Schools are no different from any other part of society, writes Jane Wilkinson. They have their issues, challenges and a wide variety of human nature. In late October 2019, Victorians were shocked to hear of sustained anti-Semitic bullying occurring in two public schools. The Victorian Education...
Let’s start by putting aside the bugbear that it is even possible to “cancel” children’s author Dr Seuss, writes Kate Cantrell and Sharon Bickle As Philip Bump wrote recently in The Washington Post, No one is ‘cancelling’ Dr Seuss. The author, himself, is dead for one thing,...
Families come in all shapes and sizes, writes Jacqui Tomlin. Something is happening in our house on weekday mornings. We call it Sock Torture. Our youngest started Kindy recently, and she’s loving it, but at either end of the school day she’s tired, and how shall...
Samantha Allemann enjoyed playing with dolls for a much longer time than her peers. When I was 10 and about to go into hospital to get my tonsils removed, Mum bought me a present to soothe the pain: Gymnast Barbie. I was thrilled and made her...
Leticia Anderson, Kathomi Gatwiri, Lynette Riley and Marcelle Townsend-Cross look at ways teachers (and parents) can bring the topic of racism comfortably into the classroom. As Black Lives Matter protests rage across the world, many of us are motivated to learn more about racism and talk...
A world of children’s books is dominated by white authors. Children develop bias from an early age, report Helen Joanne Adam, Caroline Barratt-Pugh, Libby Jackson-Barrett, and Robert Stanly Somerville. Global support for the Black Lives Matter movement isn’t only about standing up against the injustice done...
The middle years of school are defined as being from 8-14 years of age, writes Lisa Mundy. These were often described as a latent or quiet phase of development. We now understand this is not the case — the middle years are a foundational period...
Whether at work, school or at home, writes Professor Michael E. Bernard, bullying has the potential to greatly wound victims – in whatever form it takes: physical, verbal, social exclusionary or online. When someone more powerful says derogatory things about you, applies pressure on you to...
Kylie Gray, Glenn Melvin and Sarah Milsome look at the complex issue of recognising mental health problems in young people with an intellectual disability. Fifteen-year-old Melissa* wasn’t acting her usual self, and her parents had become very worried. Melissa, who has a mild intellectual disability, was...
This article is not an argument for or against prenatal screening or testing for Down syndrome. Every week in my work as a clinical geneticist, I witness the trauma couples experience when making decisions about wanted pregnancies in which there is a problem with the...
