Otokonoko,
In regards to textbooks, in the past a textbook writer would write the actual words and quite often do the diagrams. They would also receive royalty payments.

Now a textbook usually comes with quite elaborate drawings or artwork, it may also have a software disk enclosed, and there maybe also be website attached to the book.

So the writer who writes the words is only a small part of the production team, and publishing houses are tending to pay these writer a once only fee with no royalty payments.

There are unlikely to be many Australian textbook writers in future years, and most of the intelligence for a textbook is being created elsewhere.

The continuous importation of just about everything into the education system, eventually means that there is a loss of intelligence from the country, because the intelligence is being discovered and created elsewhere (and iPad is another example). If you investigate it, nearly all copywrite or patent in a school has been developed outside of the country.

Australia normally features in world education results because most children attend a school. However there are few indicators to show that the education is of much quality, and with tests such as the TIMSS test, Australia is now very average or below world average.

I can assure you that there are students in other countries who are very advanced compared to Australian students, and these students are developing and producing a range of items. They are not sitting back and asking for government spending. Australia is very lucky to have a small population and a large amount of coal.

vanna, the indicators I was speaking of are drawn from the PISA testing. Thus the proportion of children who attend school is irrelevant. PISA tests are conducted at schools, so only the kids who attend are tested. While I am reluctant to use test results in a discussion of the problems with testing, they do suggest that the problem isn't as dramatic as you would have us believe. In a nutshell:

Science:
Boys: #7 out of 38
Girls: #6 out of 38
(Both have a score of 527, 26 points above the OECD mean for boys and 28 above the mean for girls)

Mathematics:
Boys: #7 out of 38 (24 above OECD mean)
Girls: #10 out of 38 (21 above mean)

Reading:
Boys: #6 out of 37 (22 above mean)
Girls: #6 out of 37 (21 above mean).

In most cases, a trend can be seen - the same countries are ahead of us, the same behind. Canada, New Zealand and Estonia tend to do better; interestingly, the USA and UK are both consistently behind us, as are most of the European nations. Surprisingly, Japan's boys are ahead of us in science and maths; otherwise, despite their cram schools and strong work ethic, they still lag behind.

Of course, this is drawn from arbitrary testing with no real basis in educational outcomes. No doubt the next set of results to be released (more recent tests HAVE been conducted) will show a different picture. Maybe no more or less accurate, but different nonetheless.

Otokonoko,

It has always seemed to me that our education system is based on a competitive ethic rather than one of genuine learning
It doesn't take children very long to discern which end of society's heap to which they are going to be assigned. It is all comparative - and that seems to be reflected in all the "testing" which takes place, either between the children themselves or between the various countries participating.
I chose not to "train my son to test" for the NAPLAN tests and he did not participate in them (which is my prerogative as a home educator). It seems to me that NAPLAN is not conducted for the benefit of the child's education, but instead to keep tabs on the education system.

Otokonoko,
It is interesting that so many in education point to the PISA tests, but not to the TIMSS tests, which show a vastly different result.

The results of the TIMSS tests begin to match the results of NAPLAN, and also a series of other international tests that can be undertaken.

Ultimately, when almost everything a teacher uses in the classroom is now imported, from textbooks to the overhead projector, it highlights an ultimate failure of the education system, because most of the productivity and intelligence in the classroom is now being imported from elsewhere.

vanna,

One could similarly question why you cling so desperately to TIMSS and ignore PISA. The reality is, they both test different things. TIMSS focuses on what students know, PISA focuses on what students can do with their knowledge. Given that you are concerned with teaching students to think, the latter is a closer match to your interests. How TIMSS can produce similar results to NAPLAN is beyond me, as they test very different things in very different contexts.

As for your importation argument, I have tried to understand but must come to the conclusion that your argument is simply unfounded. This afternoon, while at work, I had a look at the authors and publishers of all of the textbooks currently cluttering up my desk. All but one were published in Australia, and all but two authors are Australian. One of the foreigners, a Canadian, co-authored the book with an Australian. The only things shipped offshore are printing and, in some cases, corporate ownership. That you seem fit to blame teachers for the overseas manufacture of light switches, overhead projectors and other devices is quite absurd. It says more about your desire to blame teachers for all our nation's woes than it does about teachers' actual role in this apparent national catastrophe. Would you really have us forsake things such as iPads simply because they're not Australian designed or made? What sort of competitive edge would that give our kids on the global stage?

If you would like to continue this discussion, I'm happy to do so elsewhere. I shall not continue it here, though, out of respect for Filip's already-derailed thread. The actual topic of this discussion still has some way to go, and I'm not interested in continuing to hamper that progress.

Otokonoko,
As I have attempted to explain, there are likely to be few if any textbook writers left in Australia in future years, although I know of no teacher alarmed by it.

For example:
“The report's author, ASA director Jeremy Fisher, has warned that publishers are cutting costs by forcing authors to sign contracts that are unfair.

Textbook writers are being asked to sign contracts with minimal or no royalty payments and also to sign away copyright, allowing the publisher to reprint texts digitally.”

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/publishers-screwing-textbook-writers/story-e6frg6no-1111115916111

"TIMSS focuses on what students know"

Exactly, and so does NAPLAN, which is why so many students do so badly in those tests. The situation becomes critical in areas such as maths and science.

For example:
"THE state of maths and science at Australian schools and universities has deteriorated to a "dangerous level", the nation's top mathematicians have warned.

He told The Australian that what had become apparent was the outstanding quality of international students compared with local students."

The review said universities would be forced to respond to the dumbing down by introducing costly remedial programs. It found that many teacher trainees had dropped maths in school to maximise their tertiary entry rank, and among them "mathematics phobia" was widespread.

IN 2007, 40 per cent of senior maths teachers did not have three years of university study.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/mathematics-students-in-serious-decline/story-e6frg6nf-1225838901032

The reason why there has been a decline in maths and science nationally is because there has been minimal interest in maths and science amongst teachers, and the cost has been colossal, not only in lost opportunities in the export market, but also in the cost of importing so many immigrants to compensate for the skills shortage, while we have 600,000 unemployed.

The reason why there are so few things made in Australia in a school or university, is because there has been minimal interest amongst teachers, and the ongoing costs are also colossal, because so many students now think that nothing can be made inside the country.