http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/learning/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/we-must-be-clever-to-avoid-being-the-dumb-country/ Far from being useless precursors to a life of burger flipping, Arts degrees actually provide students with a range of important life skills. From skulling beers to rolling joints, from discussing both Noam Chomsky and Nim Chimpsky to being able to read several layers of meaning into Dr Seuss. During an Arts degree you may develop highly sophisticated techniques to pass subjects while attending minimal lectures; you may hone your hacky sack skills. By the time you graduate (10 years later) you may have mastered cunning linguistics or the discourse of ethnocentrism. Of course, you might actually learn something. Like a language or how to help someone with a mental health disorder or how to better understand politics or people. That most basic Arts course, Philosophy 101, teaches logic and logical fallacies – skills sorely lacking in the general population. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/we-must-be-clever-to-avoid-being-the-dumb-country/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/we-must-be-clever-to-avoid-being-the-dumb-country/#item8111 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 The launch of the MySchool website has resulted in some of the most contentious debate about education in our country in a long time. It seems everyone has an opinion, with teachers, parents and policymakers all putting forward their perspectives on what is arguably the government’s first major step in identifying the discrepancies in the quality of education provided between schools.  Putting aside the pros and cons of this method of measurement of a school’s success, the one thing there is no argument about is the site’s success in igniting discussion at every level of society about education in Australia. We have known for many years that too many students are leaving school without the skills needed to participate in the 21st century (characterised as the knowledge era). This is in part because, as Sir Ken Robinson, a leading education advisor from the UK, observed in his visit to Australia last year, our current education systems are stuck in the industrial era and are in many cases inhibiting rather than nurturing the talents students need to succeed. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/myschool-should-help-us-reinvent-education/ The launch of the MySchool website has resulted in some of the most contentious debate about education in our country in a long time. It seems everyone has an opinion, with teachers, parents and policymakers all putting forward their perspectives on what is arguably the government’s first major step in identifying the discrepancies in the quality of education provided between schools.  Putting aside the pros and cons of this method of measurement of a school’s success, the one thing there is no argument about is the site’s success in igniting discussion at every level of society about education in Australia. We have known for many years that too many students are leaving school without the skills needed to participate in the 21st century (characterised as the knowledge era). This is in part because, as Sir Ken Robinson, a leading education advisor from the UK, observed in his visit to Australia last year, our current education systems are stuck in the industrial era and are in many cases inhibiting rather than nurturing the talents students need to succeed. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/myschool-should-help-us-reinvent-education/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/myschool-should-help-us-reinvent-education/#item2379 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 The launch of the MySchool website has resulted in some of the most contentious debate about education in our country in a long time. It seems everyone has an opinion, with teachers, parents and policymakers all putting forward their perspectives on what is arguably the government’s first major step in identifying the discrepancies in the quality of education provided between schools.  Putting aside the pros and cons of this method of measurement of a school’s success, the one thing there is no argument about is the site’s success in igniting discussion at every level of society about education in Australia. We have known for many years that too many students are leaving school without the skills needed to participate in the 21st century (characterised as the knowledge era). This is in part because, as Sir Ken Robinson, a leading education advisor from the UK, observed in his visit to Australia last year, our current education systems are stuck in the industrial era and are in many cases inhibiting rather than nurturing the talents students need to succeed. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Lost-for-words-my-secret-battle-with-a-learning-disorder-steve-fielding/ Yesterday was personally one of the toughest days I have had since I was elected to the Senate. It ended with me confronting a demon which I have lived with for 48 years. That demon is that I have a specific learning disability, which means I’m not always the best public speaker or speller. This is something which I don’t like talking about as it cuts pretty deep. I don’t want people to feel sorry for me; rather I more want people to understand who I am and how you can still be successful even if you have problems articulating yourself. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Lost-for-words-my-secret-battle-with-a-learning-disorder-steve-fielding/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Lost-for-words-my-secret-battle-with-a-learning-disorder-steve-fielding/#item1161 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 The launch of the MySchool website has resulted in some of the most contentious debate about education in our country in a long time. It seems everyone has an opinion, with teachers, parents and policymakers all putting forward their perspectives on what is arguably the government’s first major step in identifying the discrepancies in the quality of education provided between schools.  Putting aside the pros and cons of this method of measurement of a school’s success, the one thing there is no argument about is the site’s success in igniting discussion at every level of society about education in Australia. We have known for many years that too many students are leaving school without the skills needed to participate in the 21st century (characterised as the knowledge era). This is in part because, as Sir Ken Robinson, a leading education advisor from the UK, observed in his visit to Australia last year, our current education systems are stuck in the industrial era and are in many cases inhibiting rather than nurturing the talents students need to succeed.