The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
The Forum - On Line Opinion's article discussion area



Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

Main Articles General

Sign In      Register

The Forum > Article Comments > Kevin Rudd's revolution > Comments

Kevin Rudd's revolution : Comments

By Mike Williss, published 29/8/2008

Kevin Rudd is trying to put some flesh around the bones of an 'education revolution' that to date has had little else to offer.

  1. Pages:
  2. Page 1
  3. 2
  4. All
Thanks Mike. That was very informative.

Rudd had the option of finetuning our very good system by borrowing ideas from the world's best (Finnish) model for education or re-cycling Howard's failed policies.

He chose the latter. HowRuddism has yet again followed its master.

As an aside, and I hope I don't distract the discussion away from education, if the Liberals can sort out their leadership problems, will this Labor Government become a oncer as people decide to vote for the upfront conservatives and not their disguised cousins?
Posted by Passy, Friday, 29 August 2008 10:01:05 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
It depends what we are taught.

Who knows that abandonment of whale calves is linked to seagrass food web devastation and human malnutrition amongst seafood dependent Pacific island people? More unprecedented whale calf abandonment must be expected because dumped sewage nutrient pollution is feeding algae that is killing food web estuary seagrass.

There is various evidence of world fish depletion.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/05/0515_030515_fishdecline.html

The NPWS whale calf incident advisor’s claim that humpback whales do not eat pilchards is absolutely wrong but added to uninformed reason to kill the calf.
http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&q=humpback+whale+pilchard&btnG=Google+Search&meta=

Small baitfish including Pacific herring use seagrass as spawning substratum.
http://sciencelinks.jp/j-east/article/200220/000020022002A0723989.php

Humpback whales also eat small baitfish like anchovy and pilchards.
http://www.google.com.au/search?sourceid=navclient&hl=en-GB&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GZAZ_en-GBAU239AU239&q=humpback+whale+anchovy

Most importantly, over 90% of juvenile baitfish schools have been found to aggregate around river mouths. Sardines have shown a remarkably consistent movement offshore as they grow larger. Pre internet literature describes Australian baitfish as being seagrass dependent. Baitfish do not grow on river mouth trees.
http://www3.aims.gov.au/pages/research/fish/baitfish/pilchards-sardines05.html

Marine scientific evidence is lacking due to inadequate research resources. In absence of full scientific certainty, evidence of pilchard anchovy baitfish depletion includes closure of Australia’s most diversified fish processing plant, Lakes Entrance Processors, that closed permanently in the 1980’s due to lack of the resource.

With a livestock mustering background, in my opinion humpback whales on the east coast of Australia are now moving too quickly from warm water calving grounds to the last available food supply in Antarctica. Calves are no longer able to rest while adults feed near river mouth estuaries and bays where seagrass and baitfish used to be found in numerous huge schools. About 8 whale calves abandoned during about the past 10 years in Aus east coast waters is unprecedented. Baitfish are so depleted that young biologists think Aus east coast humpbacks feed only in Antarctica, true now but not previously. Mammals are known to abandon their young due to hunger stress.

Loss of weight in whales provides further evidence of devastated traditional staple fish and trade resources causing human malnutrition and unrest amongst Pacific island people that must be attended to absolutely urgently. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6599805.st
Posted by JF Aus, Friday, 29 August 2008 10:24:14 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Good stuff, Mike. Of course, for teachers, one of the frustrating things at the moment is the hypocrisy surrounding so much educational policy making and commentary. Evidence based practice is the mantra of the moment. Yet politicians and commentators continue to back half -baked initiatives, ignoring the evidence when it does not suit.
Posted by Howzer, Friday, 29 August 2008 10:32:57 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
The facts of the matter is that overall student marks have not significantly improved in 20 yrs, and boys marks have declined in that period.

I think this is due to lack of accountability, particularly in the area of boy's education.

I have seen some of the most atrocious attitudes held by teachers and principals towards boys, particularly in feminist run public schools. If such teachers were running a private company, and had such atrocious attitudes towards their clients and customers, they would very quickly go out of business.
Posted by HRS, Friday, 29 August 2008 10:54:45 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
The last address on my previous post is not operating. Try again: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6599805.stm

If not then Google: starving whales. (BBC science report)

I have posted this subject matter on this thread because during the early 1980's I made presentations to over 100,000 students in more than 500 schools. Those days were about warning of world fish depletion occurring, and some solutions

PM Rudd however is ignoring the advanced and now rapid collapse of the marine and impact on seafood dependent people, especially Solomon Islands people who are in need of work and wages to buy alternative essential protein food. Their problem is protein deficiemncy malnutrition.

Australian students could be learning how to regenerate the marine environment including wild fish stocks for export to fish hungry world markets. Up to date education could lead to productivity development and billion from export of fish product. Instead Australia's fishing industry is being allowed to collapse with livelihoods and spirit lost forever.

Watch world food prices escalate now. Further collapse of peace in the Pacific is also to now be expected due to lack of knowledge and inaction. Removing fish from the CPI does not hide or overcome the inevitable outcome of ongoing education and opportunities.
Posted by JF Aus, Friday, 29 August 2008 10:59:53 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Nice article Mike. By using the term "Education Revolution" Rudd hopes to infer that he is introducing something new,large scale and effective. Again, all talk with little substance. Your article reveals that the idea is stale and has dubious merit. There is no revolution here. Also,there is something distinctly "on the nose" about the Labour Party's recent claims that the Liberals did nothing about education when they and the Teacher's Union prevented any significant changes occurring in the system. Kevin Rudd has already run out of ideas though he is rarely caught short on bluff and verbosity.
Posted by Atman, Friday, 29 August 2008 8:43:01 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
  1. Pages:
  2. Page 1
  3. 2
  4. All

About Us :: Search :: Discuss :: Feedback :: Legals :: Privacy