"Simply go back to the old style, which worked 30-40 years ago, in the UK at least, and bring back a bit of discipline into the classroom.It's not that hard! And take calculators out of the classroom and out of exams. Teach English GRAMMAR. And teach a second preferably tonal Asian language from age 5 to 15."

I agree Henry, the world has not changed since 30/40 years ago. Children don't need different skills today than they did back then. Those bloody educationalists have gone and plagued our schools with computers and fandangled thinga-me-bobs. Bring back the cane, drill the crap out of them and watch the well-educated young adolescents come rolling out!

Geoff Masters has managed to write a whole article on getting qualified teachers to all students without mentioning the E-word 'EQUITY'. This might come as a surprise to those who have read the excellent ACER report on funding schools, a report which clearly shows that funding of private schools in particular disproportionately supports wealthy schools. One might assume that Geoff has read the report - he is, after all, CEO of ACER.

We won't get quality teachers in front of all students while ever the system uses public funding to widen the gaps between schools. Kevin Rudd has turned avoiding this issue into an art form. Geoff Masters is using the same easel.

Teachers are not paid well. Teachers have to complete university study, pay back their HECS debt.
In Victoria teachers spend about 10 years on contract before they get a permanent position. During that time they aren't guaranteed summer holiday pay if their contract is awaiting renewal.

Casual Relief Teachers in Victoria are paid $216 per day in New South Wales Casual Relief Teachers are paid $275+ per day. Emergency teachers are very busy in term 3 when colds and flu sweeps through.

When politicians promote performance pay as a way of improving education standards without increasing the amount of money in the wage pool they are promoting competition in the staff room which is more likely to reduce education standards.

When Geoff Masters requests clearer reporting of student performance I hope he isn't promoting the A to E reporting system where the teacher reports on your child's performance in relation to the rest of the his cohorts in the state. In NSW all children in a class in almost any school will have the same grade.

I take it bfg is being subtly ironical? When students tell teachers to f@#$ off with impunity and don't bother working because they'd rather be out partying, then the education system isn't working. Counselling won't stop that! When such students produce children who repeat that behaviour, we end up with an uneducated and ill-behaved population, despite our plethora of jargon-laden educationalists and counsellors.

There is nothing wrong in drilling children in such things as multiplication etc-it works, and it's not painful. It is a rare child that will "creatively" discover the systematics of multiplication. Hand calculators, bfg, are not PCs, they are merely adding machines, albeit these days they can do sine, cosines and a few other things. I can do sums in my head faster than the average modern "check-out chick" can do on her adding machine, and I am supposed to be in my dotage. Nor is there anything wrong in drilling children in spelling, teaching them clear hand-writing and good grammar.Though I appreciate that it is no longer fashinable. Children learn languages easily between 0 and 8 years old. THAT is the time time to teach them their second language. And it is also time to make teaching the respectable and respected profession it once used to be. Australia now lags behind Vietnam, Singapore, Korea, and Japan, and no doubt much of China in education. Time to re-invent the old wheel....

But Australia would rather play cricket or "footie", or get "pissed".

I am curious why educationalists are so resistant to the idea the we could invest a little in parents which may have a better return than the same money in schools. Almost every person I have ever met (I include Henry viii in this) would agree that the behaviour of a child is clearly an outcome of their parenting yet there is no recognition their cognitive development is much the same. It is well known, as pointed out, that learning a language is easier before 8?? but we totally ignore the fact that for more than half that period the learning environment is almost totally controlled by parents. Particularly the mother.Children learn their attitudes, how to walk and talk before 5 yet we go on and on about schools when there nothing to indicate they can actually do anything to change the preordained outcome.

HenryVII thinks it was all good in the olden days but it is not an accident the film The Black Board Jungle is from the 50s?

Careful Richard, you are arguing for improving maternal education. HRS will be annoyed that boys are further sidelined.

It is commonly argued that when you improve women's education levels the family's health improves. When the major care giver is well educated the small child is more likely to be stimulated rather than fobbed off with lies "The Great Wall was built to keep rabbits out of China" or stupid games like what colour is this [blue] ball. Child answers "blue" and adult says "no its not, it's red".

The easiest way to improve parental education standards is to improve the education standards in schools and a generation later you will see the results.

Working against this is the pressure for mothers of small children to work. More and more small children spend the day in creches which are staffed by overworked women not educated enough to get a better job. The creches are increasingly run by a large for profit organisation that provides the bare minimum care legally possible. Our politicians are squealing about paying the prime minister's child care bill, yet the grateful tax payer foots the bill for butler, maid, cook, cleaner, sommelier etc