What to give a child who can’t read?

The results from the latest NAPLAN show that large numbers of students in Years 3 to 9 in Victoria have profound problems with literacy and numeracy. Jennifer Buckingham says Victorian families deserve much better than what both the Labor and Liberal parties have promised.

How automation will transform the economy

The trend in the computerisation of jobs is not new. James Guthrie, Head of Academic Relations at Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, says new technologies will change the job market of tomorrow.

As we pick up pace in the 21st century, things previously considered science fiction are starting to creep over the horizon. Driverless cars will just be known as "autos" and so many of the things we do at work will be replaced by computer software.

If you think about what you do for a living, how soon could it be replaced by a robot or algorithm? Do you spend hours a day creating algorithms to make your job easier?

As we focus on creating efficiencies, we open up endless possibilities to do things even better. Imagine if we had stopped developing the car after the model T, or if we were satisfied with the mobile phones of the 1980's.

Student protests are, unfortunately, ‘un-Australian’

Federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne described student protests to higher education cuts as 'un-Australian'. Political ethicist Dr Piero Moraro says protest is just not part of the Australian culture yet and that's not necessarily something to be proud of.

Last week Mr Pyne described students' angry protest at the Federal Budget as 'incomprehensible, anti-democratic and un-Australian'.

The protests were probably incomprehensible only to Mr Pyne himself. Making higher education twice or thrice more expensive is very unlikely to be received with cheers and applause.

Protest and democracy

Nor are those protests 'anti-democratic' – accountability is a distinguishing feature of democracy, it gives the power to the people but this cannot be the mere once-in-five-years power to cast a ballot.

A chat amongst women

Last week ActionAid Australia organised an evening to bring women together for an exchange of ideas on issues of women’s rights in a global context. Holly Miller from ActionAid stresses the importance of meeting and chatting to create change for women here and internationally.

In our action oriented society, there’s almost a stigma against sitting around talking. But there’s real power in having a chat. Particularly a chat amongst women.

In the lead up to International Women’s Day last week, ActionAid Australia hosted an event that sought to bring women – and the men that support us – together. The aim of the evening was simply to provide a forum for a bit of a… chat, really, about issues of women’s rights in the global context.

Get onboard for Gonski

President of the NSW Teachers Federation, Maurie Mulheron, explains why the Gonski funding proposals are unfinished business and urges all political leaders to act now.

While the legislation to establish the funding framework has been passed, there is still much work to do before the money is secured. At the NSW state level, we have seen the Premier and Minister for Education trumpeting their $1.7 billion cuts to education as an example of fiscal responsibility, claiming, among other things, that the abolition of the curriculum directorate, the gutting of professional support, the elimination of teaching and support positions and the loss of equity programs will not have any impact on public schools.

But no amount of meaningless chatter about ‘new models’ or weasel words like ‘local decisions’ will distract the community from the State Government’s destructive educational policies.

King for a day

While travelling abroad on a university exchange program, American Matt Dysart explores the north-western coast of Europe and shares how found he himself along the way.

It wasn’t until halfway through my abroad experience in Europe that I realised this particular year would be the first Spring Break experience away from the tropical coastlines of the US. Being that I was in Maastricht, Netherlands, the usual scenery of beaches and babes was now replaced with the unusual costumes of Carnival.

For most students from my fraternity in Texas, this would be somewhat of a tragedy. But for me it was a dream come true, because I knew exactly where I wanted to go. Ever since I learned my family is partly descended from Scottish origin – and that my last name is the name of a small town on the Fife Coast – Scotland has always been a place at the forefront of my heart’s greatest anticipations.

Don’t dismiss regional universities

Associate professor, Dominic O’Sullivan, unpicks contemporary higher education policy and discusses the distinctive roles regional universities play in the national system.

The Australian higher education system is on the precipice of significant and rapid change. Projected roll growth that meets the national target – that by 2025, 40 per cent of 25-40 year olds will hold at least a Bachelor’s degree – means we’ll need bigger and better degree-granting institutions. In a comprehensive policy speech in 2011, the Liberal party’s higher education spokesperson, Christopher Pyne, proposed that these institutions need not be universities, but something akin to the former Colleges of Advanced Education.

The education debate’s missing piece

Early Childhood Australia CEO, Samantha Page, examines the current state of early childhood education and care services in Australia and shares her thoughts on what is needed to secure a brighter future.

The Gonski review has prompted a national conversation about the importance of education and how best to use funding today so generations of children will benefit. This debate is about values and what we want for our children’s future. It is also about economics. For Australia to thrive in the long term we need citizens who are smart, adaptable and creative.

The missing piece in this discussion about education is the importance of early learning.

Are we really drowning in a sea of grog?

Febfast National Director, Howard Ralley, shares his experience after almost a month without alcohol and questions the value of Australia’s drinking culture as part of our national identity. 

Two weeks ago, as I sat reading The Age on the train into work, I read the Australian poet, cartoonist and cultural commentator, Michael Leunig’s poem about the ‘rivers of grog’:

The rivers of grog are deep and wide, they keep the nation well supplied

Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney town; The rivers of grog flow quietly down

Down and down the throats they run. Mother, father, daughter, son

Black and white all stupefied. The rivers of grog are deep and wide.

What is preventing Australian education being in the top five?

Education lecturer and former teacher, David Zyngier, outlines the real reasons why Australian students are lagging behind those in other high-performing OECD countries.

The Australian Education Bill 2012 was introduced to parliament by Prime Minister Gillard’s exhortation for a crusade to make our students among the top five performing countries in the world by 2020.

In her speech to Parliament Julia Gillard repeated a fallacy that teachers are the biggest factor in student performance. Once again the blame is being shifted downwards – shifting responsibility to those who can have little or no impact on the lives of students and families in their care.

Investing in early childhood education

Early childhood expert Dr Kym Macfarlane explains why investing in early childhood care means laying solid foundations for future education.

A great deal of money is currently being invested by the federal government to ensure that all 3-4 year old children have access to an early childhood teacher for at least 15 hours per week. This investment has meant strong emphasis by the States on ensuring there are enough early childhood teachers to fill this role. 

In Queensland, scholarships have been offered to teachers and early years’ practitioners to encourage them to add further early childhood qualifications to their repertoire. There have been similar moves in other states. Therefore, the investment in this federal government initiative is significant.

Teaching only science

Royal Institution of Australia director, Dr Paul Willis, explains how creationism is disrupting science education, both in Australia and around the world, and why effective science teaching should not follow any religious, social or political agenda.

The content of a science curriculum ought to be easy to identify and should be included without challenge – good science content is good science! Anything else should be excluded. We owe it to our children not to cloud their developing minds with phantoms and fantasies dressed up as realities no matter how comforting they may be for some people. We need to be clear what science is and isn’t before we can clearly explain that difference to our children.