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Recent headlines . . .
Teacher shortage causes maths to slip behind
NATIONAL - A survey has found that a
shortage in teachers qualified in key subjects has caused
nearly 60 per cent of high schools to employ unqualified
teachers. Mathematics was the 'worst-hit' subject, showing
one in five schools in NSW had at least one under qualified
maths teacher.
Read
newspaper report
Education reforms to give more power to
schools
NATIONAL - School finances and the power
to hire teachers should be handed over to schools from state
education departments, says a federal government report.
Read
newspaper report
Aboriginal leaders seek 'a future that embraces
all Australians'
NATIONAL - Indigenous leaders, academics
and educators are angered over the failure of the National
Curriculum Authority to engage with indigenous people and
include their perspectives in the school curriculum. Professor
Buckskin, dean of the David Unaipon College of Indigenous
Education and Research at the University of South Australia,
claims that the current national curriculum presents indigenous
people "from an anthropological point of view; it sees
us as museum pieces".
Read
newspaper report
Like it or leave it
TAS - Discontent over the Tasmania Tomorrow
program has spread through the entire education department.
Teachers fear the government adopting a 'like it or leave
it' policy when dealing with the education.
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newspaper report
Principals target class sizes
NSW - Successful reduction of the size
of classes for kindergarten to year 2 students has got New
South Wales primary school teachers pushing for the reduction
of classes for students in year 3 to 6.
Read
newspaper report
'Anti-Semitic' textbook to be reviewed
NSW - A textbook used by HSC students
has been accused of 'fuelling anti-Semitism', by the NSW
Jewish Board of Deputies. The concerns over the book will
be reviewed by Cambridge University Press.
Read
newspaper report
Extended hours at preschool to benefit 3800
children
SA - 98 South Australian preschools will
receive extra funding to allow children to be able to attend
preschool for and extra 4 hours a week.
Read
newspaper report
The blanket ban for Facebook
NATIONAL - Education Queensland has ordered
a teacher to delete an inappropriate Facebook post made
by a former student, igniting debate about new rules banning
state school staff members from using Facebook, MySpace
or YouTube to "contact or access present students enrolled
in any school or institute".
Read
newspaper report
Opinion . . .
Empowering Principals
NATIONAL - An opinion article from The
Australian discusses giving power to the principals to improve
student performance.
Read
newspaper report
Good news . . .
Schools 'do the right bin' and recycle
QLD - More 400 Tweed primary school students
have joined in a campaign to encourage recycling to the
local community.
Read
newspaper report
International
Protection needed against false allegations
UK - A teacher, who was fired after being
accused of hitting a child in her classroom even after police
dismissed the allegations, has called for greater protection
for teachers against false allegations.
Read
newspaper report
Gates and Obama team
up to fix the education system
USA - The Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation has partnered
with the Government to help fix the American education system.
The Foundation will be spending millions of dollars to influence
the way the federal government distributes $5 billion in
grants to overhaul public schools.
Read
newspaper report
ACEL Noticeboard
How can corporate Australia support our schools?
Business Class: How Can Corporate Australia Support
Our Schools? is to be held at Melbourne's iconic
NGV International on October 20 and will feature a panel
of leading figures from some of the most influential and
respected organisations operating in the Australian education
landscape today.
The panel put in place by Spheres of Influence to debate
the issue of how corporate Australia can support our schools
features:
Prof. Brian J Caldwell, Managing Director, Educational Transformations;
Adam Smith, CEO, Foundation for Young Australians; Dr Steve
Holden, Managing Editor, Teacher Magazine; Jenny Lewis,
CEO, Australian Council of Educational Leaders, and Rupert
Macgregor, Executive Director, Australian Council of State
School Organisations.
''The aim is to disseminate the major issues on the
subject of corporate Australia's involvement in education
and create some tangible outcomes to help shape the future
of a subject that is gaining an increasing amount of attention
and has a significant bearing on the future education of
Australia's children and young people,' said Patrizia Torelli,
Managing Director, Spheres of Influence International.
The event comes at a time when the answer to the question
of corporate Australia's role in supporting our schools
is yet to be answered by Government. Speaking recently on
the
topic, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Education
The Hon Julia Gillard MP said: ''Clearly, we [The Rudd
Government] believe the engagement of corporate Australia
with schools has to be on the basis of making a genuine
difference, not on the basis of product promotion [...].
But I do believe that corporate Australia can play a role
in supporting our schools.'
It is critical that in the next few months the education
sector takes steps to develop a concerted viewpoint on how
corporate Australia can support our schools and Business
Class provides a significant opportunity to foster dialogue
on the subject.
Spheres of Influence aims to produce tangible outcomes with
which to move forward and ensure Australia is a world leader
in the responsible and mutually beneficial engagement of
the corporate world with schools.
Tickets can be purchased by visiting: http://www.sofiibusinessclass.eventbrite.com/
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