Debates about what books students should be reading in high school reach a crescendo at the start of each school year, writes Alex Bacalja As parents make their way through school text lists, collecting books for their teen’s year ahead, they inevitably draw comparisons between their...
Volunteering mum Suzy Mills is delighted to find she’s cool at school. I’m not sure who enjoys my weekly canteen duty more – my boys, or me. I get such a thrill when I see the grins on their faces as they rush to be first...
Nicole Mockler reports about the world-first study which looks at 65,000 news articles about Australian teachers. Remember when former Morrison government minister Stuart Robert lashed out at “dud” teachers? In March, the then acting education minister said the “bottom 10%” of teachers “can’t read and write”...
Toy libraries across Australia are booming as more families turn to borrowing toys to save money, reduce waste and reconnect with their communities after COVID-19. Memberships at Australia’s 380-plus toy libraries have surged over the past two years, with new figures showing that over 130,000 families...
Talk to them about ‘eating the rainbow’ writes researcher Emma Beckett Parents of young children today were raised during some of the most damaging periods of diet culture. From diet and “lite” foods and drinks, to expensive “superfoods”, one constant across these changing trends has been...
Researchers Rob Raven, David O. Reynolds, Jo Lindsay and Ruth Lane tell us what they know about making a low-waste household more convenient. Australian households produce about 12 million tonnes of waste every year. That puts the sector almost on par with manufacturing or construction. But it...
The first two books reviewed are mostly based on stories from WWII. The stories are believably woven around snippets of true stories to illustrate particular historical events. Running with Ivan by Susanne Leal, pub. by HarperCollins. P/B RRP$17.99 Ages 10+ Leo’s mother is dead, and his father...
Leslie Loble looks at why we should all value the opportunities EdTech can provide and learn to understand it as a learning tool ChatGPT and its powerful capacity to generate original text has taken the education sector by surprise. Not only are universities hurrying to adapt...
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...
Early literacy doesn’t always equal an easy path at school, as Judith Ware’s son found to his detriment. No-one could have been prouder than I was when my son began to recognise his alphabet. I took it for granted, this being my first child, that this...
