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Raising Accountability for Parents Too
By Stanley Bippus

From the American Society of School Administrators Guest Column

What is most interesting in the big debate over how to improve public education is the lack of discussion over parent accountability.

The truth is that except in extreme cases, school officials do not come close to having the impact on a child’s success as does a parent. Between birth and age 18, children spend only 10 percent of their waking hours at school with the bulk of their time spent in the home environment where, with no standards of accountability, parents may choose to be unsupportive and uninvolved in the education process.

Why are there not more efforts to hold parents accountable for meeting child-rearing responsibilities when public schools face intensifying pressure?

Offbeat

From the land of the free: Parents who illegally enroll their children in Seminole County's highly regarded schools will go to jail -- if the School Board has its way.

The board instructed Superintendent Bill Vogel this week to give police agencies the names of parents whose children have been caught attending out-of-zone schools.

Rudd: A computer for every kid Daily Telegraph 15.11.07

Kevin Rudd unveils Labor's education nation Courier-Mail 14.11.07

All students in years 9-12 would have access to their own computers at school, and 450,000 skills training places would be funded under a Rudd government.

Funding becomes waste as improved schools close SMH 14.11.07

The former head of the NSW Secondary Principals Council, Chris Bonnor, said the Government had wasted money on schools that no longer had any students or teachers.

Mr Bonnor said schools such as Bossley Park High in Fairfield, which had 1500 students, received a similar amount of funding under the Investing in Our Schools Program to Drinane Public School in Dubbo, which had nine students and received more than $137,000.

Coalition election promises on school education

Top private schools lash PM's policy The Age 14.11.07

Leading private school principals have branded Prime Minister John Howard's education tax rebate plan short-sighted, and accused both the major parties of squandering education money to buy votes. As the major parties argued, Melbourne Grammar principal Paul Sheahan accused both Labor and the Coalition of wasting large amounts of taxpayers' money in pursuit of votes.

Up to $800 per child tax rebate promise SMH 13.11.07

A COALITION government would deliver parents up to $800 a child in tax rebates to help cover the cost of school expenses, including fees and uniforms, a move that supporters of public education say is designed to undermine state schools.

The policy is an apparent attempt to better Labor's commitment to provide parents with tax deductions of up to $375 for each primary school child and $750 for each student at high school.

While Labor's rebate would be restricted to low- and middle-income families, the Coalition policy would not be means tested and would be offered to all parents.

The Prime Minister, John Howard, yesterday promised a rebate of up to $400 for all primary students and $800 for secondary students.

Parents of children at public schools typically pay less than $300 in fees each year. However, the rebate would apply to laptops, broadband connection to the internet, school camps, excursions, stationery, calculators and school uniforms.

Grandaddy of all splurges SMH 13.11.07

Your vote buys these: PM SMH 12.11.07 4:26PM

A re-elected coalition government would pay the childcare rebate up-front, give tax breaks for school fees, and for savings accounts to go towards first-time buyers' homes.

John Howard's pitch to families at campaign launch

NEWS.com.au 12.11.07 07:49pm

Mr Howard trumped Labor's promises, pledging more than $6bn in tax breaks for education expenses, including making school fees and uniforms partly tax deductible.

PM's spending promises sparks concern thewest.com.au

12.11.07 19:45 WST

$80m for ad-free kids TV SMH 10.11.07

Communications Minister, Helen Coonan, will make the announcement today as part of the Coalition's pitch to families.

We let Shellay down, says DOCS boss SMH 10.11.07

Schoolboy Julian's lifesaving MythBuster moment SMH 10.11.07

A Lisarow High School student saves a man who fell into the path of an oncoming train.

Here is an election prediction for you Daily Telegraph 08.11.07

Maralyn Parker writes on Chris Bonnor’s prediction “that, at some stage in the next couple of weeks, the Howard Government will attempt to paper over the public school funding cracks (i.e. canyons) by ramping up the Investing in our Schools Program, first promised just prior to the 2004 election”.

Politicians blind to special needs Daily Telegraph 07.11.07

Spare a thought for the children and their teachers who are completely under the radar for this election.

Teen allowed 'calming' smokes NEWS.com.au 04.11.07

A year 10 student in the ACT has been given permission to take cigarette breaks while at school because her doctor says she is clinically addicted to nicotine. The ACT Government has for years allowed smoking at five selected year 11 and 12 colleges in the Territory and will only introduce a total ban from January 1, 2008.

NSW Health Minister Reba Meagher has condemned a Canberra high school for allowing a 16-year-old student to take smoke breaks during classes.

Politicians sign up for school Daily Telegraph 31.10.07

Maralyn Parker + blog

Candidates for the federal election in NSW are being put on the spot over public schools by the state’s teachers union. The NSW Teachers Federation approached every candidiate in each of the state’s 49 federal electorates and asked them to sign a pledge that they would “support significantly increased targeted funding for public schools” in their electorate.

The pledge carefully avoids any criticism of private school funding - it simply says the candidate is pledging to get more for public schools.

List of candidates who have signed the pledge

Only half of colleges built: Della Bosca SMH 31.10.07

Despite promising 100 new technical colleges across the country the Federal Government has failed to provide even half of the eight it promised for NSW before the last election, the state's Education Minister, John Della Bosca, said yesterday.

Coming to grips with a mother's guilt trip SMH 31.10.07

Even environmentally aware mothers cannot stop driving, writes Meg Mason.

When Mosman Council issues tickets to mothers double parking outside school during the drop-off and pick-up hours, the notices are posted out. Most land in mailboxes that are one, or at a stretch, two kilometres from the school.

Teachers chalk up 400,000 days off Daily Telegraph 31.10.07

Teachers in NSW public schools have taken more than 400,000 days of unpaid leave in 12 months - a long-term perk aimed at compensating them for classroom stress. List of schools with time taken.

DET website 30.10.07

Epping Boys High Student to be Honoured by NSW Governor

An HSC student, described by Epping Boys High School principal Peter Garrard as "someone who displays excellent leadership capacity" is to be awarded the Order of Australia commendation for Young People by NSW Governor Marie Bashir.

TAFE course fee refunds an education incentive

NSW Minister for Education and Training, John Della Bosca today announced course fee refunds worth hundreds of dollars to each student studying for the Higher School Certificate at TAFE.

"This $2 million a year State Government initiative will be a great incentive for students to complete NSW's internationally-recognised HSC," Mr Della Bosca said.

$2.1b for colleges SMH 30.10.07

Prime Minister John Howard has announced a $2.1 billion plan to build 100 more technical colleges around the country over the next 10 years.
Mr Howard said 30 of the colleges would be funded directly by the Commonwealth.
"The other 70 of those will be technical colleges which any government or independent school anywhere in Australia can choose to establish," Mr Howard told reporters at a school in east Melbourne.
"And if they choose to establish them, we will provide direct funding of $10 million to each of those schools established by either a government or independent school."

Bullying is exaggerated, says childhood expert The Observer UK 28.10.07

The level of playground bullying is being exaggerated and children must learn to cope with name-calling and teasing to help them develop resilience, a childhood expert says.

In his book “No Fear: Growing up in a Risk-averse Society”, which will be published tomorrow, Gill argues that society is 'bubble-wrapping' children. Parents, teachers, police, the government and wider society are all to blame, he said, for overreacting to risks such as 'stranger danger', injury and abuse.

Cotton wool revolution The Guardian UK 30.10.07

Download a pdf version of the book here

Year 7 sex filmed: police investigate Sun-Herald 28.10.07

ALP promises everything under the sun in a bid to prove his green credentials SMH 27.10.07

ALL public and private schools would be given grants to install solar panels to cut greenhouse gas emissions and educate children on climate change under a Labor government. Under the plan, which would cost $489 million over eight years, each of the 9612 primary and secondary schools in the country would be given a $20,000 grant to install two-kilowatt solar panels. Schools would also be eligible for grants of up to another $30,000 to invest in other energy- and water-saving equipment including solar hot water systems, more efficient lighting and rainwater tanks.

YES to Labor’s education tax rebate - and Happy World Teachers’ Day Daily Telegraph 26.10.07

Maralyn Parker. I say bring on Labor’s education tax rebate. Here is why.

Every family buys text books for their children. With this rebate you get half back. Then there is the computer/laptop/printer/Internet cash back. In total you can get half of up to $750 for primary students and half of up to $1500 for secondary students.

SMH 26.10.07

Labor trumps Coalition solar plans SMH 26.10.07 Breaking News

A Labor government would spend almost half-a-billion dollars to have solar panels and rainwater tanks installed in both private and public schools across Australia.

Labor junks anti-obesity policy SMH 26.10.07

Teachers protest over Hockey school visit SCECGS Redlands SMH 26.10.07

There's much more to fixing education than just buying computers Letters SMH 26.10.07

Apples for the best teachers Editorial SMH 26.10.07

(Elite) school 'indoctrination' has led UK to war, says historian education.guardian.co.uk 25.10.07

Businessman urges $130,000 teachers' pay SMH 25.10.07

Top teachers should be paid up to $130,000 a year as part of a reform to lift the quality of schooling in Australia, the business leader Michael Chaney has declared. Mr Chaney, the outgoing president of the Business Council of Australia, called for a renewed focus on teaching and learning and warned of an economic and social slide unless measures were taken to prevent a decline in education.

Top teachers' pay 'should double' Daily Telegraph 25.10.07

Private school funding review SMH 25.10.07

The State Government is reviewing how much money it will allocate to private schools, some will get an increase at the expense of others. Private schools are funded from a fixed pool, worth more than $660 million next financial year.

The Minister for Education, John Della Bosca, is reviewing the formula, known as the Education Resource Index, which grades independent schools from one to 12 according to their facilities and student fees. Those rated from 10 to 12 are the most poorly resourced, and receive the most money.

Category one schools include the King's School in Parramatta, SCEGGS Darlinghurst, Newington College and Abbotsleigh School for Girls. They receive the lowest level of State Government funding.

The Federal Government gives money to independent schools based on the socio-economic status of families whose children attend.

The Greens MP John Kaye said the State Government was negotiating how it would distribute funding to private schools next year, consulting only the key stakeholders.

"They are scurrying behind closed doors in the dark like a bunch of cockroaches, hoping nobody will notice," Dr Kaye said. "Meanwhile, $665 million of public funding is being given away without any public scrutiny."

Unis offer a study in cronyism SMH 25.10.07

Universities have given big contracts to friends and family, wasted millions on defective software, misused corporate credit cards and engaged in deceptive advertising, says Macquarie University's vice-chancellor.

Labor to force child care to make the grade SMH 24.10.07

Every child-care centre would be rated on a scale from A to E according to the quality of care, and their scores would be published for parents, if Labor won government, the party has pledged.

Teachers allege bullying over pay SMH 23.10.07

Teachers at an exclusive North Shore private school (SCECGS Redlands) claim it is using Work Choices legislation to bully them into accepting below-award pay and conditions.

More Oz lit in schools SMH 23.10.07

The NSW Government will introduce more "home-grown" Australian literature into primary and high school curriculums. The NSW Minister for Education, John Della Bosca, yesterday said he would ask the NSW Board of Studies to review the English curriculum to strengthen the study of Australian literature, with recommendations due by next year. He said the primary school syllabus needed to become more prescriptive and he wanted a high level course to be introduced to the Higher School Certificate.

Same HSC exam, different days SMH 23.10.07

L.A. board may shift $1 billion to school construction LA Times 23.10.07

Los Angeles school district officials want to close most of a staggering deficit in the school-construction program by using more than $1 billion in bond money that was meant for other purposes.
The proposal, expected to pass, would use for new schools money that would have repaired and modernized existing schools, improved Internet access and other technology on campuses, and built and repaired preschool centers. Instead, the funds will backfill the plan to build 145 schools in an effort to provide all students with a neighborhood campus that operates on a traditional two-semester schedule.

Child health issues

Pattern in 'overstated' child obesity SMH 22.10.07

For our small fry the hazards are so much greater SMH 22.10.07

Division on danger in our playgrounds SMH 22.10.07

Mothers on offensive in school zone crackdown Sun-Herald 21.10.07

Sutherland Shire Council has been accused of heavy-handed revenue-raising after one of its rangers booked a mother from Engadine High School four times in one week for dropping her children in a school bus zone. In a protest against the $238 fines, a group of mothers has accused the council rangers of parking illegally while booking motorists. And they say they have photographs to prove it.

But Sutherland Mayor David Redmond said the rangers were not booking the mothers to help fill council coffers.They were fined because they were causing a danger to children around the school entrances, he said.

ALP’s tax plan as it affects education

$1.5m plan to lift childcare rebate smh.com.au 21.10.07

Labor today promised to spend an extra $1.5 billion on child care to increase the tax rebate from 30 to 50 per cent and pay it every three months as the Coalition claimed middle-income families would be $600-a-year worse off under Labor's "Sheriff of Nottingham" tax policy.

Rudd vows tax break to step up education SMH 20.10.07

The tax refund would be available for spending on home and laptop computers, home internet connections, printers and educational software. Families could also claim it for textbooks but not school fees, uniforms or tuition. The first round of refunds would not be paid until the second half of 2009 for spending on children's education costs in the 2008-09 financial year. Families receiving Family Tax Benefits Part A and with children at school are eligible – ie the benefit cuts out at a combined household income of about $90,000.

Me too, but with feeling SMH 20.10.07

Labor has matched John Howard's tax promises but will shelve the cuts he is offering people earning over $180,000, giving the money instead to low and middle-income families for school equipment such as computers, software, broadband and books.

Policy an attempt to close digital divide SMH 20.10.07

Labor’s policy to use the money saved on postponing cuts to the top tax rate to fund education tax deductions for laptops, home computers and internet connections is an attempt to address a "digital divide" that has become entrenched in Australia in the past 15 years.

Rudd outlines tax vision SMH 19.10.07

Parents receiving family benefits with one child at primary school and one at secondary school would get a $1125 a year tax refund for education expenses under Labor's tax policy announced today.

Rudd reveals Labor's tax plan NEWS.com.au 19.10.07

HSC puts spotlight on WorkChoices SMH 19.10.07

The first Higher School Certificate exam yesterday prompted students to discuss one of the most controversial issues of the federal election, the Government's Work Choices legislation.

Students face more tests to get into uni SMH 18.10.07

A growing number of universities are playing down the Higher School Certificate in favour of their own admission tests for prospective students.

A record 67,189 students will begin sitting their first HSC exams today as the ink dries on a Federal Government contract for a new aptitude test for school leavers.

The Australian Council for Educational Research signed the contract this week to pilot the test, the results of which will be considered by select universities in conjunction with students' HSC results.

The council's general manager of higher education, Marita MacMahon Ball, said the test, known as uniTEST, was not designed to replace the HSC.

More study time in religion than science SMH 17.10.07

Australian primary school students spend more time in school assemblies and religious education than they do studying science, a study has found.

The Federal Government-commissioned study of 160 public and private primary schools found teachers spent more than half of their time teaching English and maths. They spent 4 per cent with school assemblies and 4 per cent with religious education, but 3 per cent teaching science. Physical education received 11 per cent.

Children's magazines thick with junk food ads, study finds SMH 16.10.07

Not negotiable - the four essentials for families SMH 16.10.07

HSC vocational courses soar in popularity SMH 15.10.07

As many as one in three Higher School Certificate students are now studying vocational courses such as hospitality and business studies. The number is expected to rise again next year.The Education Minister, John Della Bosca, said the expansion of such courses was designed to tackle the skills shortages that are facing the state economy.The most popular vocational course available at school remains hospitality, the 15th most popular HSC subject, ranking well ahead of longstanding subjects such as economics and geography.

Global versus nationalistic SMH 15.10.07

Australia has become a magnet for international students but they are treated unfairly, writes Christopher Ziguras. Dr Christopher Ziguras is associate professor of international studies at RMIT University in Victoria. This is an edited version of a paper he presented to the Australian International Education Conference in Melbourne last week. Conference Proceedings available from 22 October.

Growth riding on third wave SMH 15.10.07

The third-wave universities have come of age. They have grown with their regions and will continue to be shaped by their commitment to relevance, enterprise, equity and by their responsibilities as the "local hero", as a commentator once dubbed UWS. Article by Janice Reid, vice-chancellor of the University of Western Sydney.

Undercover rangers in school zone sting smh.com.au 14.10.07

Plain-clothes City of Sydney council rangers will patrol school zones (within their boundaries) to snare misbehaving drivers, including parents dropping off and picking up children.

Getting ahead in school funding SMH 13.10.07

With no Labor plans to change the grant system, private schools will continue to reap the benefits, write Gerard Noonan and Anna Patty.

After just a couple of meetings with the leader of the ALP (Kevin Rudd) and one with the shadow minister (Stephen Smith), Cardinal George Pell had secured the deal. It does not matter whether John Howard or Kevin Rudd are in the Lodge at Christmas; it is a sure each-way bet. This is not just a small victory. Over the present four-year funding agreement between Canberra and the private-school sector, which runs to the end of next year, the National Catholic Education Commission will receive $12 billion.

There is no public scrutiny of how this money is distributed: the electronic bank transfer of about $750 million arrives like clockwork each quarter and is rapidly dispersed across the parish-school network.

What is almost certain is that the next deal, covering the years 2009 to 2012, will deliver about $15 billion to the Catholic school system. Education inflation is higher than consumer price index inflation: it is typically about 6 per cent.

An analysis of publicly available statistics by the NSW Greens MP John Kaye, a critic of the system, shows that these schools, and many other elite institutions, have had windfall gains.

Trinity is the biggest winner: its funding in the 2005-08 period was $14.7 million higher than it would have been under the old system. And assuming it maintains student numbers, Trinity will receive an additional $19.1 million when the next four-year funding deal goes through next year. Other big winners are Kinross Wallaroi at Orange ($9.4 million), The King's School ($9.2 million), Newington College ($8.4 million), PLC Croydon ($6.1 million), Meriden at Strathfield ($5 million), St Andrew's Cathedral School ($4.3 million) and Scots ($4.1 million).

"Stephen Smith and Kevin Rudd have created a nightmare for the state education ministers who have been busy ignoring the SES funding issue."

It is a view echoed by Chris Bonnor, a former principal of Davidson High and a former president of the NSW Secondary Principals Council. He said yesterday that Labor had locked itself into an unsustainable funding policy. "In its haste to avoid being wedged on this issue, the ALP is driving the Government's own wedge deeper into Australian education and community life.

Rooty Hill to Covent Garden in one leap SMH 13.10.07

21-year-old Steven McRae, a former student at Rooty Hil Public School dances the part of Romeo on opening night of Romeo and Juliet next Tuesday. http://tinyurl.com/37896g

Teachers united in mockery SMH 12.10.07

History teachers yesterday criticised a new history curriculum proposed by John Howard as too overcrowded and politicised. The Prime Minister aims to force all schools to teach 150 hours of Australian history to students in years 9 and 10.

Paul Kiem, president of the Australian History Teachers' Association, said students in NSW were already being taught 100 hours of Australian history as a stand-alone subject. "It would be an extra 50 hours in NSW which would be at the cost of another subject," he said. "We are very concerned about the way it has been released as part of an election campaign."

PM rewrites Australia's history NEWS.com.au 11.10.07

Schools have been complacent about the teaching of Australian history, Prime Minister John Howard said today as he launched a compulsory national curriculum.

Under the new plan, students in years nine and 10 will be made to attend 150 hours of Australian history lessons, and the compulsory teaching of Australian history will be a condition of the next commonwealth schools funding agreement with the states and territories.

Under the proposal, the teaching of history in junior high school will be split into 10 topics, allowing students to acquire a variety of skills including being able to construct a sequenced narrative of Australian history.

The 10 periods are: First peoples; Early encounters; British colonies (1788-1850); Emerging nation (1851-1900); The new Commonwealth (1901-19); The Roaring Twenties and the Lean Thirties (1920-38); World War II and post-war reconstruction (1939-49); Building Modern Australia: Times of Prosperity and Social Change (1950-75); and Australia and the Shrinking Globe (1976-2000).

Howard's forced history lessons SMH 11.10.07

Prime Minister John Howard launched his Australian history policy at a western Sydney high school this morning, brushing off criticisms by the report's original author that his final scheme was "overly prescriptive".

Howard's history syllabus

PM's lesson: cash for history

John Howard’s Media Release and Guide to the teaching of history

Don't bully us on curriculum: NSW and ACT NEWS.com.au 11.10.07

STUDENTS should not be forced to learn Prime Minister John Howard's version of Australian history, the NSW and ACT governments say.

Mr Howard will launch the federal government's guide to Australian history at Moorebank High School in Sydney's west today, which will make it mandatory for all year 9 and 10 students to study the subject.
Federal Education Minister Julie Bishop said the compulsory teaching of Australian history would be a condition of the federal-state schools 2009-2012 funding agreement.

NSW Education Minister John Della Bosca said Australian history had already been compulsory for all year nine and 10 students in the state since 1999.
"John Howard is at least eight years behind the times," Mr Della Bosca said today.

Rudd's schools pitch receives Pell's blessing NEWS.com.au 11.10.07

In a reversal of the Catholic Church's dramatic intervention in the 2004 election campaign to condemn Labor's "divisive" policy of stripping funding from rich private schools, Catholic Cardinal George Pell has backed the Opposition Leader's new approach.

The Independent Schools Council of Australia welcomed the policy yesterday.

"The ALP's promise to retain the SES model and full indexation of schools funding, together with its repeated assurance that no indepedendent school would lose funding under a Labor government, is a welcome reflection of the key principles we believe should underpin government schools funding policies," ICSA executive director Bill Daniels said.

University clarifies sponsorship rules SMH 11.10.07

Sydney Uni will introduce guidelines on how to balance ethical concerns with commercial interests in response to a series of controversies over its corporate research deals.

Pell endorses Labor's education policy SMH 10.10.07

Cardinal George Pell has endorsed federal Labor's education policy.

Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd announced yesterday a Labor government would keep the socio-economic status (SES) model of funding private schools until December 2012.

Cardinal Pell declared the two major parties "scarcely distinguishable".

Labor does a U-turn on private school funding SMH 09.10.07

KEVIN RUDD plans to keep the Federal Government's controversial private schools funding system until 2012 if elected, in a major departure likely to anger public education groups.

Rudd and Smith Dump 35 Year ALP Needs Policy (Defence of Government Schools - 12.10.07)

Schools pitching overseas SMH 09.10.07

Schools are employing marketing consultants to help recruit more full-fee paying students from overseas.

With close to 175,000 international students at universities, schools are confident they can attract more than the 25,716 overseas students now paying for a secondary education.

The NSW Department of Education has generated more than $93million in fees from overseas students at public schools since 1993. Last year, it received more than $20 million to cover the costs of educating these children, including extra support for those learning English.

Pupils tell Jamie twizzlers beat his healthier fizzlers SMH 06.10.07

Two years ago, the celebrity chef Jamie Oliver expressed horror at the Turkey Twizzlers being served in Britain's school cafeterias and equated many school lunches to a four-letter word for the ultimate byproduct of all meals. After an Oliver-inspired national program to provide healthier food, students have gravitated away from the cafeteria in most of the schools surveyed, according to a government report.

But the new report said schools could lure students back by involving them in developing menus, exploring a wider range of foods, ending long lines and making dining areas more attractive. Despite the survey results, some schools report progress winning over students. St Peter's Primary School in Nottinghamshire moved to healthy meals before the formal change and has seen its sales grow to 80 per cent of the student body, significantly higher than before. "We were able to make it part of the school's culture. It's part of the students' education, it's part of their upbringing," said the head teacher, David Maddison.

Why parents need not panic about stranger danger online SMH 06.10.07

Opinion Michael Duffy

Three weeks ago I suggested a large part of the Government's $22 million NetAlert campaign was fraudulent. Advertisements have sprung up claiming a large proportion of children who use social networking sites are approached by strangers online, strongly implying these strangers are pedophiles. But in the research on which the ads are based, the word "stranger" has such a broad meaning that it includes friends of friends and spam.

Use of the internet does involve behaviour that seems risky to those who don't practise it themselves. MySpace is a modern equivalent of the socialising we parents did when we were kids, at bus stops and train stations. That wasn't completely devoid of risk either, but neither was it seen as a dangerous activity.

Families 'hemorrhaging cash' to give their children a chance SMH 04.10.07

LINDSAY SALMON loves his trains. At six, he already specialises in engineering, model design and timetabling, but it has cost more than $80,000 in the past few years to help him learn to read, write and mix well with his peers.

He has high-functioning autism, but since he started speech therapy and tutoring, Lindsay can read as well as a nine-year-old.

His IQ has been climbing by 10 points a year and he is happy in a support program at a mainstream school, but the financial and emotional strain on his family has been huge.

Double promises for autism care Political parties promise more help.

Berkeley puts courses on YouTube SMH 04.10.07

A California university renowned for its role in the free speech and anti-war movements is embracing the Internet revolution by putting free videos of courses on YouTube.

Parents demand answers over top school's finances SMH 29.09.07

Angry parents and former teachers at NSW's oldest government boarding school, Hurlstone Agricultural High, have raised serious allegations of financial mismanagement and bullying at the school.

Intel sets up teacher training program online SMH 28.09.07

Leading microchip maker Intel Corp will offer online training to help US teachers incorporate technology into their lesson plans in a program it estimates is worth $US300 million over four years. See more at Intel website.

Backdown on school zone speed cameras 'gutless' ABC News 28.09.07

The New South Wales Opposition has urged the State Government to ramp up speed enforcement outside schools, after a decision not to proceed with the rotation of hidden speed cameras.

Pedestrian Council spokesman Harold Scruby has described the Government's backdown as gutless. "Children will be seriously injured and will die as a result of this decision," he said. He says it is the result of pressure from talk back shock jocks.

Australia ignoring scientists shortage Sun-Herald 23.09.07

Australia is "cutting its own throat" and will not have the technical workforce to compete in the global marketplace because nothing is being done to tackle a shortage of scientists, a leading academic has warned.

John Rice, dean of science at the University of Technology Sydney and head of the Australian Council of Deans of Science, said while the problem was on governments' radars, they were ducking the issue.

We're six and not out Impact of the drought Sun-Herald 23.09.07

In 1900, Booligal's only school had 26 students. Today, it has just six, five of whom are cousins.

As well as the drought, the mechanisation of farm work - which has led to a decrease in demand for manual labour - an ageing rural population and the advent of smaller families have put pressure on student numbers in the bush. The latest figures from the NSW Department of Primary Industries show 71 per cent of NSW is still in drought.

Epidemic of fat children 'ignored' The Age 23.09.07

Free-to-air kids' TV easy as ABC3 The Age 23.09.07

Lose the hype and formals can be fun Student Opinion SMH 21.09.07

Nina Ubaldi, a year 11 student at Sydney Girls High School, writes an entertaining article on the school formal.

Fury over ABC skit SMH 21.09.07

The managing director of the ABC, Mark Scott, has been forced to make a public apology to the family of Annabel Catt after the comedy show Summer Heights High mocked the drug death of a high school student named "Annabel" in this week's episode.

Australia 'lagging on public education' SMH 19.09.07

Australia is spending less on public education than most other developed countries, new figures show.

A report released by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) finds Australia has among the lowest levels of public spending on schools, vocational education and universities combined, and trails only the US and Korea in private spending on education.

Education at a Glance 2007 OECD Report

Education at a Glance is the OECD’s annual round-up of data and analysis on education, providing a rich, comparable and up-to-date array of indicators on education systems in the OECD’s 30 member countries and in a number of partner economies.

Other articles on the same topic:

Herald Sun, Melbourne: Education Minister Julie Bishop has criticised an international report showing education spending in Australia lagged behind other developed countries.

The West Australian

Related:

OECD: Expanding higher education can boost job chances for early school-leavers too

University funding among lowest in OECD SMH 19.09.07

Public spending on higher education remains well below the levels in other developed countries, the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development says.

The not-so-clever country The Age 19.09.07

Opinion: Tim Colebatch. economics editor.

It was one of those numbers that looked wrong. "In May 2007, 526,000 young Australians aged 15 to 24 years were neither in full-time work nor full-time study," it read. No way, I thought.

Dear reader, I was wrong

A report It's Crunch Time: raising youth engagement and attainment is as a result of a collaboration between the Australian Industry Group and that eternal flame of foresight and humanity, the Dusseldorp Skills Forum, it is a plea to the political parties to stop, see what is happening, think and act.

Crunch Time has dozens of recommendations, among them:

■Increase teacher staffing in disadvantaged areas, and develop alternative teaching

methods to fit the learning needs of potential dropouts.

■Expand the range and depth of pre-vocational education in schools, link it to local employers and TAFE colleges, and hire retired tradesmen as teachers.

■Recruit and train more indigenous education workers as mentors for indigenous children, who have the highest drop-out rates.

■Offer early school leavers professional support, and vouchers to return to school or take up a training place "with real work".

■Offer rewards to apprentices who complete their training.

See also the Dusseldorp Skills Forum MySpace page.

School boards expected to sign a statement of faith SMH 19.09.07

Members of the governing boards and councils of schools, university colleges and preschools run by the Sydney Anglican Church will be expected to sign a statement of faith, committing themselves to Jesus as the "one way to God" and the Bible as the supreme authority in life.

School buses to get seatbelts DailyTelegraph 19.09.07

School buses in regional areas (only) will be fitted with seatbelts under a $40 million scheme announced today by the Federal Government.

Sand mine threatens rural school SMH 18.09.07

Somersby and Ulan.

Gap year sends uni students to top of class SMH 18.09.07

Students 'let down' by marking system SMH 17.09.07

The Higher School Certificate marking system is cutting out too many high-level English students, say teachers. The NSW Board of Studies said it will act on concerns the state's English teachers raised about last year's disappointing HSC results. Students in the advanced English course achieved the lowest level of top results since the new HSC was introduced in 2000.

Poor knowledge, but sadly, it's enough SMH 08.09.07 Opinion: Erin O'Dwyer

Australian educators face a serious problem: how to enliven a student body that thinks googling a wiki is a serious academic endeavour. In a world swamped by information, many students have little interest in accessing it. We have law students who have never read a case, English students who do not read books and journalism students who do not buy newspapers. Don't laugh, it's true.

True blue to her boots SMH 07.09.07

Mark Davis profiles the Federal Education Minister, Julie Bishop.

Trading in on their future SMH 07.09.07

While NSW defends TAFE against federal interference, its decision to raise fees has raised hackles.

Out of class action on global warming and Iraq SMH 06.09.07

SEVERAL hundred students skipped school yesterday to attend a protest rally against George Bush, global warming and the Iraq war.

Defying an Education Department directive not to attend the rally, at Belmore Park opposite Central Station, speakers defended their democratic right to free speech against "intimidation" from the department, police and both sides of government.

School speeding blitz 'not tough enough' SMH 04.09.07

The president of the Pedestrian Council, Harold Scruby, said police officers did not have enough resources to police school zones properly.

TAFE fees rise as bosses beg for skilled workers SMH 04.09.07

TAFE fees will jump 9 per cent next year despite a national skills shortage.

Police to target truant student protesters NEWS.com.au 04.09.07

Police will tomorrow mount a blitz in Sydney against students skipping school to attend anti-APEC protests.

Explosion in schoolgirl weapons, violence NEWS.com.au 03.09.07

Schools adopt swipe cards for toilet breaks Sun-Herald 02.09.07

Parents are pushing for a statewide roll-out of electronic tracking of students to combat truancy.

NSW Federation of Parents and Citizens Association president Di Giblin said the success of the swipe-card and SMS systems should lead to them being installed across the state.Public Schools Principals Forum president Cheryl McBride said if the systems were working, the Government should look at implementing them more widely.

Ms Giblin said: "[Technology] has been highly successful in being able to find when young people are absent from school."

But civil libertarians said the monitoring of students - even on toilet breaks - was going too far. NSW Council for Civil Liberties president Cameron Murphy said there were better ways for teachers to keep track of students "that don't require this degree of invasion of privacy".

Electronic watchdogs are not a class act Associated Editorial, page 30. Not yet on-line. The Editorial says the Council for Civil Liberties has a point in opposing the scheme. The editorial says “ Surely we have to allow our children to develop their own sense of responsibility instead of imposing order in such an overbearing and regimented manner.

The original true believer SMH 01.09.07

An article on NSW Education Minister John Della Bosca, by Andrew Clennell.

Della Bosca says there are significant problems in schools: "I'd have to say I feel the challenge to do better on school maintenance, there's no doubt about that, and we will be doing better."

Too easy, it seems, to give poor teachers a pass mark SMH 01.09.07

Opinion, by Mark Duffy. Covers the problem of the inadequate procedures for removing poor teachers from the classroom.

English, literacy and literature

Educators round on English syllabus SMH 01.09.07

English teaching in schools is in danger of losing its richness and emphasis on literature in its growing obsession with improving student test results, a group of education leaders believes. Yesterday a group of education leaders, some of whom helped shape the English teaching syllabus during the past 50 years, met to address what they see as an attack on the quality of the curriculum.

Every picture tells a story - so put those spelling books away SMH 01.09.07

Children will be asked to draw pictures instead of spelling words as part of a new strategy to improve literacy test results in primary school.

The Department of Education is distributing a new teaching resource to schools, encouraging teachers to spend more time helping students develop their oral skills before learning how to spell specific words.

Health

Lunch in sandpit may keep diabetes at bay SMH 31.08.07

We all live really hygienic lives and we don't eat dirt or fall out of trees as often as we used to and so a person with an immune system that may be prone to malfunction may not get trained and strengthened early in life. The Western world, particularly Australia, the US and Scandinavia, have much higher rates of type 1 diabetes than second or third world countries.

Square eyes, fat bodies: TV obesity link SMH 31.08.07