It was a relief when the mystery of why Liz Dunoon’s son was having difficulty in reading was solved. I sat in the driver’s seat of my car feeling empty and numb as a warm tear slid down my cheek. I stared blindly through the windscreen...
Cathy Watson tells of the time it became clear that her son would not be following his classmates into the next grade. “How could you do this to me?” he wailed. It was some time in his second year of school that we realised that our son...
“No Daddy, you don’t understand. If I have a two dollar and a one dollar they’ll let me have anything. Not just what Mummy says I can have...
Schools and their teaching staff have a duty to take reasonable care for the safety and wellbeing of students while students are at school or are involved in a school activity. Satisfying this duty of care involves: Providing a safe environment for students and staff Providing...
Professor Gordon Tait argues that teachers are now expected to shoulder the burdens that others will not. The concern is that teachers are now to be regarded as de facto therapists and since somebody has to be responsible for children’s behaviour, it is teachers who...
Parents use all manner of criteria to choose the best school for their children, writes Lucinda Bertram. It was one of the most stressful decisions of Leanne Jeffs’s life. “I think there is a lot of pressure on parents today to find ‘the right school’ for...
Professor Ian Chubb, AC, served as Chief Scientist of Australia from 2011 to 2016. Here he emphasises the importance of scientific knowledge and skills to our children and society. In a rapidly changing world where new jobs and even new industries will continue to be...
Amazing Evolution: The Journey of Life by Anna Claybourne & Wesley Robins, Illustrator (Ivy Press, Murdoch Children’s Books, HB, RRP$29.99) Age Group 9-12 years This book is fascinating—clearly organised and illustrated in a very informative way. From Chapter 1: What is Evolution to Chapter 4: Evolution in...
Dr Melissa Kang contemplates how sex education is treated in Australian classrooms, homes, media and peer groups. Research & curriculum implementation Since 1992, national surveys about the sexual health of students in Australian secondary schools have been conducted. We now have a body of evidence about young...
School education needs radical reform if students are to thrive in an increasingly complex world, writes Greg Whitby. For the past 150 years, schooling has remained largely unchanged. For many, the launch of the Federal Government’s Digital Education Revolution initiative in 2008 was the first sign...
