Smith Family

Literacy is a right to which every Australian child is entitled, so it’s pertinent to consider on International Literacy Day (today, September 8) why some Australian students are still failing to achieve a minimum standard of literacy.

A comparison of Australia’s performance against other OECD countries would appear to demonstrate that Australian students are on the whole performing well at school. However, a closer look reveals students from low-income families are tending to fall behind their peers.

A higher proportion of socio-economically disadvantaged students in Australia are failing to achieve minimum standards in reading, writing, spelling and grammar, with the result that by 15 years of age Australian students from the lowest socioeconomic group in Australia are in general performing almost three years below that of students from the highest socio-economic group in reading.

Continue reading "Writing the wrongs of literacy in Australia" »

You can’t go anywhere without hearing about climate change. There’s no denying that it’s a critical issue for many of us when thinking about the future. Today as I walked to work I noticed a young man wearing a T-shirt with an image of Earth and text that said ‘Defend Tomorrow’ and it was clear what his views were.

It’s great to see this sort of passion, but it made me think about the thousands of volunteers who contribute to The Smith Family’s work, because their social conscience is undoubtedly just as strong as this man’s, just perhaps less overt.

Although many Australians are continuing to feel the effects of the global financial crisis, The Smith Family has been inundated with requests from members of the public to offer their services as volunteers over the Christmas period.

Continue reading "Why giving your time is the best Chrissy gift of all" »

Throughout the global financial crisis, the spending habits of populations around the world have been scrutinised and stimulated as a key driver in restoring economic wellbeing. In fact, the performance of the retail sector remains one of the most commonly referred to indicators, precisely because it makes such a significant contribution to national GDP.

Many of you might be surprised to discover in this context that the GDP contribution of the non-profit sector in Australia is actually on a par with that of the retail industry.

Today, there are as many as 600,000 non-profit organisations in Australia that in 2007 contributed a staggering $43 billion to our GDP, up from $21 billion in 2000. If you incorporate the $15 billion imputed value of its 4.6 million volunteers, there’s no ignoring the fact that non-profits are major economic players. 

Continue reading "The silently booming sector of the economy" »

If you are reading this piece you’re probably not among the close to half of the population with literacy and numeracy skills below the required levels to meet the demands of everyday life and work.

This figure comes from the Adult Literacy and Lifeskills survey undertaken by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2006 and while not up-to-the-minute, is worth reflecting on in light of last week’s National Literacy and Numeracy Week.

Specifically the survey revealed that between 46% and 70% of adults in Australia had poor or very poor skills across one or more of the five skill domains of prose literacy, document literacy, numeracy, problem-solving and health literacy.

Continue reading "Almost half of Australians have problems with literacy" »

It’s not a new adage that it takes a community to raise a child, but sometimes the simple assumptions we take for granted need to be brought back into the spotlight to reinforce their relevance.

If we’re to expect to be able to raise well-adjusted children who each have a sense of security and belonging, we need to be progressive in our definition of community – including in our consideration of where our individual responsibility to community starts and ends.

While Australia provides a safe-haven for many thousands of refugees seeking asylum every year, their relief can be short-lived if they fail to adjust to a life so completely different to any they have ever known.

Continue reading "Lost in translation: helping refugees find a voice" »

We live in an era consumed by communication technology. Walk into any home, library or education institution and you are bound to find a young person tweeting, poking, emailing or texting a friend, rather than engaging in a face-to-face conversation.

We know from studies that most Australian teenagers use instant messaging at least once a day and that when given a choice, young people nominate the internet, not TV or their mobile phones, as the one piece of technology they could not live without.

Undoubtedly, there is immense value in young people possessing these new communication skills - but are they losing the ability to effectively communicate face-to-face in the process? 

Continue reading "Tweet all you like – but don’t forget how to talk" »