reply

    • Adam says:

      07:56am | 15/03/10

      Labor or Liberal/National, while ever the electroate continues to vote for the lowest tax option all sectors suffer. Education, health, infrastructure are as much our fault as the politicians because we are the ones decrying the level at which we are taxed

    • formersnag says:

      09:01am | 15/03/10

      @ Adam, if money is such a big problem, then how did governments on either side, at all 3 levels, between 1945 & 1972, survive?

      During those years Schools, especially at primary level were infinitely more successful, generally, got roughly equal results for girls & boys. Drive around the inner suburban areas of all our cities, you will find schools, hospitals, police stations, post offices, court houses, libraries. All built during the post war population explosion of both babies and immigration. Didn’t they also build the “Snowy Mountains” scheme & heaps of other major infrastructure projects as well?

      The number of bureaucrats to doctors & nurses ratio, in QLD health has more than doubled over the last 20 years. Are we looking at a similar problem in all departments & all 3 levels of government?

      Are governments spending more money, buying votes, on “unnecessary luxury” items & starving, boring, basic services to do it?

    • John A Neve says:

      09:59am | 15/03/10

      Formersnag,

      You surprise me, what a question !!

      Schools in the 1945 t0 1972 period, had less pupils, less teachers, weren’t airconditioned or crying out for it. Teachers weren’t expected to pick up on parental duties etc.

      What is expected from schools today is far, far rmoved from the period you are talking about.

      More importantly, the public are demanding more and more from their governments, there is nothing wrong with this, accept the public by and large don’t want to pay for what they demand.

      Fact of life Formersnag, nothing is for FREE.

    • Ally says:

      01:54pm | 15/03/10

      Airconditioned?? What are you talking about… they’re still not aircondtioned!!!

    • John A Neve says:

      03:01pm | 15/03/10

      Ally,
      Try reading what I said.  In fact mant schools are airconditioned and many others are asking for air conditioning.

      Try keeping up Ally.

    • Tom says:

      04:38pm | 15/03/10

      John A Neve, I agree with most of what you are saying, but when you say that people are demanding more from their governments, I would add the caveat that they are generally demanding short term solutions and an explosion in social welfare expenditure. Hence, there is less room for governments to spend in productive infrastructure, and little incentive for them to do so as things that will have benefits 10 or 20 years down the track aren’t going to win elections now.

    • acker says:

      07:32am | 15/03/10

      My school will help weed out dud teachers, and help move resources from affluent schools where teachers are kicking back on easy street to struggle street in less well off areas which needs them. Teachers seem to have their nose out of joint with this rather than parents.

      Reply

    • Becca says:

      01:01pm | 15/03/10

      MySchool won’t weed out dud teachers, it will unfairly victimise good ones. If I have a Year 9 class, some of those kids have been failing since Year 3. How on earth am I supposed to pull them up to benchmark in a few lessons a week, when every teacher in their schooling career has failed? At some point we need to accept that parents need to take a role in this too-providing extra support at home to help their kids. Teachers can only do some much, particulalrly in high school.

    • NotATeacher says:

      01:05pm | 15/03/10

      You can achieve this by describing a school’s performance with just 2 numbers?
      The NAPLAN tests yield a lot of useful information in managing and refining education within each school, and determining where additional funding is needed. To only see what’s on the My School web site, you get very little of any use, and a lot of potential for school-destroying migrations based entirely on misunderstanding.

    • Chris H says:

      02:18pm | 15/03/10

      The results are at school level not teacher level. Teachers are super important, My School does not do what you think.

    • John A Neve says:

      07:53am | 15/03/10

      Joel.

      Unlike you I do not believe this is a political issue, rather it is societies problem.

      To provide alternative education streams cost money, much money. The simple question for society is, do we spend money of the few or on the many?

      Which give us the best return on our dollar?

      We whinge over the national debt, we whinge at any suggestion of tax increases. Yet we want more money spent on health, roads, education, aged care, the list is never ending.

      Tell us Joel, what politician can do all that?

      Reply

    • Peter says:

      03:34pm | 15/03/10

      How about less money wasted on things like The Office of the Status of Women, Seperate aboriginal programs, Insulation schemes, baby bonuses and taxpayer funded maternity leave schemes

    • Jolanda says:

      09:19am | 15/03/10

      The creation of the my school website is to further compliment the current trend of focusing on marks and having parents educate their children at home via tutoring and coaching.  This takes the pressure of the public school system and puts the responsibility on parents.  This set up is designed to complement the Asian culture of rote learning and test taking but the damage it does to children is extreme.

      My children are highly intellectually gifted and the only focus that there has ever been is whether I was a pushy mother and not whether they were happy and learning.  Despite being obvious formally identified intellectually gifted high achieving children who were obviously not a good fit for their grade and year and who were suffering boredom, frustration and psychological distress as a result, no attention was paid as to whether we had justifiable reason for our complaints and whether the DET actually had a duty of care to the children.

      Problem was that when we started complaining our children’s test marks started dropping and they were targeted by some educators.  When we were advised of test results that were not consistent with our children’s consistent high achievement and how they believed they went we requested documents under FOI. Documents produced under FOI shows serious issues in relation test marks awarded and school applications processed and clear evidence of bias, manipulation and tampering is evident.  The response of the DET was to cover it up. 

      The Education system likes to focus on marks because when they focus on marks they control, discredit, and oppress and they bully.  If they focused on the child they would have to acknowledge that for the majority of children they are failing in their duty of care.  There is more to life than test marks and marks are so very determined by the school the child is at and the teacher who presents the curriculum to them as well as whether they are being coached and tutored externally.  School marks are also very highly influenced by whether you and your children are liked or not.

      A child’s test marks is not a determination of their worth or their potential.  Schools need to start focusing on the child and take responsibility for their role.  At the moment schools are only interested in wiping their hands and blaming parents for everything and they do not care who they hurt in order to achieve that goal..

      Education – Keeping them Honest
      http://jolandachallita.typepad.com/

      Reply

    • Bee says:

      02:31pm | 15/03/10

      “School marks are also very highly influenced by whether you and your children are liked or not. “

      That’s a very hurtful and misleading generalisation. I’m a teacher and I have never marked a paper according to whether I like the student who wrote it. That has absolutely nothing to do with it. It’s about the quality of the work that is created. If a “nice” student does badly, well that’s too bad, I have to give them a poor mark. If a student I’m not fond of does really well, the same again - regardless of my opinion of their personality or character, I have to give the mark that is deserved.

      Your experiences are just that - YOUR EXPERIENCES. I’ve had plenty of parents speak to me who tell me that they appreciate the support the students of our school receive. So instead of constantly attacking and making generalisations, you may wish to choose your words carefully. I understand your frustrations, but at the same time, your opinion is biased - you are accusing ALL TEACHERS as being exactly the same - negligent and biased. This is simply not true. Not all teachers are bad, not all teachers are perfect - like every industry there are positive and negative individuals. But that is the key word there, individuals. You refer to us a collective bunch when, quite frankly, we are a large group full of individuals with very different training, ideas, opinions, strategies who - for the most part - care very deeply about what we do. Because to be honest, if I didn’t care, I wouldn’t do it, I’d go back to being a secretary - it’s not worth the money or stress.

    • Jolanda says:

      03:40pm | 15/03/10

      Bee you might be the type of teacher who would never mark a paper unfairly but that you do not acknowledge that some teachers do or might is not helping your profession as it allows for the cover up and protection of bully, bad and biasd teachers.

      Even if it was just my families experiences and it isn’t because I know of many other parents with similar concerns - Dont we count?

    • Hard working and very tired says:

      10:27pm | 15/03/10

      It seems that no story on education would be complete without Jolanda’s bitter diatribe, condemning all teachers as personally targeting defenseless children and their mothers.  Please, just once, acknowledge that the majority of (though admittedly not all) teachers are hard working individuals with the best interests of their students at heart.
      I am sorry, Jolanda, that you feel let down by the education system, but constantly criticizing a whole profession will not aid your cause.  As a hard working teacher I feel aggrieved that you repeatedly launch attacks on a group of people who do their best.
      My school is not “only interested in wiping its hands and blaming parents”.  We work actively to build positive relationships with parents.  There are, however, limits to what we can do.  I have just finished my days work with two hours of correction and planning at 10.30 p.m.  I know I could have done another hour or two, and perhaps you think it’s unprofessional or uncaring or negligent of me to stop. 
      Please stop the barrage of criticism of my profession.  It doesn’t help build a better system.  Teachers want to work with parents, we know that a child’s best interests are served when parents and schools work together.

    • Bee says:

      07:40am | 16/03/10

      The point I was trying to make Jolanda was that not all teachers are like that. I acknowledged that not everybody is perfect:
      “you are accusing ALL TEACHERS as being exactly the same - negligent and biased. This is simply not true. Not all teachers are bad, not all teachers are perfect - like every industry there are positive and negative individuals. But that is the key word there, individuals”

      I am not disagreeing that you have had a bad experience, I was merely pointing out the fact that you are condemning all based on the actions of very few. Again, I sympathise with your frustrations, I acknowledge them, I am not stating that they didn’t happen. But I am stating that it is because of a few individuals, while you attack the profession as a whole.

    • Jolanda says:

      09:11am | 16/03/10

      I find it interesting that when those in the education system criticize parents who fail in their duty of care they don’t seem to think that they are insulting all parents yet when parents criticize teachers who are failing in their duty of care teachers seem to think that it means all teachers?

      When those in the system do not actively stand up and speak out against those who bully children or fail in their duty of care then by virtue of their inaction they are guilty of standing by and doing nothing to protect the children.  Therefore they are failing in their duty of care.

    • Jolanda says:

      09:14am | 16/03/10

      Oh and one more thing you see when a Government System (in this case the Education Department) deals a family an injustice and denies them procedural fairness and natural justice then they shouldn’t be surprised when that family speaks out and exposes the situation time and time again.

      I have told the DET many a time that until they properly and fairly investigate the allegations as per policy and procedure require that I will continue to expose the serious issues that I have identified in the system and the processes used.  If teachers want me to stop because I am affecting thier reputation then maybe they should write to the DET and ask why the allegations have not been investigated and why I haven’t been stopped

      You see many years ago, prior to internet, there would have been no method for people to voice their grievances and concerns so when the bullies in the system wanted to shut somebody down it was easy but now if those in the system decide to deny somebody thieir rights they will need to understand that it will be plastered all over the internet.

      It is a choice that they make.  If what I am saying is not true then I invite them to investigate the matter as was ordered by the Minister for Education at the time or take me to Court.  I would welcome the opportunity to present my families case.

    • casey says:

      10:37am | 15/03/10

      You’ve missed the point, Jayne. It’s not about propelling our kids through literary and numerical avenues, but ensuring the competency level at which they leave school with is substantial enough to get them through life on whichever path they may have taken.

      Initiatives, programs and funding to address the less conventional educational routes are required, I agree. But that’s another issue altogether.

      Reply

    • isis says:

      10:54am | 15/03/10

      I’d get your daughter a tutor. If she can’t do times tables she has probably been distracted by an indulged lifestyle, low parental expectations, and the early use of calculators in school.

      Reply

    • Jolanda says:

      08:31pm | 15/03/10

      @ issis.  Is there any level or standard that the Department of Education can be held responsible regardless of where the child lives or who thier parents are? 

      If it is basic standards then these standards really need to be looked in to see if a 9 year old girl from a solid family background is expected to have been taught her 7 times table well enough by her teachers in school for them to have a reasonable go.

      Or you have to ask whether a child of 9 is expected to know the 7 times table before they go to school and whether it is the parents job to teach them?

    • Lachlan says:

      11:14pm | 20/07/10

      @ Isis. May be there needs to be more emphasis placed on the development of the individuals’ areas of strength and needs. If teachers are provided with comprehensive support they may be able to make more informed and strategic decisions about how best to support their students’ individual numeracy and literacy skills and development.

      This may be acheived through a tutor but it may also be acheivable through various teaching procedures and activities. We need to consider each individuals learning capacities and styles- language, understanding to comprehend and interpretation.

    • Catharine Lumby says:

      10:59am | 15/03/10

      Beautifully argued piece. I think you’re spot on. I have had a very similar experience myself and despite the wonderful work I see some teachers doing at our local public school I think they’re hampered by an education system which is still stuck - in some respects - in the 19th century. It’s often such a joyless experience for many kids. There’s still a blunt separation between ‘education’ and ‘pleasure’. And as my ten year old remarked recently: “I can’t believe they make us do old-fashioned sucky dancing with girls”. They’re still doing it! Thirty years are I was forced to do the barn dance with a boy called Roy.

      Reply

    • julain thomas says:

      11:27am | 15/03/10

      formersnag, I luv ur opinions

      Reply

    • AdamC says:

      11:43am | 15/03/10

      Can we really have this discussion without talking about streaming and technical education? These are very much out of vogue, but aren’t they at the heart of the matter? Without providing different educational streams, how can a system be all things to all kids?

      Reply

    • richo says:

      11:58am | 15/03/10

      The education system nowadays is all about capitalism. They don’t care about your child’s dreams, or if your child needs a creative outlet. They want the fun out of schools, now they are asking them in grade two and three what do you want to do for a living? Make your mind up now or you’ll be left behind. Let the kids have fun at that age. Plenty of time for work, not enough time for fun.
      There are six and seven year old children saying they want to be accountants and lawyers when they grow up, at that age they shouldn’t even know what they are, but the capitalists got a hold of the education system and told all the kids life’s about work, forget the rest.

      Reply

    • marley says:

      04:11pm | 15/03/10

      Oh for crying out loud.  That’s one whale of a generalization.  All kids have dreams about what they’ll be when they grow up - and if daddy is an accountant, it’s just possible they’ll want to be one too.  Or maybe they want to be a lawyer like the cool guy they see on the cop show on TV.  Then they’ll change their mind and decide they want to be a ballet dancer or a rock star or a celebrity chef.  Or maybe a barista.

      If you want to see a system in which kids of six or seven actually had their career paths set in stone, take a good look at the old Soviet Union.  You have some ability in math?  Right, off to special school for the next 10 years, then we’ll put you into a maths or physics program in university, then assign you to a research institute.  You’d rather be a painter?  Too bad.  Maths it is.  Forget the rest.

    • Matthew says:

      02:54am | 16/03/10

      I guess you’ll blame kids for wanting to be Astronauts on capitalism as well.

    • JD says:

      12:05pm | 15/03/10

      Primary and secondary school is a social education - you don’t start learning anything in-depth till university. Even then undergraduate is a breeze - post-graduate is when you really get an education. As long as the basics are down pat (reading, writing, simple math), let the kids play and have a childhood. I know people who’ve gone to the worst schools in rural cities and end up as professors. I went to a private school and saw countless students end up on drugs and as prostitutes. It’s all about the individual’s motivation in my opinion. What’s wrong with a little healthy competition anyway? Most industries have it - why should teachers be exempt in their cushy permanent jobs?

      Reply

    • Michael D. Robinson says:

      12:26pm | 15/03/10

      Don’t go so hard on the kids, no one can be an academic heavyweight if there are lightweights teaching a flyaway curriculum.  Sure there are some great teachers and sometimes our children are fortunate to be in their class, but not always.  Then there is, of course, the issues like life skills, music, school band, arts, self confidence, ability to think and communicate and so on, but if you cannot read, write, and do maths, then clearly the rest has its limitations.

      Oh and also .... Don’t leave all of your child’s education to the school;  There are many topics families need to cover, family importance, robustness, tenacity, work ethics, sense of community, living skills, family relationships, religion, understanding and relationships with God (if that is important to pass on then its up to you), a sense of compassion, caring, home teaching about reading, and thinking and talking difficult issues through, grief and joy, money, budgets, food and health, values, morals and the like are all part of their development that aren’t on the school curriculum, and governments will not grasp these issues either.

      Sure there will be money for arts, languages and the like, but more often then not they need to be considered as opportunities to teach children how to learn rather than what is being learned.

      Reply

    • Chris H says:

      01:48pm | 15/03/10

      Excellent article! A free ranger if I ever heard one!

      What is the goal of schools? What does the word success mean? When you send your child to school what kind of young adult do you want to come out of the system? The answer today seems to be “high marks”. Our school system is becoming more and more about nothing else except producing young adults for university - and not a thinkers university, but a university that provides certification for an office job.

      In short, schools are designed to produce people who can sit still for eight hours a day (with the assumption that those that fail can stand for eight hours a day). In many ways, this is what parents have been calling for ever since university became certification factories and attendance seen as a requirement to succeed in Australia (late 70s, early 80s). Music, arts, history, ethics - none of these get you into a certificate factory, so parents and governments discard it. Teachers are forced to follow suit and teach ‘to the test’.

      Can Jayne resist the parental assumptions about what it means to raise a successful child? I hope so, because the more who buck the system and cry out that happiness is not an office cubicle and a fast internet connection, the better.

      My goal as a parent is to produce an adult with an understanding of history, an inquisitive mind, a love of reading and a passion for life. It seems I’ll have to do it despite the school system, instead of its help.

      Reply

    • marley says:

      07:34pm | 15/03/10

      I agree that we want well-rounded kids who grow up into successful adults - but how much of this is actually the school’s responsibility?  Being of an older generation myself, I always considered that schools were there to give a fundamental education (which would certainly include history, and some level of art and music); families were there to provide the ethics; and clubs, tutors and enthusiast groups were there to provide the more advanced experiences in arts, sports, and other specialist interests.  Having had to employ and work with some of the products of the current education system, I think that literacy and numeracy, and some basic knowledge of geography (no, Bolivia is not in Africa) should be the first goal of the education system.  Behavioural and social skills shouldn’t even be on the schools’ agenda - that’s entirely the parents’ responsibility.  As is instilling a love of reading and a passion for life.

    • Chris H says:

      08:18pm | 15/03/10

      I agree Marley that there is plenty of parental responsibility, I just think that education should broaden horizons, not simply teach maths.

      Secular public schools have been the great “leveler” of Australian society. If your suggested curriculum extends only to literacy, numeracy, geography and some history, art and music but doesn’t include ethics, science and social studies then were does the shared future come from? If the love of reading is only in the realm of the family then my daughters will be fine, but kids of stupid parents won’t get it. Kids with racist parents won’t get the chance to learn an alternative viewpoint. The stupid remain stupid, an underclass is created.

      While education is essentially an investment in the future, it is also a tool for creating the society we’d prefer. It’s a fine balance, to be sure, but I think the current push from the government goes too far one way.

      My kids will be fine, I extend my hopes past them.

    • marley says:

      11:55am | 16/03/10

      I agree with many of your points, and of course I should have included science in the “basics” that kids should learn.  But when it comes to instilling the “love of reading” or a passion for art or music, I’m less than convinced.  No child is going to love reading if he cannot read fluently.  And quite a few products of the modern education system do not in fact read fluently.  Same thing with maths and science.  That inability cripples them in life and destroys the dreams they might have had.  And if they can’t read a newspaper easily or understand a website, how able are they in fact to participate fully in society? It is critical that schools provide a proper foundation - and the kids who need that foundation most are exactly the ones you describe, the ones from uneducated, uninterested backgrounds.

    • Paula D says:

      04:08pm | 22/07/10

      Chris, you’ve hit the nail on the head!  Not all children are going to get the wonderful results that our schools would hope for, but what happened to the encouragement to do their best?  If they are better at the Arts, then let them strive to do their best in the Arts.  The Technical school system made it so much easier for those adolecents who were not acedemics, to excell in an area they were comfortable in.  This made for happier, more confident people.  However, it all links back….we need to teach our students the basics.  So rather that focusing our early years on what we need to teach them so they’ll understand in year 10, teach them in a way they can relate to now.
        Chris I totally agree with you, my goal as a perent is also to produce an adult with a well rounded understanding of life and an inquisitive mind that dares to ask why?

    • Anna says:

      01:44pm | 15/03/10

      Spot on Jayne. You know that feeling when you pull on a ‘one-size fits all’ t-shirt and it sticks around your head, and it turns out your body’s not like all the other t-shirt buyers’ at all? When that shirt is actually completely the wrong shape for you it ain’t a nice feeling. THAT’S what this My School folly is doing to education. Forcing those who don’t fit into a ‘one size fits all’ approach to feel different and just plain stupid. Bring on diversity. Bring on the wire.

      Reply

    • tc says:

      02:26pm | 15/03/10

      Too many expectations on the schools and the teachers. Absolutely no mention of the role of the parents.

      Reply

    • dava says:

      02:37pm | 15/03/10

      Perhaps a Montessori education would address some of the concerns stated here. Children explore a Montessori environment based on inner promptings, without expectation or judgment from those around them.

      When a child is free to pursue their inner promptings, they learn with amazing speed and depth. Think of a child that has decided to walk. They put all of themselves into the task – but only when they are ready. A Montessori environment treats math and literacy the same way.

      If ‘walking’ were part of mainstream education - it would be determined that children needed to be taught how to walk at 10 months. Those that tried to walk earlier would be told to wait for the others. Children who weren’t ready at 10 months would receive a bad mark and would now be labeled ‘behind’.

      In a Montessori environment, some kids learn to read at four, others at seven and all points in between. Over time though, as these children develop, they absorb everything that they need. They leave the environment with self-discipline, and respect for the world around them.

      Reply

    • Glenn says:

      04:31pm | 15/03/10

      We have a school system deigned to literally teach the creative out of kids. To beat them down to the average, to tell them that being creative is something that is not valued, not to aspire to. The MySchool website is a prime example - How can a single test truly measure the worth of a school population. While a students ability to read, write and add up are some metrics that give an indication of how a school is performing so the number of students that learn an instrument, that are involved in sporting teams (by choice).

      It’s like we are creating generation after generation of kids who are told ‘being average’ is something to aspire to. Instead of saying excel, be it in maths, English, science, music, theatre, sport, art just find what you love and go for it.

      Reply

    • marley says:

      08:07pm | 15/03/10

      I don’t see that at all.  The system is about teaching kids that they need to have a certain level of literacy and numeracy, and some knowledge of science, history, and the arts.  It’s not about beating them down to the average - in many cases, quite frankly, it’s about getting them up to the average. And too many kids have been told they can excel, or are excelling when the truth is otherwise.  When did competency become something to be derided?

    • Robert Smissen of Rural SA says:

      04:53pm | 15/03/10

      Well Jayne, kids who don’t have parents/carers who can support them usually end up in goal. If you don’t believe me, just check the literacy of the people in goal.

      Reply

    • Vicki PS says:

      07:10pm | 15/03/10

      Jayne, you are going for gold in the stakes to see how many times you can write “passion” in one short article.  I’d be happy to see that overused buzzword disappear: what is wrong with ordinary old enthusiasm?

      Face it, Jayne—only privileged upper middle class parents expect their similarly privileged kids to have passions in life.  If it’s that important to you, perhaps that’s an indication that nurturing passion is something you need to take responsibility for.  Why would you see literacy and numeracy as obstacles to other educational outcomes, or is ‘passion’ (as your article seems to hint) just a code word for “not very bright kid”.

      For myself, literacy, numeracy and some knowledge of the world are fair enough goals for mainstream education.  I have no time at all for idiots whose idea of a grand achievement is to walk a tight wire—a completely pointless task.  Genuine passion for something is a rare enough commodity, and shouldn’t be seen as an expectation to be dumped on a child’s head. 

      Be satisfied if your child simply takes pleasure in a range of activities, and can read and write well enough to take responsibility for his/her own further learning later on.

      Reply

    • The Othe rmartin says:

      10:07am | 16/03/10

      None of these policies address the real failing in the education system. The main causes of sucess in education comes from motivated students (here is where ‘good’ teachers have their main effect). Conversely the main faiings come from unmotivated students. Unless we motivate the students to learn and achieve then more resources etc will have little real effect. I suggest the carrot & stick approach. Payments for students who achieve- after this is how we motivate adults (more pay). Students who do not achieve do not progress from year level to year level nor be allowed to leave full time education.

      Reply

    • Victoria says:

      11:30am | 16/03/10

      Even if your kids are creative types, they still need basic numeracy and literacy skills otherwise they will forever live in their own dream world without proper communication with the world of normal people.
      I appreciate My school beacuse I do not use it as only mean to evaluate my kid’s performance. I like the transperancy in marking system because it gives me no illusion about my kids’strength and weakness. My kids and I have no concern at all at NAPLAN test because we consider it as the TEST, the way to test the numeracy and literacy of my kids. My family encourage the kids to do to their best no matter what the result are.

      Reply

    • David says:

      04:22pm | 16/03/10

      When it comes down to it it basically because of 4 factors;
      1) Time spent in class - In the last 15 years so much “social engineering”: material” has been added to the curriculum that schools are lucky to spend half their time on numeracy and literacy
      2) Resources - the government has underfunded and under supplied schools for 20 years and now have to play catch up - but is refusing to spend the money that’s they should; increase schools operational budgets so they can buy computers and new books, as well as upgrade facilities where needed.
      3) Parents; though many parents care and help there are still heaps of parents that don;t really have a clue or support the school. Every school can tell you stories of parents who don;t make their kids do homework, or pull them out of a detention, then complain that their kid is doing poorly.
      4) teachers; the lack there of. There is a tremendous gap growing between the number of teacher graduates and the number of teaching jobs. Maybe this is because teachers are the lowest paid 4 year university degree profession in this country. Full time cashiers can earn more. Pay teachers a fair wage, or they will keep leaving the profession or moving overseas.

      Reply

    • Blindside says:

      09:44pm | 16/03/10

      this system isn’t for measuring creative ability and there’s few effective tools for measuring that, indeed because social & family influences/pressures can keep children from doing what they feel they’re best at or enjoy the most.

      it’s simply a system for measuring academic achievement for parents interested in that, nothing more nothing less.

      if you want your daughter to find her own way, you might just have to let her!

      Reply

    • Yvette Vignando says:

      11:26pm | 07/07/10

      I dream of the day when the Australian Prime Minister insists that all schools in Australia implement an evidence-based quality social and emotional learning program - and something that goes hand in hand with that is, recognising the unique strengths of each child, honouring their different learning styles and recognising that there are many types of “intelligence” - Howard Gardner’s work on multiple intelligences is a good start.

      Reply

    • Corinne P says:

      04:11pm | 20/07/10

      Surely, NAPLAN “responsibility” should lie with the Federal Government rather than the “funding focused” State Governments and additional funding should be allocated according to the needs of a school and it’s students. 

      If a school scores low in NAPLAN test results, this in fact, may be reason to allocate more funding for that particular school, as clearly the results are an indication that the students are struggling.

      Funding could be used to further improve continuing teacher education, the allocation of more teacher’s aids and for more resources for teachers and students in general. 

      Society is quick to judge the teaching profession for poor NAPLAN results when really the responsibility lies with the whole of society, governments and parents included. 

      Instead of pointing the finger at who is “supposedly” to blame why not work on fixing the issues that arise out of NAPLAN testing. I’m all for a “resources” rather than “reward” funding system.

      Reply

    • Victoria says:

      04:41pm | 28/07/10

      This article incited a very interesting debate for this mother of state educated children and pre-service teacher.  I agree with the person who commented that good education is about engagement.  I am taught to celebrate diversity and to nurture creativity as well as the disciplines of literacy and numeracy.  All this teacher bashing of a dedicated group of professional individuals scares me.  It is lucky I am so passionate about the future of your kids that I am willing to put up with a 4 year degree course for less money than most!  I also wonder how many of the authors of these posts would have fared if tested.  There were some elongated sentences (Jolanda) and spelling mistakes, or typo’s, that may have received poor results - but your points were taken!

      Reply

    • Catherine says:

      01:24pm | 29/07/10

      “It takes a village to raise a child”, a quote from a time ago. Whether we are parents, educators, employers, achademics, or the general public, we all apperar to have a stake in the methods used to raise children of the 21st century. Having a child myself, with a learning imparement puts me in good stead to comment on the pedagogy of education. It appears that in todays world where students are exposed to a plethora of information technology, that somwhere we and they, get lost in the translation. A lot of emphasis is placed on literacy and numeracy and the sciences, which is ALL important, but for some students it gets all mixed up and confusing. If we could adapt the cirriculum to encompass extra subjects, like the arts or environmental studies as an example, this could give those students that are struggling in mainstream an avenue where they could develop their literacy and numeracy skills from a different facet of education. I know this to be a worthwhile process because I do it now! Individual Education Programs for each student is just around the corner, kids love to learn lets cut the red tape and listen to them.

      Reply

    • gucci says:

      04:22pm | 04/08/10

      iteracy and numeracy skills from a different facet of education. I know this to be a worthwhile process because I do it now! Individual Education Programs for each student is just around the corner, kids love to learn lets cut the red tape and listen to them.      louis vuitton wallet

      Reply
 
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