Lobel, McLeod & Jackson, The Age, 1 Sept 2021. Nelson Mandela said you can judge a society by how it treats children. America’s Joe Biden has committed $US450 billion to children in the crucial early years. The future will being to countries that invest in early learning, but Australia is a long way behind.
The Guardian, 9 Oct 2021. Michael Rosen (poet, author, performer, parent, Ph.D. in education) has written to the new Education Secretary in the UK, asking why the last decade of synthetic phonics hasn’t improved reading in England. An important letter for Australian teachers to consider, given the push (largely by non-educators) for synthetic phonics in Australia.
Trevor Cobbold, SOS Australia, 13 Oct 2021. 700 private schools, including many of the most exclusive private schools, raked in $750 million despite many running surpluses of millions. It is icing on the cake of the billions in over-funding provided under Morrison’s special deals for private schools. Public schools were NOT ELIGIBLE.
Are you using the wonderful resources available on the READING AUSTRALIA website? Reading Australia is an initiative of the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund. The resources are written by teachers for teachers, making it easy to introduce Australian literature in your classroom. Highly recommended.
Pasi Sahlberg, The Guardian, 11 Oct 2021. When teachers are trusted, and a culture of professional collaboration exists, we see an improvement in educational performance. (Education systems that treat teachers as trusted professionals adjusted better to pandemic disruption.)
Dr George Variyan, EduResearch Matters, 2 Spet 2021. Politicians focus on achievement instead of wellbeing. For politicians, academic success, measured by numbers, is always first. If we get wellbeing right, we just might find ourselves on the path to the optimal environment for learning rather than the hyper competitive one that we have.
EduResearch Matters, 29 April 2021. Parents see digital devices as necessary for their kids’ learning but worry about the distraction and activities they’re missing out on. So how soon is too soon for digital devices in the lives of young children?
Michael Carr-Gregg, The Age, 17 March 2021. Some parents don’t set intelligent limits, boundaries and consequences when it comes to the behaviour of their boys. Some have turned away from raising respectful, polite, well-mannered boys. See more from Carr-Gregg here: https://michaelcarrgregg.com
The Conversation, 5 February 2021. Early exposure to diverse story characters helps young people develop a strong sense of identity and belonging. It is also crucial in cultivating compassion towards others.
Trevor Cobbold, Save Our Schools, 12 Jan 2021. The widespread perception that private schools deliver better results than public schools has taken another blow. A study of NAPLAN results shows that public schools do as well as private schools after differences in socio-economic background of students are considered. This is despite the large resource advantage of private schools.
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