SCHOOLS able to select their own teachers perform better in student tests of literacy and numeracy.

The latest report from the OECD on student performance in 65 countries says that in nations where school results are publicly reported, as in Australia, schools controlling their finances also outperform schools with less autonomy.

Much as I hate to admit it Julia Gillard has picked a winner. This is a change that will help bring Australian schools up to the level of other similar OECD schools.

The question is whether she has the ability to push it past the unions.

Imagine how much better the results would be if parents were free to choose the teachers.

Peter, it's hard enough to get people to support P&C associations now, without fighting, I'm nor sure parents selecting teachers would work that well.

Don't forget headmasters are only promoted school teachers too, so I would not expect any great ability to pick the best candidate there either. Personnel managers, [sorry, human relations managers] are not all that good at it either, but at least they have more experience.

So I'm not too enthusiastic about parents hiring teachers.

However, to go the other way, I think parents should be able to remove teachers who don't measure up in their school. In my experience it doesn't take very long for most parents to pick the ability of a new teacher. The power of removal would get rid of the worst teachers, & perhaps encourage some to try harder.

Imagine how much better the results would be if parents were free to choose the teachers.
Peter Hume,
That could possibly leave us where we're at now, considering that many parents' mentality is on par with the majority of today's teachers. Isn't due to these people that the young have nothing to model themselves on & aspire to to better themselves ?
I have not yet been convinced by anyone that young people can find the right track without discipline & sense of responsibility. We can't expect them to learn something from nothing.
Only this evening I went to my local store & remarked to the young lass behind the counter that the tomatoes were in rather poor condition. She shrugged & replied "I don't care I don't like tomatoes". I'd bet that this is not her mentality, she inherited it from her teachers' & parents.

Hang on a moment please.

Anything coming via the Cameron Tory UK government should be read with suspicion, and some research first.

The story was run in the Australian, a newspaper that supports private education, not public education.

Who knows what was left out, or for that matter, what the actual details of the Welsh 'win' really are.

Gillard has thrown her weight behind a failed public system in the USA, and I suspect the UK path, whether under Blair or Cameron, is 'more of the same' as the US.

I have a chum in Bristol, a governor of his local primary school, 'owned' nominally by the County Council-a 'state school' as far as we are concerned here.

They have long had great autonomy and the County Council does not interfere. But Cameron is 'setting them free'.

As a result, each school now has vastly increased costs as each school struggles to deal individually with what they were previously able to collectively organise via the Council.

Case in point: Cameron has cost-saved a grant to Councils that supplies amazing levels of ISP power, about 4000 quid a year.

Now each school has top organise their own ISP, but there is no 'replacement' 4000 quid, it will come out of their 'global budget', which is up to the principal and parents to spend 'how they will'.

Such thinking only benefits the ISP businesses, who can now charge far more. There is absolutely no benefit to the students or school.

But, because most Australians, like the British, care not two hoots about 'education', such a market driven form of 'learning' will become the norm here too.

Progress!

Peter

"Imagine how much better the results would be if parents were free to choose the teachers."

What a catastrophy! What are the parents going to base their judgements on? Perhaps the information that kids feed them.

I know of a school where one teacher used to expect more of kids and mark assessments harder. Because many kids suddenly started getting worse grades, parents decided that he was a bad teacher.

I know of many schools where the bad behaviour of students is kept hidden fom parents, because it might reflect badly upon the school.