Market Freedom

Kevin Rudd needs more Pink Floyd.  The Floyd’s classic lyrics from The Wall album denigrate the standard of teachers and curriculum as “just another brick in the wall”.

I’m sure David Gilmour, Roger Waters and other band members would be amazed to learn that thirty years later Australia is attempting an Education Revolution based wholly on bricks in the wall.  Okay, maybe I oversimplify it.  It’s not just bricks, there’s a range of other building products going into Kevin and Julia’s fabulously named ‘Building the Education Revolution’ program.

Now I don’t mean to overload on dark sarcasm.  But isn’t an education revolution far more than bricks and mortar?  How about first class curriculum?  Higher teacher standards?  Modern learning tools?  Smaller class sizes?  Advancing both the vocational and the academic?

Or, how about a controversial three C’s for our education system – competition, choice and control?  These factors, which can empower families, parents and students while encouraging excellence from teachers and schools, seem to be sorely lacking in any current revolutionary discussions.

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