The Teachers are revolting - and they don't like the report cards either.

In my experience of the intermanet it’s more along the lines of either;

1) I AM an elf dungeon master with a cloak of invulnerability and a ring of invisbilty plus three, I AM an elf dungeon master with a cloak of invulnerability and a ring of invisbilty plus three, I AM an elf dungeon master with a cloak of invulnerability and a ring of invisbilty plus three!

or

2) I AM a nineteen year old first year uni coed having a nude pillow fight with my room-mates, I AM a nineteen year old first year uni coed having a nude pillow fight with my room-mates, I AM a nineteen year old first year uni coed having a nude pillow fight with my room-mates.

It’s a scary world-wide web out there people.

Oh – option number 2 might bring some interesting hits in the referers report.

New riotact tagline…!

C’mon kids, this is the internet.

Just keep saying to yourselves “I AM a supermodel, I AM a supermodel,I AM a supermodel”

What is this – ugly coffee drinkers anonymous?

Well if it is you can count me in as well. I don’t know if I’m ugly, but I certainly ain’t pretty…

I am also an ugly person who is not a teacher and has coffee. Sometimes in Civic.

I can say I’m not a teacher. However, I am an ugly person, and occasionally I have coffee. Which seems to be what you’ve got a problem with.

P.s. you’re not a failure as a teacher. You left because of other teachers.

I wonder if Clive would ever point out the primary reason teachers are leaving……

Thumper, it’s sad because you’re not the only person I know who has left teaching because of the office politics.

Let me tell you now, that one such case (without naming names) got so bad because nothing was done to stop the instigator that a teacher left the school.

Then, and I am still shocked by it, they promoted the instigator with the full knowledge that that person was behind the shite that happened at that particular school.

Gotta love ’em.

Chalker,

*** THANK YOU ***

Finally, I understand. If the dept has silently modified peoples places on the scales, then they should be first up against the wall when the revolution comes…..

I am married to a relatively new teacher (Who is quietly waiting for permanency. I have my own views on age based discrimination within the dept, but lets not go there… Being an information security consultant, I spend my days in the math, and could not for the life of me understand the problem. Now I do, and you all have my support.

Now, how on earth do we get this information out into the media, before some journalist gets it wrong and gives the teachers grief?

Beam me up Scotty…. There’s no intelligent life in Government…

Teachers come in all shapes and sizes – just like narrow minded assholes kimba. Open your eyes sweetheart.

Oops, my bad…

Here’s the link:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/items/200603/1592681.htm?canberra

Don’t worry JB, I didn’t think you were talking about all teachers.

Apparently the P & C are backing the AEU re: A-E report cards.

Hey Chalker, I’m in my 5th year and still don’t have a substantial position – hence my move this year to the Non-Govt system. I still have the letter from Clive re: last EBA and how it shat on younger teachers, talk about an idiot of the highest order…

Gotta love the AEU and the Dept…the lunatics are running the asylum.

Thanks JB, see, no need for a detention at all was there? 😉
I too apologise for personal attacks made against your person. In hindsight while you may well be pretentious (and we love you for it), you are no more an arse than the rest of us.

James-T-Kirk, yes your figures are absolutely correct. At my current pay scale I am 1.2% better off than my NSW colleagues. However, when the ACT payscales were collapsed last EBA, we lost ground. That is you would think that being in my 7th year as a teacher I would be on Step 8 of the payscale, but I’m not. Thanks to the dept’s interpretation of the compression, I’m only at Step 6, almost $6000 p.a. behind my NSW colleagues. This is what I am annoyed about, both with the Govt, and the Union. As has been pointed out previously, the union is only interested in looking after those at the top – the majority of the members.

How did you know they were teachers kimba? Were they waving a Eureka flag spouting spurious facts and figures and vivibly not caring for their students? 😉

OMG, simto..another teacher

Oh, no, ugly people are having coffee! Call the fashion police!

schmerica……I’ll say it more plain for you (you must be an ACT teacher). I wasn’t making a point about them having coffee.

I was saying the ones I saw were indeed revolting. They looked like a bunch of dykes preparing for the Mardi Gras.

Hmmm,

I spent last night pouring over the wage scales for both the ACT, and NSW, and am at a loss.

On one hand, the last pay rise that the ACT received provided ‘parity’ with NSW. Sounds great. But when I look at the data provided by the ACT gov, and compare that with the NSW data I got from their site, it looks like in spite of NSW getting a 4.5% rise, with the ACT 3% rise, we will still be better off…. Possibly the ACT had a little more ‘parity’ than everybody expected.

I offer my heartfelt apologies to anyone who thought I was referring to all teachers and not just those being willfully dishonest.

johnboy, you made a personal attack on teachers as a whole, not against the few who got their facts wrong. You didn’t even bother trying to correct them before launching your first salvo. They’ve had the balls to admit where they were in the wrong and offer due apologies. You’ve yet to do anything close to that, instead you choose to try to deflect attention with a smart-arsed comment. If you’re so big on people getting their facts straight and qualifying statements they make to be totally specific to the nth degree, then why aren’t you doing the same?

Vitriolic attacks without prior attempts at logical arguement? Isn’t that what riotact is all about?

What, I’m getting a detention?

Fair enough then.
However, this still doesn’t excuse your vitirolic attack without a prior attempt at logical argument.

I’m including the ones I’ve seen on local TV news and heard on radio news.

lacking a media monitoring service I can’t give you transcripts.

Teachers drink coffee. Get over it.

far from the only one who the AEU information has guided onto that path
Please enlighten us JB. As far as I can see from previous postings on this and related threads, only Special G and Gerry-Built have referred to the 9%/CPI comparison. Two does not equal far from the only one.

From the teachers I saw sitting around the Civic coffee shops on their ‘day-off’, I would agree that they are pretty ‘revolting’.

That’s OK Gerry, the vehemence of my reaction was in part because you’re far from the only one who the AEU information has guided onto that path.

Johnboy: I owe you an apology. I misunderstood what was said on the initial AEU circulars regarding the EBA. The comment was never made by the AEU in any of the EBA circulars, about the pay offer being below CPI. That *is* a misnomer as you suggested. On the spur of the moment, I propped up my statement by quoting a figure which I saw satisfied *my* argument, but upon reflection, I realise that that adds no credibility (in fact, quite the opposite). I apologise to you.

What was stated in media releases and circulars was that CPI would ‘absorb’ most of the 3%pa offered. I misunsderstood, I apologise.

I would love somebody to explain the math behind the statement that 9% over 3 years is below CPI…
I don’t know how Gerry-Built got there either, but I don’t recall seeing 9% used before now. The CPI argument has AFAIK compared last years CPI 3.1% for Canberra (is saying for Canberra a qualifier JB?) with last years pay increase of 3%. It wasn’t projected forward.

Now JB, I’ll admit that the CPI argument is probably flawed (I don’t honestly know enough about economics), but rather than attacking teachers personally over one persons mistaken interpretation of data, why did you not use the opportunity to educate us rather than spout vitirol?

nyssa76, I wasn’t aware of previous EBA meetings – I only joined the union at the beginning of the year. But I have to say I am not at all surprised. The way Clive responded to some of the dissenting questions was straight out of Yes Minister. Not someone I’ll be voting for either.

bonfire, I am not in the Govt system this year. I took a year’s LWOP to work in the Non-Govt system.

We can’t vote out Clive yet. His election hasn’t come up, but if it does, I’ll be voting him out.

nyssa76 – many years ago my workplace had a militant rep who constantly tried to involve us with broader union politics. the number of times we were urged to go out on strike for whatever reason was bizarre.

after sussing out that he was self-appointed and unelected, we went to the state organisers and demanded a workplace election for reps. he didnt get back in and sanity prevailed again.

if you are unhappy with your rep – get rid of him/her. you need your views recognised not someone elses.

its also better to have this war away from your employers eyes. always presnt a united front. if they sniff dissent you can bet your negotiating position is weakened.

I have just been looking at the CPI figures for Canberra from the ABS web site:

2001-2002 – 2.5%
2002-2003 – 3.3%
2003-2004 – 2.6%
2004-2005 – 2.3%

(ref http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/938da570a34a8edaca2568a900139350?OpenDocument)

If you take an average (from high school math, 2.5 + 3.3 + 2.6 + 2.3 / 4) that is 2.675%, so a raise of 9% over 3 years seems to me to be 3% per year – just above CPI…. What have I missed?

I would love somebody to explain the math behind the statement that 9% over 3 years is below CPI…

I would be amongst the first to agree that teachers work their fingers to the bone, esecially in the ACT system, where they are expected to develop a class program (based on no previous paperwork) for the term, from scratch every time they start at a new school.
So, I am behind the teachers in requesting a raise, I just want to understand the math problem..

Well I go to a swimming carnival all day and come back to read this….

Chalker, what you said re: younger teachers actually happened LAST EBA as well. The meeting was a farce and most people left the strike before 1pm….funny that.

I don’t agree with the Eureka flag. We’re talking teachers pay, not the right to mine without a licence. FFS.

Johnboy, believe me when I tell you that it is the older teachers who are “pushing” this and that the AEU head (secretary or something) is also more concerned for his “mates” – most of whom are principals in category 5 schools and earning over $100k.

Category 5 schools have a student population of over 700 (from memory).

It’s amazing that Clive is actually now on the record as “caring” about younger teachers. I still find that to be a joke. He’s the one who negotiated last time and shafted younger teachers.

Then there was the EBA in 1998, when the older teachers said “we’ll take more money, just make every new teacher transfer after 3, 5 & 7 years (which has now changed to 4. 6 & 8)”.

It’s always about money. If it wasn’t then classroom teachers would all be paid the same rate with a bonus for years served, not a higher pay scale just because you’ve done 10 yrs.

You could have done 10yrs of shite teaching or 10 yrs of good teaching – who’s judging?

Again, I don’t agree with the strike action and won’t be participating in either the AEU one or the IEU one.

Johnboy – okay, I re-read my first post and I worded it badly (I was trying to be succinct). The issue is *NOT* about the CPI rate (the CPI comment was just to say that the initial offer does not ‘even meet CPI’ – but about having pay that equates to that in other jurisdictions (especially NSW). I know you find that ‘a novel argument’ but it suits our argument the way that Katy’s comments suit hers (and is the reason you’ll not find me in politics).

There are some really good teachers in this system (and KatyG is happy to spout the plusses of this system, especially the top results we always seem to achieve in national testing) because historically it has paid well – but why must we fight for that good pay every time since self-Govt! As always – attracting and retaining teachers into the ACT relies on having parity with other systems (notably NSW). The 12% pay offer is not acceptable because it means more class contact hours, but we will STILL have to write our curriculum as we do now(ie we don’t get it written in the way NSW does).

DT – I know what you mean… Hard Govt. to negotiate with huh? Although apparently it isn’t difficult for them to ‘consult’ when deciding on roads, bus lanes and other infrastructure…

The term “CPI”, with no qualifiers, means the national Consumer Price Index.

That’s what it means.

While the CPI argument may well be a novel argument, and may well be irrelevant, I don’t see it as a lie when the CPI is 3.1% in Canberra. That’s a fact. How is it a lie?

I would welcome greater accountability of teachers – there’s certainly enough colleagues that I wouldn’t be unhappy to see go. But let’s see a decent proposal that doesn’t take yet more time away from us. Independant auditors or something, I’m not sure. Just don’t use standardised testing – it just doesn’t work. Of course, this would mean the government be willing to pay for such accountability testing.

My main argument is that we are not getting wage parity with NSW, our closest competitor for recruitment. The last EBA managed to close the gap, now the government is prepared for the gap to be re-established.
Fundamentally I’m not in teaching for the money (I doubt any teachers are), but I do want to feel like I am as valued as the guy working x km over the border. Improving conditions would be just as good (if not better!) to me as a pay rise, but it would also cost the government more, so they’re not likely to consider that.

” if we need to pay more to retain numbers then lets pay more.” I don’t see the government agreeing with you there, and that’s the problem.

“The fact I don’t want to be a teacher (neither do many former teachers) has nothing to do with the money. ” I’m sure it doesn’t – it has to do with the conditions. But the simple fact is I’m prepared to put up with shittier conditions if I’m paid more, and the conditions are not improving, only getting worse.

As an aside, Gerry-Built, the last Certified Agreement for ACT Public Servants was finalised (if memory serves) 18 months after the previous one expired. So if you’ve got a pay offer already, you’re doing well.

Thank you xman!

“I’ve never been surpised by a report card. Why? Because I go to parent teacher meetings. I ask for honest opinions on my kid’s work and I actually keep an eye on the quality of their homework.

Additionally, there’s national benchmark testing to also measure their progress.

Reports have merely been an affirmation of what has already be discussed between the teachers and myself. “

I just hope that when I begin teaching (in 4 years time) that I have people like you parenting my students!

“I now have to write to the Commonwealth to explain the situation,” Ms Gallagher said, adding the ACT could be penalised for non-compliance.

Katy has to do some homework! What is the likelihood of that happening?

a) 9% is below cpi

That is a LIE. You are lying in this debate and doing so willfully.

Yes, that reflects on the profession as a whole who you were attempting to speak for.

“Canberra CPI” is a novel argument in wage rises and wholly opportunistic.

That is why I am attacking you personally, and everyone in the profession trotting out this canard.

Chalker you’re getting a damn pay rise and still we have bugger all individual accountability of teachers (and lets face it we know many, by no means all, are disgraces).

I’m in favour of the pay rise, if we need to pay more to retain numbers then lets pay more.

“Canberra CPI” is both irrelevant and dishonest in the argument.

I will return to the point however that the federales are taking half of any pay raise so we could give more by trading off conditions rather than raw salaries anyway.

I’m quitting my job right now, finishing up on the 24th. The fact I don’t want to be a teacher (neither do many former teachers) has nothing to do with the money.

On a calmer note: the chair of the meeting was not terribly inclined to wait for disenting votes before declaring motions passed (well, except for the last one to reject the governments offer).

To all who are complaining about teachers at the moment:
Why don’t you try it? Seriously, become a teacher. There’s no lack of jobs. You’ll find employment. So long as (and it can be a bit of a wait unless you get lucky) you get permanency and not a contract it’s quite a secure job too.

It’s such a cushy job as you all keep pointing out. We have a big union to fight for us. We don’t even have to be honest (apparently). We get to have strike days every three years to justify yet again that we deserve comparable pay to colleagues in other states (and I remind you, that we are asking for an equal, not greater, pay rise than NSW, despite having a larger CPI by a few percentage points). What a holiday that is, and completely guilt free too!

So where the bloody hell are you JB?
Get over yourself you pretentious arse.

Johnboy – if you don’t agree with my opinion – that’s fine, but there is no need to start personal attacks against an occupation or individuals. I care a lot for the kids I teach, that are in my school and that are in my community – and there is nothing wrong with that – kids need some care, help and support. I became (and still am) a teacher because *I do care* and there is a lot of care and support from most teachers towards the students under their care. But at the end of the day, it is a job I do, and fair pay is a reasonable request…

bonfire – I agree with you, I don’t think a strike is in anyone’s best interest. Teachers tried to discuss the EBA for the last six months and had the offer thrown in *after* or current EBA expired with a ‘take it or leave it’ attached… that is not in anyones best interests either…

Anyhow, my say was in my first post above, I’ve put my opinion and you are welcome to agree or disagree. You’ll notice, however, I’m not attacking anyone for their opinions…

gerry built – having been involved with these types of negotiations from both sides can i say that you indeed shoot yourselves in the foot when you go on strike.

often its done for no other reason than muscle flexing. if you think it brings the boss around, youre wrong.

very 1970’s.

Oh and if the Canberra CPI was under the national you’d adjust your claim?

Not bloody likely. Dishonest bastards trusted with children.

and it’s opinions like yours eroding community support for the teacher’s union.

good work!

Nice hissy fit JB! Keep up the good work.

I just want to add that I think reports cards are a smallish joke in the whole school-parent communication model. I’ve never been surpised by a report card. Why? Because I go to parent teacher meetings. I ask for honest opinions on my kid’s work and I actually keep an eye on the quality of their homework.

Additionally, there’s national benchmark testing to also measure their progress.

Reports have merely been an affirmation of what has already be discussed between the teachers and myself.

Johnboy:
…and you want to call *me* a ‘whining shit’.
-I responded to others comments
-any big group negotiates pay collectively(this is not called ‘hid[ing] behind a union’)
-can you tell us a better way to let the Govt. know we won’t take their bull over not sitting down and negotiating for over 6 months and then throwing in an offer and saying “that’s it”
-*you* were the one who wanted to split hairs (hey I live and work in Canberra – shouldn’t I use Canberra’s CPI and not say Sydney’s?)
-I’m allowed my opinion too, buddy

i recall in a rental dispute some years ago (i felt a $50 a week rise was a tad unfair in a $180 a week property) i rang the abs and asked what the cpi figures were. they have people there to answer those sorts of questions. pretty neat use of public money.

i always think its a bit rich when alp gummints jackboot over unions. iirc they are supposed to represent labour.

ironically, i can trace current union weakness back to the late 80’s when the alp gummint and actu tried to create superunions to stem falling membership.

i dont think its helped anyone.

You whinging shits.

Out in the real world, the one you compare yourselves to to justify your wage rises, we have to go ourselves and ask about our pay rises. Not hide behind a union, not go on strike to build public pressure.

And I can tell you we don’t start splitting hairs about percentage point variations of CPI to other metropolitan centres.

Get over yourselves.

…and don’t get me started on the ACT pollies how get their pay indexed to CPI with a healthy pay rise each year. Maybe all public sector employees should get access to their independent tribunal

Canberra 150.9 0.8 3.1 (same page – table further down compares cities to average CPI)

ABS Latest release says all groups CPI is 2.8%

Dare I ask what number you’re working from?

a) 9% is below cpi

b) ACT currently have lower teaching hours because they are responsible for developing curriculum themselves – and guess what? THIS TAKES TIME!!!

c) from somebody that took a $18,000 drop in pay to become a teacher – I’m upset by people telling me I’m a ‘gold-digger’ – guess what – I’m prepared to fight for my conditions of work – as I’m sure everybody reading this would! (and yes, it was my choice, but how many others are likely to make that choice given the pay parity situation)

d) Ms Gallagher using the federal funding as leverage to try and gain public support is simply ‘blackmail’. No teacher wants to put funding (of any sort) at risk – because at the moment, funding in education is really tight (a school I worked at recently spent more on repaioring vandalism than on delivering education)

e) you got a problem with teachers fighting for pay and conditions? Why don’t you go to your nearest Public School and have a look at the conditions. And you know that kid that bullies *YOUR* child, we have to teach them too…

BTW – The Howard Govt has stripped awards to make the situation we have now!!! So what use would a national award be – these problems will still happen (in all industries).

To Vic – Public School teachers care for their students, they must to work with the pay and conditions endured – ’cause otherwise they get out!

Do tell…?

I was a bit surprised myself to see the Eureka flag there. However, I supppose as a symbol of rebellion and having a long association with the Australian labour movement there was obviously at least one person who felt passionately enough about the issue and what the Eureka flag represents to have brought it along. There doesn’t necessarily have to be an attack by redcoats for it to be used. It was also used in the 1891 shearers strike (thanks Wikipedia).

As for the older teachers having the vote, very true. There was one younger teacher who raised some issues at the meeting but was basically ignored along the lines of “one day, you too will be at the top of the pay scale”. I found that a bit hard to swallow being a younger teacher myself. What was far more disturbing was how the meeting was run as a whole.

Yeah sorry, I was a bit abrupt. I take back my comments about the greed.

Vic – they are not selfish. They simply needed to draw attention to an issue that was underlying the the teaching industry, and this was the way they chose to do it. If the teachers didnt care about their students educations – they wouldnt be teachers then would they?

I think it was today tonight ran a segment on how todays youths fail tests that their parents passed when they were the same age. Parents (although I am not a parent) seem to think that once you send your child off to school it becomes the teachers job to mould them into little academics. Teachers and parents need to work together in order to make this work. Parents should be playing a bigger role in their child’s educations, so that when they get a report card saying “your child has several areas to improve in” it wont be such a big shock.

Actually Vic, the Catholic teachers went on strike two years ago.

PS teachers do care about their students. Just remember that a majority vote wins re: strike action and the majority are teachers who want to finish off teaching with as much money as they can.

Teachers start on $46k and those at the end of the pay scale (Level 1’s) earn around $66k. Yet they do the same job, the difference is the experience.

Greedy public service teachers.

The teachers at my kids school (private) never go on strike cos they care about their students educations, not themselves like th greedy PS teachers.

Swaggie, I can tell you from the votes undertaken today that the majority voted with the AEU. Of that majority at least 85% were over 45yo.

Now this is from a friend who attended the strike, I did not but given that the last time a younger teacher attempted to get votes (last EBA) they were howled down by the “older” teachers. Why? Because good ol’ Clive got up and said “If we want to give everyone the same payrise (younger teachers got 3-4% less last time) then we can’t get 15% for the top of the teaching pay scale”.

email to johnboy@the-riotact.com love to get some colour

johnboy, I have some photos (4)- from a friend who was at the strike – if you would like them on here.

One is most interesting – the Eureka Stockade flag in plain view.

From what I heard, it was the biggest pile of shit spouted ever.

As to the business about PE — when I was in France at school we had one single two-hour PE class a week. This was a bit of a shock coming from out system here where I was a hell of a lot more active even though I predominantly took Outdoor Education.

That’s ok jb, I’ll admit I missed the sarcasm in your original statement.

This passage from the Nobel prize winning chemist Glenn T Seaborg…tragically one of the elements he discovered/made was plutonium [since they are Transuranic elements and need the intervention of man largely in order to be made/prepared…ask a chem teacher if you need to]

not that public education is so bad in the ACT…but it is in danger of being so because of the stretching of teaching resources that from what I can gather is trying to be imposed upon the system…which of course to get all Marxist about it is entrenching a class system:

“If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose …… the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war. [2]”

National Commission on Education report in 1983, Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman.

The industrial action I saw this morning made me proud that some white collar unions are still kicking against the pricks…my relevant union here ….CPSU has long rolled over to have its belly rubbed by management or perhaps pimping/whoring for the ALP…as a person who for so many years believed in compulsory unionism and closed shops [and a niece…well actually first cousin once removed to get all Debretts …from union heavyweight John Halfpenny…he once ran Trades Hall in Victoria and was a famous member of the Communist Party and ran one time on the ALP Senate ticket] I am no longer a member of any union as I have no confidence that CPSU represents the best interests of its constituents…and that is really saying something for me to have had such an ideological turn around…but I have other legal networks by which my best interests may be far better represented that crap on the incompetence, inadequacies, cronyism, factionalism and other things [which if said may attract a lawyers letter threatening a libel action…I have seen too much]

Sorry Chalker, I was referring to the quote, not to your personal efforts which I’m sure are outstanding.

“I can see how letting students and their parents know how they’re actually doing might be a bad idea for our teachers.”
I actually resent that comment jb. Reports are currently more detailed on a students performance than they ever were when I was a student. We had our grade, and effort grade, and a two line comment such as “Johnny is a pleasure to teach”. The whole thing fit on a slip of paper about A6 in size. I fill in on every student I teach a checklist of reporting outcomes that details their understanding of key concpets and work patterns, and that includes their literacy and numeracy skills. The comments I give are detailed and informative. Now granted the commentary is where not all teachers excell and often teachers think they can’t offer constructive criticism (“AFAIK, the old system wouldn’t let you say anything ‘negative’ but truthful about a childs performance.”), but so long as the language isn’t derisory, you can critique a students ability so long as you offer suggestions as to how the student might improve their ability (it’s called constructive criticism). I have done so many times and have never had a parent complain. Of course, because it has to be put so politely the language is sometimes a bit over the top and can need decoding, and here I am all in favour of plain english comments (it’d sure make writing them easier!), but parents need to be prepared to read that plain english too and not jump up and down complaining that I said their little precious is slack, when they are.

“What is the proposed system of grading if they abandon the A to E program?”
Currently it only primary schools (to my knowledge) that have abandoned A-E reporting. Instead of this one letter grade, there are multiple outcomes which are scaled across five points (typically these are: excelling, very good, good, satisfactory, and unsatisfactory). So instead of a single letter grade students receive four or more separate grades, they’re just not letters. High schools also include A-E grades, but often not for year 7 as they consider that a “transitional year” from primary school, and it’s thought better to get the kids (and parents) used to 8 reports instead of one.

“You cannot fail a kid, you have to say they are developing.”
I take issue with this also. I have failed kids many times over; “Johnny has not met the minimum requirements of this course” has appeared on many reports that I have written. The lowest level that we can give a student is not “developing” but “unsatisfactory”.

“national award for teachers.”
Yes, agreed.

“performance standards for teachers (incl provision for removing non-performers)”
That’d be great if we could get enough teachers in the first place.

“national student report card standards.
national primary and secondary curriculum.”
I agree that reporting needs to have standards so that students moving schools at least have consistnecy in how they are reported on. However, the diversity of curriculum and the ability to alter it to suit specific student and community needs is what has made the ACT education system the best in Australia. Sure it has its share of problems, but let’s concentrate on fixing those, not chucking out the whole lot for a system that isn’t as good.

“compulsory phys ed for students of 1 hour a day.”
Not quite, but it’s close – 50 minutes four out of five days ok? Maybe if parents made sure their kids did an after-school sport? To put more sport in, something else has to come out. Reading and writing? Basic maths? Maybe there are enough students struggling at these already, but that doesn’t seem to satisfy you.

“longer school hours.
no requirement for compulsory ‘homework’.”
I’m not sure if you intended to follow one with the other, but that is what more school is, homework. The argument against homework is typically that kids lose concentration that late in the day or have extra-curricular or other out-of school commitments. All the arguments against homework are equally applicable to longer school hours (I do presume you mean those hours are for students, not teachers).

I sometimes despair for our current system of total social awareness but with no real core learning of the basics.

When everyone is super, no one will be — Syndrome, aka Incrediboy

jr – don’t get me started on the proposed “Ginninderra Mega-School”, suffice to say that it is yet another impractical idea sure to cost the ACT taxpayer an absolute bomb, and stand as testiment to the continuing mismanagement of ACT schools by whichever Government happens to be in power.

Just to summarise my tangent, Charnwood High School was closed in 1995 after existing for all of 14 years, with all students shipped off to the ancient Ginninderra High. Now the student levels at Ginninderra have plummeted (due to demographic shifts and the woeful state of the school buildings) and the ACT Government think that spending $45 million on a McMega school will solve the problem? Get a clue!

GnT – not disputing your numbers, but I’m curious to learn where you got your stats on average salary increases accorss the workforce? I only ask becasue before my current position I was in the private sector and I earned the same money for over three years. Granted it was (barely) above the award, but there was certainly no annual pay-rise. And I would suggest that my case would not be isolated when you look at any sort of trade in the private sector.

National curricla are dangerous things if you get them wrong.

Let a hundred flowers bloom: let a hundred schools of thought contend. – Mao

I agree thumper. In fact, I rate teaching and nursing as attracting some of the most gorgeous, interesting and smart ladies.

Anyway, where was I? Introducing a compulsory five point scale (A-E) is potentially useless if not done properly. Each of the 5 points on the scale need to be clearly defined and based on observable student behaviours. Otherwise teachers will just be ticking categories (A – E) with different ideas in mind, and parents will not be able to compare across schools, etc. I am unsure of the exact details of this new system, but simply saying “A = outstanding” and “E = limited” etc is nowhere near enough for a standardised scale.

In response to 12% over 3 years being ‘pretty big’ – average pay increases across the workforce are 4.2% per annum, with public sector increases averaging 4.5%. This makes the 3% offer (below CPI) an insult and 4% per annum more than reasonable.

In response to the comments on reporting – I find it ridiculous that the federal government (Nelson in particular) spent so much energy promoting a ‘new’ system that is already in use in most schools. All high schools I know of already use an A to E grading system, and already report to parents at least twice a year. Correct me if I’m wrong.

there should be a:

national award for teachers.
performance standards for teachers (incl provision for removing non-performers)
national student report card standards.
national primary and secondary curriculum.
compulsory phys ed for students of 1 hour a day.
longer school hours.
no requirement for compulsory ‘homework’.

Here we go again:

Without having to dig very deep I can find the following money that could be freed up by scrapping or deferring projects which have already been allocated funding:

Correctional Facility: $110 Million
Abortorium (tree park): $60 Million
Ginninderra District Mega School: $45 Million

Wow! I just found $200 Million that could be better used on education and health!

The more I think about this the more I think the teachers need to rein in their Union, I’m sure this isn’t all coming from the rank and file after speaking to the kid’s teachers.

ACT Education Minister Katy Gallagher was on the radio this morning, spouting rubbish about how the ACT Government could not afford to offer a wage increase as large as the percentage requested as there is simply not enough money in the budget.

I find that particularly strange given that Simon Corbell seems to have found an allocation of $150 million to fund the “3 minute express”.

I’m not saying that a 12% wage increase is justified, but whinging about having no money in the budget for teachers is the height of idiocy when you’ve got another minister throwing millions down the toilet on an extremely frivolous idea.

AFAIK, the old system wouldn’t let you say anything ‘negative’ but truthful about a childs performance.

Many a night was spent helping the wife word her reports so they would be informative without pinging the level 2, who would review all the reports.

She often wanted to say “Johnny needs to read more at home and focus during class times to improve his basic English Skills” but that apparently came off to bitchy.

Right now, every teacher not named Borke hates you.

NSW Education Minister Carmell Tebbutt explained “plain english report cards” on 31-JAN-06 thusly:

‘Plain-English’ Student Report Cards will be introduced into all schools. These new report cards will allow parents to clearly see; their child’s overall achievement graded from A for outstanding through to E for limited; more details about how their child is performing in English and Mathematics; and simpler written comments identifying their child’s strengthens and weaknesses;

So they’re not exactly as plain spoken as some might imagine or hope.

The idea that parents who move state should be able to expect and demand an identical system wherever they go is an intriguing one…

Having recently had an opportunity to read through my old report cards, there’s an awful lot of guff written in there that can’t possibly have been helpful to my parents, or, indeed, any one else. Stuff like “Simon is a joy to teach” isn’t exactly helpful in working out “does he actually understand Physics at all” (answer – no, because the teacher’s an alcoholic who rambles excessively, and I’m in year 11 focussed very intently on the person arousing my hormones who’s sitting next to me).

That should be broke, not “borke”.

If it ain’t borke don’t fix it – What is the proposed system of grading if they abandon the A to E program? Surely any system that doen’t grade a students performance will not help kids in the long run.

As for a twelve percent pay increase over three years – that is pretty big. I don’t know the history of our teacher’s salary increases, but there are not many other industries that would be able to accomodate such big jump. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not syaing they don’t deserve it – I don’t know so I don’t have an opinion – but perhaps they should start with the nine percent that will bring them on par with NSW teachers.

I can remember numerous teachers’ strikes throughout my primary and secondary schooling in the ACT education system – and they were awesome.

Now we hear that students won’t get grades sent home to their parents either?? It’s a good time to be a student.

Ha ha, ‘reproting’.

Anyway, there is no performance review and compensation system in effect (politics of favoritism I imagine), so I don’t know how much of it is to compensate for that, if any.