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Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/myschool-revives-the-private-vs-public-debate/ My school is better than yours - it’s the seesawing debate that never ends when it comes to the class divide over state versus private education. Rather than helping to resolve the argument, the launch of the revamped My School website on Friday – for the first time allowing parents to compare funding levels for individual schools – has drawn criticism from both state and private school supporters and has only deepened the row. Dispelling the old bang for your bucks theory, the site found the most elite private schools have at their disposal at least twice the income of the average government school, but their students do not necessarily perform any better in national tests than their state school system cousins. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/myschool-revives-the-private-vs-public-debate/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/myschool-revives-the-private-vs-public-debate/#item5308 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 This wretched Government simply must increase the funding for private schools. The more children we can get into private education, the better we, as a nation, will become. There has been quite the furore over the figures revealed by MySchool 2.0 – and commentators have rightly pointed out that this Labor Government is using the politics of envy to further its ideological warfare against the wealthy. Two points about the MySchool data leap out at one: 1. Private school students do not necessarily perform better on the literacy and numeracy tests. 2. It doesn’t matter. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/australias-schooling-future-is-private/ This wretched Government simply must increase the funding for private schools. The more children we can get into private education, the better we, as a nation, will become. There has been quite the furore over the figures revealed by MySchool 2.0 – and commentators have rightly pointed out that this Labor Government is using the politics of envy to further its ideological warfare against the wealthy. Two points about the MySchool data leap out at one: 1. Private school students do not necessarily perform better on the literacy and numeracy tests. 2. It doesn’t matter. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/australias-schooling-future-is-private/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/australias-schooling-future-is-private/#item5307 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 This wretched Government simply must increase the funding for private schools. The more children we can get into private education, the better we, as a nation, will become. There has been quite the furore over the figures revealed by MySchool 2.0 – and commentators have rightly pointed out that this Labor Government is using the politics of envy to further its ideological warfare against the wealthy. Two points about the MySchool data leap out at one: 1. Private school students do not necessarily perform better on the literacy and numeracy tests. 2. It doesn’t matter. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/raising-standards-in-australian-education/ What is the best way to raise standards, especially amongst disadvantaged groups, and make sure that Australian students are achieving the best academic results? The question is more than hypothetical, given the latest Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) results that show Australian 15 year olds going backwards in reading. The 2009 results released last week show a 13 point drop compared to Australia’s performance in 2000. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/raising-standards-in-australian-education/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/raising-standards-in-australian-education/#item4668 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 This wretched Government simply must increase the funding for private schools. The more children we can get into private education, the better we, as a nation, will become. There has been quite the furore over the figures revealed by MySchool 2.0 – and commentators have rightly pointed out that this Labor Government is using the politics of envy to further its ideological warfare against the wealthy. Two points about the MySchool data leap out at one: 1. Private school students do not necessarily perform better on the literacy and numeracy tests. 2. It doesn’t matter. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/turning-myschool-into-a-battlefield-in-a-class-war/ Non-government schools are angry over the way the My School website is about to make public their sources of funding and their socioeconomic profile.  The Shadow Minister for Education, Chris Pyne, has even suggested that the ALP Government and non-government school critics have a secret agenda to use the data to justify reducing funding.  Pyne is correct. During the recent federal election campaign the ALP appeared to support school choice when it promised, if re-elected, not to take money away from Catholic and independent schools.  Gone were the days of Mark Latham’s hit-list of so-called wealthy, private schools and the old politics of class war. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/turning-myschool-into-a-battlefield-in-a-class-war/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/turning-myschool-into-a-battlefield-in-a-class-war/#item4580 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 This wretched Government simply must increase the funding for private schools. The more children we can get into private education, the better we, as a nation, will become. There has been quite the furore over the figures revealed by MySchool 2.0 – and commentators have rightly pointed out that this Labor Government is using the politics of envy to further its ideological warfare against the wealthy. Two points about the MySchool data leap out at one: 1. Private school students do not necessarily perform better on the literacy and numeracy tests. 2. It doesn’t matter. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/myschool-wowsers-trying-to-lock-out-parents/ School league tables splashed across newspapers earlier this year, heralding an unprecedented era of education openness in this country, are on death watch. A coalition of teachers unions, academics and public education advocates are well advanced with their mission to strangle through technological modifications any further league tables in 2011. The tables ranking of individual schools for literacy and numeracy were the most sensational outcome the MySchool website, arguably Prime Minister’s greatest reform triumph as Education Minister. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/myschool-wowsers-trying-to-lock-out-parents/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/myschool-wowsers-trying-to-lock-out-parents/#item3694 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 This wretched Government simply must increase the funding for private schools. The more children we can get into private education, the better we, as a nation, will become. There has been quite the furore over the figures revealed by MySchool 2.0 – and commentators have rightly pointed out that this Labor Government is using the politics of envy to further its ideological warfare against the wealthy. Two points about the MySchool data leap out at one: 1. Private school students do not necessarily perform better on the literacy and numeracy tests. 2. It doesn’t matter. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-does-myschool-do-for-non-academic-kids/ 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. 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. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-does-myschool-do-for-non-academic-kids/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-does-myschool-do-for-non-academic-kids/#item2609 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 This wretched Government simply must increase the funding for private schools. The more children we can get into private education, the better we, as a nation, will become. There has been quite the furore over the figures revealed by MySchool 2.0 – and commentators have rightly pointed out that this Labor Government is using the politics of envy to further its ideological warfare against the wealthy. Two points about the MySchool data leap out at one: 1. Private school students do not necessarily perform better on the literacy and numeracy tests. 2. It doesn’t matter. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/why-do-people-get-so-worked-up-over-id-numbers/ I used to work in this pub in Wollongong where come Census time some of the regulars would scarper for the hills. I also remember a bus stop near where I grew up bearing the graffiti: “NO AUSTRALIA CARD” for most of the mid 80s, so I get there are people who are a little skeptical (read paranoid) about the Government knowing their business. But I just heard the Punch’s Mark Kenny at the Press Club ask Julia Gillard about the “Orwellian” nature of the proposed new ID number for Australian school students Phil Coorey flagged in the Herald this morning. The Opposition quickly jumped on the plan, with Tony Abbott today saying: I think that people have names and I think that it ought to be possible to identify people’s performance based on their names, based on who they are.” penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/why-do-people-get-so-worked-up-over-id-numbers/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/why-do-people-get-so-worked-up-over-id-numbers/#item2474 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 This wretched Government simply must increase the funding for private schools. The more children we can get into private education, the better we, as a nation, will become. There has been quite the furore over the figures revealed by MySchool 2.0 – and commentators have rightly pointed out that this Labor Government is using the politics of envy to further its ideological warfare against the wealthy. Two points about the MySchool data leap out at one: 1. Private school students do not necessarily perform better on the literacy and numeracy tests. 2. It doesn’t matter. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/why-should-teachers-remain-unaccountable/ The release of My School data as part of the Rudd Government’s ‘Education Revolution’ begs the question about a key issue in improving classroom performance – teacher standards and school-based professional culture. We should pay teachers more and be seeking to attract more of our best young people into teaching. But we also need to address what is usually un-discussable industrially: poorly performing and unprofessional teachers in some schools. When the Education Minister, Julia Gillard, reviews the data on classroom performance, more funding should not be the only response to target underperforming schools. Helping Principals shape high performance professional school culture will be just as important. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/why-should-teachers-remain-unaccountable/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/why-should-teachers-remain-unaccountable/#item2249 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 This wretched Government simply must increase the funding for private schools. The more children we can get into private education, the better we, as a nation, will become. There has been quite the furore over the figures revealed by MySchool 2.0 – and commentators have rightly pointed out that this Labor Government is using the politics of envy to further its ideological warfare against the wealthy. Two points about the MySchool data leap out at one: 1. Private school students do not necessarily perform better on the literacy and numeracy tests. 2. It doesn’t matter.