We need education reform, not teacher bashing.

Teachers officially start work in their schools tomorrow.
Next Monday and Tuesday the students will turn up.
Good luck to teachers, principals and other administrative staff, especially those in needy schools who will all hope and pray that this year they will see adequate resources and funding provided to them to appropriately address the needs of the children.

It seems a long while ago since Gonski identified the great divide between high and low achieving schools in Australia. Besides identifying this worrying gap, Gonski, more importantly, provided funding to be allocated to schools needing additional staffing and resources. Unfortunately, politicians inserted themselves into the equation and Gonski funding was cut severely and large dollops of it given to schools without any real needs at all. It was argued that spreading money around all schools was equitable and fair. It was manifestly unfair!

It was Aristotle who said "The greatest form of inequality was to make unequal things equal." This could be restated in our day as "The greatest discrimination is the equal treatment of unequals."  
Schools with well appointed gymasiums, olympic swimming pools and huge libraries and resource centres did not warrant any Gonski money.The politicians thought differently. As a result Gonski has not been properly implemented, needy schools are still in need and their students still suffer and the achievement gap is wider.

Teachers in these needy schools are like soldiers in the frontline whose Generals have given them inferior weapons and scant supplies of ammunition and then berate them for not winning the battle.

As these teachers face up to another year they must be dismayed that teacher bashing is still the sport of choice for many of our politicians. For instance, there was a general undertone of teacher bashing in the recent focus by politicians on the ATAR levels of some students entering teacher education. They appears to be saying  that:-
 *Our teachers are not really up to scratch.                               
 *Our student teachers are not really up to scratch.

No evidence has been given to support these two assertions. It sounds like teacher bashing. It is putting down teachers by suggesting that if they worked harder and became even more highly qualified than having four or five year teaching degrees, then Australia would be sitting on top of the education rankings.

So, does this mean that our Australian teachers are below standard? Hardly. Despite the problems inherent with indigenous and non-English speaking ethnic groups, Australia is ranked in the top ten countries in the world, according to PISA. We are invariably ranked above The United Kingdom and The United States, two countries with whom we are often compared and encouraged to copy. Whatever for?

We certainly can do better. The main problem in Australia, as identified by Gonski, is the widening gap between high achievers and low achievers. This can only be addressed by allocating additional resources to schools in need, as the original Gonski suggested.

Any teacher will tell you that if you constantly criticise someone as inadequate, their work will tend to fall away. Attention has recently focused on the low academic achievement levels of trainee teachers. References were made to the low Year 12 pass mark that some student teachers have in comparison for the pass mark required for doctors, engineers and lawyers.

Firstly, the pass mark is not low. Most trainee teachers have adequate to very good ATAR marks. Graduate Diploma students, of course, have already completed a university degree before entering their education studies. And not all student teachers pass the course!  Around 30% of them fail to graduate or have their courses terminated because they are not performing satisfactorily.

We should not focus on who goes into the education course but on the quality of those who graduate and how well prepared they are for their teaching role.

We definitely should investigate any universities enrolling students that they know will fail. Why would they do this? Could it be that each enrolled student attracts healthy funding from the government? Perhaps, a question of academic ethics.

Some people say it is too easy to get into teaching. Maybe so, but it is definitely not too easy to graduate as a teacher. It requires a great deal of intellectual and physical effort as well as a very strong commitment to teaching. From 2003 to 2014 I worked for a Western Australian university, mentoring education students in schools on their teaching practice. The most common remark made to me by these student after just a few days in the classroom was, “I just didn't realise how tiring it would be” or “I just did not realise how much time I needed to spend on planning my lessons.” All teachers know that feeling.

Naturally, we should encourage our best and brightest into the teaching profession, if they have the passion and a commitment to teaching. We should also recognize and applaud the great effort that education students put in to successfully graduating from what is a very onerous, nerve wracking and energy sapping course of study.

Let us also hope that both political parties will cease political point scoring and, in the interests of Australian children, begin properly resourcing teachers and school administrators to do their jobs more effectively by giving real financial muscle to the Gonski proposals.

We need education reform, not teacher bashing.

The Bourke Christmas Chronicle: 2018

Bourke Christmas Newsletter

                        2018

Last Christmas Eve I celebrated my 80^th birthday. They say that as you age your memory goes. It must be true, because I cannot remember a year going by so fast as this year, 2018. In fact, I can hardly remember the year at all. I’ll have to refer to my notes.

What is  happening? It seems like only a few months ago that we celebrated Christmas and here it is again, whizzing by once more. Fortunately, as you start to think about things, memories start creeping back into the old memory bank  I must first give thanks for good health. Not just for me, but for Lesley, our three daughters, Jane, Sarah and Emily and their delightful families. Apart from a few colds and incidental aches and pains, Lesley and I are luckily free from more serious ailments and we thank God for that. During the year we lost some good friends.

Well, you can't everybody looking beautiful at the same time.

My 80^th birthday had Christmas getting off to a great start. Many thanks to family and friends for making it such a great day. I mean, turning 80 is not an occasion that fills one with the joy of living. My family and friends made it a wonderful, happy day for me. 

Early in January, Lesley and I attended the first ever One Day International cricket match at our brand-new Perth Stadium. It is a magnificent venue but, unfortunately, our cricketers were well beaten by South Africa. In fact, they made a habit of getting beaten for most of the year and disgraced themselves, and us , by blatantly cheating by ball tampering in South Africa. It was a sad episode in Australian cricket, but at least the players involved were severely punished. In every other cricketing country ball tamperers get a one or two match penalty. Ours were rubbed out for nine months and one year.

In March, Lesley and enjoyed a couple of days at the Burswood Resort. On the first day we chose to walk across to the new stadium. It is actually about a kilometre more than a pleasant stroll and we did it on what was the hottest day of the summer (OK, March is in Autumn, but it was the hottest day in 12 months). As we slowly strolled and sweated our way around the perimeter of this marvellous coliseum, we were greeted by a stadium employee who told us the Riverview Café was open for business on Level One. We quickly moved up to Level One and entered The Riverview Café on its Opening Day. Another first! We enjoyed some cold fruit drinks as we gazed on workmen finishing of the Matagarup Bridge, across the Swan River to East Perth. Of course, we made many visits to the stadium in the football season to watch our Mighty Eagles play mighty football in their mighty premiership year.

Lesley's 80th. We are all looking good.

Two major, major landmark celebrations took place in August. Lesley celebrated her 80^th birthday on August 11 and we celebrated our 50^th wedding anniversary on August 26. Lesley convinced everyone that she was 80, though she looks like a fifty-year-old and carries on like a teenager. Once again, this was a warm and wonderful occasion made special by our family and friends.

We celebrated our wedding anniversary with our family at the Crown Metropol. The next day we took the opportunity to visit Perth Stadium. Local knowledge came into play and this time we drove to and from this mighty venue. We explored the Camfield Arms Hotel, reported to have the longest bar in Australia. We also made a return trip to the Riverview Café. To our great surprise, the young and bubbly staff had no recollection of our previous visit on their auspicious opening day in March. Obviously, failing memory is not just a fault of the old…er, the elderly.

New Norcia Hotel.

In September we embarked on our BIG adventure for the year. Though both in our 80s, Lesley and I thought it would be nice to travel up along the Great Northern Highway looking at wildflowers and marvelling at the splendour of Karijini and Millstream.  On September 4th set off in our two-wheel drive, 2 litre Cerato sedan. We had a great sense of adventure. We felt like eighty-year-old teenagers. After all it was a bit like trying to fly across the Pacific Ocean in a Tiger Moth.

We intended to be away about ten nights, I had suggested to Lesley that, as we did back in the 1960s, we could just throw a tarpaulin down at night and sleep under the stars. She said that was OK when she was in her twenties and thirties but, now that she was in her eighties, she insisted on motel accommodation.                             I am so glad that she did.

                                                                                        

Lesley at the Point Samson lookout.

We drove as far as Point Samson (yes, we enjoyed the fish and chips and the view from the Bistro) and covered 4750 trouble free kilometres altogether. We had a wonderful time. Saw some amazing gorges and rugged ranges scenery. We also saw a lot of Western Australia’s famous wildflowers, including the wreath flowers near Pindar, outside Mullewa. It is the only place in the world  that they grow. Best of all, when we drove home, we were still friends and speaking to each other. Now that really is True Love after  4750 kms in a small sedan.

 Apart from Eagles football matches, we were regular concert goers to the Morning Symphonies at The Concert Hall and Morning Melodies at His Majesty’s Theatre. Plus, we  enjoyed many happy social occasions in our new home at Ocean Reef Country Club where Lesley is the voluntary Librarian and Noel produces a  newsletter.

Our girls and their families are all thriving. Our grandchildren are growing up far too fast. They all received very pleasing reports. Sophie will be in Year 11 next year and now has her Learner’s Driving Permit. Luc has graduated to year 7 High School at Prendiville College. Jack is moving into Year 9 at Sacred Heart. Sari will be in her final year at primary school in 2019 and Kai will move into the top end of the lower primary, Year 3. Cisco will also be in his final year of primary school at Marmion PS and Havana will be in Year Five.  Havana has many interests but has recently proved a dab hand in the cooking department. Chocolate chip cookies  and butterscotch puddings are her specialities. Yum!

During the winter months Lesley and Noel enjoyed watching Sari and Sophie playing netball  and Kai, Luc and Jack playing football playing football. What could be described as very full, action packed weekends.

Just to finish the year off in style, Lesley and I went to the first day of the very first Test Match ever played at Perth Stadium. Another first! And we won! Yoo hoo.

So, it was a very happy and eventful year. We look forward to enjoying Christmas and the beautiful  summer days with our family and friends.

Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New year to you and your family

From

Noel and Lesley

Our first sleepover. Old Convent Motel, Dalwallinu.

Beautiful bushes like these lined the roadways in the mid west.

The beautiful Dale's Gorge, Karijini National Park.

The beautiful Lesley at Joffre's Gorge, Karijini.

It's not The Rockies, but Mount Bruce, near Karijini, is our second tallest landmark.

Lesley at The Python Pool, Millstream National Park.

Lesley at the Point Samson lookout.

Garden cafe at Cossack, a quaint historical townsite near Point Samson.

Luxury at the splendid Point Samson Resort. Highly recommended.

A wreath flower near the ghost town of Pindar, 30 kms east of Mullewa.

For about a kilometre along either side of the road are wreath flowers.