So, I am continually hearing about Gonski, how it is great new reform for schools and our children's future education. Sounds fabulous, best thing without a doubt. I have a 7 and 9 year old. Extremely pertinent to me and my family. So I wondered. Why is it that Queensland will not sign up?
Gain knowledge, I said to myself. Where to go. The great google in the sky. What came up first was this : http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-11-15/draft-gonski-legislation-light-on-detail/4374482
Basically, it went on about there being no details in the drafted legislation. That it was about having funding distributed relative to numbers of students and schools housing more indigenous and needs based children gaining more funding. This is all good stuff, but how does that relate to the majority? More importantly how does that help my kids gain a good education? I would love to place my children into a good public school, but until schools are given better tools for control and discipline I will not place my children into an unsafe environment. So I pay for that basic right. My kids are not necessarily getting a better education, they are just getting a safer place. Because private schools are allowed to discipline our children (more on that in another post).
So what will Gonski do for me. From the limited amount of information I can see and reading between the lines. I think my kids will be worse off. So I am somewhat glad that Queensland treads carefully in this area. Hence, I go searching for more information ....
What do I find a whole heap on class race, class war and so on and so forth. Since when is it a war, that I choose to make certain sacrifices so that I can send my children to a private school ?? Please can someone tell me, why I should be penalised for choosing to send my worked for dollars in this direction, rather than on some other "want". I am beyond confused with the mindset we are supporting in this country. That, to pay for your children's education is a sin. As such, it should be penalised by sending reduced funding in the direction of private schools. I love the idea of an education card . It means that the funding is accountable and will actually go to those that need it the most. I think the thing that we forget, is that the parents of children than can afford to fund assistance for their special needs children, do so. At a cost to the private school and to them personally. No-one really sees this, or costs this out, it just happens. You keep undermining their resources, undermining their good intentions and you weed away at the very foundations of the people that put the money up in the first place -The Tax Payers .
So on and on, I look for more information:
Missing the point , I think here. There are many comments regarding the inequalities in education. I think you need to start interviewing some of the teachers in these schools. Instead of passing rhetoric back and forth between cronies so far removed from the front line they don't even know the realities. When I talk to parents and teachers alike, their comments come back to the same thing. The majority of parents of children going to public schools do not show a vested interest in their children's education. "It takes a village to bring up a child". So it would make sense, that those that do, would seek to pay for other alternatives. Our children's problems with learning are about how to get the kids to turn up for school at all. Stay engaged and behave themselves long enough to learn something. We don't necessarily need to throw dollars at this. We need to give tools to our teachers to have control. Our kids need a safe controlled environment to learn in. I pay to have my kids go to a school that has boundaries and repercussions, in a loving environment. Shock, they have the cane at my kids school. But they also have a massive amount of music, drama, creativity, family connections, tolerance and love. I wish I could get this in a public arena.
So, is Gonski an elusive bunch of tripe? My first investigations would have to say, yes it is. Real solutions to our education require coming back to basics. Not rating our kids with un-realistic evaluation such as NAPLAN testing - makes me sad just to think about that. I also do not think that evaluating our teachers in a sales based manner will work. It barely works in the sales arena, to motivate people. It is a conflict of interest in an environment that's about nurturing and communicating information to our little people. It is the little things, the simple boring stuff that is going to make a difference in the education of the children in our country. Not the hype. Lets get back to the basics - pleeeeeease.
What do I find a whole heap on class race, class war and so on and so forth. Since when is it a war, that I choose to make certain sacrifices so that I can send my children to a private school ?? Please can someone tell me, why I should be penalised for choosing to send my worked for dollars in this direction, rather than on some other "want". I am beyond confused with the mindset we are supporting in this country. That, to pay for your children's education is a sin. As such, it should be penalised by sending reduced funding in the direction of private schools. I love the idea of an education card . It means that the funding is accountable and will actually go to those that need it the most. I think the thing that we forget, is that the parents of children than can afford to fund assistance for their special needs children, do so. At a cost to the private school and to them personally. No-one really sees this, or costs this out, it just happens. You keep undermining their resources, undermining their good intentions and you weed away at the very foundations of the people that put the money up in the first place -The Tax Payers .
So on and on, I look for more information:
Missing the point , I think here. There are many comments regarding the inequalities in education. I think you need to start interviewing some of the teachers in these schools. Instead of passing rhetoric back and forth between cronies so far removed from the front line they don't even know the realities. When I talk to parents and teachers alike, their comments come back to the same thing. The majority of parents of children going to public schools do not show a vested interest in their children's education. "It takes a village to bring up a child". So it would make sense, that those that do, would seek to pay for other alternatives. Our children's problems with learning are about how to get the kids to turn up for school at all. Stay engaged and behave themselves long enough to learn something. We don't necessarily need to throw dollars at this. We need to give tools to our teachers to have control. Our kids need a safe controlled environment to learn in. I pay to have my kids go to a school that has boundaries and repercussions, in a loving environment. Shock, they have the cane at my kids school. But they also have a massive amount of music, drama, creativity, family connections, tolerance and love. I wish I could get this in a public arena.
So, is Gonski an elusive bunch of tripe? My first investigations would have to say, yes it is. Real solutions to our education require coming back to basics. Not rating our kids with un-realistic evaluation such as NAPLAN testing - makes me sad just to think about that. I also do not think that evaluating our teachers in a sales based manner will work. It barely works in the sales arena, to motivate people. It is a conflict of interest in an environment that's about nurturing and communicating information to our little people. It is the little things, the simple boring stuff that is going to make a difference in the education of the children in our country. Not the hype. Lets get back to the basics - pleeeeeease.
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