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

Anger at memorial for Korea ferry victims

ANSAN, South Korea, April 23 – Thousands of mourners have paid tearful respects at a temporary memorial to the hundreds of student victims of South Korea’s ferry disaster, as the grim search for bodies entered a second week. The confirmed death toll stood at 150, but 152 were still unaccounted for, their bodies believed trapped […]

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 […]

Fowl deaths more likely foul play

SYDNEY, April 23 – The bloody deaths of some fowls at a southwest Sydney school is more likely the work of a two-legged offender rather than a four-legged and furry one, police say. A duck and three chickens were found dead by a staff member at Busby West Public’s agriculture plot on Saturday. A member […]

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 […]

Anger at memorial for Korea ferry victims

Opinion

The Hard Word: Current school canteen guidelines fail the nutrition test

THE current guidelines developed by government to assess foods and drinks for sale in school canteens are unregulated, outdated and based on a weak nutrient criteria that ignores sugar. As a consequence, health education in our schools – with particular reference to healthy eating curriculum and its practice – is deficient. The current school canteen […]

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

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 […]

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

The Hard Word: Current school canteen guidelines fail the nutrition test

Classroom

RCH students’ creative picture book

EVERY morning on the Kookaburra ward at The Royal Children’s Hospital, we run a group learning session for patients with a chronic health condition who would be attending Kindergarten if not in hospital. This publishing project started when several of these students demonstrated a strong interest in insects and reptiles, and decided that they would […]

InBrief: Driving prep, Hosting experience, Irish festivities, Harmony day, Beach activities, Young persuaders

Learner drivers’ chat HORSHAM – Year 10 Nhill College students have enjoyed an informative presentation about the joys and responsibilities of getting their car license. Murray Robinson from Keys Please discussed the conditions for learner drivers, such as remaining alcohol free, and the dangers for probationary drivers. Focus on hospitality BARACK HEIGHTS – Year 12 […]

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

Association Focus: Early Childhood Teachers’ Association

EARLY Childhood Teachers’ Association (ECTA) was formed in 1973 when 21 teachers employed in the first State Preschool Centres to open in Queensland, formed the State Preschool Teachers’ Association. In 1976 the name was changed to ECTA, which today is a professional body that services the professional needs of teachers working in all sectors offering educational programs for children from birth to eight years of age. ECTA is a […]

Association Focus: Early Childhood Teachers’ Association

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. […]

Get into online learning

PERHAPS you have heard about online learning and wondered why anyone would choose this kind of professional learning over traditional conferences and workshops. Online learning, often referred to as MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), has at least 10 benefits: Learning online allows you the luxury of learning at your own pace. By setting your own […]

Technology

Microsoft expands Bing use in schools

LOS ANGELES, April 23 – Microsoft is expanding a program that gives schools the ability to prevent ads from appearing in search results when they use its Bing search engine. The program, launched in a pilot program earlier this year, is now available to all US schools, public or private, from Kindergarten through the 12th […]

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

NEiTA recipients thrilled

DRESSED in her pink cupcake pyjamas one afternoon late last year, Kate Smith was unexpectedly presented with a nomination certificate for the ASG National Excellence in Teaching Awards (NEiTA). She was presenting at a school assembly and it just happened to be her ACT school’s pyjama day. “It just came so unexpectedly and it was […]

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 […]

Positive role modelling is the key

LAST year at Monash University, I attended the ACHPER Conference with a colleague and the question was asked, ‘What makes a successful leader?’ There were many responses which included a good communicator, a sense of humour, good decision maker, and an effective networker; in fact there were many responses to consider. I turned to my […]

Collaborative spirit the way forward

DAPTO High School in New South Wales is focusing on improving the quality of feedback, in a range of contexts, for students and staff. Teachers are inviting colleagues into their classrooms, in a collaborative spirit, and we are learning from each other. The principal is funding this initiative, understanding that teachers want to improve what […]

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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