Julia sells us out just like Hawke did in '84.

 Pinched this from a document from the Save Our Schools organisation. (Details at the foot).
Hawke sold out public education  in '84 when he bowed to the wealthy private school lobby and included them in the education funding increases to be made arising from the Accord (at the expense of the schools that needed it). Now Julia is racing to do the same thing and blowing another historic opportunity to do something BIG.


"The Real Class War on Display
The real class war in education was on show this week. It was an object lesson in how the rich ruthlessly exploit their power to gain privileges at the expense of the poor and less well-off. Within a few days they extracted commitments to a funding increase for private schools which will likely amount to about $1.5 billion from the Federal Government and an unspecified increase from the Coalition. A scare campaign on school funding initiated by Independent school organisations, which represent the wealthiest schools in Australia, had the leaders of both major parties vying frantically to curry favour. Independent schools claimed that over 3200 schools would lose funding under the Gonski report recommendations. The claims were orchestrated throughout the Murdoch Sunday papers. Lists of schools, private and government, which would allegedly lose hundreds of thousands, even millions, of dollars were bandied about. It was alleged that schools would lose a total of $1.45 billion a year at an average of about $450,000 per school. It was no matter that the claims were wholly without foundation. It was no matter that they ignored the consistent promise of the Federal Labor Government over the past couple of years that “no school would lose a dollar” under new school funding arrangements. It was no matter that they ignored loadings for low income, Indigenous, disability, non-English language and remote area students recommended in the Gonski report that will boost funding for many government and private schools. It was no matter that they ignored that many disadvantaged private and government schools would gain from the report’s recommendation that an additional $5 billion a year be targeted to these schools. But, they were enough to send political leaders scurrying to appease the rich and powerful. The claims scared the life out of the Prime Minister. She was quick to ingratiate herself to the Independent Schools National Education Forum: I am incredibly proud of the way that as we’ve gone through this big journey of change, independent school leaders have been a partner with us, with me, in every step of the way. You have never said go slower or don’t go as hard, every stage of the journey you have urged us on, because you want to see the best for the kids you teach at every stage of their education....you’ve always been there for the big changes that go with the extra resources. Your sincere and complete support for progress in Australian schools has been vital to the success of our approach.... I’ve never looked at a big independent school in an established suburb and thought ‘That’s not fair’. I look at a big independent school in an established suburb and thing ‘That’s a great example’.

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The last statement is in sharp contrast to what she said about the current SES funding model when it was introduced by the Howard Government. She rightly criticised funding increases to elite private schools as “both ridiculous and unfair”. But, of course, consistency of principle does not matter when the priority is to toady to the moneyed elite. She gave them a big new promise. Not only would no school lose a dollar as she has long re-assured private schools but every school, even the richest, will get a funding increase. She promised that: “Every independent school in Australia will see their funding increase under our plan”.

The Federal Minister for Education, Peter Garrett, chimed in to say that this means that schools will get a real increase in funding, that is, it will exceed cost increases. This promise has far-reaching implications. It means that the Government has committed to a massive increase in funding for private schools. Under the current arrangements, Federal recurrent funding of private schools increases by about 6% a year. A real increase means it must increase by more, say at least 7%. On 2009-10 figures, this implies an increase of at least $456 million and maybe it will be even more. It also means that many highly privileged schools that are currently over-funded get to keep their over-funding and have it increased in real terms. There are over 1000 so-called “funding maintained” (FM) schools which are over-funded by $615 million (2010 figures) and this will be increased as part of the promise to increase real funding. All this over-funding goes to medium and high SES private schools. No low SES private school is funding maintained. But, there is more because the Prime Minister made another promise. She also promised that “all students, regardless of school, will be funded on a consistent basis for the first time”. This means that all schools with a similar socio-economic status (SES) will be funded at the same rate. This was a key recommendation of the Gonski report. However, the FM schools at each SES score are funded at higher rates than other schools funded according to their SES score - an incoherence of the current funding arrangements criticised by the Gonski report. In order for all private schools to funded on a consistent basis, the funding rates for the non-FM schools will have to be increased to match the highest FM rate at each SES score because the promises that “no school will lose a dollar” and that all schools will get a real funding increase mean that the FM funding rates cannot be reduced.

Preliminary estimates indicate that this commitment to funding private schools on a consistent basis would give a funding increase of $275 million a year to just 74 high SES private schools across Australia based on 2009 figures. The total figure for all non-FM schools will be very much bigger. There are nearly 1100 private schools with an SES score above about 92 (where the FM funding starts) which are currently funded at their SES score rate. All these schools will get an increase in funding to match the maximum FM rates at each SES score. Given that just 74 schools currently funded at their SES score rate will get an additional $275 million a year, the total increase is likely to be of the order of an additional $1 billion a year on 2009 figures, or even more. Together, the promises of a real increase in funding for all private schools and to fund all schools on a similar basis will result in a massive boost in funding to private schools of the

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order of $1.5 billion. It is going to make a big hole in the Gonski funding bucket for disadvantaged students and schools. The rich gain at the expense of the disadvantaged. Nor was the Leader of the Opposition to be left out from genuflecting to those he serves. He intoned:

I stand before you as a proud Australian, as a product of the independent school system, as someone who believes that I can say with deep conviction that I am a friend of the independent schools of Australia. I know them intimately. I am a friend of the independent schools of Australia and I think that you can judge me by my deeds and not simply by my words.

He claimed that Independent schools are victims of an “injustice” because their proportion of government funding is less than their enrolment proportion. Incredibly, he said “...there is no question of injustice to public schools here. If anything, the injustice is the other way”.

The implication is that Independent schools deserve same funding entitlement as government schools even though almost 50% of their secondary students are from high SES families and only 10% are from low SES families. Contrast that with government schools where 35% of secondary students are from low SES families and only 16% are high SES. Government schools also have three to four times the proportion of Indigenous, disability and remote area students as Independent schools.

Abbott’s statement revealed a disgraceful and callous disregard for the large proportion of disadvantaged students who are not receiving an adequate education. Low-income students are on average two to three years behind their high-income peers at age 15 as are remote area students. Indigenous students are three to four years behind. Low SES students enrolled in schools with a high proportion of students from low SES families are nearly four years behind students from high income families in high SES schools.

If Australia is to do anything about these massive achievement gaps it is government schools which should get the large bulk of future funding increases, not wealthy private schools. Government schools enrol the vast majority of educationally disadvantaged students – nearly 80% of low income and disability students, 86% of Indigenous students, and 83% of remote area students. Independent schools do not perform anywhere near the same social obligations as government schools.

Yet, Abbott’s first priority is to defend and extend the privileges of the wealthy. It is all about protecting the resource advantage of schools that serve the wealthy.

It is clear that disadvantaged students can expect little from a Coalition government. Its education spokesman, Christopher Pyne, has already said as much. He says that Australia does not have an equity problem in education. This is why he proposed ripping out $330 million from the Low SES School Communities national partnership program in the last election campaign and to introduce a 50% tax rebate on school fees which would cost about $1 billion. The rebate would, of course, largely benefit wealthy families whose children attend high-fee Independent schools.

Not to be outdone in the fawning stakes, the Coalition responded to Gillard with its own promise to increase funding for private schools. This promise and the Coalition’s

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commitment to retain the current incoherent funding model will ensure that elite private schools continue to have a massive resource advantage over disadvantaged government and private schools.

There is now complete bi-partisan agreement to support privilege in education in Australia. The rich are entitled to government funding according to both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition and they bent over backwards this week to get their message across. They committed to another windfall gain for medium and high SES private schools - $1.5 billion from Labor and an unspecified amount from the Coalition.

Neither Gillard nor Abbott mentioned disadvantage and the achievement gap between rich and poor. Six months after the Gonski report was handed down, Gillard has still not committed, even in principle or in part, to its recommendation for a $5 billion increase in funding for disadvantaged students and schools. Yet, within a day of the rich and powerful applying pressure, Gillard came good with another $1.5 billion which could be better spent on disadvantaged government and private schools.

At least there was one dissenting voice from political party ranks – interestingly, from the Coalition, not Labor. The NSW Coalition Minister for Education, Adrian Piccoli, got it in a nutshell:

I think everybody actually knows what the right thing to do is: to have needs-based funding. Who can oppose that, unless you have some sort of overriding ideology and, unfortunately, overriding ideologies are overriding what is an eminently sensible and fair thing to do for all Australians. I think it's terrible. [Sydney Morning Herald, 23 August 2012]

Whenever public education advocates and schools claim funding priority for disadvantaged students and government schools, representatives of the rich criticise them for “class envy” and “class war”. There is indeed class warfare out there, but it is being conducted by the wealthy and it has been going on for a long time. As the multi-billionaire business magnate, Warren Buffett, so famously said a few years ago:

There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning. [New York Times, 26 November 2006]

This week showed how it is done. We saw the real class war and just how powerful are the wealthy."

24 August 2012

Trevor Cobbold

National Convenor

SOS - Fighting for Equity in Education

http://www.saveourschools.com.au

Swan for PM ? Crean?????

The current rumours going about now mention Wayne Swan for PM. Some even entertain the awful thought of Simon Crean. The most boring man in Australian politics EVER. These rumours may be just made up by journalists after a late night sitting in that corner of the bar under the sign that says "Rum and Bullshit Corner" or more likely they come from the two aspirants themselves. Crean is a serial leaker who makes Kevin Rudd look like Wayne Bennett.
Creans leaks are a usually particularly vicious. I remember his constant undermining of Beazley. Like another labor low life he could be descibed as being torn by a conflict of disloyalties.
If they pick Swan he will crack up within a month. He's not credible as a Treasurer and just mouths the line of the day. There is no bigger narrative. He'd be miles better than Crean though, if they pick Crean the next election will see a result like Queensland.
The one who should be on the way up (but not yet) is Jason Clare. Minister for Home Affairs and Justice. He's young, smart and looks and sounds good on TV. His recent performance over the boat people (that's the current ones from Indonesia, not my maternal 5 greats grandfather from Great Yarmouth) was measured, sensible and sincere. He's a comer but does not deserve the hospital pass that is about to be chucked.
It has to be Rudd as I've said before. He's learned from last time because he is not dumb. He'll do better but probably not better enough. He'll execute a few conspirators. That will be nice and politics will be interesting again.
Then again they could give it to Bob Carr. He did OK last time he copped a tough gig.  As my 2 readers know I am an admirer of Carr. He's interesting and very very funny. He'd eat Abbot. Now that would be fun to watch. Won't happen of course.

WELL SAID LYNN VAN DER WAGEN

The following opinion piece was in the Sydney Morning Herald this morning. It's absolutely spot on. We are creating a generation of ignoramuses whohave no knowledge of who we (meaning western civilisation) are, where we came from or why we have what we have. Thanks to our new curricula they will also have no idea of how to express any of the ideas that they have never heard of. In 20years time they will want to make that imbecile Kyle Sandilands the PM, maybe sooner since we seem to be well on the way.

"TODAY'S teenagers are shaped by a multitude of weighty issues - high levels of teenage obesity, a heavy binge drinking culture and a social media landscape with hefty consequences.

 But pause for a moment and consider the corresponding gargantuan rise in the younger generation's confidence in the value of their opinions. The sheer weight of their viewpoints is growing exponentially as parents and teachers alike are counselled to hold a young person's opinion in the highest regard.

 Current thinking in educational circles focuses on students' independence and empowering unwavering self-belief. Our educational approach favours individual participation over instruction.

As a teacher with more than 20 years' experience it is increasingly painful to read and listen to opinion in the absence of background knowledge, research or experience - ''no offence'', teenagers.

Past generations paid due regard to the expertise of the teacher and gained intellectual exercise by reading and (gasp) memorising important information. No wonder today's students find university such a challenge, coming from a school system where the mathematics curriculum includes estimation and the English curriculum covers social media.

Having recently spent time teaching students in China, I can't help but draw stark comparisons to my local teaching experience. Students there expect that they will be given a tonne of information and will be assigned extensive homework involving engagement with the instructional material. Invitations to express opinions are met with puzzlement. Rather, they expect and welcome direction.

 In contrast, our students launch into impassioned and complex negotiation the moment there is a hint of work to be done (a technique all too familiar to any parent attempting to institute household chores).

 When the work comes in (often late) it is littered with sentences starting with ''I think'' - an amusing oxymoron. Little reference is made to any research other than nominal efforts to cut and paste from Wikipedia.

 Anyone visiting the supermarket will notice that the fine art of putting one's view across is honed at a very early age - often encouraged in children too young to talk but old enough to point.

 Having now taught through generations X, Y and Z, the labelling of the next generation is clear. Generation I - the first, foremost, the centre of attention.

 I think I'd better retire before I face the gargantuan task of teaching this next generation of overconfident individuals. Their weighty opinions are too much to bear and I've exercised all my patience."

 Lynn Van Der Wagen   Sydney Morning Herald 27/6/12

A member of my family has joined the LIBS

A member of my family has joined the Liberals. I can't say that I blame hime. If I were young and idealisitic again I'd hardly be rushing to join up with Craig Thomson, Bill Shorten and bloody Julia. And we have not yet heard the end of the Eddie Obeid saga that will drag on well beyond the next NSW elections.
The Craig Thomson business is becoming very troubling. He's a pretty creepy sort of person by all appearances but the pursuit of him is starting to have echoes of Nick Sherry 20 years ago, An unfair comparison (to Senator Sherry) perhaps. But for the past couple of months I've had the thought that this blokle is going to crack and when he does he might just hurt himself. We don't have the death penalty here for being a creep.
The sleaze factor appeals to the press and the mad monk and his evil cronies are feeding it like crazy at every opportunity. It cuts both ways too with so far unsuccessful attempts to smear the odious little twerp Christopher Pyne and (from within the Libs) Bill Heffernan. I just wonder what sort of impression it gives young people aboput politics.
On the Heffernan story there's more to that little can of central coast worms to come out and Chris (Darth Vader) Hartcher is in it up to his eyes.
It's all just so unedifying. 

Julia's got to GO

I say nothing for months and then two blogs in quick succession. She just has got to go. I thought it was instructive that at her " a line has been crossed" press conference she was alone. Not a minder in sight. Not a marginal seat candidate over each shoulder nodding agreement. Not even little Bill standing behind her looking authoritative and in control. They've clearly decided that it is all going to be her fault.
How they ever ijmagined that they were going to get away with suppporting Craig Thompson defies explaination. Same goes for Slipper.
It's all of their faults of course. And we are going to get Tony Abbot and that will be their fault too.
The best hope now to minimise the loss and build for a return to sensible Government some time in the forseeable future is to put Kevin back.
There's a dog whistle type attempt to smear Christopher Pyne over his asking for the phone number of Slipper's openly gay staffer who later made the famous allegations. Pyne is not to put it too finely an odious little twerp, but who he asks for their phone number (providing that they are consenting adults) is not any of anyone's business.
Astonishingly, Kristina "Hairspray" Kenealy seems to be making a claim to be resurrected by the media. Perhaps she dreams of jumping in to Peter Garret's seat at the nexy election and then emerging to save the day. I don't know why we don't just make Joe Tripodi PM and have done with it.

Hold your nose and vote for Kevin.

How hard can it be ? (As the awful Jeremy Clarkson would say.) The Labor party has been  in poll free-fall since they dumped Kevin Rudd and every twist and turn that the conspirators have tried since has just accelerated the decline.
They had a leader who was relatively popular (with the voters that is, remeber them?) He managed despite some personal eccentricities to deliver a long overdue apology to the Aboriginal people and to shepherd our economy through the GFC leaving us in the strongest possible position with an economy and living standard that is well ahead of just about everywhere else on the planet. Norway may be doing better but who wants to live there?
So Rudd had some leadership faults, was a bit of a control freak and lost the plot and listened to bad advice when the climate change summit turned out to be a waste of time. The peope who gave him the bad advice had their own agendas. He's no doubt learned from it. Maybe he'll be a better leader the second time around. Menzies and Howard most certainly were. He could hardly be worse than what we have now.
They should bring him back and bring him back now. He'll have a few scores to settle. Good. There needs to be some major blood letting. It will be like Octavian dealing with Brutus and Cassius et al. Not pretty but all good fun.
After the bloodshed and with the budget in surplus there will be an election. He might or might not win but he won't lose like Julia is going to lose. If they stick with their present game plan they will probably not see the Speakers right profile again for a very long time.

Queensland election

Yes he is a short person. It's a cliche but sometimes, as they say, a good cliche really hits the nail on the head. So Queensland now has a complete dickhead for a Premier. It won't be all that unfamiliar will it? When he was mayor of Brisbane one of his more startling achievements was to take the lovely green and shady town hall square and turn it into a hot box of dazzling white paving with not a tree in sight. This is the sort of development we can presumably see for the rest of Queensland with can-do campbell. No capitals intended. The size of his majority means that until the next election he's going to think that he can do ANYTHING and he's unfortunately probably correct.
I think the size of his win also reflects an unprecedented volatility in the electorate, particularly among the old  Labor vote. They see an ALP without true believers and why would anyone vote for that. The trade union base disappearing is only a part of it and it isn't to do with the end of the cold war either. Labor was never about what we were against, it was about what we were for. Now it appears that we have neither.
Oh for a leader with convictions and opinions (of their own, not as derived from focus groups).

Bob Carr for PM

No I don't think it's going to happen. But doesn't the Fairfax press want it to! Last weekend the papers were as good as they will ever get. Full of praise for a political leader who can actually speak in complete sentences and in fact can string together several at a time. More than several in fact. I hear Bob talking to that inner city trendoid Richard Glover last week and he went on at such length and with such erudition that he put me in mind of the great Gough.
The Spectator had a good cartoon showing Bob in yankee civil war uniform taking careful aim and shoting himself through the foot. A reference to the misjudged comment about political instability in New Guinea. Bob's response to that was to say "yes, that was a mistake". Now why didn't some genius suggest that turn of phrase to Gillard or Abbott?
He's very fit, more qualified for the job than anyone in the caucus and demonstrably electable over Abbott but the haters in the caucus won't let it happen. Nothing is going to stop little Bill.

I'm back

Hi folks,
Or to be more accurate is anybody out there?
I'm back to blogging after a long absence due to having better things to do. I have been reabilitated after my illness and am back trying to be a school Principal again, now at Terrigal Public School. In the great game of educarion snakes and ladders I have finally landed on the BIG LADDER and in very timely fashion too.
Terrigal is a beautiful spot and everyone in the school from the smallest child to the grumpiest old bloke on the staff  (guess who) know it and feel good to be here every day. So far I've only missed about two morning coffees at the surf club and this morning I even got a second one for free.