jad n rich

Could be an interesting discussion, seeings as the forum lacks them lately, thought I would post it despite the fact it will cause some blouse throwing and tantrums

Have always said my kids have loved school here and the honest reason is they dont actually do much work. Now it seems a study backs that up.



Read paragraphs 1 and 10-14 if you cant be assed to read the whole thing.



http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...84-601,00.html

Hutch

No tantrum from me - just to point out that the figures are an average (a national one at that) and in no way represent the percentage of time devoted to core subjects at my son's public primary school.

It's all another good reason to shop around when you're finding schools for your kids, I guess. If you know your children aren't receiving the right education then surely that's a failing on the parents part in not placing them in a school that does supply one.

arkon

It's not just schools Hutch, you need to pick your area well too, The wife has worked in enough schools here now to conclude there is no educating going on, she now sees herself as no more than a qualified child minder, her job is to stop them setting each other on fire, no more no less. She now counts herself lucky to get called a ****** or F* off you pommie bitch only once or twice a day.

I have the lucky task of sometimes helping to mark the tests she sets for the 12-16 year olds and boy it doesn't half give me a laugh. I thought I was marking a six year olds papers then I find out it each paper is done by a group of 4-5 kids, with access to the internet too, and still only get maybe 2 or 3 right out of 20 questions. Completion of the papers runs at about 70% questions even attempted. To give some idea of the complexity of the questions....Which is the 3rd planet from the sun......I kid you not....

Also while on the subject, hand writing skills are non existant, the scrawl from 14 year olds looks like an elephant did it with a quill in it's trunk. Spelling.....Nuff said what's spelling....

Quote from the wife.....There is no way xxx (our boy) is going to a school in Australia whilst she has a hole in her ass...

Amazulu

Maybe in public schools it's like this but as you know Australia has a lot of affordable private schools. I am very happy with the standard of Helena College where my son will go to primary school.
As you know there are a lot of state schools in the UK with the scenario you describe.

biggy

My kids school is fantastic, the teachers are fantastic and the kids are fab too. There is the odd we ejit, but they dont really get away with much. I have never met so many polite children and so many teachers who still teach because they love it.

My son and daughter have come on in leaps and bounds since they came here....the curriculum is varied, and interesting they never get bored. They get set interesting assignments which they love doing and put lots of effort into them which usually ends in them getting A+ A- or at worst a B+

My daughter struggles with maths..in the UK they said...oh you either have it or not....she hasnt. Within 3 months of being here her teacher noticed she was struggling and arranged extra maths for her....now she's got the jist of it she is more confident to have a bash.

The last 3 years the kids have been to school camps my daughter is just back from a week in Brisbane, she learned heaps when she was away and had a blast. The teachers that went with them came back with smiles on their faces after having a fantastic time. The kids never got a chance to do anything like that in the UK.

What I love about my kids school is.......teachers make learning fun, they make the kids want to go to school, they want to be at the school. they respect my kids as much as my kids respect them, they develop the kids individuality and make them proud to be who they are. The headmaster sits outside every break time and chats to the kids and has Smiley Awards which he hands out at parade every week to pupils that he has noticed helping others.

If people dont like the way there children are being taught them IMO its up to the parents to either challenge the school...or move their kids.

Learning should be fun and not a chore. I felt my kids were being pushed into growing up too early....but here they are allowed to be KIDS and learn at the same time

Nu-Shooz

My youngest loves school here in Perth. He says he is allowed to watch Disney films in class, run around on the Oval, play outside more. He didn't like school in UK as he wasn't allowed to run on the field, worked hard everyday, no films to watch.

From a childs point of view school in OZ is great. It's when they get older they may lack in the things that are important.

Sleeping Beauty

this is not a 'public v private' thing from me, just our opinion regarding our children. oldest (boy aged 10), came from a small good school in the uk. we sent him to local public school here. it didnt work for him, either he wasnt suited to the school, or the school wasnt suited to him. he was being bullied, his grades were dropping, and we had a notice of discipline (first time ever). i wasnt happy with the school from day one. we gave it 9/10 months. we moved them to the local christian school (son and daughter aged 5), and they have been there a term now. our son has changed back to the boy he was in the uk, and we are very impressed with the overall school, including the academic side. there are good schools out there arkon, you just have to find them. i was concerned about our childrens education, having had our son in an extremly good school in the uk. we are not 'wadded' by any means (the opposite really), but are willing to pay for our childrens' future.

Hutch

Like I said. That's the school you choose to send your kid to, and plenty of others by the sound of it, but not all schools in Oz. That sort of thing sure as hell doesn't go on at my son's school.

Ozzidoc

The figure on a foreign language is interesting. I wish that it were compulsary for everyone to learn a foreign language the whole way through school. Any language, and the culture associated with that chosen language.

I just feel that the world would be a more tolerant, less racist place. and yes, I am from Oz, and am embarrassed about the racism and ignorance that I see in people who live in my hometown.

Siren & Brian

Cmon hurry up, Im waiting for this Blouse throwing thing

Phoenix

Can't praise my 10 yr olds public school enough.
She's learnt more here in 6 months than 5 years in the UK and she's the happiest she's ever been to boot.
I can't ask for more than that.

jad n rich

Good to see its being discussed calmly.

I have no doubts school here is easy. The positive side being its fantastic for the kids confidence, our kids have never got lower than a B here, and that includes one whos got mild dyslexia which the schools had no funding to help excet for one brief spell in grade 5. Everyone gets great marks, award after award every term. Primary has never been hard work, lots of play, games and videos. A happy laid back social experience, of course they are happy.

High school is slightly more focused, as in more testing comes in, but in our experience the social side of things increased, between 16 and 18 our eldest fitted in all the normal things here, cars party after party sex and a part time job.
Put simply even grade 11 and 12 wasnt that stressful either, and he came out from the UK. All great stuff then unless....

The negatives for us have been have they really learnt how hard the real world will be, I know the one who did 11 and 12 here found working life a real bloody shock. The ones in primary have 10 mins of homework a week (if that) hardly prepares them for anything. And my big concern, weve had friends from Canada, Holland, Singapore, germany and UK return after a spell in OZ, all found it their kids were behind. I have no doubt mine would be too.

Good and bad to it, day to day for us probably makes life easy, long term not sure if laid back and education should go together, certainly wouldnt say "no worries".

Up To Late

IMO a National curriculum is a mixed blessing. I think the UK national curriculum is too rigid and is trying to be all things to all people. It's great that kids should be able to move from school to school. It's great schools have to teach to a minimum standard. It's not great that teachers are running around like headless chickens trying to squeeze all the NC subjects in. IMO at primary level kids need to learn to read and write and to acquire maths skills. Then they need to learn how to learn - how to investigate things, how to link different ideas and facts, how to plan etc. It is also a good age to learn languages. I don't think cramming them with facts at such a young age and testing them endlessly is helpful.

NC at secondary level is a different kettle of fish, children should enter secondary school with enquiring minds ready to learn in a more structured way. A broad palette of history, geography, arts, sciences etc allows them to find out what they enjoy, what they are good at etc and gives them good general knowledge.

I am looking forward to getting my child out of a UK school obsessed with the NC and NATs. So long as she is learning the basic skills, I don't care if she spends the rest of the time running around the field. We forget that school for the number of hours and years our poor kids are subjected to, is a recent construct which came about as a response to the requirements of the industrial revolution. Most of it is just childminding dressed up a bit. The qualification at the end is what matters in the job market.

I'm not uneducated - I have a degree and 2 post grad degrees but I feel like for me school between the ages of 8 and 16 was just marking time. I missed 2 years due to illness and moving about, but still got good A levels. I got more education from reading books, listening to my parents, researching what interested me than I ever did at school!

So I'm not stressing, my child does not need to lose her childhood for the sake of our current idea of what 'good education' is.

sloane46

Eeeekk I am now really worried about getting this school thing right. My kids have always attended a school in the UK that comes near the bottom of the local school league tables. This is due to many factors one of which is that it has a high proportion of ethnic minority children (english 2nd language etc). However, I have found that children who can excel here do and get all the help they need. So how can you find the right school if you can't rely on league tables and don't have that local network of friends to recommend schools to you?
If you can, please let me know of any great schools in the Wyndham Vale/Werribee area in Victoria

rosscov1970

I have 3 girls attending schools in the public australian sector, at both primary and high school level.
We researched the schools beforehand, with our final choice determining where we settled.
I have nothing but praise for the education being delivered to my children.
In my opinion the tight constraints of the national curriculum in the Uk had strangled the possibilty of any spontaneous,topical subject being covered.
I believe that their present schools deliver a healthy balance of core subjects with sport and less academic activities and as a consequence they are all enjoying and achieving. I was unhappy with the Uk system of 'hothousing' students to produce performance results for league tables, unnecessary pressure on both students and teachers. I appreciate that homework is given to encourage and develop independent learning but the amount given is not a yardstick by which to measure the calibre of a school; and at primary level I would want my children only to receive a very small amount, gradually increasing as they approach high school entry.
I don't remember receiving any homework when I was at primary school thankgoodness, after schooltime was devoted to just being a child and at comp. I had considerably less than my neice, yet somehow managed to achieve a Bsc. and cope in the adult world.
I genuinely hope your posting doesn't frighten people into thinking that the australian education system is failing because I truly believe it's not.