The race to the bottom

Dear Reader,

Violent and unacceptable student or parental behaviour has resulted in $81.6 million in insurance claims in 2022/23, and $72 million has already been paid out in the first nine months of 2023/24 – in Queensland alone. To address this, Queensland’s Education Minister, Di Farmer, announced a new campaign titled “No Excuse for School Abuse”, to reinforce the message that such conduct won’t be tolerated.

Amongst a range of issues, classrooms are complicated by the one in 20 students diagnosed with a disability – at least one per classroom – who might demonstrate extreme behaviours and lack of self-regulation when mixed into mainstream classes. The stories of teacher abuse are shocking. There are reports of teachers being spat at, sworn at, punched, headbutted, bitten or kicked. Some students require two staff to follow them around all day. Almost half the nation’s principals have been exposed to violence at work according to the latest wellbeing survey of 2500 school leaders by the Australian Catholic University.

Teachers have always been expected to wear many hats and deal with challenging students, but the role now extends to psychologist, paediatrician, speech pathologist, occupational therapist, warden, victim and more.

I ask you – in what other occupation would employees be expected to deal with such workplace conditions?

However, Queensland’s new initiative brings no new penalties for abusive students or parents. Instead, a schmick advertisement, more paperwork and more money are seen as the solution. There will be increased funding for in-school counsellors, psychological first-aid training for staff, improved reporting processes, and enhanced support for teachers.

All well and good, but it is known that a failure to teach young children the basics of literacy and numeracy is frequently the trigger for misbehaviour. Institute of Public Affairs research by Dr Bella d’Abrera revealed that about a year-and-a-third of a four-year teaching degree is ‘woke’ content that plays no part in skilling undergraduate teachers to teach the academic basics or manage a classroom. Greg Ashman, a Victorian deputy principal who has taught for 26 years and written three books for teachers, comments “Imagine you are a 10-year-old child who cannot read. Imagine being sent to school every day where you are surrounded by texts and the expectation to read those texts and write responses. How would that make you feel? Would you rebel?”

Add to that, imagine receiving daily the National Curriculum’s message of doom, gloom and guilt, and the suggestion that you are responsible for the woes of the world.

There is no excuse for the behaviour our teachers face. There is no excuse because, with proper instruction, almost any child can be taught to read. But, in part at least, the behaviour is an unacceptable consequence of the ideologically driven agenda in teacher training and in the National Curriculum.

Scrap the “joiny bits”

Melbourne speech pathologist Alison Clarke who works with children ‘in the bottom 20 percent of literacy proficiency’ is urging federal Education Minister Jason Clare to review, rewrite and then impose a national handwriting program across the nation. Clarke says of the children she teaches, “these children are reluctant readers and haven’t had much practice writing, and not having a single national approach to teaching efficient, legible handwriting is complicating the picture, creating confusion for those who move schools interstate.” Clarke wants to simplify handwriting, saying the cursive writing taught is unnecessarily confusing. Clarke says, “In a vacuum, a lot of things proliferate … [we should] strip back to the essential things that have strong evidence and just do them.” One barrier here is the fact that much of the research is obscured within paywalled academic journals that provide only a teasing snapshot of the critical data available, she adds.

There is a lot to unpack here.

Clarke doesn’t appear to have read the relevant scientific research on handwriting and letter formation that underpins cursive writing.

And no matter how well-intentioned Clarke’s ideas may be, they will inevitably result in a further reduction in standards and expectations of all school children, which will simply reinforce the decline in academic results across the board.

Pioneers Who Made Australia series – curriculum material new release

Very few Australians would know anything about H. R. Nicholls, but his contribution to the system of determining wages and conditions of employment, and his promotion of the rule of law, were significant factors in the development of the Australian way life. 

Class Action’s latest free classroom teacher reference material investigates H.R. Nicholls and can be downloaded here: schoolsprogram.org.au

Class Action Out and About

Interview on Sky News with Rita Panahi discussing topics such as the education unions’ demand for more funding to address declining standards in education, trendy classroom layouts that hinder learning, and independent schools’ weekend sport.

To watch the interview, click here.

I was the guest speaker at the ‘Moving Forward’ forum on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. I presented on the state of the education system, what is happening in classrooms most parents are unaware of, and what we can do about it.

Class Action Event

Early Notice of Class Action Perth Event

Class Action will hold a gathering for interested parents and teachers in PERTH.

Date:
Wednesday, 13th November 

Time:
7:00pm – 9:00pm

Where:
Claremont Hotel,
Grevillea Room
1 Bay View Terrace
Claremont, WA 6010

Registration:
This is a free event, but bookings are essential.
To book click on the image below

Support IPA Education Research:

The IPA’s Class Action schools program connects our research with parents and teachers to focus on reforming the education system and seizing current opportunities to provide balanced education for students.

Your donation will support our efforts to hold those in authority accountable and invest in the future of education and empower students and educators alike. Every donation helps us continue this crucial work. You can make a donation to support our education research by clicking here.

Quote:

The ‘inclusion’ component of the ‘diversity equity and inclusion’ ideology, rampant in the education system, and the constant dumbing-down of students, has long-lasting consequences.

As Seth Godin said:

“The problem with the race to the bottom is that you might win.”