What John Ridd calls setting and what in Victoria is called block timetabling is not in the least hard to do. It is a sensible method for dealing with all sorts of curriculum implementation issues.

I was the timetabler for Hampton Park Secondary College from 2000 to 2004. English and maths classes were timetabled in blocks, so that students at a level could be put into different groups. In maths, there were three groups – mainstream, advanced and developmental.

John Ridd is right about the teacher unions lacking power, which is why pay and conditions have declined so dramatically, but these facts never stop the press regularly adding the word, “powerful”, before the words, “teacher unions”. However, HPSC did have a strong union branch so teaching conditions were the envy of the state.

Teaching conditions and curriculum were integrated. English, maths, all but one year 10 subject and all year 11 and 12 subjects were nine periods a fortnight (five in one week and four in the other). All other subjects were six periods a fortnight (three each week). Teachers taught a maximum of 42 48-minute periods a fortnight, or 16 hours 48 minutes a week, the best conditions in the state. All nine-period subjects and the one year 10 six-period subject were blocked. As the blocks matched across year levels, year 10s could easily do VCE subjects. As all subjects were six or nine periods each and time allowances (deductions from teaching for leadership responsibilities) could also be multiples of three, every teacher could be fully allotted, so timetable efficiency for full time teachers could be 100 per cent.

Other schools (e.g., Edenhope High School in the 1980s) have used vertical modular grouping in which students from different year levels could work together. The whole timetable was blocked at EHS.

There is nothing hard about any of these approaches. They seem not to happen because of a failure of imagination and intelligence in the running of schools.

Nothing will change in education until they acknowledge and deal with the fact that there is bias, victimisation, bullying, manipulation of test scores and documents and discrimination happening in Education.

When a system is corrupted it can only ever lead to no good.

I am not making this up. We have made formal allegation against the NSW Department of Education that we allege are part of a conspiracy to cover up. The evidence we have is alarming. Sadly we know of other people who have been dealt with the same way. The process the system has used to cover up allegations and complaints is unbelievable and it goes all the way to the top.

Education - Keeping them HOnest
http://jolandachallita.typepad.com/education/
Our children deserve better

They won the election on rock and roll hype and spin.

Why should we be surprised by the reality of the outcomes?The tax cuts won't materialise,education won't change and work choices will stay in slightly modified state.

We are relying too much on OS students to fund education.We should be providing more funding so we can educate our own doctors and other specialists.

Our biggest worry is that whether Labor can control it's spending and waste,since it traditionally has a poor track record in this field.

Now that Labor has formed government then we need to vigorously take it up to Rudd with his dishonest belief in junk climate science and that this is where we start making changes to build a knowledge economy.

If Kevvy honestly believes in education and seeks to be known as the education prime minister then he needs to fully explain how he approaches this desire for the true achievement of human potential when he obviously promotes more a belief in climate superstition that effectively thwarts the normal scientific method. His education revolution in Australia should start by depoliticising science and opening it up to greater scrutiny and debate.

There needs to be a specific role for investigative science journalism which seems dead and buried and over-run by cheap media bug bunnies. Open public debate should start with the establishment of a dedicated national science channel to address for starters just how humanity collectively can ensure a continued appreciation of the beauty of existence and the fact that all our actions are evolutionary.

Education Revolution decrypted into intelligble language means Education Reaction.
Labor election campaigners used glib promises on the neglect of education with a series of computer calls for school children, trade centres in schools, more money for vocational training—to make it appear that a Rudd government would address the decay of public education. The politicians are terrified, that a side effect of their privatisation ploy is stultifying a broad layer of children and holding them back. These parents are rightfully concerned that their children will suffer. However, Rudd took pains to sidestep any questions about the campaign to run down or wreck the public education system. In reality, the criminal operation to hand over public schools to private profiteers, private schools, or to their cronies in real estate speculating will be stepped up.
Labor proposes, “Skills Australia”, a board of seven representatives, “comprising economic, industry, academic and education expertise” that will coordinate the needs of employers at the local level. Moreover, following on from Howard, Rudd is offering up the disabled and disadvantaged to be included, useful he indicates for sub standard work and pay.

Labor’s “education revolution” reaches right down to pre-school. “Labor’s Plan for Early Childhood” is not aimed at addressing the developmental needs of young children, but at capitalising on a prime investment opportunity. It argues that government investment in early childhood learning brings a “high rate of return” in terms of productivity and labour force participation, and is necessary for developing a “smarter and more adaptable workforce”.

The Labor government has indicated it will continue to fashion its policies subject to the needs of 'big business' including the privatisation process of schools. Nor will there be any disclosures of the computor industy funding to Labor in the recent election.

Unless Prime Minister Rudd overthrows the "counter-revolutionaries" of the teachers unions, the par excellence defenders of the status quo, his 'education revolution' will be the devolution of education.

See:http://kotzabasis1.blogspot.com