Originally Posted by HelenTD

Thanks for the link, I'll have a go and see if I can understand it, maths is not my strong point.



There's also the question of who decides what a child should know by a certain age, and another question is what a child is capable of learning, if only they were taught it.



Yes, 100% agree on teachers' ability even covering what we have now - but then in WA they don't have to follow a curriculum, so if something is too hard for the teacher to teach, they can just opt out.

Not only does the system have many teachers and principals who are not competent, but you have to question who's teaching the teachers at uni and what the courses cover. You might have to go back about 30 years to find out the prevailing education ideology at the time and how this has trickled down into the system.

Before anyone gets too agitated, I do realise that there are competent teachers out there, it's just that in my experience, I haven't met any.

Originally Posted by NKSK version 2

For those that are interested, Mathematics draft national curriculum is here: http://www.australiancurriculum.edu....curriculum.pdf

It will probably undergo minor refinements but nothing too drastic bearing in mind that implementation can begin from January next year. Those parents that are interested in figuring out what their child should know and understand by certain ages should find this useful. (By the way, if you find out that your child has not covered the basics, don't despair. There are many textbooks that you can get your hands on to get them up to speed.)

I really believe that Australia could well have one of the world's best systems within about 7 years. National Curriculum together with the proposed Australian Baccalaureate (if Labor get in again) and funding tied to teacher and headship quality (not to mention NAPLAN (which will now be linked directly to curriculum unlike now) and MySchool) means a huge shift in the education system.
The biggest problem that Australia will face is that it wants to assess against world's best benchmarks but I have serious concerns about the ability of many, many primary teachers who cannot master what is covered in National Curriculum maths.

Originally Posted by hoveactually

I admire your optimism and hope, for the sake of future generations, that you are right. However, although implementation of the new curriculum can begin from January, I think this is very unlikely to happen in most state schools in WA, given that the Education Minister has already stated that there is a sizeable gap between current levels and those described in the national curriculum.

Originally Posted by HelenTD

I've had a quick look at the proposed curriculum for maths. There's lots of worrying little things, such as the use of calculators in Year 4 upwards, to "Calculate duration using 12- and 24-hour time, explain and use time zones" for the Year 7s, who are aged 12 and 13. My kids are not being taught a lot of the items in this draft.

Originally Posted by NKSK version 2

Teachers at university will not study maths - they will study education. Subject knowledge is assumed - although I have heard talk of competency tests in areas such as maths prior to qualification.

I think you should see the NC as content areas that an average child should be able to cover - the sky is the limit in terms of the upward side.

If your child is anything like mine, there will be areas that they can cope with but there will be some gaps.

Originally Posted by HelenTD

I've had a quick look at the proposed curriculum for maths. There's lots of worrying little things, such as the use of calculators in Year 4 upwards, to "Calculate duration using 12- and 24-hour time, explain and use time zones" for the Year 7s, who are aged 12 and 13. My kids are not being taught a lot of the items in this draft.

Originally Posted by HelenTD

I've seen errors in the marking of my kids' work. My youngest has also told me how his teacher has told the class the wrong answer in maths a few times. Unfortunately, competency cannot be assumed and entry scores for teaching degrees might reflect that.

In my experience, the sky is not the limit on the upward side, as in senior primary school, the kids' ability and knowledge may exceed that of the teachers, especially if the kids have done some sort of tuition outside school.

Originally Posted by northernbird

You and I have had this discussion on threads before and you know I agree. I have been fortunate with my school and most of the teachers. Year 5 was tough on a Numeracy level with me forking out for Mathletics at home to get her back where she should be in year 6. Thankfully that teacher retires early next year and as lovely as she was it isn't a second too soon!!

Originally Posted by hoveactually

This is one of the things I find so frustrating - great for your child that you were able/willing to plug the gap but what about all the other kids whose parents can't? Not to mention those that she is still teaching until her retirement - when do they get back to where they should be?

Originally Posted by mark1963

Its amazing that the Australian Economy is flying high and there are many Australian workers who are head hunted all over the world.....

Can Australias School system be that bad...maybe the UK is far too ahead of itself, and asks too much of youger children !!

My son is 8 and he is struggling at school here in the UK....unfortunatley he gets very little support, and the school only seems to be interested in the kids that make the sats look good !!

The UK isn't that great , and we certainly don't need to use it as a bench mark for what our Children should be working towards !!

Originally Posted by evelyn oneill

We pay 700 dollars a term for basic education that was free at home...our free preschool nursery education at home

Originally Posted by evelyn oneill

We live in WA the level of education has been shockingly behind and poor. If I had known this i would never have left Scotland.
ev