Kev, and I'm still teaching.

Rainer,

It is known that you are still teaching. It is also known that student marks have not improved in 30 years. Do you see any relationship?

Chric C,
No reply on what teachers intend to do to parents. I’m a parent, but I know how many companies would tackle (and also solve) the problem of student homework.

They would probably make a video of a student correctly doing their homework, and then show that video to new students on induction day. They may even have a little group discussion after the video, or maybe have the students do a small test or exam on effective study methods after watching the video. All that is done on induction day.

Then if a student is not doing their homework properly, or not carrying out effective study methods, they would simply put the student through the induction process again, and make the student watch the homework video again. Very few people want to watch induction videos over and over, so this system is basically guaranteed to work.

The same system can be used with many other types of behaviour modification. I was employed in a company that had a lot of apprentices. The apprentices were often getting on the booze at night and then turning up to work still half drunk the next day. So if a supervisor thought that an apprentice was badly hung-over or still half drunk, they would simply send the apprentice to the safety officer who would put the apprentice in a room by themselves and make them watch induction videos for the rest of the day. Very little was verbally said to the apprentice, but this system was found to be the most effective deterrent to stop apprentices from getting on the booze and turning up to work half-drunk

Dear Mr Donnelly

You may not be aware of a newly posted item of interest:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1214/p08s02-comv.htm
"How to Keep America's Education Edge"

It notes that:
"The 26-member bipartisan panel, called the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, lays out a bold restructuring of the K-12 system - which was designed more than a century ago. As Congress prepares to reauthorize the 2001 No Child Left Behind law that requires standardized testing - a modest reform with limited success - ... . Some governors, too, will find these ideas to be a way to boost flagging state economies."

and
"Current state tests, the panel finds, are inadequate for "workers of 21st century America." A new type of state tests, called "state board qualifying exams," would measure more than knowledge, such as mastery of a core curriculum, innovation, self- discipline, and teamwork. If passed, students would be able to enter various levels of state higher education."

and
"Such ideas aren't for the faint of heart. And they may end up not working in early experiments. But together, they point a way out of America's educational decline."

Flesh for a killer-ap policy position!

And as a seasoned Op-Ed writer, your foot's already in the door for another advertorial piece; but "reds under the beds" is a bit dated, even for the USA audiences - you might try "leftists under the futons" - - or maybe some epithet that rhymes with "Doonas - - -

Merry Christmas to All

It is known that you are still teaching. It is also known that student marks have not improved in 30 years. Do you see any relationship?

Yes I do, but its not the one that goes "its the fault of teachers"
This blame game might feel good for those too lazy to do further investigations - but its not the answer, just one symptom.

Do I believe the quality of teachers is not as good as 30 years ago?
Yes and no, but again for totally different reasons than many here would agree with.

I think this is much too convenient and lazy in terms of understanding the social and economic impacts on school systems and teacher education during this period.

The total lack of fiscal and intellectual investment in schools and education during this period cannot be laid of the feet of teaches alone.

I for one do not believe the best performing students necessarily should be recruited to go into the teaching professsion.
Academic performance is important, but this does not in itself generate better teachers.

I do not believe student marks have not improved. I'm not defending bad teaching in saying this but I think you have to take into account changes in eduation over this period.

For instance - I doubt Kevin Rudd [who was dux in his high school over thirty years ago] could handle what a secondary school curriculum now requires of 15-17 year olds.

These advances are partly due to technological advances but its also because of the higher expectations that now exist in terms of 'what schools should deliver".

Some argue that schools should simply focus on academic excellence, others feel (such as me) that it needs to be balanced with socialising and preparing students with good life skills.

The rush to the private system by many bellies the fact that public schools have been underfunded.

So in reality we now have two publically tax payer funded school systems - one for the rich and one for the poor. why have standardsbeen held ransom by economic rationalism?

How stupid is this?

Rainier,
Money does not really matter that much. Lots of money can actually make people fat, lazy and non-innovative.

The manager I told you about previously only asked 2 questions which cost no money at all, but he brought about a complete turnaround of a company that had been stagnant for many years.

Having induction days for new students and showing a video to those students of the correct or recommended study methods would cost very little money. Showing that video again to students who were not carrying out correct or effective study methods would also cost very little money.

The idea that schools are adequately preparing students for later life is rather doubtful also. In the company with the apprentices that I mentioned earlier, it had a 2 day induction process for normal new employees, and a 5 day induction process for apprentices.

The apprentices were coming straight out of high school, and the company had to build up their motivation and also build up their confidence. The male apprentices in particular had the motivation and confidence kicked out of them by the feminists at the high schools, so there were 3 extra days of induction required for those apprentices to gradually build up their motivation and confidence before they could actually go into a workshop and begin tasks. If they went into a workshop and started using equipment without enough motivation and confidence then they were a risk to themselves and a risk to other people.

Those boys had been de-motivated by the school system, and the low marks and disengagement from the education system by so many boys throughout the country is also a good indication of wide-spread de-motivation of boys on a national scale.

So for boys in particular, it is doubtful that schools are adequately preparing them for later life.

Maybe having chaplains in the schools may help to balance out the de-motivation of the students by so many teachers

"Having induction days for new students and showing a video to those students of the correct or recommended study methods would cost very little money. Showing that video again to students who were not carrying out correct or effective study methods would also cost very little money."

And still more money might be saved by having the Chaplain run the video room, provide pastoral care for the lost sheep, write reports on their progress & and the school's, & so on - - -

I'd grant $4.5 million on the Chaplaincy, $85.5 million on boys' literacy and retention, and then, with equally-greased starting gates and a fair camera at the finish, we could see which of the two horses wins by a nose - - -