ACT to reject $30m in Commonwealth Education funding

yes nyssa, yes we are

asp, my “boss”.

Apparently they don’t need it. Some can’t even string together a grammatically correct sentence, so I was addressing their needs.

Funny thing is, it’s in the curriculum outline for Yr 7…

Also, I was looking at some things for work and came across the NSW BOS K-6 syllabus. The unit they want me to teach Yr 8 (ACT) is taught in NSW to Yr 5/6!

FFS, are we dumbing down Canberra?

emd, it’s wedge politics. Howard has totally failed at trying to force the Rudd to oppose him on Haneef and on terrorism in general. (IMO, the Fed ALP has played it very smartly; they must *fnally* have some good political strategists advising them. Oppositions don’t win elections, sitting governments lose them, and it would have been suicide for Rudd to stand up for something that’s such a hot potato with the fearful and the rednecks. He can afford to wait until he’s in government.)

So Howard’s dilemma is how to attack the ALP, and his answer is by proxy. By giving the impression that the Labor states can’t manage their own affairs (NT aborigines, Tas Mersey Hosp, Murray river), the great white knight of the Federal Libs rides into town and saves the day. Responsible govt to the rescue and damn these Laborites.

My personal opinion is that Howard has seriously mis-judged the electorate’s tolerance of pork-barrelling this time around — the workcover ads, the taxpayer-funded political spending, I think people are sick of it and will see his attempts for what they are, using our money to buy votes.

I think Rudd has a very strong chance of winning this election. The electorate are bored with Howard and much less tolerant of his peccadiloes now.

“I was “told off” recently for teaching grammar to Yr7 students. Apparently they don’t need it”

What kind of stooge told you off? I’ve seen how a lot of yr 7s talk and write. They need grammer lessons.

Also, did anyone see the article on ABC News about a victorian academic saying that maths questions for kindy/yr1 students are too dificult and are more grade 3 level. The example he gave was like this “Susie bouught three apples, and Mike bought two apples, how many apples do they have altogeather?” WTF! I could do that in Yr1. And if that’s a year three question, then then our title of the “clever country’ is well an truly screwed!

The one problem I have found in my employment is the number of applications I receive for jobs where the person simply has no idea about spelling or grammar.

Thumper, I was “told off” recently for teaching grammar to Yr7 students. Apparently they don’t need it – no I am not joking.

Bring on the world of the year 2020, where the kids can’t write a sentence and spell Canberra – Kyanbera.

Spell check certainly should not be relied on as the sole way to ensure you spell correctly.
But seeing some of the errors I see often from 16-25 yr olds, one would have to wonder if they know what that red line under the word is telling them. And red line or not, a teenager should now that band-aid is not spelt band-ade or that cat is not normally spelt with a K and two Ts.

I heard a 666 caller this morning make a very valid point: that tertiary institutions are accepting foreign students from a wide range of educational backgrounds, and those students are generally doing well here. So why do we need to standardise testing for Australian students wanting to go to the same tertiary institutions?

I reckon this is just another Federal pre-election stunt. Because if the Labor state/Territory govt’s say no, they can blame all our problems on our belligerant state education Ministers. Look at the pattern: the Murray-Darling water management, indigenous communities, and now education. Oh yeah, and Abbott just last week said he wouldn’t discuss the health agreements with state Ministers til after the next election because he can’t work with them during an election campaign. It’s just the arrogant Federal govt trying to tell the States/Territories to play it their way, or they’ll take their bat & ball and go home.

Sorry guys (and girls) but you should Never, Ever, trust the spell checker on your Word Processor program to pick up all your typos. if you do not believe me, run this poem through it!

The Spell Checker

Eye halve a spelling chequer.
It came with my pea sea.
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss takes eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a miss ache is maid
It noose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
its rare lea ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.

A few interesting points here. Firstly, when I did the HSC it was based on both continuous assessment AND final exam/moderation. Both sets of marks contributed to your final score (and almost equally, I think). To say there is no continual assessment is simply incorrect. Secondly, doing one of the more intense undrgrad courses offered locally (Engineering), it was noted by many that the interstate students performed better due to having more exam experience. I noticed a number of the ACT students who fell into traps we learnt about years before in terms of exam technique, because they simply hadn’t had the practice.

Of course, whether or not hard core exams are a good way of examining learning is another argument altogether.

I am all for nationalising the education system. Why should we (as a nation) be paying for multiple sets of people in the various education departments who are trying, largely, to achieve the same thing? Better to get one set of people, resource them really well, and then expect a high quality outcome. Use the leftover resources to assist schools with local issues.

Word still doesn’t spell check as you type? Goodness gracious me. LOL