Dear Jay,

I've travelled all over the world and have never
had the experience you've described. Perhaps
it's you who needs to change or improve.
There may be something lacking in your attitude
and manners.

Dear Foxy,

If demand is as great as you claim, then there should be no problem with letting student decide. No doubt they will flock to study languages. Your article refers to the most ambitious students, not to students in general.

I have at no stage suggested banning languages. I have suggested not forcing children to learn something in which they have absolutely no interest, which is a reason why they drop out of school, pay no attention and head off to the park to cause mischief. Teach them something that they enjoy and might use in their lives and you might actually land up with more willing students.

So my answer is simple. Let students decide, not opinionated adults who don't know what is best for them, even if they think so.

I know a very successful teacher who has had very great success with students that other teachers could not motivate; as an example, he had one boy who had no interest in school at all, aged 12.
He asked the lad what he liked, "Cars",
so he arranged for the boy to go to a local vehicle repairer and put in his time pulling a wreck to pieces, the lad was happy, the men at the works helped him with things that he didn't know but it didn't take the kid long to realize that if he wanted to work with cars he needed to know more.
The upshot was that after a month he came to the teacher and asked him could he come back to the maths class, then it was to English to improve his reading etc.
End result, he became proficient in most subjects to pass on to secondary school and eventually get an apprenticeship in the trade that he loved.
Couldn't happen in Australia as this sort of teaching would be prohibitive; OH&S for one.

Dear Yabby and Is Mise,

Your posts have raised some very valid points.
Thank You both.

I know of some schools that have recognised the
students' right to participate in the operation of
their institution. In one school a student advisory
committee meets with the principal every week to present
him with ideas about curriculum, activities, and
problems affecting student life. The principal uses these
meetings to inform students on current issues and to
consult with them on future plans. Students feel that
they have a voice in what is happening in their school.

Clearly, students do need to be included - and teachers
and schools need to up their ante - if they want to
create an emotional climate for learning. We can all
remember the teachers who made an impact on us (for
better or for worse). Teachers can open or close the minds
and hearts of children.

Much of what you say IS MISE is true. It seems to me there's too much red tape, too much bureaucratic inertia, to ever advance into such a pioneering form of education ?

If I recall correctly there was this quite elderly Chinese gentleman, who uttered some scholarly locution thus;

'I hear and I forget',
'I see and I remember',
'I do and I understand'.

A situation that I reckon just might fit IS MISE's narrative precisely ? Still, one must first consult the 'Australian Teacher's Federation', to ensure that it's in accord with their current 'Union Pedagogic Policy' and the 'School Teacher's Advancement Paradigm'?

O sung,
Don't forget to consult your Greens dominated Parents and Friends group or School Council, it's also pretty hard to get kids to go to school when so many of the lessons and all the extra curricular activities revolve around "progressive" political causes.
My older daughter was completely disillusioned by the end of year nine, she saw the foreign students,"Green Team" and "Rainbow Committee" getting all the attention and funding while her school aerobics team, who'd come runner up at the national championships weren't even mentioned at assembly or on the school website. They got no help or encouragement whatsoever from the principal, I think a lot of the expenses for the team were actually covered by the P.E teacher and the former student who was helping coach them, the P.E teacher resigned shortly afterwards.
I'd name and shame the school but my youngest is starting there this year and sadly it's the best state high school in the district.