Educational Utopia, Population: Rudd
August 29th 2008 00:50
Is it only Kevin Rudd who sees his 'educational revolution' as something worthy of more than a laugh? One would assume that being from a state high school, the PM would empathise with parents and families struggling to give their kids a fighting chance in the world of academia. Yet now, not only to state schools in Australia have to compete with independent schools for government funding (we'll get on to that paradox later) they are now made to compete with each other to see which can 'perform' better.
To pit some of the nations struggling schools against each other for performance benefits is ridiculous. No educational provider should have to justify itself to receive federal or state funding. be it in the affluent areas or a school in the country of less than 100 students. Every child deserves the right to an education from a quality institution without having to pay for it. This is a basic human right that one would expect a progressed nation such as Australia to have a good grasp on by now.
There is nothing wrong with voluntary levies that exist in many state schools but for some to rely on fund raising to stay afloat, this is beyond a joke. Whilst private schools worry about when their next pool will be built, a state school worries if the annual fete will raise enough money to break even let alone bring in much needed money for the education of our nations most vulnerable. If these private schools are independent why do they receive funding from the people they are to be independent of? I understand that the private education sector helps to cover and to service those who desire an alternative to state education, and should they desire that alternative, they aught to be paying for it IN FULL. Not to be taking from the educational funding of others who may or may not be less fortunate than them.
I think the band Funeral for a Friend were right when they wrote the song Your Revolution is a Joke. It certainly is Mr. Rudd. You've let many people down with this false promise. The teaching profession is not instilled with the respect it deserves. Being from a government school all my life, I've met some average teachers. But there were a few who I could safely say were the equivalent of John Keating in the Dead Poets Society. These teachers knew that they could go to a private school and get paid twice as much. But they saw the need in public schools and decided to take on the responsibility of helping kids who the government wouldn't. And yet these Victorian teachers are still being paid less than their equivalents in other states. It's a crime to throw the education of our nations growing generation to the wind, Kevin.
Despite the distinct advantage that private schooled receive, we all are all tested on the same exam. Whilst we had to work harder than our private schooled peers who had every possible opportunity and supplementary material to help them, those who worked hard are rewarded in the same way. There is still one statistic to support government education, and it's the one that really matters. Whilst the private sector gains more tertiary places and the more prestigious institutions, people from private schools still have the highest university drop-out rate compared to their public-schooled peers of the same year, every year. Spoon-fed, sheltered kids.
Image source: The Age
To pit some of the nations struggling schools against each other for performance benefits is ridiculous. No educational provider should have to justify itself to receive federal or state funding. be it in the affluent areas or a school in the country of less than 100 students. Every child deserves the right to an education from a quality institution without having to pay for it. This is a basic human right that one would expect a progressed nation such as Australia to have a good grasp on by now.
There is nothing wrong with voluntary levies that exist in many state schools but for some to rely on fund raising to stay afloat, this is beyond a joke. Whilst private schools worry about when their next pool will be built, a state school worries if the annual fete will raise enough money to break even let alone bring in much needed money for the education of our nations most vulnerable. If these private schools are independent why do they receive funding from the people they are to be independent of? I understand that the private education sector helps to cover and to service those who desire an alternative to state education, and should they desire that alternative, they aught to be paying for it IN FULL. Not to be taking from the educational funding of others who may or may not be less fortunate than them.
I think the band Funeral for a Friend were right when they wrote the song Your Revolution is a Joke. It certainly is Mr. Rudd. You've let many people down with this false promise. The teaching profession is not instilled with the respect it deserves. Being from a government school all my life, I've met some average teachers. But there were a few who I could safely say were the equivalent of John Keating in the Dead Poets Society. These teachers knew that they could go to a private school and get paid twice as much. But they saw the need in public schools and decided to take on the responsibility of helping kids who the government wouldn't. And yet these Victorian teachers are still being paid less than their equivalents in other states. It's a crime to throw the education of our nations growing generation to the wind, Kevin.
Despite the distinct advantage that private schooled receive, we all are all tested on the same exam. Whilst we had to work harder than our private schooled peers who had every possible opportunity and supplementary material to help them, those who worked hard are rewarded in the same way. There is still one statistic to support government education, and it's the one that really matters. Whilst the private sector gains more tertiary places and the more prestigious institutions, people from private schools still have the highest university drop-out rate compared to their public-schooled peers of the same year, every year. Spoon-fed, sheltered kids.
Image source: The Age
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