Kelly-Ann Allen looks at the special place schools have in the process of belonging. Every March, in every corner of Australia, schools, workplaces and communities gather in various ways to celebrate Harmony Week*, and whether it’s through shared food, music, songs or stories, this is a...
Educators Graham Parr, Fleur Diamond, Anne Keary and Kylie Bradfield look for some answers The recent report by the Australian Educational Research Organisation (AERO), Writing development: What does a decade of NAPLAN data reveal? , has caused quite a stir in Australian news...
‘I had it first!’ All children argue, writes Amelia Church, and while this can be tedious for parents and carers, it’s not necessarily a problem. Conflict can help develop social skills, including learning to negotiate, and accommodate the needs of others. But if the conflict is physical, if...
Catherine Wade looks at what parents can do during their child's 'tweenage' years The teenage years can be among the trickiest times for a parent. You have been used to being your child’s voice of reason. Then, all of a sudden, your authority is challenged by...
As Susan Macciocca’s son begins school, both she and her son are learning to let go. My son watches intently as his bike is transformed. He grabs the handlebars and strides with the bike to the footpath. His dad holds him by the shoulders to get...
Australia’s preschool expansion ‘has not better prepared’ kids for school, report researchers Ragan Petrie and Marco Castillo Since 2008, Australia has spent more than A$11 billion dollars over ten years to expand government-funded preschool (or kinder in Victoria) for four-year-olds to better prepare children for school. But...
Elvira Kalenjuk reports that recent data from the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) shows that many Year 9 students are writing at standards well below expected levels. Several commentators have attributed low writing achievement to illness and high rates of absenteeism because of the pandemic,...
Randa Abdel-Fattah demystifies the values and practices of Australia’s Islamic schools, of which she was a pioneering student. I graduated from St Clement of Rome Primary School in Melbourne in 1990. I was one of a small number of Muslim students, but my parents didn’t feel...
Do they get it? Asks Rachael Sharman. And where’s the line? We all lie to our kids. Some lies – telling them their artwork is wonderful, or that Wiggles band-aids are infused with anaesthetic – benefit the child. Others are just a bit of fun. Shutterstock Take the...
Lisa Lintern’s feels buoyant as she watches her son overcome his fears at the pool. Let’s be honest; we all secretly want our children to be ‘best’ at something. It’s a natural urge even the most level headed of us fights to suppress. Why else did I...
