Dear zahira

To characterise my evidence as just "one study" as against that of "a now retired practicing teacher (credentials unstated) and that of others" (unspecified) is disingenuous. I cheerfully discount my personal experience because I was merely using it to demonstrate that anecdotes are an inadequate basis on which to make overblown condemnation - or overblown praise - of an entire sysem. There will always be someone who knows someone who knows something...etc. But that won't be good enough to allow you to pass judgment on an education system.

The study I cited was from the OECD which, as I said, examined more than half a million students from 41 countries including 12 500 randomly selected Australian students from 321 schools. The OECD is one of the most respected international research bodies you can find. Its credentials could hardly be questioned.

It's improbable to think that the excellent standing of Australian education that the OECD reported could be a fluke, or an aberration. I could give many more research reports but I thought you would be aware of the high reputation of the OECD. Australian schools, although not perfect by any means stand up well by comparison with other like countries.

I agree that funds should be increased to allow secondary classes to be reduced to 20 students maximum, and that students who have learning challenges should get the support they need throughout all their education.

I agree that learning the foundations is a top priority for primary schools but I'd include in the foundations such attributes as a love of learning, some of the basic skills of learning and a willingness to share and help others.

You've no need to convince me of the importance of history. That was my major study at university. But what you might have to convince me about is the need for just one view of history. History teaches us that school systems that are compelled to teach an authorised version of history are usually engaged in a spurious nationalism at best and indoctrination at worst.

As a student that has recently studied 'Australian history', I would have to disagee entirely as to 'ditching' the study of it.

Personally; I think that the study of it has added to my understanding of my country and has brought upon me an appreciation towards the kind of life we live now; the study also helped me to understand why so many of the Aboriginal people of this land were so angry towards the white man when they first settled in Australia.

The study has definately increased my interest in the political system of Australia; due to doing a decade study of the 70's.

I've gained understanding in they many different fights for freedom women, children and Aboriginals have had to face; and the amount of hardship vietnamese veterans suffered during the war and so much more.

'Ditching' the compulsary study would not ensure that Veterans of our past gain the recognition they deserve; what is the point of ANZAC day; without knowledge of what happened, and what is the use of paying our respects to the Aboriginals and their land without the knowledge? What was the point of women fighting for equal rights; if no one is going to care about what those women did for us?

The young generation of Australia are already selfish and self absorbed, and we continue to get worse. We rely too much on technology and take things for grantid; the history of our country hopefully can help others to respect our land just like it has me, and hopefully produce a greater understanding of 'who' we are and how 'we' have become that.

Hi Ashley, Well said. I commend you on your insightful view of the reasons why we need to study history.

z

The author wrote: "The first is that there is more to the history of Australians than the history of Australia because many do not have white English speaking ancestors."

Yet the Australia we know and love is a product of our core Anglo-Celtic Australian culture and Western civilisational heritage. And while our society and culture have changed profoundly in recent decades, the reality is that Australia fundamentally remains an outpost of Western civilisation in a region surrounded by instability and violence.

Australia's European founders built what remains one of the world's most decent and prosperous societies. Is this not a legacy worth teaching younger generations?

On the current approaches to the teaching of Australian history, Dr Kevin Donnelly, author of "Why Our Schools are Failing", wrote:

"European settlement is described as an invasion, Australia’s Anglo-Celtic heritage is either marginalised or ignored, Indigenous culture is portrayed as beyond reproach and teachers are told they must give priority to gender, multicultural, global, futures and Indigenous perspectives."

http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=4109

No wonder we now have entire generations of confused, culturally disinherited Australians.

Dresdener

If we now have what you call "entire generations of confused, culturally disinherited Australians", it's because they have been taught that "the Australia we know and love is a product of our core Anglo-Celtic Australian culture and Western civilisational heritage...and that Australia fundamentally remains an outpost of Western civilisation in a region surrounded by instability and violence."

In other words, they have been brainwashed with the rosy glow of patriotism uncritically presented as the 'story of our nation' when what would have served them better would have been a critical ability to confront, assess and evaluate the competing 'facts' that explain how we came to be the way we are.

When they leave school, they find the world is not at all like they were taught in history classes and that the real world is far more complex and problematic than they had been seduced to believe.

Kevin Donnelly has a lot to answer for

FrankGol

With all due respect, you are certainly showing your age in regards to today’s education system. Far from being brainwashed with the rosy glow of patriotism, the politically correct, post-modernist history curriculum of today resembles a full-scale assault on our nation’s moral legitimacy.

Young people are not taught in the multicultural, politically correct schooling system about their ancestor’s nation-building achievements. They are not taught about Western civilisation or our predominately Anglo-Celtic heritage. Rather, the bunk taught in schools today is the moral equivalent of vandalizing the graves and desecrating the corpses of our nation’s founders. I support a ‘warts-and-all’ approach, but how can a version of history that plays up our nation’s sins and crimes be considered objective? How does destroying patriotism, killing pride in our achievements, denigrating our heritage, demoralizing our people and deconstructing our national culture and identity make young people better citizens?

Rather than using our national history to unite and inspire us, the current approach to the teaching of Australian history shames and divides us into the children of victims and the children of the villains of Australia’s past.

Cultural Marxists like yourself have a lot to answer for.