Feel the width, someone says.
I thought the saying was

"It isn't the size of the dog in the fight- it's the size of the fight in the dog".
Not that size matters anyway. Some say.

Well we assume the teachers will go ahead with their strike, um, stopwork meeting. And the Liberals will keep favouring the wealthiest schools.

Hi again Bugsy,

'Mental' refers to mental arithmetic: 5 x 7, 6 x 9, 9 x 8, 7 x 9 - that sort of thing. You probably don't even know what I mean :( Ask you grandparents.

Joe

Oh, I love how you assume I'm a 'young snot' Joe.

So no comma then? How disappointing. I was looking forward to something Mental.

I bet it would be disappointing for you to also learn that they still do that sort of thing in schools these days. Not that your codger prejudices would allow that narrative.

Hi Bugsy,

Sorry, it's just that you have all the deep wisdom and the fervour of a kid who's just finished Year 12 and is about to be launched, fully-fledged, into Cultural Studies at somewhere like UTS, to show the world of his unique genius.

I certainly hope that they still teach Mental Arithmetic at school, although it's probably left until Year 12 these days, i.e. advanced maths. We certainly pushed those Grade/Class IV kids hard, they would all dissolve into little puddles on the floor if teachers tried it now. That's if teachers knew their times tables these days. Yes, of course, I forget: there would be maths specialists now.

To get BTT: of course, there is inequality across society in schooling, even within the state school systems. Some working-class secondary schools in Adelaide, I'm told, have never had a Year 12 graduate. So the divide is not so much between State vs private schooling, as between higher-quality state schools and working-class state schools. Elitism amongst state school teachers perpetuates that inequality. It would have been helpful if the author had remarked on that inequality, and what it says about the class nature and aspirations of teachers, and their relation to the working class.

You remember the working class, Bugsy ?

Joe

Teachers prefer students who are quiet, work without nagging and threats, and do as they're told. No wonder girls do better in any system...

Some working-class secondary schools in Adelaide, you're told, have never had a Year 12 graduate?

Sounds like you're pretty gullible Joe. I don't suppose you were told which ones they were eh? You know, just so we can look them up and find out exactly how bad it is.

I don't think you know anything about elitism amongst state school teachers. That's your fantasy. As is what you think of the poor little dears of today, what a conceit you have over your own descendants. That's the codger coming out again.

I'm surprised you'd remember anything correctly by the sounds of it.