Australian Teacher Magazine

EducationSurvey

EducationSurvey 2013: Your comments – class sizes, student behaviour, politics

OUR annual EducationSurvey asked school staff across Australia for their views on the issues affecting the sector. Thousands of people took part. In part four of our wrap up, here are just some of the comments we received on topics including class sizes, student behaviour, and a few messages for politicians from our readers. CLASS SIZES “Class […]

News

Heartbreaking texts from kids on ferry

SEOUL, April 17 – Heart-wrenching messages of fear, love and despair, sent by high school students from a sinking South Korean ferry have added extra emotional weight to a tragedy that has stunned the entire nation. Nearly 300 people – most of them students on a high school trip to a holiday island – are […]

Canberra schools locked down by police

CANBERRA, March 25 – Police locked down several Canberra schools on Tuesday afternoon while they searched the streets for a man reported to have a gun. ACT police responded at 1.40pm AEDT in Tuesday to an unconfirmed report that a man had been seen with a gun in the inner-south suburbs of Manuka and Red Hill. During […]

NSW jail inmates go back to school

SYDNEY, April 2 – Maximum security inmates at a regional New South Wales jail will be heading back to school to boost their education to Year 10 levels. State Justice Minister Greg Smith has launched a new $1.6 million intensive learning centre at the Mid North Coast Correctional Centre near Kempsey which he says will reduce the […]

Education union will come round: Cranitch

DARWIN, April 14 – He was the head of the Australian Education Union’s NT branch before running as an independent in the Blain by-election, infuriating teachers when he preferenced the Country Liberals ahead of Labor and helped them win. But Matthew Cranitch says educators are now closer than ever to ending their months-long impasse with […]

Qld alpaca deaths spark new cruelty laws

BRISBANE, March 28 – People who torture animals will face seven years’ jail under new laws to be introduced in Queensland. Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie has moved to toughen penalties after youths escaped jail time last year for bashing two alpacas to death at a southeast Queensland school. “We have shared the community’s frustration when offenders […]

Girl hurt in SA school explosion

ADELAIDE, April 14 – A four-year-old girl has burns to her upper legs after a gas canister exploded at a school north of Adelaide. The girl was taken to hospital and is expected to make a full recovery while three other people were treated for minor injuries. The Metropolitan Fire Service said the incident at […]

ALP pledges Tasmanian schoolkids bonus

HOBART, March 2 – Tasmanian Labor has pledged to pay its own schoolkids bonus if re-elected, with the federal scheme set to be axed. Premier Lara Giddings has used her party’s official campaign launch to unveil the policy should the ALP be returned on March 15. Giddings said the State Government would pay low-income families […]

Catholic priest sorry for abuse: court

MELBOURNE, April 8 – A Catholic priest who sexually abused 15 schoolboys has become a sorry and shameful pariah, known wherever he goes as “the pedophile priest”, a court has heard. Frank Gerard Klep, 70, abused the boys at Salesian College Rupertswood from 1973 to 1984. In the aftermath, he endured a spectacular fall from […]

Shorten and Abbott clash over WA schools

PERTH, April 1 – The holy policy trinity of education, health and crime has taken centre stage in the West Australian Senate election campaign, with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten leading a teachers’ march while Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s cabinet met 39 floors above him. A teachers’ strike to protest against education cuts by WA’s Liberal state government attracted […]

Heartbreaking texts from kids on ferry

Opinion

Older teachers offer great deal

WE’RE all getting older, there’s no doubt about it. As evidenced in this month’s Cover Story the teaching profession is set to experience a rapid turnover of staff over the coming years, as more teachers reach their retirement age. While there is lots of negative rhetoric being thrown around, it was heart warming to speak […]

Cartoon – December 2013

AUSTRALIAN Teacher Magazine’s cartoonist, Linus, gives his take on the latest education issues.

You can lead a horse to water…

You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. If I had a dollar for every time a teacher quoted this old saying I would be a wealthy man, and enjoying retirement on an isolated beach in some far flung corner of the world. But, reality bites and there is no […]

Older teachers offer great deal

Gallup Student Poll results make for engaging reading

February’s School of Thought questioned whether we really understand engagement in schools. This month I wanted to continue with that theme and share with you some of the findings from Gallup’s inaugural Student Poll in Australia. Last year, Gallup surveyed 7000 students in Years 5 to 12 in 36 schools across six states and found […]

The flipped classroom – as many questions as answers

Bringing teachers back into the high regard they deserve

IT is old news that Australia has been slipping downwards in the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) over the last 12 years. Typically, a variety of reasons are offered — from geography and economics through to demography and culture. Those factors may well play a role, but I believe that a significant part of the explanation for Australia’s declining educational performance is that we have […]

Classroom

Seventy take big steps for positive behaviour

SEVENTY schools across Victoria are on the road to creating safe and supportive school environments, addressing bullying and improving behaviour through a highly successful positive behaviours program. US anti-bullying expert and University of Connecticut professor George Sugai launched the program at the School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) workshop for the 70 Victorian schools. Minister for Education Martin Dixon said the SWPBS program was an important platform for safe, supportive […]

Seventy take big steps for positive behaviour

Creative thinking and learning festival

WHEN teacher and creative arts enthusiast, Serena Petriella, took part in a literacy festival at a previous school, it sparked an idea that eventually saw an inspiring week-long event come together which had teachers and students breaking out hidden talents, and working and learning in new and exciting ways. “I loved the idea of a […]

S-press in class: Relationships so important

RELATIONSHIPS with family and friends are vital protective resources for disadvantaged teenagers, according to a recently published wellbeing report. S-press’ March/April edition explores the findings of the Youth Connections — Subjective Wellbeing Report, written by RMIT’s Dr Adrian Tomyn. The report looks at how ‘at risk’ teenagers have responded to a range of questions about […]

Top 10: Celebrity high school dropouts

Becoming a high school dropout is widely considered to be a career-stopper, or at the very least a giant hurdle in your career goals. However, there are several world famous and highly successful exceptions that prove that this isn’t exactly a rule of thumb. Despite never receiving that lauded high school graduation certificate, these members […]

Linus enjoys life in the fast lane

AUSTRALIAN Teacher Magazine’s resident cartoonist, Linus Lane, is as busy as they come. Working part time as a media teacher at Croydon Community College, Lane also works as a stand-up comedian and television producer. But his latest gig is producing a comedy show for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. The show, hilariously titled Kim Kardashian is Bad (For the Environment) will be a free event taking place […]

Quiet achiever’s big impression

IN a culture that is increasingly seduced by bold headlines, bright colours and spectacle, it is easy to gloss over the contribution of the quiet achiever. Occasionally a spirit of quiet determination breaks through the cacophony. In this case, it is a young English and literature teacher, Tamsin Moran, who is quietly changing the world, […]

PD

InBrief: History help, Hands-on creativity workshop, ASD PD

History syllabus help The Association of Independent Schools of New South Wales is offering a self-paced module aimed at helping primary teachers familiarise themselves with the state’s history K-10 syllabus. Available from November this year, History Syllabus Familiarisation: K-6 is a 90-minute module that includes multimedia and interactive learning experiences. It is free to use. […]

Association Focus: DATTA VIC

THE Design and Technology Teachers’ Association of Victoria (DATTA Vic) supports teachers in the areas of design and technology — wood, metal, plastics and textiles, and those teaching systems engineering. We promote the teaching of the design process — enabling students to be innovative as they investigate, design, make and evaluate products and solutions. Currently, the extensive professional learning activities and resources that DATTA Vic offers are mainly for secondary […]

InBrief: History help, Hands-on creativity workshop, ASD PD

Teachers helping teachers

RESPONDING to a need for shared expertise between teachers, a small group of South Australian educators have launched ASRT (Australian Secondary Research Teachers). Chris McGuire, one of the association’s founding members, says the group was borne out of the idea that every teacher of The Research Project in South Australia (a compulsory SACE subject) should […]

Technology

Prep blog allows fascinating insight

ORCHARD Grove Primary School’s blog for Prep parents, teachers and students, The Prep Playground gives the school community a fascinating insight into the Prep classrooms. We blog two to three times a week, uploading photos, video and audio of the Prep students at work and play, and provide an educational context for each activity. Celebrations […]

InBrief: Film resources, High-tech school, Diary app

Mining/energy comp ADELAIDE – The inaugural Dirt TV competition is a student mining and energy video competition. It will award prizes to South Australian high school students who use their creativity and research skills to produce a short video clip illustrating “what mining or oil and gas mean to me”. Topics can include anything from […]

Superb virtual excursions

Q. I’m keen for my students to take part in virtual excursions but I don’t know where to start. Have you any ideas of some interesting places to explore? A. EXCURSIONS are a highlight of any school year. Our school has many, some venturing as far away as our sister school in South Korea or […]

App Review: WWF Together

This World Wildlife Fund app won a Design Award from Apple in 2013. With more than a million downloads, it was also amongst the top apps of the year. The WWF quite justifiably claim that you can “… experience the world’s most amazing animals in one app”. Endangered species are featured, including pandas and rhinos, but you can also learn about the “perseverance of Monarch Butterflies.” The most appealing feature […]

Tech Q & A

The most exciting development in ICT in our school this year… has been the incredible gains in the development of our 100 per cent online curriculum, as well really considering the design of our curriculum and the most effective ways to deliver online resources for our students. In addition we had a clear goal to “Transform learning with the iPad”. This meant providing lots of creative professional development to all […]

Careers

Study has immense rewards

FOR a couple of years now, I have been working on a PhD in education. I study off-campus and try to maintain a healthy balance between full time teaching, being at university, and having time to enjoy life. It is certainly a challenge but one which is well worth the effort. In terms of professional […]

InBrief : Career Awards, Retirements, Appointments

Appointment Following the retirement of Sue Kitzelman from the position of head of early years at Hillcrest Christian College in Victoria, Joy Geyer has expressed her excitement at having been appointed to the role. Geyer has been teaching at Caningeraba State School in New South Wales for the past 15 years. The school newsletter says she has a passion for curriculum and will […]

First Year Out: Molly-Rose Clifton-Williamson

BECOMING a teacher was something Molly-Rose Clifton-Williamson was simply meant to do. After a positive week of work experience at a local primary school, she was hooked on the idea of seeing light bulbs switch on when her students finally get a concept, learn a new word, or learn a new skill. She landed a […]

InBrief: Careers leadership

Hart slams curriculum CANBERRA – President of The Australian Primary Principals Association, Norm Hart, says that the Australian curriculum is overcrowded and that this is reducing the ability of primary schools to focus on core subjects like literacy and numeracy. He says greater effort is now required to limit the excessive volume of material that […]

Study has immense rewards

Page enjoys a new chapter

DESPITE having more qualifications than many teachers who have been in the profession for decades longer than she has, Shaileigh Page knows she still has plenty to learn when it comes to her teaching practice. The 28-year-old completed her PhD studies in September last year, and has taken up a fulltime teaching role at South […]

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