pommie bastard

After reading this I know I must be turning Aussie.


"New arrivals to Australia, or anywhere, are a clear case in point. Some may be traumatised after escaping from dangerous regimes while others may have formal qualifications from their home country but are lacking in some English literacy or numeracy skills.""



Almost one in five Australian adults have such poor reading skills they may not work out the correct medicine to give a child from information printed on the package, according to an international study.

A leading literacy expert told a weekend conference in Sydney that Australia had not had a national adult literacy policy for a decade and recent international studies suggested the problem of low literacy skills among adults was worsening.

The president of the Australian Council for Adult Literacy, Geraldine Castleton, said Australia was at the forefront of adult literacy and numeracy teaching, learning and research 10 years ago. "Without a policy to guide practice and research, we run the risk of going backwards," she said.

According to a recent report by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development, Literacy in the Information Age, one in five Australians did not have the necessary literacy skills to participate effectively in daily life.

The use of automatic tellers, the internet, filling in taxation forms and understanding supermarket checkout procedures were some of the everyday tasks which had become the new basic skills of the 21st century.



Dr Castleton said there were still the remnants of programs of adult literacy put in place more than 10 years ago but little effort had been undertaken by state or federal governments to renew the push for adult literacy.

Other countries had acted on the OECD figures, she said.

Visiting British academic Mary Hamilton told the council's annual conference the Blair Government in Britain had adopted a whole of government approach to the problem which Australia might like to consider as a possible model.

jeannie

Boy thats scary !!!!!!!

dotty

Sad but probably true, the amount of kids in High school who cant read is pretty significant.

Marlo

The British education system isn`t as good as they will let you believe, there aren`t enough good teachers and they have so much paperwork to do they have little time to teach, a teacher friend told me that they only actually teach for 20 hours a week. I have no faith in the education system here and along with thousands of other parents are now home educating my children. So many people are leaving this country because of it`s decline, don`t get carried away with it being so great here.

All the best
Marlo

Bernard

Marlo

I have taught in the UK and now teach in Australia. It is true that teachers actually teach for only about 20 hours - that's true for both countries. The amount of paperwork in both countries is also similar - the grass is no greener in either hemisphere.

In general I have found that UK kids are pushed a bit harder - the curriculum is better organised. In Australia the school day is less structured. As a rule you will find that educational attainment levels of children in the UK are 12-18 months ahead of those in Australia. UK university system is also much much better (IHMO) than in Oz.

One other major difference is that teachers are paid a lot more in the UK (my former UK colleagues won't believe this!) - even taking account of lower Aussie cost of living teachers here are not as relatively well-off as in the UK.

Bernie

Marlo

Hi Bernard, Yes you`re right kids in British schools are pushed more, I`d rather they were incouraged though not pushed, but then I haven`t had a good experience with some teachers here, they are nothing but bullies, not all I grant you some are very good at their job, dedicated and actually like children, others unfortunately aren`t and don`t. For my children home education is working very well, I just wish I`d known about it earlier than I did, if we ever do emigrate to Australia I will carry on doing this for as long as is needed. I do feel that an awful lot of pressure is put upon teachers and they have less freedom to teach because of the strict curriculum they must follow but their frustration is often taken out on the children, I`m talking primary here. I was speaking to a teacher the other day and she said she felt that in the infants the kids were doing work that juniors should be doing and the juniors were doing workat secondary school level, no wonder by the time kids are teenagers they become rebellious. It`s all luck of the draw with school where ever you live.

Marlo

pommie bastard

What gets me about the education system here is how enlighting it is , went down to the snooker hall and its full of school kids all morniing with their teachers as one group leaves another comes.
The beach is packed with same groups there are even golf classes, in fact anything to keep the little sods away from the schools.
In the summer here most schools have no air-con so rather that bake in class rooms the teachers take the kids on trips that have no education value at all.
You are so naive about Australia its unreal , do you know any Aussies ? moaning about UK system will not make the Australian one any better , its strange that all parents that come here say that their kids are in front of local kids does that ring a bell?
This country needs trained people because it so poor at turning out skiiled and professional people , why do you think it needs you sad Poms it lacks wealth producers.

renth

The adult literacy rate was higher in the UK in the last years of Queen Victoria's reign than it is now.

Now THAT'S scary....

pommie bastard

I agree but its still lower than Australia ,but who cares in Aussie kids get leveled out to lowest level.

Marlo

[QUOTE][SIZE=1]Originally posted by pommie bastard


Here you go again "Motor-mouth", I didn`t say the Australian education system was better.....did I?? I am merely saying how I have found the British education system. I also said that IF we emigrate to Oz that I will carry on home educating my kids if necessary. You don`t read the posts properly, you seem to pick out bits and pieces you want to attack then make up the rest yourself. Where were you educated? Say no more!!

Marlo

pommie bastard

[QUOTE][SIZE=1]Originally posted by Marlo
Oh dear my fault , the impression I get is that in order to to build Australia into a better place than it is , you like most on here whinge on minor things in UK.

Snowbird

Even among the poorest classes? Is this really true?

Marlo

No Pommie B, it`s you who has his head in the sand, if it`s about the UK you class it as minor but the same subject in Oz is major!! Get real!
People on this forum are researching the prospects of living in Australia, they`re not going on a whim or just taking one friends word for it, unlike you! Stop judging others by yourself!
You live in Perth yet talk for all of Australia and have admitted that you haven`t been to Melbourne where there is a supposed to be a good education system. You speak as if all Australians are idiots, which is down right insulting, still they only have to read your posts to see who the illiterate one is, education, where did you get yours then??

When are you returning to the UK?

Marlo

jockney

Certain things about the education system in the uk have gone way wrong ,class sizes,useless subjects,etc,etc.Shortage of teachers?Let older people with experience of life teach rather than just degree holders.Some young teachers I have known could relate to jack shit apart from their specialised subjects.Australian schools I`M SURE ARE NO BETTER!Parents are responsible for their kids education so if they take an interest and identify problems and deal with them themselves that is the best way to go.Stop blaming everyone else`if your child does not learn then it is your fault.Marlo sounds although he`s doing this I cant see pb having the time for this when blame and moaning seem to be his specialised subjects

Marlo

[QUOTE][SIZE=1]Originally posted by jockney

Thank you Jockney, you`re right, it is down to parents to make sure their kids are educated properly. Teachers in private schools don`t need degrees, so parents paying ridiculous amounts of money could do a better job themselves and cheaper if they could only be bothered, passing the buck is something too many people do, instead of taking responsibilities on board themselves. This can be said about most things in life though, we have to get off of our backsides if we want to progress not expect others to do it for us all the time.

Cheers
Marlo