Kevin's comments resonate strongly with most high school teachers in WA. Such has been the level of discontent recently that the Gallop government has seen fit to launch a Parliamentary inquiry into the proposed changes. However, the Minister for Education, Ljiljanna Ravlich, has been publicly quoted that the changes ARE going ahead. It defies logic that one arm of her government has launched an inquiry because there is so much concern, while another, ie the Minister herself, is saying that nothing will stop the implementation. Some changes are timetabled to occur as early as January next year, yet the inquiry does not table its report until June in 2006. If the government were serious about the inquiry it would stop all implementation immediately.

Donnelly's article makes some good points. Indeed some of us parents might proclaim that it is more or less what we were saying in the 1980's ...

Our younger children never having a spelling test. Being told not to worry about grammar or spelling ... just do a first, or second, 'draft'. Then perhaps do yet another draft. No homework of course (odd that - but the Teachers always seemed to be able to provide a reason why there was no homework).

Our teenage children forced to undertake wierd 'Projects' in order to 'learn' Physics. History lessons always seemingly focused on the Eureka Stockade.
Mind you, this was only when they were actually *at* school. Most of the school year included 3-day weeks when Curriculum days always co-incided with Public Holidays.

The question that some might ask is, "Why is it so?"

The main reasons are ... the Left mind-set of so many teachers and the all-powerful Teacher Unions, coupled with the appallingly low standards of qualifications for Teachers ( I read today that most do not have anything beyond Year 10 Maths).

What are we to do about it?

Pay the 'good' teachers more. Find out which Teachers are performing badly and 'why'. Give them extra assistance and advice. If they do not improve after 3 years, ask them to find another career.

Have all children , at every age above 7-years old, do spelling tests and Mental Arithmetic at least once a week.

Bring in competition with children scored and a record kept for reporting to parents.

Have yearly exams for all children. A national exam for 11 year-olds. A common system of national exams for all 16 year-olds. A common system of national exams for all 18 year-olds wanting to attend University.

Oh, and sack any teacher that refers to children or students as 'kids'. Its about time 'kids' were treated with respect.

i just wanted to comment on the comment made by ciompi...

coupled with the appallingly low standards of qualifications for Teachers ( I read today that most do not have anything beyond Year 10 Maths).

i am studying to be a teacher. I just wanted you to know that i have a degree in my teaching area (that's three years of specialised study in my field) plus i am completing a two year post graduate teaching qualification which includes two and a bit terms of practical teaching experience in a school. i'm surprised that someone would consider that a "low standard". i think you need to check what you read. i'd hate to think that the parents of my students think i don't have anything "beyond Year 10 Maths".

most teachers have to have completed TEE (to enter university), and study a four year Bachelor of Education or a degree plus a one or two year teaching qualification like a Graduate Diploma of Education.

Missc is indeed correct. Teachers in schools do indeed have a university qualification. It is a shame that missc gave a poor example for a trainee teacher by using i rather than I when writing the comment.

The big shame of all this is that most teachers long ago came to the realisation that Outcomes Based Education has been bad for schools, bad for teachers, bad for parents and especially bad for children. It has complicated the task of teaching, rendered objective assessment virtually impossible, transformed school reports into wordy almost meaningless documents and worst of all, has lowered standards. Unfortunately, in Australian States we have bureaucracies whose bureaucrats have built their careers by embracing the OBE philosophy and thrusting it onto schools. As such recognition of its failure is too much for them to admit. So, in WA, it is push on into years 11 & 12 with all the strength Government can deliver. Never mind the consequences.

As a result it is being left to people like Kevin Donnelly, like many teachers and former teachers such as myself, and to parents and grandparents who want their children and grandchildren to have the same quality of education as they had to use all means available to force governments to admit failure and change course.

A problem with any change is the capacity of the teachers to put it into place. Secondary school teachers in Western Australia are complaining about the quality of the courses of study and the timelines imposed by the Curriculum Council. Added to that, the resignation of some course writers, the consistent attacks by the Editor of the West Australian, and the disquiet of parliamentarians are not a ringing endorsement for the dated changes.

A major issue for all teachers is their exposure to episodic change, resulting in the growing cynicism of some teachers as a change of government or minister either dismantles or tweaks the changes. Hopefully the parliamentary review will look at a ten to twenty year horizon and make decisions that will put this state at the forefront of education and give a foreward looking sense of direction that will win universal approval.

Nihil makes some very good points, but we need a lot more than hope. As long as the bureaucracies are filled with people who haven't darkened the doors of a classroom for eons, and who have the power to surround themselves with like-minded clones, then there is little hope for the poor classroom teacher.

The sad thing in all of this is that the victims are the children we teach. And even sadder, is the fact that it takes a few years before people become aware, and then sufficiently angry, to dismantle the lunatic system. Meanwhile, a generation of children are disadvantaged.

I'd like to clarify my previous Post. I do not want to 'attack' all (or any ) teachers. I'm not blaming them. I'm sure that they all want the best for their children/students. And of course there are many very intelligent people who become teachers (thank goodness). And, of course, some very good mathematicians.

From my memory of schooldays, I can honestly say that Teaching requires a devotion to duty that the rest of us generally lack.

I must say that I'm heartened by the increasing honesty of those in the Teaching profession, to express their concerns and to make suggestions about improvements. The next step is to challenge the Powers-that-be to make the major changes.

I am heartened too Ciompi, as at last some people at the point where education is being delivered, ie in the classroom, are starting to find their voices. At last teachers are taking the union leaders to task over their abject failure to recognise the change in working conditions that the OBE system being introduced by the Curriculum Council is causing. At last teachers in government schools, who are held under threat of persecution by the the bureacracy that administers their schools, are being brave enough to speak out against the nonsense emanating from the Curriculum Council. At last parents are finding their voice through the Parents' Associations and are putting the changes to our system on the agenda of meetings and conferences. The Curriculum Council has been introducing this process by bullying teachers and simply not informing parents, and finally it is starting to unravel.

Perhaps the government will realise that the parliamentary inquiry actually has some value other than drawing our attention away from the enormous problems this system has been causing. Perhaps the Inquiry will come up with recommendations to stop the implementation of this system until further research has been done, and in doing so, defy the government's own Minister for Education, who says that the implementation is going ahead regardless of the results of the Inquiry.

Thanks to the efforts of some people like Kevin in highlighting the plight of teachers and students under the proposed changes to the education system of Western Australia, the Gallop government saw fit to call a parliamentary inquiry.

Despite this, the Minister, Ms Ljiljanna Ravlich, has repeatedly claimed that the changes are going ahead regardless of the outcomes of the inquiry. Further proof of her attitude is evidenced in her establishment of a task force with responsibility for coordinating the implementation across all school sectors, including resolving concerns with school level implementation.

Her absolute cynicism and disregard for her government’s efforts in establishing the parliamentary inquiry can be seen as even more profound when one looks at the membership of the task force. Once again, not a sign of a practitioner in education, and one of the five members of the committee is a Media consultant. Clearly, the great education concerns of teachers and parents are not the issues this committee will be examining, but rather how this ridiculous system can be implemented with as little pain to the government as possible.

Contrary to Ciompi's claim that teacher qualifications are of a low standard, the reality is that teachers are entering the profession with higher qualifications in this country than ever previously. A signinficant proportion are entering with double degrees or post grad
qualifications.
(Read the study into teacher training and education commissioned in Victoria by DET).

It is unbelievable that WA is insisting on going done the same misguided path as other countries and states. Why do these people not learn from other people's mistakes?
As a teacher in a WA State school, I am appalled by the tactics employed by our leaders. They are the biggest bullies I have ever seen in my life. They monopolise the time at any public forum by presenting overhead after mindless overhead (none of which give any details) then hand pick questions from the audience. If anyone actually refuses to be denied the right of free speech, they are labelled as trouble makers, burnt out or incapable of grasping the subtleties!

Then the mind games start. You are made to feel that your job is under threat if you don't comply. OBE is mentioned in 3 out of the 5 requirements for Level 3 teacher promotion. Circulars such as the following are distributed by the District Director:

"Unfortunately like other Districts we do have some cynics and recalcitrants in our schools when it comes to curriculum and pedagogical change although they do appear to be a dying breed. Perhaps they need to re-focus their career or look for other options because our schools need leaders and team players at all levels in the contemporary and challenging times we now face, We cannot teach students the way we have taught them for the past 25 years and expect them to succeed in a post-modern society. I encourage you to take on a leadership role within your school community and help provide your students with the capacity to meet the challenges that they will face in their future."

This is straight out of Orwell's 1984. Without questioning the changes, we must accept them and become team players in a post modern society.

If there is anyone in Australia that can help us over here it would be greatly appreciated. Try www.plato.com to see what we have had to resort to.

Cheers,

Doik

My daughter is in Year 10 and in 'extension class' everything. I have now asked her and her two overnight stay friends; 'Do you understand the outcomes information provided to you by your teachers?'

Their collective response was 'NO!' and that they do their work and the teachers give them a level result. They have no idea as to what they should do to progress from, say, a level 5 to a level 6. What is it then that their teachers are doing?

This is not a criticism of the teachers but another recognition that 'grades' have morphed into 'levels'. What has changed?

Please tap into http://www.platowa.com to source recent opinions from teachers and students re the recent implemtation and proposed implemntation of 'outcomes based education' in WA.

We, in WA, need input from teachers in other states/overseas to source useable information for the anti-outcomes approach cause in Western Australia.

I would also like to see a non-outcomes based approach to secondary education at least in Queensland. The introduction of OBE has coincided with the rise of middle schooling. While I am in favour of middle schooling as a time between primary and secondary schooling to ease the transition between the two, OBE is leaving students ill-prepared for the rigours of secondary school. There is a push to ensure that students' self-esteem is increased to the detriment of them actually learning anything worthwhile. OBE has been designed for students to feel success at every opportunity, regardless of whether it has been earnt or not. It teaches students that failure is not a possibility so why should they try harder. In other words, OBE promotes mediocrity.

OBE is a great waste of parents teachers and students times. Not only does it NOT teach and help students it actually hinders their education. I have one child who is exceptionally bright and WILL breeze thru school, on the other end of the scale of have a child who will have to spend most of their waking moments studying just to acheive a PASS. It seems that both my children will be hindered in some way because of the way the OBE is applied to school and education. My main concern is that if one or both of my children wish to go on to University, do an apprenticeship or study at TAFE, the marks they present to the respective bodies will NOT be true representation of their abilities and skiills. If the child has a D grade and the rest of the class is a B then why should the B or any A students in the class be penilised because there is a few children in the class who are stuggling and it also flows the other way in that the kids who struggle will get "lost in the system" and not receive the assistance and encouragement they DO so require. Its not fair on families because it will create tension amoung siblings. Again this brings weight to the idea of bringing in migrant workers who are prepared to work for less, they WILL be better educated. So Australia will be "dumbing down" its future as regards to our childrens futures. Do we really want to do that? Dont our children need all the help and encouragement we can give them AS INDIVIDUALS?

I am STRONGLY against OBE and I think the whole of Australia should open its eyes, especially our ministers who sit in their ivory towers dispelling their powers over the "common people". Just because America does it, do we REALLY HAVE to follow? Would we follow to the gates of hell and walk in? We are a Country, Island, Continent, Nation, Culture and Entity of our own. LETS NOT LOSE THAT.

The OBE style Courses of Study (COS) have been delayed for a year due their flawed nature.
They are now to be intrduced in 2007.
Teachers, quite rightly, dismissed the courses as completely inferior in education value compared to the courses that are presently on offer.
I work in a science department of a school where 100% of the teachers are completely opposed to the proposed COS (and the statewide figure is similar to our schools of about 90%).
We look forward to the courses being deleted completely.