SCHOOLS ARE NOW FORTRESSES

Posted on June 22, 2025 by pooroldhenry

This column was written. And published in the ‘Suns’ Darwin in January 2017.

SCHOOLS AND THE FORTRESS MENTALITY

It is a sad thing that open environments, once a feature of child care and school precincts are being consigned to history. Fenceless, physically borderless boundaries have all but gone.

Schools started off with outer perimeters marked by knee or waist high fencing that was no more than railing stretched between vertical uprights. However, more and more have fences being upgraded to two metre plus high, impenetrable barriers. All are aimed at protecting schools from damage and vandalism.

A sad thing for schools is the need for this fortress like mentality. Students and staff members shouldn’t be confronted with teaching and learning environments surrounded by two metre high fences. They should not have to go through gates that open in the morning, are locked at night and require pass keys at other times. They should not have to walk around school precincts under the survelliance of CCTV cameras or sit in classrooms where security systems are turned on after hours in order to afford protection. They shouldn’t have to enter and exit classrooms through doors with double locking and deadbolt systems in place to secure against unlawful entry. Neither should they be made to feel like prisoners, looking out from classrooms through windows reinforced with security mesh.

Teachers and students leaving schools at the end of each day, wonder whether violation occasioned by unlawful entry will occur overnight, at weekends or during holiday times. Will walls be graffitied, windows smashed, doors forced, rooms trashed and property stolen? Worrying about the susceptibility of workplaces to violation is always on the back-burner of thinking.

Ironies

An irony is the apparent reluctance of some school leaders to follow through on issues of wanton damage to premises and property. That may have to do with school leadership groups somehow feeling a misplaced ‘shame or blame’ for these happenings. The fact that schools are broken into is not their fault.

The issue needs to be aired in the public domain. Offenders should to be dealt with in other than a trivial fashion. They are fully aware of what they are doing and deserve to face realistic consequences.

Students and staff who are the victims of property crime need to know that offenders will be dealt with appropriately, not handled with kid gloves and let off lightly.

Schools used to be happy and open places of learning, not enclosed fortresses separated from their communities by security devices. Sadly, that era has been consigned to history and may never be restored.

EDUCATION FUNDING PRIORITIES NEED REVAMP

Posted on November 17, 2018 by pooroldhenry

This was published in the NT Sun on November 13, 2018.

EDUCATION FUNDING PRIORITIES NEED REVAMP

There has been a significant change in the setting of funding priorities for schools during the past ten years.

Prior to the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) in 2008, it was extraordinarily difficult to attract money for school capital works programs. Principals and school councils were often frustrated by the delays in gaining initial approval. Generally works were included in treasury’s forward estimates.

In some cases, approved works remained in abeyance for so long, they were re-announced as new initiatives before gaining final funding approval.

Minor New Works programs for infrastructure projects up to $250,000 were similarly queued for lengthy periods of time.

The GFC consigned this scenario to history. In order to stimulate building and construction, the Federal Government created the Building Education Revolution (BER).
Many billions of dollars were released to state and territory educational systems. ‘Build, build build, like there is no tomorrow’ became the order of the day. Along with all educational authorities, the NT Education Department was overwhelmed with BER money.Funds were allocated for major construction in every Northern Territory school.

A BER downside was the prescription placed on the use of money. Buildings had to be for science laboratories, school libraries, classrooms, assembly halls and physical facilities. When particular schools had higher priorities they were discounted. Timelines attached to the program required projects to be completed and funds expended by specific dates. This meant that building and construction programs had to be undertaken during term time disrupting school programs, in some cases for weeks on end.

Although the BER is now history, there has been a significant shift in funding priorities for NT schools. Compared with pre BER days, it seems that limitations on capital and minor new works funding have been relaxed.

Government tenders in the NT News each Wednesday confirms that money is being allocated for playground equipment, shade structures, irrigation upgrades and other works that were rarely funded in past times.
Previously, it had been up to school communities to fundraise for these ventures.

It is a worry that major funding for schools seems to be based on the fact that projects must support the building, construction, and infrastructure industry. There is a need for funding to recognise and support teaching and learning programs in classrooms. The ‘heart’ of the school is the teaching/learning interface. Buildings and facilities are necessary but should not be prioritised to the detriment of core learning needs.

Funding balance is important. While facilities are necessary, the support of students through classroom programs must not be compromised.

TRB IS AN IMPORTANT INSTITUTION

Posted on November 17, 2018 by pooroldhenry

Published in NT Sun on October 30 2018

TRB AN IMPORTANT INSTITUTION

The NT Teachers Registration Board is an important institution playing a key role in ensuring the quality and competence of teachers in our schools.

These boards are part and parcel of the educational make up of every state and territory in Australia. It is behoven upon boards to ensure teachers appointed to our schools meet agreed standards in terms of qualification, competence and character.

Since its establishment in September 2004, the Northern Territory Teachers Registration Board has processed applications from hundreds of teachers. For the most part the board has done a most satisfactory job.

In recent times however, it has been reported that several teachers in our schools have slipped through the net and into our classrooms. That should have not happened. It only takes one or two slips like this to negatively impact on the board’s reputation.

In one case a person had a background that included quite a number of “aliases”. This would have made it difficult to accurately evaluate that person’s background and character. There have been other instances of people being registered when that was not the most appropriate option.

Systems need to safeguard our children and offer them the best possible education. While 99% of our teachers approved by the board fill the brief for appointment, no oversight can be excused.

Any failure will become general knowledge and sully the reputation of the board in the eyes of the public. What needs to be understood is that it can be extremely difficult to work around issues of alias names and identity issues of people who may be trying to hide past circumstances when seeking registration.

The fact that state and territory boards are separate entities only operating within their own boundaries, may be a weakness of the current registration system. We have a national curriculum and national testing program. Consideration should be given to nationalising teacher registration.

Unifying national registration might help overcome glitches that can occur when teachers move from one state or territory to another, requiring new registration. How thoroughly NT registration and police checks are able to explore the history of teachers seeking endorsement may be an issue. A national teacher registration board could also promote the idea of portability of teacher qualifications from one state and territory to another. This would facilitate nationwide teacher transfer.

To nationalise teacher registration would be a logical step in developing an Australia wide perspective on education. It may also help to overcome the likelihood of teachers inappropriately slipping past registration processes and into NT classrooms.

MORE THAN UNI, POST SCHOOL

Posted on October 17, 2018 by pooroldhenry

This was published in the NT Sun on October 16 2018

MORE THAN UNI, POST SCHOOL

We are approaching that time in the year when senior students will begin to earnestly consider their futures beyond school.

The focus for senior students seems to be on what degree courses they will need to support their chosen occupation. Much emphasis is placed on academic studies and careers requiring bachelor, masters or even pH D level certification. To this end, students are placed under stress to do well with year 12 examinations.

By comparison very little emphasis is placed on apprenticeships or training for a trade. There seems to be an inference that these courses are for students who cannot succeed academically. Students are almost discouraged from considering occupational alternatives.

There are an array of trades in desperate need of bolstering by qualified people. While a handiperson’s skill can suffice at times, a qualified trades person is often needed for a safe, efficient and lasting job finish.

We have such a critical shortage of qualified tradespeople in the Northern Territory and many other parts of Australia. To fill the gap, overseas recruiting is often done in order to bring people in on visas to fill trades gaps for major projects being undertaken.

It’s time for trades training and study to be presented in a more optimistic, positive light. Students need encouragement to consider these alternatives for they are not “second rate” or inferior. Incomes that can be earned by qualified tradespeople are right up there alongside the earning potential of white collar, degree holding employees.

Stephen Billett Professor of Adult and Vocational Education at Griffith University wrote that “we need to change negative views of the jobs VET serves to make it a good post school option.” (The Conversation, October 4 2018) Billett maintains that there needs to be three key actions to transform present perceptions.

1 A public education campaign is necessary to inform the community (particularly parents) that VET is a viable and worthy post-school option. Industry should support this government sponsored program.
2. Schools should better promote VET as a post school option to students including “…entrance into VET is an important performance indicator.”
3. Governments and industry should ensure that VET options are “… organised, ordered and resources (to provide) students with appropriate educational experiences” (op cit).

Vocational education is overlooked too often as a viable post school option. This is contributing to the NT’s desperate shortage of qualified tradespeople. For the good of our community and the future of our economy, this situation must be reversed.

NT EDUCATION MUST NOT BE SEGMENTED

Posted on July 14, 2018 by pooroldhenry

This piece was published in the ‘NT Sun’ on June 12 2018

NT EDUCATION MUST NOT BE SEGMENTED

Michael Gunner’s thoughts about Indigenous Education that could be included in a treaty worry me greatly. If a treaty were to eventuate, the Chief Minister suggests that schools in indigenous communities could be given the right to run themselves. “The Government (would provide) money for education and the community (would take) responsibility for how it is delivered locally. Locals could take control of the curriculum … control of children attending school, teachers employed and seeing even more locals becoming teachers.” (Gunner will sign treaty, Sunday Territorian, 3.6.2018) In her story, Judith Aisthorpe reported that several people in high places thought this to be a great idea.

To declare all remote area schools as ‘independent’ and being able to set their own curriculum priorities would be a step backward, not forward. If still working as an educator in remote areas, schools set up under such loose guidelines would be places where I would not want to work.

Some years ago, a Territory politican who represented remote communities, offered a counterpoint. He said that in a mainstream Australian society, English Literacy and Mathematical understanding were key skills. They were necessary for transactional purposes. They were also skills all Australians needed for communication and survival.

Mr Gunner’s suggestions run counter to advice given to me by Aboriginal people in communities where we worked. They wanted ‘proper’ education. A prominent Indigenous Leader at Angurugu in the early 1980’s put it this way. “We want our children to be educated in the same way as children in towns and cities.” That was the brief with which we were charged. There is a place for bilingualism and for education to be culturally relevant. But to deny the need for competence in literacy and numeracy would be totally wrong.

This can only happen if a curriculum emphasising key academic skills is supported by qualified teachers. It is absolutely essential that families play their part by ensuring regular school attendance.

One of the downsides for Indigenous Education (and indeed for education as a whole) is that it has become politically cluttered. Those with and those without qualification feel it necessary to add their opinion to educational debate. People working in schools are busy reacting to what comes down as directives from on high. They have little opportunity to contribute meaningfully to sharing the realities of schools and programs. To uncouple education from an approved Australian curriculum supported by qualified teachers would further weaken remote area education which is already challenged.

Posted on April 17, 2018 by pooroldhenry

This column was published in the NT Sun on April 17 2018

CONSIDER WHAT HAS GONE BEFORE

It often seems those who have been involved with educational developments and direction in the Northern Territory are completely discounted. What has happened in past years has either been completely overlooked or altogether forgotten. In relation to facilities, curriculum emphasis, staff and student development, community engagement, and other key areas, it seems that education is always in the “planning“ stage.

It is common for ideas to be raised as “new initiatives“ when in fact they are revisitations to what has been tried (and often discarded) in the past.

In part this has to do with the fact that the history of education in the Territory has been so poorly recorded. There are some records scattered in various libraries and archives but they are not readily available to current decision-makers. In 2009 when becoming the CEO of Education in the NT, Gary Barnes commented upon the fact that he was coming in “blind”. There was very little documented history he could access in order to familiarise himself about the system he was inheriting. At the time there was hope something might be done to rectify the situation. There was a proposition developed by some within Education’s Executive Group suggesting resources be given to documenting history. However, that thought faded very quickly.

In 2014 the Education Department planned on developing a visual display that focused on the contribution of CEOs from 1978 when the NT accepted responsibility for education from the Australian Government. Time, energy, effort and money was put into this development but it was subsequently shelved because of a change in government and Education’s CEO.

The Department of Education has a detailed website. It would be great if “history“ and “past development“ could be included, with people invited to read and contribute to an understanding about educational development in the NT. While this site would need to be periodically monitored and moderated, an invaluable history could be established in a relatively short period of time. This suggestion has been raised in the past without ever going anywhere!

The paradox is that many people with rich experience, are not able to share these for the benefit of the Territory nor for the awareness of incoming educators. With the passing of time, those with knowledge either leave the Northern Territory or pass on. Sadly the knowledge and understanding they could contribute, departs with them. I hope this might be corrected but don’t imagine that will happen any time soon.

NATIONALISATION WOULD ENHANCE AUSTRALIAN EDUCATION

Posted on February 27, 2018 by pooroldhenry

This piece was published in the NT Sun on February 27 2018

NATIONALISATION WOULD ENHANCE AUSTRALIAN EDUCATION

In some respects, education in Australia has been about the cart being put before the horse. That has occurred in part because the predominate focus of Australian Primary and Secondary education has been at State and Territory level. It is only in comparatively recent times that education has taken on a more national look.

History contributed to Australian Education becoming fractured and developing along state and territory lines.
In a vast country challenged until comparatively recently by communication and distance issues, this organisation was the only real possibility. But there have also been parochial constraints. In the mid 1980’s, attempts to develop a national curriculum were thwarted by State and Territory authorities who did not want to pass educational control to a national body.

For education to take on a truly national outlook, there are three requirements. In the first instance, there needs to be a curriculum framework that embraces the whole of Australia. Secondly, teacher education should lead to national teacher registration. This would allow portability for teachers wanting to move schools across state and territory boundaries. Finally, a national curriculum should be nationally assessed.

The order in which these priorities have been considered is not logical. The National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) was introduced in 2008. NAPLAN assesses all Australian students in Years 3,5,7, and 9 for literacy and numeracy competence. Yet it was introduced as a nationwide measure of accountability, while States and Territories still held responsibly for their own curriculum delivery. Having a national curriculum prior to national assessment would have made more sense.

While we are now a fair way down the road toward universal curriculum, State and Territory authorities seem reluctant to fully embrace the concept. We contrast interestingly with many countries which have had a national curriculum for decades. It could well be that tested competencies in Australia are below comparative international standards because our curriculum has been so divided. Although State and Territory education authorities are coming together on the issue, national curriculum in many respects has a long way to go.

A third consideration ought to be the introduction of a National Teacher Registration Authority. At the moment Teacher Registration Boards (TRB’s) have State and Territory jurisdiction. A teacher wanting to move interstate has to be approved by that state’s registration board. A national board would streamline this process.

State and Territory boundaries limit educational effectiveness and are a barrier to Australia-wide outcomes. Nationalisation would introduce efficiencies and promote quality outcomes.

A CLEAN SCHOOL IS FOR EVERYONE

Posted on February 19, 2018 by pooroldhenry

This article was published in the NT Sun on February 2018.

A CLEAN SCHOOL IS FOR EVERYONE

Caring for school environments is the duty of all users. If care is not taken, classrooms, walkways, toilets and school yards can quickly become littered and grubby. Most schools emphasise the need for students to properly dispose of rubbish. There are rubbish bins inside classrooms and buildings and strategically located around school, in toilets as well as communal areas.

It can be extraordinarily difficult for schools to maintain a clean, litter free appearance. A drive past some schools, particularly late in the afternoon, reveals a scatter of paper, plastic cups and other rubbish. A proliferation of rubbish detracts from the grounds appearance, giving the impression that all students are litterers. That is true only of of a minority.

Awareness of the need for classroom organisation and tidiness should be part of student development. In many classrooms there is a roster, assigning students to specific tasks. They might include the following:
• Cleaning whiteboards
• Delivering and collecting notes from the office
• Taking lunch orders to the canteen
• Collecting lunch orders from the canteen
• Tidying shelves and classroom storage areas
• Giving out and collecting work books
• Collecting recyclable materials.

All students take responsibility for:

• Tidy desks and personal storage areas
• Stacking their chairs at the end of the day
• Disposing of food scraps and their own rubbish into bins
• Putting litter into outside bins
• Personal hygiene including toilet flushing and hand washing
• Using classroom bins rather than floors for pencil shavings and scraps of paper.

Some would argue that attitudes of cleanliness and tidiness should be automatic. However, recognising effort and rewarding enterprise can help reinforce personal and civic attitudes. Recognition of class responsibility for care and maintenance of school appearance might include the following:

• The awarding at assembly of a mascot that ‘visits’ the tidiest classroom until the next assembly.
• Recognition of the class that looks after the verandahs and public areas adjacent.
• Giving small rewards to children caught ‘doing something good’ when it comes to environmental care.
• Presenting class or principal’s certificates to classes and children who always do the right thing when it comes to school and classroom appearance.

Schools have cleaning contracts. Contractors attend to daily and weekly cleaning together with a ‘spring clean’ during each long holiday period. However, it is up to students and those using the school to look after and take pride in their facilities. Along the way, habits of cleanliness and tidiness that should last a lifetime, are reinforced.

PHONES AT SCHOOL SHOULD BE A ‘NO GO’.

Posted on February 13, 2018 by pooroldhenry

This piece was published in the ‘NT Sun’ on February 13 2018. I would welcome reader feedback on my position. This reflection takes account of my experiences with mobile phones in schools while a school principal.

PHONES AT SCHOOL SHOULD BE A NO GO

The issue of mobile phones and students accessing them while at school has again come to the fore. The issue has become more critical because of self harm and suicides apparently motivated by the receipt of macabre messages.

Cruel messages and heartless pictures have a deleterious impact on the well-being of many students. From anecdotal evidence it seems that the impact of these messages on younger students is particularly pronounced.

We hear of students misusing their telephones during the school day to send such messages. They are also being used to “steal” photographs of others which can then be shared online. There are also stories of older students (in both primary and secondary schools) using their mobile phones during recess and lunch periods to share pornography between themselves and with younger students.

That this sort of thing is happening in schools is mind-boggling! The suggestion that it’s okay for students at school during the school day to access mobile phones when ever they want, is beyond all common sense.

We are also learning that very young students have their own devices which they are able to freely use, seemingly, whenever they wish

The latest scenario is that federal and state politicians suggesting that students should not be able to use mobile phones at school during the school day. This should not even be a point of debate. Students should not have phones and free access to the use at school during the school day. That used to be the way it was. If there has been a relaxation of the “no phone“ rule, it needs to be immediately reinstated.

Children and students bringing phones to school should be required to hand them to the front office or to a teacher for minding until home time. It would be better in the altogether for parents to resist pressures from children to supply them with “phones without operating rules”.

There are mobile phone options available which can be programmed to limit incoming and outgoing calls to pre-set numbers. The use of a limited device should be sufficient to enable necessary contact between parents and their children.

While some schools require students to bring their own devices to assist in study programs, these are usually laptops and iPads, which lend themselves to better control and monitoring. To continue unfettered phone use at school will continue the bullying and harassment trends which should not be a part of school culture.

BULLYING IS ALL TOO COMMONPLACE

Posted on January 22, 2018 by pooroldhenry

BULLYING IS ALL TOO COMMONPLACE

The consequences of bullying behaviour have played out in the saddest possible way. The passing of Amy Everett, a 14 year old girl from Katherine, again highlights an issue that continues to press upon modern society. In Australia, suicide is the major cause of death for children between the ages of 5 and 14. While there may be a number of factors contributing to this sad loss of young lives, bullying and harassment, has without doubt, become the number one contributor.

The online access people have can encourage bullying. While face-to-face bullying has been a traditional tactic of harassment, the coming of cyberspace communication has added an exponential element to the problem. Bullying, much of it sharp, vicious and aiming for maximum hurt, has become a 24/7 occupation. Keyboard bullies can get at anyone, anywhere and at any time.

Amy Everett’s passing is the most recent case of a phenomenon that is ending the life from far too many people, especially young people. And it is happening all too often.

The ‘Courier Mail’, in covering the Amy Everett story (January 11) intimated that online bullying can be taking place without parents having a real understanding of what might be happening. Clearly there is a need for children and young people to be protected from online savagery. The following sound advice was offered to parents and those responsible for children.

“ 1. Regularly talk with them (children) about technology and their online activity.
2. Put filters in place and set security levels to high restrictions.
3. Make sure their passwords are changed regularly and kept private even from friends.
4. Many children don’t want to talk about online bullying for fear they will have their social media access taken away. Assure them this won’t happen.” (Courier Mail April 11, 2018)

Many very young children have access to social media platforms and can be reached by unscrupulous persons. Michael Carr-Gregg an eminent child psychologist, believes that 60% to 70% of primary school aged children are on social media and this should be discouraged.

It is suggested that social media companies should not allow children under the age of 12 to use their platforms and this should be enforced.

Children, along with everyone else, can and should be encouraged to eliminate vicious and hurtful online bullying. Young people should be taught to bar access to their accounts by those seeking to harm them through vicious words and vile statements.

ARE SCHOOLS REPLACING PARENTS?

Posted on November 28, 2017 by pooroldhenry

Published in the ‘NT Suns’ on 28 November 2017.

ARE SCHOOLS REPLACING PARENTS?

In our modern times schools, especially primary schools, are supposed to be all things to all people. Parents are increasingly engaged with work commitments extending from early in the morning until quite late in the afternoon. It is small wonder that an increasing number of children spend time before and after school in care programs. Many children are at school by 7.00 o’clock in the morning and do not leave care programs until well after 5.00 o’clock each afternoon. Most school councils accept responsibility for Outside School Hours Care (OSHC), providing after school support for children. The number of before school care programs for children are increasing. Children are spending almost as many hours each day in school and care programs than at home.

They are also enrolled in care programs during school holiday periods.

Preschool now commences for most children at the age of three, with timetables providing for full day rather than half day programs. This has been designed to fit in with working parents.

These key structural and organisational changes have contributed to redefining educational priorities. Pre and primary schools are as much about child care as education. This is added to by the fact that community expectation seems to be that children will be brought up by the combined efforts of parents, teachers and child care workers. That used to be the sole responsibility of families.

If schools organise pupil free days for professional development, the response from many parents is one of concern because child care for that day changes. Children either stay at home (with work implications for parents) or are booked into all day care.

In these modern times, family responsibilities have in large part been outsourced to secondary caregivers. Governments have reacted to community pressures and endorse institutionalised nurture and care as being a good substitute for parental time and attention. The justification is that parents are so busy working to boost the economy and sustain the home front, that key parenting responsibilities have to be outsourced. The community expects schools and teachers to be involved with the bringing up of children.

Schools and staff play an important part in the development of children. However they can never take the place of parents. Without doubt, parents are THE primary caregivers for their children. That responsibility should never be hand-balled to secondary providers and government agencies. Schools can do their bit. However, if parents and families fail in their obligations, children will be the losers.

EDUCATIONAL DISAFFECTION A REAL ISSUE

Posted on October 20, 2017 by pooroldhenry

Published in NT Suns on October 17 2017

EDUCATIONAL DISAFFECTION A REAL ISSUE

Rather than being straightforward, education these days has become a kaleidoscope of confusion. Many graduate teachers are quickly disappointed by the realities of a teaching profession that fails to meet their preconceptions.

Rather than finding that teaching is about “teaching”, they discover there is a huge emphasis placed on testing, measurement, assessment and evaluation, often of areas outside their teaching fields. It seems the children are forever being monitored and confronted by batteries of tests.

It quickly becomes obvious to teachers that education is being driven by data. Teaching and teaching methods are dictated by data requirements.

Academic competence is important. However holistic education (the social, emotional and moral/spiritual elements) seem to be given scant attention. Graduate teachers have a strong desire to work as developers of children. Many are quickly disillusioned because education seems to be about a fairly narrow band of academic outcomes.

For many graduate teachers, the gloss of teaching soon wears off. They find themselves unable to cope with the ‘teaching for test’ dimension that now underpins education. The brief years they spend in classrooms are disillusioning. In turn, they may share their perceptions of the teaching profession with others, negatively influencing their thoughts and opinions.

The discounting of their observations is a hard reality for classroom practitioners to accept. Unless verified by formal testing, teacher evaluations are considered to be be invalid.

Preoccupation with the formalities testing and examination are not always priorities generated by schools. Rather, requirements are set by departmental administrators and schools have to comply. In turn, these priorities are not necessarily what administrators want, but are a compulsory response to the demands of politicans.

Sadly, Australian education is deeply rooted in the art of comparing results at primary, secondary and tertiary level with those achieved by students in overseas systems. Often those students are from countries totally unlike Australia, but that is not taken into account. The fact that educational objectives are dictated by comparison to overseas systems is an undoing of Australian education.

Education should be about the needs of children and not influenced by the desire of political leaders and top educationists to brag about how good Australia education is, compared to other systems. Many graduate teachers find themselves caught up as players in this approach, quickly wise up, and quit the profession. Our students are the losers and perceptions of education are sadly discoloured.

Posted on October 4, 2017 by pooroldhenry

This column was published in the ‘NT Suns’ on October 3 2017

REPORTING TIMES ARE IMPORTANT MILESTONES

Reporting on student progress is a top priority. It has been traditional for schools to offer parents written reports at the end of each semester, in June and December. Most schools report orally through parent teacher interviews toward the end of terms one and three.

Change over time

In the 1970’s and into the early 80’s, reports for primary school children were standardised and handwritten. They were issued twice each year. Parent teacher interviews either did not form part of the reporting process or were in their infancy.

Since those beginnings, changes have been adopted as schools endeavoured to recognise and report to parents on current educational curriculum and reporting methods. Schools have developed their own reporting documentation, but are required to report on key areas determined by the department.

Handwritten reports are a thing of the past, computer generated reports the ‘in thing’. Preparing the twice yearly reports for printing and distribution should be easy. However, technical glitches that invariably occur can make the exercise quite nightmarish. One of the most common template glitches is that data, once entered, cannot be edited or changed. High levels of concentration are necessary and document preparation is often a fatiguing process.

Reporting priorities

A very high priority is placed on reporting by the Education Department. Reports issued at the end of each semester take many weeks to prepare and finalise. The process is very time consuming.

The reporting focus is on academic outcomes, with achievement being the main area targeted. They are often wordy, but according to many parents lacking in substance. Reports are often criticised for use of jargon and ‘eduspeak’ which make it hard for parents to interpret what is being said.
The inclusion of comments relating to student effort, attitude, conduct and character development is held to be less important than once was the case. That is unfortunate because there is much more to the development of young people than academics.

Accountability

Students need to be held accountable for their attitude and effort toward schooling. Progress and development is personal, with reports showing just how much students are doing toward their personal self development and progress.

The most effective reporting is that which focusses on conversation and understanding between students, parents and staff. Nothing is better than a partnership where responsibilities are shared, appreciation exists and positive outcomes are enjoyed. Ideally, reporting should be about celebrating student progress and achievement.

School Based Policing Needs a Revamp

Posted on September 26, 2017 by pooroldhenry

An edited version of this comment was published in the ‘NT Suns’ on 26 September 2017.

SCHOOL BASED POLICE PROGRAM NEEDS REVAMP

The reduction and diminishment of the once strong School Based Constables (SBC) program available to NT schools is regrettable. A strong element of support was offered to urban and some rural schools over the years through this program. Attached to high schools, each School Based Constable (SBC) had a number of feeder primary schools he or she attended. Constables would visit their schools to conduct Drug and Alcohol Education (DARE) classes with children. They extended their role to include stranger danger awareness and issues such as bullying. Children used to appreciate ‘their’ constable in a way that helped them build positive feelings toward police. In turn, constables learned a lot about community matters of which they needed to be aware. Many potential problems were nipped in the bud because of advanced awareness.

Sadly and with the passing of time, this program has been redefined and significantly dismantled. School Based Police these days are known as Community and Youth Engagement Officers (CYEOS). They are no longer based in schools but visit (a lot less frequently than in the past) from suburban and town police stations. DARE programs have lapsed, along with the contribution SBC’s made to the sharing of children’s learning and the development of their attitudes.

The ‘personality’ of this program, was such that while adults may have had adverse attitudes about police, their children were developing positive attitudes about the force.

The ‘community’ aspect of their revamped role, involves CYEOS in work that has to do with the safety and security of homes. This aims at crime reduction and dealing with issues confronting householders. While necessary, these activities stretch the officers and have meant less time being available for activities in schools.

A point of alarm is that the training of police to fill this particular role has been largely discontinued. It may not be long before the program, one of Territory significance and copied by state and overseas jurisdictions, will be extinct.

A police sponsored program, the Blue Light Disco, has been reduced in urban areas. The program was also been rationalised for schools within our remote communities. The emphasis on Blue Light Discos is a sad loss.
Not only has this program filled an important place in the lives of young people but in social and recreational terms, has given them an enjoyable, supervised outing. I believe in recent times there has been a rescheduling of some Blue Light discos.

The reinstatement of School Based Policing as it was previously organised would be a step in the right direction.

SCHOOL STAFFING A 40 YEAR OLD YO-YO

Posted on September 5, 2017 by pooroldhenry

Edited version published in the NT Suns on September 5 2017

SCHOOL STAFFING A 40 YEAR OLD YO-YO

It’s on again! For the past 40 plus years, the issue of class sizes has occupied the minds of educators. The subject is one that has dominated the thinking of parents, classroom teachers, principals and system administrators. Documenting the changes that have taken place in both primary and secondary schools, urban and rural over the years, would fill the pages of a large book.

The argument about class sizes grows from educational theory and classroom practice. It includes issues of student age and ability. It differentiates between desk based learning and more practical lessons requiring the engagement of specialist teachers and equipment.

The current Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) between the Department of Education and teachers is due to expire in October. Among changes being sought by the Australian Education Union (NT) is for Territory class sizes to be reduced from 27 to 25.

The NT Government became responsible for administering Territory Education in 1979. During the 38 years since, there have been innumerable expansions and contractions in class sizes. These changes have been endorsed as part of the process attached to policy management and shifts in educational priorities.

The staffing formula once used to determine teacher entitlement took one side of an A4 page. In recent years, that has changed. Calculating exact teacher numbers for schools is no longer a simple process. It is one that has been made more complex by the fact that student classification (including special teaching needs and behaviour management) is taken into account when determining staff entitlements for each school. What was a simple process is now a complex issue.

Practical matters also cloud staffing considerations. When teachers are absent, it is not always possible to employ relief staff to cover classes. There are generally more positions in schools to be filled than relief teachers available for employment. Relief teachers will not always accept employment because of travel difficulties and other problems.

When causal teachers are not available, groups may have to be split, with students adding to the numbers in other classes. For primary, middle and senior schools, teachers may have to forego release time.
Assigning specialist teachers to general classroom teaching duties is another ‘solution’, that while necessary, is certainly not desirable. It can mean program changes and students missing out on art, music, physical education and other specialised subjects.

It is one thing to develop a formula for class sizes and another altogether to make it work.

Posted on August 22, 2017 by pooroldhenry

Edited version published in NT Suns on August 22 2017

ABSENCE MAY BE UNAVOIDABLE

The issue of school attendance in both remote and urban school situations is one continuing to attract attention. That has been so for the past 40 years. Solutions are proposed but often not followed up by authorities.

In 2009 the enrolment of school age children became compulsory. However, there are still many school aged children in the Territory who have never been enrolled.

For children in urban schools, absence for a host of reasons occurs during term time . A major factor is that of families taking holidays during school terms when airfares and accomodation are cheaper. Attendance can be a problem for all schools.

Lead from the front

Principals, school leadership teams and school councils need to be proactive when dealing with attendance issues. One strategy that works, is to encourage students on term time holidays, to develop a travelogue covering their experiences. This helps reinforce the learning children do while on family travels. Using media (photos and videos) to embellish adventures, adds to the written word. Trip diaries can be shared with classes and may even attract commendation and awards from classroom teachers and principals.

With a little imagination and by recognising travel as providing learning opportunities, these times away from school can become significant learning journeys for children.

While some parents request holiday assignments and worksheets, these are often not completed. That does not justify the time and effort taken by staff setting up these individual programs.

More than legislation needed

Legislating to solve attendance problems can be pretentious. The Tasmanian Government has decreed that from the beginning of 2018, no family holidays during term time will be allowed. Families will be liable for penalties of up to $2000 if they fail to follow this attendance directive.

Tasmania could have learned from the NT. We have legislation about school attendance, but when tested in court it has had very limited success. Further, the many steps that have to be actioned prior to any court hearing, are both lengthy and onerous.

There needs to be some follow up for all students on this issue, including recognition of children with outstanding attendance records. Mention in school newsletters and the presentation of merit certificates are two ways of acknowledging conscientious attenders. However, absences which result from family circumstances ought not be punitively treated. Encouraging children toward educational enrichment through their travels is a better option.

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NAPLAN DETRACTS FROM EDUCATION

Posted on August 14, 2017 by pooroldhenry

An edited version of vthis paper was published in the NT Suns on August 15, 2017

NAPLAN DETRACTS FROM EDUCATION

NAPLAN outcomes and results are again in the spotlight. Media is involved in reporting and commentating on state, territory and overall Australian results. As usual, the NT is shown as being on the bottom rung of the performance ladder.

School Educators in the NT are made to spend far too much time dealing with the issues of NAPLAN preparation and fallout. Preparation for the May tests in reading, writing and mathematics is on from the first day of every school year. While the key focus is on children in years three, five, seven and nine, whole schools and their communities are affected by preparation for NAPLAN as the number one priority on Australia’s educational calendar. It seems at times that little else matters.

There is a lot more to student development than these tests, yet NAPLAN envelopes the annual educational calendar. System leaders talk of the importance of teaching methodologies and strategies that lead to enhanced student results and data improvement in tested fields. The agendas of staff meetings in many schools are dominated by a preoccupation with data outcomes. Meetings of principals and school leaders have, for many years, had the issues of NAPLAN and data very high on discussion agendas.

After ten years and the expenditure of billions of dollars on NAPLAN, very little has changed. In terms of comparison with the rest of the world, Australian student performance is at best, mediocre to poor. A few schools here and there celebrate. Most of these are in green belts that boast community stability and family affluence.

Comparasion specialists seem to get a great deal of satisfaction from pointing the finger at the NT because of our coverall results that place us last on any comparative table. This negative approach goes all the way back to the ‘seas of red’ (school underperformance) that used to attract a double page spread in the NT News.

Few people ever stop to think about how students feel about this testing regime. Without doubt, children are pressured by constant talk of testing, particularly when so much of the conversation is about negative outcomes. They must also become both frustrated and bored by the constant practice commencing many months prior to May’s testing week.

There should be much, much more to education than an annual reporting regime, magnified beyond its real worth.

MONEY MANAGEMENT CONSUMES SCHOOL LEADERS

Posted on August 10, 2017 by pooroldhenry

Published in edited form in NT Suns on August 8 2017.

MONEY MANAGEMENT CONSUMES SCHOOL LEADERS

From time to time, what appear to be mixed messages about money and its availability to schools gains traction in the media. People might be forgiven for believing that the matter of money for education means that all aspects of school programs are covered and money management is not as issue.

That is far from being the case. While global budgets gave principals and school councils greater autonomy in the way money was spent, there are obligations that mean care has to be taken with expenditure. Utility costs (power and water) and contractual needs ( cleaning and grounds maintenance) have to be met. Checks and balances have to be in place to ensure that money is on hand to meet these periodic accounts.

Without careful planning and awareness, school budgets can be prematurely drained. Allocations are received twice each year, with income having to meet accounts to be presented in the following months. Detailed planning is necessary because cost accountability is each school’s responsibility.

Global school budgets were implemented in Northern Territory Government schools in 2015 to reduce red tape and provide schools with increased autonomy. The Education Department identifies three benefits for schools.

“• increased flexibility and autonomy in decision making
• a clearer financial framework for use in planning
• greater certainty and visibility of the overall resources available to the school including staffing.” (Department of Education website)

School budgets are based on student needs. School location and the specific
needs of each child are taken into account. The following factors help determine the amount
received by each school.

• year level of students
• Indigenous status
• socio-economic status and community affluence.
• remoteness of the school.

The system aims at being fair and simple, but there are issues.

Staffing is one of the main problem areas. The salary allocation for each school is fixed, but pay rates and entitlements for teachers and support staff are variable. More experienced staff command higher salaries than those who are in their initial years of service. In order to save on salaries and spread staffing dollars, school councils may consider replacing experienced teachers with those beginning their teaching journey. While employment for permanent teachers can be guaranteed, those on contract do not have similar security of tenure.

Making sure there is sufficient money to meet every need is a challenge. Principals can become so busy with administration, they don’t have time to be the educational leaders they aim to be.

TEACHERS ARE UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

Posted on July 17, 2017 by pooroldhenry

TEACHERS ARE UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

Teaching comes under more external scrutiny than any other profession. This is quite aside from professional development and performance management requirements set by professional organisations and education departments. are also standards and expectations set by AITSL that teachers are urged to attain. This goal setting is supported by both education departments and professional organisations.

There is a great deal happening happening otherwise that adds to observation and evaluation of teachers. Included is the development of personal plans that consider the effectiveness of each staff member. Individual plans for continual growth and development derive from these meetings. Teachers and staff members are encouraged to self evaluate, measuring themselves against these plans. Everything about these processes takes account of AITSL recommendations for personal and organisational growth and development.

In an effort to build confidence in teachers and schools, parents and members of the public are encouraged to quite minutely scrutinise what is on offer within our classrooms. I believe teachers are willing to share with parents, appreciating the opportunity to converse with them about classroom programs and children’s progress. However, this needs to be done at a time appropriate to both parents and teachers. Conversations on issues with teachers at the start of the school day, while classes are in progress and immediately the school days concludes, are not possible. Teachers are preoccupied with their students and learning at these times. Conversations work best when parents make appointments through school front offices to meet with teachers. There are also programmed parent – teacher interview sessions at least twice each year.

In the interest of fairness, parents and caregivers should initially raise matters with teachers before going higher. Similarly, if the issue is one involving school leadership, the first call should be to the principal or a member of the school leadership team. If issues raised are not able to be resolved at those levels, taking the matter up at a higher level is then appropriate.

School leaders, teachers and support staff act with the best interests of students in mind. To this end, most schools are doing a commendable job.

Edited version published in the Suns newspaper (NT) on July 11 2017.

DON’T FORCE UNDERSTANDING

Posted on June 19, 2017 by pooroldhenry

This column was published (with abridgment) in the NT Suns on June 20 2017.

DON’T FORCE UNDERSTANDING

We need to be very careful that the development of young children is not detrimental. Little children need time to absorb and to understand the world into which they are growing. In these modern times, that world is increasingly complex and difficult to understand. There is a tendency on the part of many to advocate the ‘forcing’ of learning and understanding on children before they are mature enough to grasp concepts.

Recent Early Childhood supplements in the NT News and the Suns point to the wisdom of gradually presenting learning opportunities to children. Articles in these supplements laid stress on the importance of play and providing relaxed, enjoyable places of learning for young children. The building within them of a desire to learn and having confidence in their learning, will not come if unduly hastened. ‘Force feeding’ knowledge into children goes against both common sense and espoused recommendations.

A significant point made in the Suns EC supplement was that ‘Play makes a lasting impact’. That article went on to confirm that “skills developed through quality early childhood education last a lifetime.” The critical importance of quality parenting, well prepared educators and empathetic schools count for a lot, in terms of young children growing up.

Against this backdrop of thoughtful reflection about development, come Australian Government directives that amount to premature expectation and force feeding of knowledge beyond the ability of young children to comprehend.

There are two recent examples of this imposition. The first was Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham’s decision that all preschool children in Australia should be introduced to the Japanese Language. How can little children possibly comprehend ‘Japan’ and the ‘why’ of this language, when they are still in the initial stages of literacy development in our mother tongue. A directive like this is confusing for them and distorts their key educational needs.

More recently PM Turnbull has decided that ” three year olds in childcare and students from preschool … upwards will be taught about suicide awareness and mental health … .” ( “Aussie youngsters get mental health boost’, NT News, 8.6.17) Specific suicide discussion could happen with children as young as 8 years of age. Introducing children to complexities beyond their comprehensive ability poses distinct risks. It is far better to provide for the emergence of happiness and satisfaction through carefully structured learning experiences, than attempting to educate through hastily conceived programs.

KEEP, CELEBRATE OUR SPECIAL DAYS

Posted on June 13, 2017 by pooroldhenry

Published in the NT Suns in June 2017. This is the unedited text.

WE MUST CELEBRATE OUR SPECIAL DAYS

School principals and staff members are increasingly confronted by the issue of recognising and celebrating special days on our Australian calendar. Christmas and New Year coincide with school holiday periods and do not impact during term times. Others, including Australia Day, Easter, Anzac Day, Mothers’ Day and Fathers’ Day take place during the school year. They are acknowledged in classroom programs and by schools.

Historically, there was no problem with celebrating these occasions. As a matter of course, classroom teachers covered them as days of significance. Australia Day, coming at the start of the school year, was a day recognising a period of changing direction in Australia’s history. Acknowledging and appreciating contemporary Australians and their contribution to society became part of the celebration. Easter cards, letters and cards for mothers and fathers and ANZAC commemorations were regarded as thanks and appreciation opportunities. Easter was about Jesus’ character of sacrifice and forgiveness. ANZAC recognition focussed on our defence force, their families and their selflessness in upholding peace and security. Mothers and Fathers days are timely reminders of the important part parents play in the upbringing of children.

In recent years, community resistance to celebrating these days has been rising to the surface. Some people see Australia Day as having negative connotations for Aboriginal Australians. Easter, in recognising our traditional religious base, could be embarrassing to migrants and others who have alternative belief systems. Others may use ANZAC Day as a chance to comment negatively on the roles played by governments in denying entry to some who would like to call Australia home. Finally, the celebration of mothers and fathers is seen by some as failing to recognise single parent families and families of same sex parents.

The character of Australia’s population has changed. We now have a truly multi-cultural and multi-ethnic population. The definition of ‘family’ is changing. Our evolving society has become more empathetic and aware of the role filled by Aboriginal Australians which was misunderstood for a long time.

While some modifications may be wise, there is no way our special days of celebration should be vacated. Abrogation would be very unfair on people and their need to rejoice as Australians in the country we call home. Part of this is recognising values, beliefs and people who contribute as family and societal members, to the growth, progress and well being of our country. Broadening the scope of celebrated days to incorporate our diversity would be a wise option.

CHILDREN NEEED CONFIDENCE AND REASSURANCE

Posted on June 6, 2017 by pooroldhenry

Column published in NT Suns June 6 2017

CHILDREN NEED CONFIDENCE AND REASSURANCE

A prime focus of education is planning towards meeting the future needs of children. Preparing children and young people to become tomorrow’s adults and leaders is a key educational commission. This should be a shared responsibility involving parents on the home front and teachers in our schools. Taking advantage of learning opportunities is also a responsibility resting on the shoulders of students. Parents and teachers offer development and educational opportunities for children but cannot do the learning for them.

In a world of educational pressures and global confusion, it is important to be careful and responsible in planning learning opportunities. Part of this is to offer a stable and understandable environment. The opportunity to ‘grow through play’ and the way in which children learn to understand the wider world are both important.

Play

The importance of play and social interaction children have with each other is sometimes discounted. Abundant research confirms that children learn about the world through play. This along with other stimuli supports their social, emotional and moral/spiritual growth. Young people can be and often are exposed to the pressures of academics too early in life. Making haste slowly and ensuring these other elements are taken into account, supports the stable development of young people. Pressuring children academically might produce ‘high fliers’. However, confidence and maturity come from socialising and play, without which children can be left in isolation. Playing together is one way children begin to understand one another and the world into which they are growing.

Unease

In these troubled times children’s self confidence needs to be supported by parents and teachers. Distressing events, particularly terrorist attacks, climatic catastrophes and other disasters have an unsettling effect on everyone. This is particularly the case for children who can and do become distressed by such events. Trying to shield young people from these events or attempting to brush them off, will only heighten their anxieties.
Awareness of terrifying events creates distress which “… may be shown in all sorts of ways.
This can include aches and pains, sleeplessness, nightmares, bed wetting, becoming … snappy or withdrawn or not wanting to be separated from their parents.” (Parry and Oldfield, ‘How to talk to children about terrorism’ The Conversation, 27/5/17)

Children need the confidence and understanding that grows from play and they need reassurance about the good things in a world into which they are growing. It’s up to adults to see that both these needs are met.

THE CHALLENGE OF JOB SECURITY

Posted on May 22, 2017 by pooroldhenry

This column was published in the NT Suns in May 2017

THE CHALLENGE OF JOB SECURITY

The way in which staffing works in NT schools can be difficult to understand. One issue recently raised (‘Teachers in class limbo’ NT News May 11) pointed out that the number of teachers on temporary contracts in our schools appears to be growing.

Temporary status poses problems for teacher lifestyle, particularly in the area of housing. Unless educators have a steady income they find it extremely hard to negotiate home loans and this locks them out of the home purchase market.

Temporary contract employment is an outcome of Department of Education organisation. Over time, permanently employed teachers may take maternity leave, long service leave, family leave, or lengthly sick leave. Their absences create temporary vacancies in classrooms which have to be filled. However, those appointed can only be offered end-dated contracts because permanent officers are entitled to return to their positions at the end of leave periods.

This issue is one that creates uncertainty for schools, students and for teachers on short term contracts. School principals and staffing officers within the Department of Education do their best to ensure that end-dated contract teachers are offered contract opportunities in other schools. They aim to support staff about to become unemployed so there is no break in their service. This of course does not overcome the issue of teacher changes for students and schools.

The matter is exacerbated by staffing policies in rural and remote schools. Personal and family circumstances mean that many CDU graduates, relief and contract teachers are not able to accept positions in schools outside urban centres. In order to attract teachers to rural and remote schools the Education Department has to offer inducements. Two of these are the early offer of permanency and an undertaking that after a few years, efforts will be made to place these teachers in urban schools. This adds to pressures on the offering of permanent positions to contract teachers in Darwin, Palmerston and Alice Springs.

The Education Department has periodically offered permanency to contract teachers, holding them against the system rather than schools. This goodwill gesture has meant that excellent temporary teachers have had to move on because permanent officers have appointment priority to urban schools.

The issue of staffing is vexed. There will always be winners and unfortunately some losers.

EDUCATION FUNDING SHOULD BE BALANCED

Posted on May 19, 2017 by pooroldhenry

EDUCATION FUNDING SHOULD BE BALANCED

Over the years, “steady state” advancement and predictability have not been hallmarks of education. Nowhere is this better illustrated then in respect of providing physical facilities.

Prior to 2000, it was extremely difficult to obtain capital works money for major school improvements. Budgets were limited and competition for building programs quite fierce. Rejection and deferments of funding submissions were common and approvals rare. It was not unusual for a program costed at say $4 million, to be funded to a level of $2 or $3 million without the full amount being approved.

Applications for Minor New Works had no guarantee of being approved. Repairs and maintenance money carried qualifications and could not be used for everything that needed fixing. In total, the amount of money available for capital needs was strictly rationed.

This all changed when the Gillard Government introduced the ‘Building Educational Revolution’ to support and upgrade school infrastructure. From that point in time onward money has been poured at schools, but with the proviso that it be used for construction of physical facilities.

In the NT, Gonski funding came unattached to requirements that it be spent on classroom focussed programs. This allowed the NT Government to use the money for capital works. Henbury Avenue and Bellamack Special Schools were constructed using this money, while Acacia Hills (Alice Springs) was significantly upgraded.

Weekly reading of tender invitations in the ‘NT News’ confirms bountiful dollars still being found to support the extension of school infrastructure

Most recently, the Northern Territory Government has promised $300,000 to each Northern Territory school. However that money has to be used for physical upgrades and capital expansion.

There needs to be more to education expenditure then supporting the construction industry. While good physical facilities are necessary, so to are programs that best support students and staff in teaching learning situations.

It’s ironic to consider that schools have to constantly and minutely scrutinise internal budget management for the sake of teaching and learning. If the recent $300,000 per school allocation could be used to support these programs, that may have been a wise investment. It is the way in which students are educated now that will translate toward the future of our Northern Territory.

Educational expenditure needs to be balanced. Facilities are important, but teaching and learning programs are really what education is about.

MONEY SHOULD BE UNDERSTOOD

Posted on April 18, 2017 by pooroldhenry

Column published in NT Suns in April 2017. Note rthat publisged columns are sometimes edited for the sake of space. Posting of Suns columns on my blog are unedited.

MONEY SHOULD BE UNDERSTOOD

Over time, there have been many changes in education. Some have been brought about through the growth of technology. A prime example is the replacement of handwriting with computer and iPad keyboards.

In spite of ongoing change there are things that should be retained and reinforced. One of these is teaching children about the value and importance of money. This experience ought not to be deferred until students reach the middle and upper primary grades. Research at the University of Cambridge was commissioned by the United Kingdom Money Advice Service. The research revealed that children’s habits and attitudes about money are formed by the time they turn seven years of age.

Many children have little chance to learn about and understand money. Household living costs are looked after by the adults. When shopping with parents, many children will not see notes or coins being used to settle accounts. Credit cards, PayWay and mobile phone applications are used to pay for goods. This makes money an illusion rather than a reality for many children.

There are ways at both home and school that can help children when it comes to handling and understanding money.

• A weekly or fortnightly payment of pocket money can aid young people in understanding currency. Encouraging children to spend and save from this allowance helps them understand and apply the principle ‘save it, you have it, spend it, its gone’.

• Encouraging children to handle coins, appreciating their size, weight and value encourages familiarisation with currency. Extending this to include appreciation of the value of notes is wise.

• Talking with children and answering their questions about money is part of their home and school education.

• School banking programs encourage children to establish the saving habit. This is important because so much advertising focus encourages people to spend everything and save nothing.

• Allowing students to shop at the school canteen can help with understanding money including item costs and change given on purchases.

• Understanding the use and purpose of money can be supported by classroom activities. Having a classroom shop with shopkeepers and purchasers learning about buying and selling through drama is one approach. Another is understanding through maths problems that are about money matters.

As young people grow up, learning about credit, credit traps and the ease with which debt can be incurred need to be included.

Money is a part and parcel of everyday life. It’s understanding and use should not be foreign to young people.

NURTURE BY PARENTS THE BEST CARE

Posted on April 11, 2017 by pooroldhenry

Published in the NT Suns in April 2017.

NURTURE BY PARENTS THE BEST CARE

The best love and care that children can have, is that which is offered by parents. Too often this is overlooked. Some believe that early learning educators, teachers and after school carers can stand in the place of parents. A recent Sunday Territorian article (April 2) touched what might be a raw nerve. ‘Hands on parenting is what helps children’ is so true. A study conducted by the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) focussed on this truth.

Study authors Stacey Fox and Anna Olsen from the Australian National University found that ” reaching out to children, talking with them and helping them with their homework matters more than income or background.”

In these modern times, the need for parents to work, too often distances them from their children. Before and after school care have become a way of life for children whose parents leave early and arrive home late. They are often placed in vacation care during school holidays because their parents are at work. Many parents are both preoccupied with and made tired by work, making quality time with their children during the week a rarity. While family catch-up may happen on the weekend, there is a need to attend to domestic chores and get ready for the working week ahead. In these contexts it can become easy for children to become somewhat overlooked. They may also be misunderstood by parents.

According to Fox and Olsen, “children … benefit when their parents provide a positive environment for homework and play a role in school activities.” They want their parents around, wishing to identify with them in school settings. Parents attending assemblies, participating in parent teacher nights, and supporting their children’s extra-curricular school activities is a part of what their children want.

According to the study, children really welcome and greatly value the first hand connection of parents with their educational development. In terms of hands on parenting, “the aspects which appear to matter most include high expectations and aspirations for children, shared reading between children and parents and family conversation.”

Children need room to move and develop as independent human beings. ‘Helicopter parents’ who constantly hover around children can be very stifling. They suffocate the independence and dampen the decision making potential of their offspring. However, when parents are there for children, engaging with them, nurture and love are to the fore. And it is these attributes in parents that their children want and need.

ENGLISH MUST COME FIRST

Posted on March 23, 2017 by pooroldhenry

Published in NT Suns in March 2017

ENGLISH MUST BE THE KEY FOCUS

Sometimes educational ideas appear to lack common sense. Thoughts about change are based on whims and the sudden revelation of ‘good ideas’. When these utterances are made by important people and key decision makers, they cannot really be ignored. In my opinion, an example of policy being made on the run is Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham having decided that it’s important for all Australian preschool children to learn Japanese.

Pronouncing Japanese as ‘the’ language to be learned ignores the fact that some schools have chosen to learn an indigenous dialect or to prioritise Indonesian, Mandarin or some other language.

This initiative overlooks an important language need. Our children must become well-versed in the understanding and use of English. Superimposing other languages, particularly in early schooling years can detract from this “homegrown” language need. The time and attention that is devoted to studying a foreign language is the time and attention that should be given to mastery of our mother tongue.

The English Language involves more than just speaking. There is listening, interpretation, comprehension and understanding, along with reading and writing. The way in which Australian young people understand and use our basic language, suggests that these elements are often lacking. NAPLAN tests certainly confirm these deficits.

There is no guarantee of any permanent and ongoing immersion of children in the study of Japanese or other foreign languages. Spur of the moment initiatives often fade quickly. This new alternative language approach is likely to be dropped as suddenly as it was introduced. This often leaves language learners in limbo because there is no follow-through. In turn, this could give rise to cynical attitudes toward a study of languages other than English alternative language study.

For Japanese to succeed as a second language, study opportunity would need to be continued through primary and into secondary school. That would need to happen around the Territory and Australia. There is little likelihood that this will happen.

Many employers are concerned about language and literacy deficits among young people. They say that young people have very poor communication skills, cannot write, cannot hold an intelligent conversation and often don’t understand what’s going on because of poor literacy.

Surely, this fix needs to come from within the educational system. The earlier children begin to have a sound understanding and working knowledge of the English language and its use, the better. Putting that off and substituting a language other than English may be unwise.

IT’S THE FAULT OF ADULTS

Posted on March 3, 2017 by pooroldhenry

Race and Gender Awareness in Schools.

You look at and watch young children interesting and they are generally free of the qualification of gender, race, colour (and so on) bias. THE BIAS COMES FROM ADULTS. Those adults may be parents, relations and others these young humans see and hear.

The purity of innocence is ruined for these chilldren by ADULTS.

CHILDREN, PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND CHILD CARE

Posted on February 16, 2017 by pooroldhenry

PARENTS, RESPONSIBILITIES AND CHILD CARE

Child care is over the top in Australia. Children need to be brought up by their parents. It is altogether too much for people to give birth, them thrusting their children at agencies, including child care, early learning centres and schools to bring up.

Parents should do their job and be primary caregivers and developers of their children. There is far too much ‘passing the buck’ and abrogating parental responsibilities.

Neither should parents and community expect government to spend billions of dollars subsidising their child care costs. During the 1970’s and 1980’s, a small amount of child endowment or family benefit was available to help offset the costs of children – and that was it! Fast forewords to 2017 and paid childcare is available, even to parents who do not work, for at least 12 hours per week.

Too many childen get born, then ‘outsourced’ to agencies to bring them up. That is not good enough. Neither does it work as well for children as the nurture and care offered by parents.

Maybe, people needs to make a choice between having children or a career. You often cannot have both, other than in the context of doing a mediocre job at work and home. Too many children are parked with organisations from before school care, to school, to after school care. When picked up, they are taken home by tired parents who park them in front of TV or with an iPad, because they are not in the mood to engage with their children.

And sometimes some parents feel that socialisation has a higher priority than being with their children.

And how many parents when taking holidays, leave their children with relatives or friends so they can enjoy themselves without being encumbered by offspring.

Children can quickly come to perceive, accurately or otherwise, that they are unloved and unwanted. If that is the case, it become inordinately difficult to change this perception and concept in their thinking. That can be a factor that places their attitude to school and schooling behind the eight ball.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH AUSTRALIA

Posted on February 15, 2017 by pooroldhenry

This post goes beyond my usual comment exclusivity. It is about more than education. It was written several years ago while I was contemplating this subject and I feel these situations to still exist. In fact, the negatives in some cases are ‘sharper’ in 2017 than when first considered.

Our shattered economy

We have lost manufacturing industries to overseas destinations.

We have a Fair Work Act that is strong on rhetoric but in many cases short on practical and sensible expediency.

We have introduced massive red tape and bragged about minimal and prodic easing of paperwork accountabilities.

We have sold residential property to overseas interests in such volume as to price Australians out of the housing market.

We have sold and keep selling massive tracts of agricultural land to overses interests.

We have agreed to free trade agreements which open Australian markets to foreign imports, tenders for goods supply and priority to overseas suppliers to the detriment of domestic interests.

We have offered huge tax concessions to major industry in a way that almost lets them off the tax hook.

We allow mining exploitation and business profits otherwise to generate benefit for overses companies and their foreign shareholder base.

We borrow and spend $100,000,000 each day more than is generated by our domestic production.

We endorse greater and greater percentages of our GDP being spent on offsetting interest accumulating on our government borrowings. We believe that major indebtednes is a wonderful thing.

We discourage workers through increasing tax imposts.

We think that salaries for CEO’s and Government Department Heads should be paid in their hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars each year.

We are overgoverned to glory. We have too many layers of government.

We pay retired politicans benefits that are generous to the point of being almost immoral.

I could go on.

No wonder we have a tattered economy and a fractured economic outlook. The future is bleak.

AVOID TECHNOLOGY PITFALLS IN CLASSROOMS

Posted on February 13, 2017 by pooroldhenry

AVOID TECHNOLOGY PITFALLS IN CLASSROOMS

Computers were introduced to school classrooms during the 1980’s. Initially, schools set up dedicated computer rooms and classes were rostored to have one or two periods each week. Students learnt about computers and how to develop documents for print-out.

Schools then moved to a number of units in each classroom and more time was devoted to student use of these tools. With the advent of iPads many schools encouraged each student to have their own personal device. In 2017, we would be hard pressed to find a school without computers or iPads. When electronic smart-boards and other supports are added, schools almost drown in technology.

The cost of purchasing and maintaining hardware has increased, becoming a major cost item for schools. As well, items purchased are often outmoded within months of being bought.

Additional costs are significant. Software is not cheap and neither are licences needed to authorise multiple users. When maintenance needs are added to purchase costs, schools are faced with significant and ongoing budget commitments.

There are classroom pitfalls that need to be avoided.

Students tend to digress from what they should be doing with computer and iPads, drifting from learning to entertainment sites. It is imperative that students sign agreements about use of search engines, with teachers monitoring that commitment. Engaging with inappropriate sites can lead to big problems.
Games sites need to reinforce and extend student learning and need to have an educational purpose. Entertainment programs without educational merit distract students and waste learning time.

*Children sometimes play with networks that have been set, causing programs to crash or corrupt.

Misuse of technology by students can lead to cyber bullying and other inappropriate online conduct. Cyber bullying has reached epidemic proportions.

Students working on topics can be lulled into thinking that googling the topic, then cutting, uploading and pasting segments from existing sources into the text they are developing is fine. It isn’t! It is important that students think about and own their work, in order to understand topics. There is a distinct danger they could become plagiarists, taking the ideas of others and using them without acknowledging their sources.

Spell-checking and grammatical correctness are automated tools in many software packages. It is entirely possible for students to create and edit text, without understanding what they have written.

Computers, iPads and other devices can help support learning. However, they should always be used with care by students, under teacher oversight.
There is every chance that gadgets can become relied on to the point of detracting from genuine student learning.

NEW TEACHERS, NEW BEGINNINGS

Posted on February 12, 2017 by pooroldhenry

Published in the ‘Sun’ in the NT, in February 2017.

NEW TEACHERS FACE NEW BEGINNINGS

Last week marked the commencement of careers for over 100 new teachers in our schools. Some have been appointed to urban schools, others to more remote corners of the NT. ‘Urban’ includes schools beyond Darwin Palmerston and Alice Springs. Katherine, Tennant Creek and Nhulunbuy are classed as urban schools.

Then there are community, settlement and outstation schools. It is to all these places that teachers new to the profession have been assigned.

An induction program for beginning teachers offered some exposure to the situation in which they will find themselves. This program of several days duration, covered departmental issues and curriculum requirements. However, it is only after taking up appointment and commencing duty that specific learning and understanding will impact the teaching experience.

The ultimate for all teachers, following probationary periods, is the gaining of permanent status. That makes them eligible for home loans and can admit them to the mortgage market.

For teachers who are permanent, a career stretches before them that may seem to be quite endless. There is no telling the end from the beginning. New teachers are full of optimism and feel good about the future. All want to make a difference, helping children learn. This motivation holds, regardless of appointment location.

Successful teachers will develop strong professional relations with colleagues. Sharing experiences and learning from each other, school leadership teams, students, parents and community will be important to their development. May they do well in their chosen profession.

SETTING CLASSES IS A REAL CHALLENGE

Posted on February 8, 2017 by pooroldhenry

1 SUNS 3 2017 173

Published in ‘Suns’ newspaper January 2017. This issue is one with nationwide consequences, the matter being onbe that challenges Principals and staff in schools each year.

SETTING CLASSES IS A REAL CHALLENGE

Setting classes in schools for the start of each year, creates headaches for principals, teachers, parents and children. This is especially the case for primary schools. A highlight -and an anxiety – late every school year, is the publication of class lists for the following twelve months. Some schools do not release class groupings until a day or two before the new school year commences. There is always a worry about reaction and fallout.

In an ideal world, all parents will be happy with their children’s class teacher, their fellow class members and the physical location of the classroom. There would be no composite classes. All students in each class would be inclined toward work and learning. There would be no behavioural problems or discipline issues to distract teachers and children from work and learning.

This situation would also meet the expectations of teachers and principals. For teachers, an added satisfaction could be to enjoy classes of no more than 18 to 20 children in primary grades, around 15 in middle school years and no more than 12 in specialist subject areas for years 11 and 12. This is not possible in the NT because pupil to teacher ratios are set at a much higher level.

Most teachers hope that they will be allowed to teach within their areas of training expertise. However, the deployment of teachers within schools is at the discretion of principals.
‘Needs must’ often dictates why they teach unfamiliar subjects or grades. Schools have limited budgets for staff employment. This means unpalatable adjustments have to be made, in order not to overdraw the school’s salary account.

While school leaders do their best to meet parents requests on student placement, it is impossible for them to work miracles. The result can be that parents and primary caregivers, on learning about class placements for children, can become very upset. Unfortunately, these reactions are often shared with other parents and also with children. Pre-judgements can impact negatively upon the reputation of teachers. This can also mean that children start school with an uneasy attitude about how the year will unfold. It can even lead to them hating school.

Parents with concerns have every right to discuss these with school leaders. It is best that this is done by making an appointment and having a conversation with the principal or leadership team member. On most occasions this leads to issues being at least partially resolved.

SCHOOLS ARE BEING TURNED INTO FORTRESSES

Posted on February 5, 2017 by pooroldhenry

Published in NT Suns newspaper January 2017.

SCHOOLS AND THE FORTRESS MENTALITY

It is a sad thing that open environments, once a feature of child care and school precincts are being consigned to history. Fenceless, physically borderless boundaries have all but gone.

Ironies

Students and staff who are the victims of property crime need to know that offenders will be dealt with appropriately, not handled with kid gloves and let off lightly.

POLICY CHANGES SNEAK IN DURING HOLIDAYS

Posted on January 17, 2017 by pooroldhenry

This column, my first for the Suns this year draws on our Northern Territory experience. But this happens everywhere.

POLICY CHANGES HAPPEN DURING HOLIDAYS

Schools are closed and teachers may be away during the Christmas holidays. However, policy decisions and priority setting does not stop during the festive season. When school leaders and teachers return for the new year, they are often introduced to new initiatives apparently developed during the holiday season.

That has again been the case during the past few weeks. Urban school staff begin the school year on Friday January 27. Their counterparts in rural and remote schools return to duty on Monday January 30. They will be greeted by new educational initiatives.

During the past few weeks, there has been a renewed focus on the importance of teaching Indigenous languages. There is a strong move in place to have traditional language study added to the school curriculum. Part of this is based on language being a support for cultural understanding. A parallel concern is that of Indigenous languages vanishing into history. The need for their preservation is one of the reasons driving this position.

Introduction to a language other than English (LOTE) is now an Australian Government priority for all preschools. Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham is keen to have the program introduced as soon as possible. There is an anticipation that LOTE will also focus on older students. This initiative has been tagged as compulsory.

A third push is for the study of NT History to become obligatory in NT Schools. Former NT parliamentarian Matthew Bonson has urged that Territory history should be brought into focus in our classrooms (Sunday Territorian 26.12.16). Past administrator Ted Egan stated that it is ” … a big mistake that Territory and Australian history is given so little respect by not making it compulsory.” (Op cit)

Curriculum changes should never be based on ‘spur of the moment decisions’ about new priorities. The volume of teaching content confronting teachers and schools, demands that add ons are fitted in by dropping some previous programs. That should happen in order to make things fit and is also a matter of common sense.

Unfortunately, there is systemic reluctance about dropping curriculum content. Obligations on schools come with the expectation that staff and students will cope. It will be expected that extra content announced during this holiday period, will be managed within existing staff resources. Staff preparing for 2017 may feel the academic year ahead is a glass mountain they have to climb.

Holiday pronouncements about curriculum change should cease being a standard practice.

BUILDINGS AND FACILITIES DON’T GENERATE STUDENT SUCCESS

Posted on December 10, 2016 by pooroldhenry

This piece was written for the Suns and published on November 6 2016. It is based on the NT, but has wide ranging applicability.

During the last decade, building and construction programs have significantly upgraded Australian and Northern Territory schools. Previously, capital works money was scarce. Many established schools, both urban and remote had to make do.

The Rudd Government’s ‘Building the Education Revolution’ (BER) program reversed this trend. A $16.2 billion cash splash lead to frenzied construction of school halls, libraries, science blocks and classroom spaces. Within the NT, there was an unparalleled school building boom. The opening of completed school facilities by politicans became a weekly event.

Then came Gonski. The NT did not sign up to the Gonski reforms (of 2011) but still received big dollars from this initiative. Not signing, meant that government and the Education Department were freed from restrictions about the use of this money. Rather than being spent on programs in classrooms, it was used to further capital works. The new Henbury and Bellamack Special Schools and Acacia Hills Special School upgrades came from Gonski funds.

The sale of TIO and the leasing of Darwin Port provided the CLP Government with funds for further infrastructural development. Many schools benefited from a substantial infusion of money for major works on buildings, grounds and surrounds.

Last Saturday through the NT News (Gift time for schools: Green light for minor new works programs) the government announced that all schools can begin applying for $300,000 allocations, to be rolled out over four years from next July. The money is for renovation and construction programs.

There is plenty of money for buildings and facilities at schools. However, support for in class programs and teaching initiatives is in far shorter supply. Educational outcomes are measured by student successes, not by the quality of facilities in which learning is taking place. In a way, it is paradoxical that while school structures are receiving such focus, Australian and Territory educational outcomes are failing.

Since 2000, every major report comparing Australian and Territory students with their overseas peers shows them to be slipping further and further behind the world in key competencies. The latest comparisons show many of our students are heading for new lows in tested areas. (Kids are slipping through the gaps, NT News, December 1)

There needs to be an urgent change in priorities. Its time for spending on structures to become spending on teaching and learning programs. It is in the area of student learning outcomes that NT Education has a major systemic weakness.

RAISING THE TRAINING BAR

Posted on September 6, 2016 by pooroldhenry

A lot is being talked about in the community and reported in the media on the subject of teacher quality. The soul searching and almost daily comment around Australia and in the Northern Territory is futuristic and forward looking. I believe in looking forward, those responsible for teacher preparation need to reflect on past teacher training practices, revisiting and including some of the key elements in our 21st century teacher preparation courses.

I worry that critical teaching and preparation methodologies are insufficiently stressed. Rather than prospective teachers receiving that understanding while in training, they graduate with degrees and as neophytes are expected to begin acquiring practical teaching skills and dispositions upon full-time entry into classroom teaching positions.

TEACHING CAN BE TOO CHALLENGING

Posted on August 29, 2016 by pooroldhenry

Written for the Suns Newspaper column in August 2016. While this fits to the Northern Territory, the tenet of this column has wide applicability.

TEACHING CAN BE TOO CHALLENGING
Teacher turnover and short term teaching appointments are regularly raised as issues in the Northern Territory. Northern Territory education is seen as being far more fluid and mobile than elsewhere in Australia.

While dissatisfaction plays a part in teacher resignation everywhere, there are local factors that come into contention. Chief among these is the considerable number of teachers who have been recruited to the Northern Territory on short-term contracts. This was seen as necessary to fill vacancies in remote and “difficult the staff” schools.

Just a few years ago, advertisements placed in the newspapers invited teachers to come to the Northern Territory to “try the place out”. Generous relocation expenses were offered, with paid southern return guaranteed after a relatively short period of time. Such offers created the impression that teachers are doing our system a favour by being here. The idea that minimal teaching effort would be good enough, became an issue.

Fortunately, this recruitment methodology appears to have been curtailed. However, there is heavy reliance on interstate and overseas teachers taking up vacancies in “out of town” areas. Part of this has to do with the lack of remote area appeal for those who undertake teacher training at the Charles Darwin University. Many preservice teachers are mature age persons with family commitments precluding them from working outside urban areas. Others are distance education trainees, preparing to teach in their home states. Unless and until we are able to reach a point of training a higher percentage of Territory grown teachers, turnover will continue to be an issue.

Training opportunities for Indigenous teachers are provided through the Batchelor Institute attached to the CDU. There have been many initiatives over the years aimed at graduating fully qualified Indigenous teachers. However self-sufficiency in teaching terms is still a work in progress.

A factor contributing to short term teaching careers is that of disappointment with what graduation offers. Many graduates are put off by system priorities . The requirement that they teach in a way that is so focussed on formal testing and assessment outcomes is off-putting. Their wish to teach holistically, seems to be at odds with prescribed system realities. The need to spend significant amounts of time on matters ranging from discipline to paperwork accountability are also disincentives. Both graduate and experienced teachers become disenchanted. That can and does lead them to resignation and the seeking of alternative careers.

Knowing about short term teaching issues is one thing. Fixing them, is another.

CONSIDER CHANGE CAREFULLY

Posted on August 20, 2016 by pooroldhenry

Too often new, beaut ideas are grabbed and planted into schools in a faddish manner. This may satisfy romantically inclined educators but can reduce children in schools to being educational guinea pigs.

One of the things many educators find anathema is sticking with proven approaches. Methodology which is foundationally solid needs to be built upon in incremental terms. That guarantees that teaching and learning will go from strength to strength.

Sadly, the preference seems to be that of consigning what is working to the WPB. With that done, new beaut systems are brought in as replacement technology. It seems that educators get bored with ‘same old, same old’. They toss out good, proven and working programs to push new, innovative and largely untested practices onto schools and into classrooms.

While change is important, it should be both considered and incremental. Throwing the baby out with the bath water can create learning and knowledge vacuums. Neither should children and students in our schools and places of learning be treated as experimental control groups.

I believe it important for teachers in classrooms to carefully consider changes that might me made. Including students through discussion and pre-consideration should be part of the process.

‘BALKANISATION’ – AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE

Posted on August 15, 2016 by pooroldhenry

Balkanisation, that is working in seclusion and isolation from others is anathema. Education, of all the professions, is one in which caring and sharing count. Synergy, collective energy grows and flows from those who works together is a sharing context. This is a process that is enriching the for educators. It is one where the benefits flow through to students in our classes.

In a nutshell:

* Collaboration with like minded professionals is valuable and enriching.

* From collaboration grows synergy, the collective energy that is enhancing. It uplifts those who are working together in occupational fields.

* Those working in isolation can be left behind because collaboration is increasingly a strategy whereby we work to develop our professional ethos.

Those who become balkanised, become trapped in professional isolation. Avoid ‘balkanisation’ like the plague.

NAPLAN NEEDS A RETHINK

Posted on August 9, 2016 by pooroldhenry

THINK AGAIN ABOUT NAPLAN

With the release of the 2016 NAPLAN results, education again enters a lengthy period of self-examination and study of outcomes. With results released a prolonged period of data analysis now commences. Australian, State and Territory level results will be dissected, followed by a examination of individual student performance at school level. Everything else about education may mark time, allowing this exercise to be pursued without interruption.

Every year, States and Territories are offered plaudits or brickbats depending on results. School results are minutely analysed with the publication of results online at the “My Schools” website.

By the beginning of 2017 this year’s study will be exhausted. Then it will be time to prepare for the May tests. Students in the testing years (three, five, seven and nine) will be subjected to trial testing programs aimed at getting them ready for the tests in May.

Of course schools are advised not to go overboard when it comes to readiness for testing. However, with so much attaching to NAPLAN outcomes, this advice is rarely heeded. In actual fact, systems want their schools to do well so they compare favourably with their intra-territory and interstate counterparts. Systems also seek and value kudos based on test results.

The costs of saturating Australia’s educational system with NAPLAN must be mind-boggling. It’s probably not an overstatement to suggest that since 2008, when universal testing was introduced, hundred of millions of dollars have been poured into the program.

A major flaw is the interpretation of NAPLAN’s importance. The tests measure narrowly defined academic competencies of four student groups, at the same time each year. The rest of the year and the successes of all students seem to count for little. This testing with its academic focus seems to imply that holistic education is of little consequence. Teacher quality is spoken of in terms of teachers having the ability to prepare children for these tests. There should be more to quality education than fixation on testing regimes.

What of the students

I don’t know if anybody has thought to ask students what they think about this program. If they were to be asked, there might be some interesting, enlightening and eye-opening responses. I believe there would be little appreciation of the weeks and months of pre-test preparation many of them have to endure. A student forum on this program is well worth considering. Whether notice would be taken of their viewpoint is altogether another matter.

WHERE IS THE LEADER?

Posted on August 5, 2016 by pooroldhenry

The question of visibility is one that teachers and principals, but especially principals should consider. It seems to me that a universal problem is visibility.

Many principals are often not in their schools because they are off at meetings, conferences and other professional development activities. Surely, their major focus should be on the ground, in their schools.

I know of students in schools who don’t know who the principal is, because they are never there. They identify the ‘principal’ as being a deputy leader or senior teacher who provides principal leadership in the regular absence of the real being.

My firm belief is that school princippals should primarily focus on their schools. Being there is part of that focus. Being known to students, staff and community is an element of role responsibility that should never be abrogated.

TAXES AND SCHOOL FEES

Posted on July 24, 2016 by pooroldhenry

I fully understand the notion of fees being charged for the education of children. At times there is controversy over whether government’s should fund private schools in any way or whether their contribution should be for public schools alone.

My personal feeling is that a percentage of the public purse being contributed to private schools is fine. After all, most parents are taxpayers and have a right of school choice. That being so, the benefit of educational dollars should be holistically and not sectionally shared.

However, the notion of fees charged on top of government contribution by schools needs consideration. If fees are ‘over the top exorbitant ‘ then schools have it wrong/

I think that charging fees to huge excess of need is a miscarriage of what should be about the serious education of young people. Certainly, schools have to have enough in the way of assets to carry contingencies and overcome shortfalls. However, if they are primarily in the game to make money for sponsors unknown or to boost fat bank accounts, then that is wrong. If they practice undue leverage on parents in order to accumulate funds for ‘boasting’ capital works that are more about image than need, that is also wrong.

DO SCHOOLS HAVE THE RIGHT FOCUS

Posted on July 21, 2016 by pooroldhenry

Here in the NT (Australia) schools are all about ‘business’, ‘budget management’ and worry about the principles of management are in my opinion detracting from educational leadership. From what I read, this is an issue that engages schools and systems around the world.

We need to consider two strands of operational function within schools, the educational leadership and the administrative streams. Educational leadership should attract the Principal salary, the administrative stream should be paid at a salary level commensurate with that of a Vice-Principal. I recently published a paper at henrygrayblog.wordpress.com on the subject (11 December 2014 ‘Schools Preoccupied with Money’. Educational disconnect with teaching and learning because of business priority is a real worry.

SCHOOL HOLIDAYS – FRAUGHT TIMES

Posted on July 18, 2016 by pooroldhenry

SCHOOL HOLIDAYS OFTEN AN ISSUE

During school holiday periods, our community worries as to how young people are going to spend their time during their time away from the classroom.

The police gear up for an expected increase in everything from misdemeanour to property crime. These activities attract a small minority of young people. City and town councils prepare an array of activities that might be appealing to children and adolescents.

Cartoonists offer a humorous take on the reluctant acceptance of school holidays by parents. Media stories also cover the issue of challenges they face in having to have to find extra time for their children during holiday periods. Much is made of their difficulty in having to juggle work commitments with care for their offspring.

Employment and family priorities juxtapose on parents, who want to do the right thing at home and work.

Work is a major issue. Several decades ago with only one parent working, children were more ably provided for at home during holiday periods. Changing family circumstances has lead to reliance on organisational and agency support to provide holiday care.

While closed for regular lessons, there is pressure on schools to provide meaningful activities for children during these weeks. Expectations range from duty of care, to providing parents with child minding alternatives. Many schools provide outside school hours care during the school year, extending their programs to include vacation care. These programs are fully subscribed almost as soon as applications for holiday care are invited.

During holiday periods, some sporting groups offer extended activities for young people. Community based organisations including the YMCA design programs likely to appeal.

Safety

Generation X and Y adults, when children, could play outdoors without supervision in a relatively safe and secure environment. During holidays, they would go for long walks, bike rides or enjoy extended hours of play in parks and public places. This included unaccompanied visits to shops and cinemas.

Safety and security issues have changed this free and easy approach to outdoor and independent activities. Because of these concerns, parents and society no longer condone unsupervised activities. Independence for children and young people has been curtailed.

The holiday weeks are always welcomed by students. But there have been significant changes to the way they can spend time away from school. Those changes are more about necessity than desire.

ALLERGY AWARENESS ON SCHOOL AGENDAS

Posted on July 12, 2016 by pooroldhenry

Schools have to be increasingly aware of food allergy issues. Nut allergies are of particular concern. It seems more and more children are becoming nut sensitive. Recess and lunch box contents can be an issue.

“With severe allergies on the rise, no childcare centre, pre-school or school can afford to be uninformed about the risks to children in their care. They need to arm themselves with information on food allergy and anaphylaxis and create environments that are safer for all.” (Allergy and Anaphylaxis Aust. Website)

Until about 20 years ago, very few schools had policies that considered the risk of food allergies. This has changed. Most schools, particularly preschools in primary’s have policies relating to allergic sensitivities that can confront children.

The most common of these allergies is that relating to the susceptibility of some children to fall violently ill, if they come into contact with nuts. Many schools advertise that they are “nut free zones”. Parents are frequently asked to take into account the fact that foods including nuts and sandwich spreads containing nuts should not be included in children’s recesses and lunches.

While this is restrictive parents for the most part accept that nut contamination could have far reaching consequences for susceptible children.

Two way awareness

It is important for care and caution to be a two way process. Children who are nut allergic should understand their condition. It’s important that they take care to steer clear of any food danger. I believe the children from very young ages, including those in preschool, should be aware of the need for self-preservation.

From time to time there is a worry that children suffering from allergies might be teased or even threatened with contamination. This is usually an unnecessary fear. One of the qualities demonstrated by children is a genuine empathy and care for those whose circumstances are confronted in this way. It’s wise for teachers and children in all classes to be aware of children who may suffer from allergic reaction to nuts.

Schools in which all staff and therefore students are aware of an allergy situation can offer support. A further safeguard is for teachers and school support staff to have epipen training so this can be administered in the case of an emergency.

Nut consciousness and allergy awareness is the part and parcel of modern education. It’s just another duty of care responsibility existing for schools and staff. That duty is helped when parents and students cooperate to help make school environments safe, secure places for all students.

SPEAK UP

Posted on July 11, 2016 by pooroldhenry

As educators we are, in contemporary state and (as am I, retired) a huge group with diverse experience. I believe we too often ‘suck it up’ in terms of what comes down to us from on high. We are far too reactive, in a grudging and passive way, and insufficiently bold when it comes to being proactive professionals.

We need to speak out more often. We allow ourselves to be beaten around our professional ears in a sadly supplicatory manner. We need to be confident, bold and forthright, speaking out in confidence but with our utterances predicated on careful thinking. Too much happens we let happen through non-response.

We speak a language to each other ‘below the table’ out of the hearing of superordinates. We need to come of of the professional closet and reveal our thinking in a wider domain. We need to abandon fright and hesitation

KEEPING STUDENTS SAFE

Posted on July 5, 2016 by pooroldhenry

STUDENT SAFETY A TOP PRIORITY

Our schools have a responsibility for students that goes well beyond teaching and learning. Issues of safety and security are front and centre for teachers and school leaders.

All schools have plans for managing emergency situations. Included are procedures for response to cyclones and fires. Some have lockdown procedures. Awareness of plans and the reason for their need is discussed with students. When children know why emergency plans are important, concerns about their existence are eliminated.

Things have changed

As we entered the 21st century, few of our schools were barricaded from the community by fences and gates. This has changed and to the point where most schools are behind barricades which discourage unlawful entry. Perimeter fences have become the norm. Many schools have second layers of tougher fencing encircling buildings and facilities.

Security systems have been installed in most schools during recent years. These are switched after hours, at weekends and holiday times to security firms, enabling a quick response in the event of break-ins. Schools are under survelliance on a 24/7 basis. In more and more schools, this form of security now includes monitoring by CCTV cameras and sophisticated survelliance devices.

Caretakers and janitors have responsibility for opening gates and buildings in the mornings, then locking them after hours. Arming and disarming security systems is part of their responsibility.

For the first time there were bomb scares in NT schools in recent months. Threats were handled professionally and maturely by schools and the Department. Importantly, there was no panic among students or staff. Responsible reporting and management minimised undue parental concern. This threat may now be the number one concern for schools.

Last week it was reported (James Tomkinson, The Conversation) that bomb threats during the second week of May, were directed at 85 schools in the UK and USA. He reported that ” the schools were evacuated, resulting in panic and disruption for staff and students.”

This type of threat seems to becoming more common-place. It is to the credit of our department and school councils that planning for the management of disruption and threat is an uppermost priority. Where possible, fire drills and other rehearsals are carried out. These familiarises all concerned with understanding of what needs to be done if emergencies arise.

Many schools now have SMS contact with parents, allowing group messages to be sent in the case of emergency. This also helps in the case of urgency contact with individual parents.

It would be foolish to suggest that mishaps and emergencies never occur. However, the safety and security precautions school have in place, together with their ability to make immediate contact with parents, should be reassuring.

RESPECT

Posted on June 30, 2016 by pooroldhenry

I believe the most important quality that should exist within schools, and indeed all organisation’s, is respect. Included are:

*Respectful relations bertween school leaders and members of staff.
*Respectful relations between all staff and students.
*Respectful relations between all students.
*Respectful relations between staff, students and parents.
*Respectful relationships that are the warp, weft and harmonious accord embracing school and community.

Respect … So necessary and so often poorly recognised and considered.

APPRECIATE [AND BE INFORMED BY] EDUCATIONAL HISTORY

Posted on June 24, 2016 by pooroldhenry

It often seems that educationists are always looking to the future. It’s all about pushing, changing, re-aligning, re-defining, re-prioritising, planning, implementing, evaluating and so on. It is always about looking forward, usually impatiently.

No-one it seems, wants to pause and reflect. Few consider school or system development in terms of where we have come from to be where we are at the present moment.

This futurist bent means that that the far, far away tomorrow’s are the days that count. There is today, there was yesterday. Before that, to all intents and purposes, there was nothing. Historically, we peer into the rear vision mirror of schools and systems at what is essentially a blank page.

We need to reflect upon aned appreciate our history. Our present and future needs to be informed and shaped by past priorities and lessons learned.

Our schools and systems educators and support staff need to record educational history. They wrong the present and possibly distort the future by failing in this task.

JEALOUSLY GUARD OUTDOOR PLAY SPACE

Posted on June 16, 2016 by pooroldhenry

My observations over the years confirms the importance of space for children. Those blessed with the chance to attend schools where there is space to play do not know how lucky they are.

Green grass, trees and ovals make a difference. Those who are crammed into classrooms and buildings with little adjoining space miss out desperately.

Environments cannot always be controlled. Space is available only where there is space. Educators and school administrators would be well advised to make cribbing on space for the sake of building and amenity expansion, their last priority.

Once lost, a space is gone forever.

DISTANCE

Posted on June 3, 2016 by pooroldhenry

It is both sad and worrisome that at times we Balkanise ourselves. That may be unintentional, being an outcome or product of unintentional attitude. Distance grows from being remote or aloof when associating with colleagues and students.

One’s identity is important, but any siloing of oneself, is distancing from fellow staff and students. That does nothing for effectiveness as a teacher because it is essential that close collegiate links are in place. It is the professional personality in relations that validates efforts, for this builds respect.

I am not for one minute suggesting fraternisation. This of itself can lead to a diminishment of professional character. However, effectiveness as a teacher means that knowing and working with students (and colleagues) in respectful professional (and teaching/learning) togetherness, is a winning strategy.

Know and respect colleagues and students.

PROGRAMS NOT BUILDING MUST BE TOP PRIORITY

Posted on May 25, 2016 by pooroldhenry

Expenditure on education is often in the doldrums. However, when elections are in the offing, governments hasten to ramp up systems. Their newfound interest is expressed through money allocated for buildings and facilities. These are visible artefacts that allow governments to boast of their support for schools.

Truth be known, the desperate expenditure need is in the area of teaching and learning. The interface between teachers and students is stretched because human resources are often under-recognised.

Infrastructure development enables governments to show off. “Is this nor a great school I have built” might be the cry. Yet the highest priority is that of expenditure needed in classrooms with lessons, program implementation and assessment tasks.

This matter needs addressing.

SIGN ALL CORRESPONDENCE

Posted on May 11, 2016 by pooroldhenry

Notwithstanding email and SMS traffic, there is still a place for old-fashioned correspondence by letter and printed memo. As a principal I valued the ability to transact communications using this ‘old fashioned’ approach. I always took the opportunity to personally sign all correspondence, no matter what the volume.

Attaching a signature in this way adds a personal touch. If signatures are verifiable as having been individually added, this somehow adds a note of empathy and personality in contract that is not otherwise available.

Dampening the signature just a little and adding finger pressure will quickly confirm if it has been personally added or is stereotyped. Often signatures are added in a different colour to the text but are still copied rather than being added by hand.

The receiver of a letter or memo that has been personally signed appreciates that the sender has taken time to confirm individual care. In personally signing correspondence, I reflected briefly on the person to whom the communication was being sent. This brief reflection was important.

Consider personalising correspondence in this manner. I am sure it is a positive strategy.

IN TRAY OUT

Posted on May 8, 2016 by pooroldhenry

All educators, regardless of their positions within schools have ‘In Trays’. Tasks that need to be completed stay there until they are done. The ‘out’ tray comes into play for all finished assignments.

There is nothing more frustrating that to have an in tray burdened by documentation, an out tray light on for tasks that have been done. Finishing work and going home leaving a laden in tray does not augur well for feelings of satisfaction with accomplished work.

It is wise to aim for an empty in tray before departing for the day. Perhaps an ‘In Train’ tray for tasks that have been completed as far as possible would help. This makes sense because tasks are often a work in progress.

Apart for that, aim for an empty in tray before leaving for the day. This practice delivers a feel good outcome. Better that, than feeling the burden of office.

SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY IS FRONT AND CENTRE

Posted on April 27, 2016 by pooroldhenry

Published in the ‘Sun’ newspaper included in the NT News on April 26 2016
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SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY IS FRONT AND CENTRE

From time to time there is strong media inference that school educators are on Easy Street. The need for more accountability is advocated for principals and teachers. There is an inference that Education Departments do little in holding principals and teachers to account.

Nothing could be further from the truth! Individual principals go through regular performance management exercises. Their schools are also appraised, usually once every two years. Senior staff and teachers set annual developmental targets.

Assessment criteria for performance and school effectiveness are regularly updated to accommodate curriculum changes.

An upside of performance measurement is that peers are involved in the process. Principal performance takes account of staff and community perception. Principals realise that perceptions of their leadership are important to the department, school and parents.

School assessments involve a fellow principal and senior departmental officer. All staff, some students and members of the community are interviewed. An advantage of this model is that principals and teachers are able to share an understanding of leading and teaching.

Disadvantages

Preoccupation with assessment can mean that personal aspects of performance are always front and centre of thinking. This can lead to hesitancy in trying new ideas and expressing professional opinion. It may result in educators accepting what is handed down from above without discussion. Concerns about possible shortcomings or weaknesses of changes that have been imposed are let slide.

One of the pressures on school principals is that their jobs are temporary. Employment contracts are offered for no more than four years. If a contract is not renewed, they do not have a position to wh ich they can return in the public service. School leaders accepting contracts have to relinquish their permanency within the NT public service, becoming temporary employees.

Principals and teachers are assessed against standards developed by the Australian Institute for Teachers and School Leaders (AITSL). Beginning teachers must meet graduate standards. As teachers gain experience, standards expected become more detailed. Annual assessments and periodic reviews organised at a school level, are set against these expectations. Teaching quality and contribution to the corporate life of the school are taken into account. AITSL has a tool enabling teachers to collect evidence supporting their professional status. This can be accessed on a daily basis.

Any belief that school staff are free agents when dealing with educational matters is fallacious. School leaders and staff members are held to constant and rigorous account for personal performance and the effectiveness of their schools. Far from being overlooked, accountability is the number one issue for all educators.