Web

Jun 25, 08 - 1:20 AM

Wednesday Education News (25 June)

Stuff-all education news from the East today.

Absolutely nothing of interest in The Age or SMH. I’ve snatched excerpts from five articles in The Australian, but four of them are on tertiary [it’s Higher Education Supplement day].

In fact, the most interesting story is from The Hobart Mercury – interesting because I can see our own beloved education minister trying to do the same thing.

Bartlett denies sin of omission

"Premier David Bartlett has denied leaving literacy and numeracy figures out of a key education report because they made his government look bad.

"Tasmania's Education Performance Report 2007, released on Sunday by the Premier who is also Education Minister, omits data spelling out the state's poor performance in literacy and numeracy tests...”

You can tell is a quiet day when The Australian’s only non-tertiary story is about a school email contract:

Extra storage as students go Gmail

"Google has edged out some of the biggest brands in the enterprise IT services market to pick up another major contract win in Australia's education sector...”

"This commitment is a further demonstration of the NSW Labor Government's commitment to equip teachers and students with the best possible means to compete successfully in the constantly evolving world of information technology," [Acting NSW Minister for Education and Training John Hatzistergos] said..."

Spare us the uninformed superlatives, Mr Acting Education Minister, it's only glorified email.

plus these four from the HES [excerpts and links to complete articles]:

Teaching load carried by 'servants'

Sessional lecturers are the domestic servants of the contemporary campus and carry as much as 80 per cent of the undergraduate teaching load, according to a new report on the rise of the casualised class of academic.

Libs push for bias probe

An inquiry into academic freedom and political prejudice in universities and schools is to be one of the last hurrahs of Coalition control in the Senate.

Focus shifts to the curriculum

The investment in teaching and learning during the past four years has come at the cost of neglect of university curriculum, which needs to be renewed, Charles Sturt University vice-chancellor Ian Goulter has warned... "While we know we are providing better learning and teaching environments, the question that is yet to be tested properly is whether what we are 'teaching well' is actually the 'best material', he writes.

UQ medical students to help set exams

“Some of the brightest medical students in the country will write a quarter of the questions for their end-of-year exams in a project aimed to increase their learning and reduce their anxiety.

"The head of the University of Queensland's medical school, David Wilkinson, has defended what fellow UQ historian Binoy Kampmark has attacked as "a voodoo exam-setting method".

"This delusional nonsense is patterned on the self-directed programs that have gradually moved into medical school syllabi over the years," Dr Kampmark said. "Students are no longer taught; they will do the teaching and conduct the instruction. Modern medical students are there to be pampered and promoted. Let's just get them to mark their own questions in future as well, shall we?"... [emphasis added]

Now on the home page news. Updates this evening.

Innocent Bystander

Jun 25th, 2008 - 10:55 AM

Re: Wednesday Education News (25 June)

From ABC news website:

TEACHERS' DISPUTE INTENSIFIES

A long running dispute between the State Government and the State School Teachers' Union (SSTU) has intensified.

The Minister for Education, Mark McGowan, is taking the SSTU to the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) to force it to lift its ban on the implementation of all new year 11 courses next year.

The Union is campaigning for better pay and conditions, seeking a 20 per cent pay rise over three years.

Mr McGowan is pushing ahead in the IRC to overturn the ban and he has also called on the union's president, Anne Gisborne, to resign from the curriculum council.

"The teachers' union has a position on the curriculum council which has created all of the new courses of study, excellent courses for students in year 11 and 12, you can't be a part of creating those courses and then call for them not to be introduced," he said.

"Anne Gisborne should resign."

The union has been contacted for comment.

idledim

Jun 25th, 2008 - 12:30 PM

Re: Wednesday Education News (25 June)

And by extension, Minister, all staff who are members of the Teachers Union should cease alll contact with the Council immediately. Do you even know how your system works?

Boxer

Jun 25th, 2008 - 5:00 PM

Re: Wednesday Education News (25 June)

"The Union is campaigning for better pay and conditions, seeking a 20 per cent pay rise over three years.'

Wrong. We're seeking 24% and even that's far to low.

Web

Jun 25th, 2008 - 9:10 PM

ABC News

Note: Updates from the West are coming; I knew they'd be late some days this week. [Nothing online, of course.]

From ABC News:

Teachers' dispute intensifies [as noted above]

Union says teachers are feeling the stress

The Education Union in Tasmania is not surprised that a large number of workers in the education system are stressed.

Both now on the home page news in full.

Web

Jun 25th, 2008 - 10:09 PM

The West Australian

Two articles today:

Legal bid to stop teachers' ban

“Education Minister Mark McGowan has vowed to punish the teachers’ union by taking it back to the industrial umpire for the fifth time this year in a bid to overturn the union’s decision to ban the implementation of all new Year 11 courses next year.

“In deepening hostilities between the Government and State School Teachers Union, Mr McGowan yesterday also called on union president Anne Gisborne to resign from the Curriculum Council, which is in charge of introducing more than 30 new courses to WA schools next year...”

“Ms Gisborne hit back at Mr McGowan yesterday, saying the union would not be intimidated into backing down from the ban if the Government continued to ignore its demands. She maintained there were not enough resources or time for teachers to prepare properly for the 2009 courses.

“She said Mr McGowan was again “attempting to divert community attention” away from the Government’s neglect of teachers. She would not quit the Curriculum Council’s executive committee and denied she had a conflict of interest...”

“Department of Education and Training director-general Sharyn O’Neill said the department had asked five schools to continue preparing for the new courses while it sought legal advice. She said the courses ban was counter-productive and could compromise students’ learning...”

Healthy food rules hitting schools: MP

Schools are being forced to close their canteens because of the combined impact of the State Government's healthy eating policy and a lack of volunteers, according to Independent MP Bob Kucera.

Both now on the home page news in full.

ALSO: Union Update # 58 [25 June 2008] now linked from the News on the EBA page [it only mentions union rep meetings].

Web

Jun 25th, 2008 - 10:38 PM

Silly Season for US and UK news?

It must be – based on these six articles from the US and UK press:

From The Washington Post:

Experts Urge Longer Day to Raise Scores

A Maryland education panel proposed yesterday giving students more class time, ensuring they are ready to complete algebra by eighth grade and enrolling them in a foreign language course by sixth grade.

Teacher Bonuses Get Unions' Blessing
Prince George [county] Offers Rewards of Up to $10,000 Linked to Test Scores, Evaluations

One of the most ambitious pay-for-performance initiatives in Washington area schools is drawing strong teacher interest and local union support even though many national labor leaders have long asserted that it is unfair to link teachers' paychecks directly to their students' test scores.

From The Guardian:

Facebook a valid educational tool, teachers told

Teachers and lecturers are getting the lowdown on how to use social networking sites such as Facebook and Bebo in an educational way.

Most schools and colleges in the UK block access to the websites but they are missing out on their potential for education, a government-funded guide says.

Qualification in podcasting launched

Honey-voiced students may like to consider a new subject on offer at schools and colleges from September: podcasting.

And from The Independent:

More top graduates lured to teach in tough schools

"Gordon Brown has signalled a massive expansion in the number of high-flying graduates to be recruited into tough, under-performing, inner-city schools.

"He said yesterday that the number on the Teach First scheme aimed at recruiting the best-qualified graduates to inner-city schools would more than double from 380 to 850 a year by 2013.

"The scheme, open to graduates with top-level degrees, aims to recruit them to work for two years in inner-city secondary schools – without having to study for a teaching certificate. [emphasis added] Originally, it was intended as a means of getting top-quality graduates to work in teaching for two years before departing for better-paid jobs in the City...”

Pupils, aged 7, could be asked to sign exam 'honesty codes'

Children as young as seven could be asked to sign "honesty codes" at their schools in a plan to cut down on cheating in national curriculum tests and exams.

Excerpts and links to complete articles now on the home page news.

Web

Jun 25th, 2008 - 10:56 PM

Security Alerts

There are two new security alerts, issued today. Please check the thread Online Computer Security Alerts [locked at the top of the Forum].

Boxer

Jun 26th, 2008 - 1:58 AM

Re: Wednesday Education News (25 June)

“Department of Education and Training director-general Sharyn O’Neill said the department had asked five schools to continue preparing for the new courses while it sought legal advice. She said the courses ban was counter-productive and could compromise students’ learning...”

Ah yes; another example of intelligent, ethical and informed leadership from the $350,000 woman. Her comment about the ban on courses compromising student learning is akin to saying a ban on introducing cane toads would be counterproductive for the Australian environment.

Just as OBE has decimated and dumbed-down the lower school curriculum; the introduction of CoS in upper school is a huge leap backwards. The longer that CoS are not allowed to proliferate in upper school the better. Getting the CoS to work is another pointless 3 legged camel exercise.

Sharyn’s comment further proves that senior officers in DET have absolutely no idea what they are doing and have little understanding of how their ill informed actions and statements are adding to the downward spiralling morale of teachers.

Despite the fact that PLATO still flourishes, PLATO candidates dominate the ranks of SSTUWA and WACOT, teacher juries have overwhelmingly and consistently rejected the new CoS and every independent expert has said that OBE is a total load of crap; Sharyn and the CC still forge on.

The reasons for this pig-headed refusal to recognise the bleeding obvious are difficult to fathom. It is difficult to understand what drives the ideologues in DET and the CC; but one things for sure; their refusal to listen to reason and their total inability to recognise the damage they are wreaking on education in WA will not be forgotten.

The last 10 years of monumental incompetence, breathtaking mismanagement and staggering arrogance will in the future, be used as a text book example of how not to manage curriculum, education and a rapidly dwindling and demoralised teaching work force.

Secondary Teacher

Jun 26th, 2008 - 9:49 AM

Re: Wednesday Education News (25 June)

Boxer - beautifully and accurately expressed. Please send a copy to The West.

observer

Jun 26th, 2008 - 11:46 AM

Re: Wednesday Education News (25 June)

I agree, Boxer. I particularly liked your comparison of OBE and canetoads!

Primary Teacher2

Jun 26th, 2008 - 1:11 PM

Re: Wednesday Education News (25 June)

ditto, Boxer, please send this to the papers

Author	Comment
Web Jun 25, 08 - 1:20 AM	Wednesday Education News (25 June) Stuff-all education news from the East today. Absolutely nothing of interest in The Age or SMH. I’ve snatched excerpts from five articles in The Australian, but four of them are on tertiary [it’s Higher Education Supplement day]. In fact, the most interesting story is from The Hobart Mercury – interesting because I can see our own beloved education minister trying to do the same thing. Bartlett denies sin of omission "Premier David Bartlett has denied leaving literacy and numeracy figures out of a key education report because they made his government look bad. "Tasmania's Education Performance Report 2007, released on Sunday by the Premier who is also Education Minister, omits data spelling out the state's poor performance in literacy and numeracy tests...” You can tell is a quiet day when The Australian’s only non-tertiary story is about a school email contract: Extra storage as students go Gmail "Google has edged out some of the biggest brands in the enterprise IT services market to pick up another major contract win in Australia's education sector...” "This commitment is a further demonstration of the NSW Labor Government's commitment to equip teachers and students with the best possible means to compete successfully in the constantly evolving world of information technology," [Acting NSW Minister for Education and Training John Hatzistergos] said..." Spare us the uninformed superlatives, Mr Acting Education Minister, it's only glorified email. plus these four from the HES [excerpts and links to complete articles]: Teaching load carried by 'servants' Sessional lecturers are the domestic servants of the contemporary campus and carry as much as 80 per cent of the undergraduate teaching load, according to a new report on the rise of the casualised class of academic. Libs push for bias probe An inquiry into academic freedom and political prejudice in universities and schools is to be one of the last hurrahs of Coalition control in the Senate. Focus shifts to the curriculum The investment in teaching and learning during the past four years has come at the cost of neglect of university curriculum, which needs to be renewed, Charles Sturt University vice-chancellor Ian Goulter has warned... "While we know we are providing better learning and teaching environments, the question that is yet to be tested properly is whether what we are 'teaching well' is actually the 'best material', he writes. UQ medical students to help set exams “Some of the brightest medical students in the country will write a quarter of the questions for their end-of-year exams in a project aimed to increase their learning and reduce their anxiety. "The head of the University of Queensland's medical school, David Wilkinson, has defended what fellow UQ historian Binoy Kampmark has attacked as "a voodoo exam-setting method". "This delusional nonsense is patterned on the self-directed programs that have gradually moved into medical school syllabi over the years," Dr Kampmark said. "Students are no longer taught; they will do the teaching and conduct the instruction. Modern medical students are there to be pampered and promoted. Let's just get them to mark their own questions in future as well, shall we?"... [emphasis added] Now on the home page news. Updates this evening. Email [optional]: platowa@bigpond.net.au
Innocent Bystander Jun 25th, 2008 - 10:55 AM	Re: Wednesday Education News (25 June) From ABC news website: TEACHERS' DISPUTE INTENSIFIES A long running dispute between the State Government and the State School Teachers' Union (SSTU) has intensified. The Minister for Education, Mark McGowan, is taking the SSTU to the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) to force it to lift its ban on the implementation of all new year 11 courses next year. The Union is campaigning for better pay and conditions, seeking a 20 per cent pay rise over three years. Mr McGowan is pushing ahead in the IRC to overturn the ban and he has also called on the union's president, Anne Gisborne, to resign from the curriculum council. "The teachers' union has a position on the curriculum council which has created all of the new courses of study, excellent courses for students in year 11 and 12, you can't be a part of creating those courses and then call for them not to be introduced," he said. "Anne Gisborne should resign." The union has been contacted for comment.
idledim Jun 25th, 2008 - 12:30 PM	Re: Wednesday Education News (25 June) And by extension, Minister, all staff who are members of the Teachers Union should cease alll contact with the Council immediately. Do you even know how your system works?
Boxer Jun 25th, 2008 - 5:00 PM	Re: Wednesday Education News (25 June) "The Union is campaigning for better pay and conditions, seeking a 20 per cent pay rise over three years.' Wrong. We're seeking 24% and even that's far to low.
Web Jun 25th, 2008 - 9:10 PM	ABC News Note: Updates from the West are coming; I knew they'd be late some days this week. [Nothing online, of course.] From ABC News: Teachers' dispute intensifies [as noted above] Union says teachers are feeling the stress The Education Union in Tasmania is not surprised that a large number of workers in the education system are stressed. Both now on the home page news in full. Email [optional]: platowa@bigpond.net.au
Web Jun 25th, 2008 - 10:09 PM	The West Australian Two articles today: Legal bid to stop teachers' ban “Education Minister Mark McGowan has vowed to punish the teachers’ union by taking it back to the industrial umpire for the fifth time this year in a bid to overturn the union’s decision to ban the implementation of all new Year 11 courses next year. “In deepening hostilities between the Government and State School Teachers Union, Mr McGowan yesterday also called on union president Anne Gisborne to resign from the Curriculum Council, which is in charge of introducing more than 30 new courses to WA schools next year...” “Ms Gisborne hit back at Mr McGowan yesterday, saying the union would not be intimidated into backing down from the ban if the Government continued to ignore its demands. She maintained there were not enough resources or time for teachers to prepare properly for the 2009 courses. “She said Mr McGowan was again “attempting to divert community attention” away from the Government’s neglect of teachers. She would not quit the Curriculum Council’s executive committee and denied she had a conflict of interest...” “Department of Education and Training director-general Sharyn O’Neill said the department had asked five schools to continue preparing for the new courses while it sought legal advice. She said the courses ban was counter-productive and could compromise students’ learning...” Healthy food rules hitting schools: MP Schools are being forced to close their canteens because of the combined impact of the State Government's healthy eating policy and a lack of volunteers, according to Independent MP Bob Kucera. Both now on the home page news in full. ALSO: Union Update # 58 [25 June 2008] now linked from the News on the EBA page [it only mentions union rep meetings]. Email [optional]: platowa@bigpond.net.au
Web Jun 25th, 2008 - 10:38 PM	Silly Season for US and UK news? It must be – based on these six articles from the US and UK press: From The Washington Post: Experts Urge Longer Day to Raise Scores A Maryland education panel proposed yesterday giving students more class time, ensuring they are ready to complete algebra by eighth grade and enrolling them in a foreign language course by sixth grade. Teacher Bonuses Get Unions' Blessing Prince George [county] Offers Rewards of Up to $10,000 Linked to Test Scores, Evaluations One of the most ambitious pay-for-performance initiatives in Washington area schools is drawing strong teacher interest and local union support even though many national labor leaders have long asserted that it is unfair to link teachers' paychecks directly to their students' test scores. From The Guardian: Facebook a valid educational tool, teachers told Teachers and lecturers are getting the lowdown on how to use social networking sites such as Facebook and Bebo in an educational way. Most schools and colleges in the UK block access to the websites but they are missing out on their potential for education, a government-funded guide says. Qualification in podcasting launched Honey-voiced students may like to consider a new subject on offer at schools and colleges from September: podcasting. And from The Independent: More top graduates lured to teach in tough schools "Gordon Brown has signalled a massive expansion in the number of high-flying graduates to be recruited into tough, under-performing, inner-city schools. "He said yesterday that the number on the Teach First scheme aimed at recruiting the best-qualified graduates to inner-city schools would more than double from 380 to 850 a year by 2013. "The scheme, open to graduates with top-level degrees, aims to recruit them to work for two years in inner-city secondary schools – without having to study for a teaching certificate. [emphasis added] Originally, it was intended as a means of getting top-quality graduates to work in teaching for two years before departing for better-paid jobs in the City...” Pupils, aged 7, could be asked to sign exam 'honesty codes' Children as young as seven could be asked to sign "honesty codes" at their schools in a plan to cut down on cheating in national curriculum tests and exams. Excerpts and links to complete articles now on the home page news. Email [optional]: platowa@bigpond.net.au
Web Jun 25th, 2008 - 10:56 PM	Security Alerts There are two new security alerts, issued today. Please check the thread Online Computer Security Alerts [locked at the top of the Forum]. Email [optional]: platowa@bigpond.net.au
Boxer Jun 26th, 2008 - 1:58 AM	Re: Wednesday Education News (25 June) “Department of Education and Training director-general Sharyn O’Neill said the department had asked five schools to continue preparing for the new courses while it sought legal advice. She said the courses ban was counter-productive and could compromise students’ learning...” Ah yes; another example of intelligent, ethical and informed leadership from the $350,000 woman. Her comment about the ban on courses compromising student learning is akin to saying a ban on introducing cane toads would be counterproductive for the Australian environment. Just as OBE has decimated and dumbed-down the lower school curriculum; the introduction of CoS in upper school is a huge leap backwards. The longer that CoS are not allowed to proliferate in upper school the better. Getting the CoS to work is another pointless 3 legged camel exercise. Sharyn’s comment further proves that senior officers in DET have absolutely no idea what they are doing and have little understanding of how their ill informed actions and statements are adding to the downward spiralling morale of teachers. Despite the fact that PLATO still flourishes, PLATO candidates dominate the ranks of SSTUWA and WACOT, teacher juries have overwhelmingly and consistently rejected the new CoS and every independent expert has said that OBE is a total load of crap; Sharyn and the CC still forge on. The reasons for this pig-headed refusal to recognise the bleeding obvious are difficult to fathom. It is difficult to understand what drives the ideologues in DET and the CC; but one things for sure; their refusal to listen to reason and their total inability to recognise the damage they are wreaking on education in WA will not be forgotten. The last 10 years of monumental incompetence, breathtaking mismanagement and staggering arrogance will in the future, be used as a text book example of how not to manage curriculum, education and a rapidly dwindling and demoralised teaching work force.
Secondary Teacher Jun 26th, 2008 - 9:49 AM	Re: Wednesday Education News (25 June) Boxer - beautifully and accurately expressed. Please send a copy to The West.
observer Jun 26th, 2008 - 11:46 AM	Re: Wednesday Education News (25 June) I agree, Boxer. I particularly liked your comparison of OBE and canetoads!
Primary Teacher2 Jun 26th, 2008 - 1:11 PM	Re: Wednesday Education News (25 June) ditto, Boxer, please send this to the papers