Frau Julia's website was a curiosity item It has potential. As it is now, I look at a particular school's own website and am old enough to be able to tell for myself whether a school is good enough for my child. I'm checking some now to see if they are telling parents about the consequences of fear-driven national testing programs or where to go to check the consequences out. Fair's fair. Truth shouldn't hurt. All sites ought to make a form available for those who don't want their children to do the test, don't you think ?
Chris Bonnor and Jane Caro wrote a book in 2007 called "THE STUPID COUNTRY - How Australia is Dismantling Education." Its candidness about our movement towards a two-class education system was enlightening. Chris, highly respected Secondary School Principal, wrote from a practitioner's viewpoint. One is tempted now to write a book from a primary school perspective called "GETTING STUPIDER AND STUPIDER". Some of the chapter headings could be: 1. Plumbers are running the garage. 2. Does ASCARA rhyme with CASCARA? 3. It's the Principle of the thing. 4. How to teach toady schoolies to pussy-foot. 5. Evaluate, assess, judge, test, grade and appraise with ease. 6. What happened to my favourite subject? A pupil's perspective. 7. Short cuts to the 3Rs...Repetition, Repetition, Repetition. 8. How to detail an 'expert's' schooling qualifications on a postage stamp in large font.

"Consequences of fear-driven national testing programs"

This is serious baloney.

Testing is (or at least should be) an indication not only of a child's knowledge, but his/her ability to use it to solve / answer questions. Much of the revision would be to answer old questions as this would quickly show any weakness in the understanding of the subject.

It is also rubbish to think that the top private schools teach to solely to the curriculum. Top results come not only from teaching the curriculum in depth, but also expanding the knowledge base and understanding the links, which gives a far clearer understanding of the subject than the narrow curriculum.

That the top selective schools are almost exclusively filled by a particular population group who are tutored, and who get placement at university with those from would indicate that the rest of the publically educated population is either dim, or poorly educated, and the teachers are either incompetent or teaching incorrectly.

The universities place according to results not an airy fairy "good all round" education.

Ah the gullible people here who are to lazy, except to climb up the backsides of the political parties.

Now where does it say that the commonwealth government has any authority to stick their noses in state matters.

Since they do not then there is in fact no argument regarding this matter as the commonwealth cannot do it.

But sheep will keep following those at the front instead of checking the facts.

Thank you, Shadow Minister. Your attitude deserves a mention in the text as well as your support for the 3Rs...Repetition, Repetition, Repetition. I do appreciate it.

Filip

Considering that Chris Bonnor and Jane Caro both hold political views that are considerably left of centre, it comes as no surprise that they are strong advocates for public education.

Their solutions involve virtual nationalisation of the majority of private schools, and the forcing of troublesome (violent) and those with learning disabilities on these private schools.

While they acknowledge that these private schools are non selective, (unlike the public selective schools), because of the fees required, they tend to attract pupils from more acedemically abitious families.

It is interesting that these old socialists revert to type, and propose to reduce the education gap not by improving the public schools, but by damaging the private schools. The concept of choice is rejected for an institutional one size fits all arrangement.

Most of the problems of the public schools that they cite are largely self inflicted, due to the rigidity of teachers unions and governmental red tape.

If the public schools simply pulled their finger out and addressed the issues, the flight to non public education might be slowed.

Well done Shadow Minister Khan. One of the 'best practices' of losers is to deride the opposition. Not you best attempt, but keep trying.