Aussie Education System

[dazzler]

I think the important thing, from reading all the comments, is that the parents take an interest in the schooling.  Whether its steiner like craigs, christian like ours, or the public system, if you stay focused and attentive and are ready to step in when needed, and the kid is interested, it doesnt REALLY matter.

A teacher friend in the system says the quality of the school really comes down to the principal and how connected to the school they are.

cheers all.

[becboo]

That is the most interesting description of aspergers I have ever heard, and a very perceptive one.

I have known 2 aspergers children who are now adults, both sucesfully integrated into the workforce, both into very specialist areas that make the most of their skills. 
This required them to make the appropraite links with employers whlst at school via a very perceptive Vocational councelling person.

Hope your son has the same good fortune and has someone who can help him find his niche.

So do I Mace!! 

Don't get me wrong people .... my son is awesome and he challenges me everyday to explain what the rest of us take for granted..... the knowledge of body language, tone of voice, of why people are the way they are, why they think like that, why they react like that.  Footrot Flats is great!!

The Weipa School is incredible, yes I know but it is a little hick school in hickville.  They have the best facilities i have seen to educate these kids.  The teachers in the special education unit are fantastic.... I am their biggest fan I think. 

We came from Townsville.  Lots of schools there both public and private.  None have the resources or teachers that Weipa does.

One day Mace I would love to sit down and have a good talk to you about the Aspies you know if that is ok.

Cheers
Becboo

[GeoffA]

Worst govt decision ever to get rid of tech schools, some of us are old enough to remember when they existed.

Yep.

That decision was a disgrace. Many pleaded with them, but they went ahead anyway. The academics at the helm decided everyone should aspire to a tertiary education. It was part of the push to become "The Clever Country".............how ironic...........

It was acknowledged as the wrong decision some time later, but the damage was done.

My old tech. school site is now a Bunnings...........

Geoff

[McGirr]

I think if a child wants to learn its does not matter what school they go to. Every child is different, they all have different learning capacities.

Look at us as adults we all went to different schools and all work in different fields. Some of us are brighter and more intellectual than others. Some subjects at school I could do easy others I could not.

My kids, who have left school, would never become doctors or lawyers but I was happy with the public system. I think it also boils down to the teachers who have a passion for their job.

Mark

[Kit_e_kat9]

Not having any kids myself ( body couldn't complete the mission ) ... I always wish that someone had taught me more life skills in school.  Yes the 3 r's are important.  I'd have loved a few skills in budgeting, comparison shopping (insurance, service providers, etc), menu planning, dog raising, car maintenance, route planning, perhaps even things like making bread, soap making, being self sufficient, how to conduct ones self in an interview, drive a car, personal hygiene, caring and sharing ... things we need day to day though life.

I hardly use advanced maths and barely use my grade 12 accounting any more.  I did do a certificate 3 in my late thirties to get the job I felt sure I wanted and hope to do more courses as I get older so that I don't feel like I'm "working" any more.

None of this has helped me get a career in Professional Camping though.  Pity.  I reckon that's the one thing I'd be very good at.

Kit_e

[cruisindub]

My young cousin is a good kid. Not the smartest, but quite gifted musically,  abke to hold a mature conversation, quite worldly wise.

He's a bit dyslexic some might say.  (Not really)

He was worried about failing school. The teacher told him, "doesn't matter, no problem if you can't spell, (can't read properly) its only 5% of the mark. Its not important. Besides, there's always spell check."

Bloody hell

How scary is that.


How many can't read or write because its only 5% of the mark and there's always spell check. Scary
what a thing to tell a kid.
Needless to say he hasnt reached his potential.

[huxter09]

Our kids did the Steiner School system in primary but our school didn't do secondary and we weren't about to move to Melbourne for them to do so .They then went to the high school where my wife has now taught for 34 years .Both have gone on to uni as they wanted  ,both to become teachers like Mum ! They have faith in the system and hope to teach at Mum's school  which offers a lot of of non-Uni entry courses ,mentoring into industry etc. But I would agree , the fundamental problem is money !!!!!   --TAFE being ripped to pieces with the loss of thousands of jobs  ,yet , we give hundreds of millions to carmakers to protect 300 jobs to producing Aussie cars no-one wants ,like hybrids ! .We could pay all our teachers an extra 20% to make the career competitive if we got out of Afghanistan tomorrow .What have we wasted on overseas wars and aid to countries we will never have anything to do with .
.Spend the dwindling dollars at home --Aussies in Aussie jobs  ,making producst that Aussies want --we need manufacturing jobs badly --bugger cheap iron ore and gas for China to make more cheap crap for $2 shops to sell to aussies that are out of jobs !!!   

[dazzler]

producing Aussie cars no-one wants ,like hybrids ! .

That would be falcons, not hybrids. 

[markymark]

our kids go to a Steiner school and we all love it [ i wish i went to one ]i don't like the public system and never have ,it doesn't teach respect ... doesn't teach about life .... doesn't teach about options ... puts to much emphases on the high school cert .Does not teach how to think outside the square and certainly dosnt develop the imagination.
Steiner dosnt PUSH ,PUSH ,PUSH instead they develop a love for learning and the child develops at THEIR pace .


craig

oh and shreck4 ... i agree 100%

Hi Craig,

You have certainly generalised too much there. I teach at a government secondary school and our main 'thing' here is respect; for each other, yourself and the environment. Out of 450 kids we have over 100 completing their school-based apprenticeship, so these kids are out in the community in various careers working 1 day a week for 12 to 18 months to gain real experience and find out what works for them. This ranges from farm hands to vet surgeries...and this includes the kids who go on to complete their VCE, not just the VET or VCAL students. For a small school we offer sooooo much for the kids it's not funny - I wish I could go back to high school again!

We have a local Steiner school and I agree in everything you said they do. Luckily for them, they have a large say in how their curriculum works, without having the government forcing it down their throat! We looked at the Steiner school for our own kids but found it a bit too pricey.

I went to Uni when I was 27 and married with 2 kids to do my teaching degree and I'm pretty disgusted with how the government treats government schools. In fact I'm almost to the point where I believe there's a conspiracy going on here where the government is in fact trying to kill off it's own schools. Our premier decided one of his first moves in government was to take over $450million away from government school funding and give an extra $200+ million towards the private system. Take from the poor and give to the rich? It's little wonder we struggle to compete with the rich schools, most programs you want to run cost money and families just don't have that much...and then we have limited power (thanks to the government) with kids and PARENTS who have no respect for anyone and we're forced to keep them to make the government look good. Did you know two thirds of school funding goes to the private sector who educate one third of our students???

I have to stop, I've lost track a bit! Yes education needs to improve but where to begin 

Back to correcting work while my family sleeps...

[Bird]

I wanna know how a private school can have $18 MILLION debt??

Private school may shut with $18m debt

One of the largest private schools in Melbourne's outer western suburbs is facing closure after racking up debts of $18 million, leaving more than 1000 students in the lurch.
 
Mowbray College, which has three campuses in Melton and Caroline Springs, has gone into administration, with anxious parents already struggling to find alternative schools in the burgeoning growth corridor.
 
The school has been plagued by industrial turmoil, bullying claims and a rapid turnover of senior staff in recent years.

It received almost $15 million from the state and federal governments in 2010 according to the My School website, despite making a loss of almost $2.5 million the previous year.
 
Mowbray College chairperson Tracey MacKenzie said the school's cash flow had become critical.


Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/private-school-may-shut-with-18m-debt-20120529-1zgp1.html#ixzz1wGUmb165

[markymark]

I wanna know how a private school can have $18 MILLION debt??

Yeah I can't wait to read the outcome of this one! Another Craig Thompson in the mix or just crap management?

[Bird]

Yeah I can't wait to read the outcome of this one! Another Craig Thompson in the mix or just crap management?

I cant imagine what the rates of pay were for the teachers... 500k ea?

[Bird]

The prep-to-year-12 school has three campuses in Caroline Springs and Melton. It received almost $15 million from the state and federal governments in 2010, according to the My School website, and charges between $7696 and $10,693 a year in fees.
 
Marina Adam, whose son Patrick is in year 10, said she was horrified to learn at Monday's meeting that the school had accrued $2.4 million of debt in unpaid fees alone.
 
''I always pay my school fees, so why not make others pay for them?'' Ms Adam said.
 
She believed if the board had better managed the school's finances, the state and federal governments would have been more likely to bail it out.
 
Mowbray College's perilous financial situation was known as early as 2009, with an audit lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission revealing a $2.4 million loss, up from a loss of $779,313 the year before.
 
''Should enrolment income rapidly decline or the bank withdraw their support of the college, there is uncertainty whether Mowbray

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/crushing-debt-leaves-private-school-struggling-20120529-1zhfv.html#ixzz1wJD3Lyhl

[Mace]

Just read the same article myself.

Their unpaid fees ($2.4m) is high, but not off the scale high.  They probably receive income via fees of an extra $9m on top of thier State & Federal Government payments, so their total income would be approx $24 million.

So, 10% of their fees are unpaid.

My previous boss, the business Manager of another private school (catholic system) used to aim for an  unpaid fees rate of 5%. It was usually just above this.

So, partially the cause, but also perhaps a bit of trying to grow to big, too quick (new campuses, capital expenditure, borrowings!!).

We have freinds in Caroline Springs whos two youngest went to there about 5 years ago, they reckoned it was a great, caring school.

 

[huxter09]

I don't particularly care whether Mowbray continues or not .If you step outside the system ,you accept more responsibility for your kids futures, and that of the school they attend . My concern would be for gov't owned and operated schools in the area , not some private school for cashed -up bogans .

The best result for the Vic Govt would be to buy the school at any subsequent Mortgagees auction and turn it into a normal state-run school ,at probably cheaper than replacement cost !! The kids at Mowbray can drift off to the 30-odd  private schools that offered help. The smarter ones will get picked up by another school looking to improve their Enter percentages.The others will battle it out as best they can, looking for another outer suburban private school.

[becboo]

The smarter ones will get picked up by another school looking to improve their Enter percentages.

This is where the whole education system is going wrong IMO.  It is all about how your school is doing on this scale so the kids that need a bit more help get left behind.  I believe people make too much of a deal out of going to uni.  I think it's great that kids can remember that much stuff they get it right on their exams.  BUT the kids who are practical / musical / theatrical are forgotten about.  Unless they are lucky enough to get a teacher that cares for that year.  There are a lot of teachers who do but there are also a lot that don't give a stuff and have forgotten about the impact they have on young minds. 

When we leave Weipa in a year or 2 and move to Cairns or Townsville, that will be my greatest challenge to find a school that has the capabilities and care to help educate my son. So he can read and write, do maths well enough to pay his bills, budget and not get ripped off.  That is what I hope for him.  I believe the rest will work itself out when he is ready.  With him, we may have him at home longer and support him longer than his big sisters because of his aspergers.  And that is fine because I am his mum!

It is a shame we can't get all the teachers who care and put them in a system that cares as well

 
Becboo

[Bird]

The best result for the Vic Govt would be to buy the school at any subsequent Mortgagees auction and turn it into a normal state-run school ,at probably cheaper than replacement cost

agree whole heartedly!!! but i dont even see them discussing this as an option.. Which is extremely strange... Maybe I see it as too obvious a logic for a Gov to work out.

[craigtempo]

HI markymark

yes i agree with u 100 % and my statement is to general or broad a statement , i was going to clarify but it got lost in the mix .

I do hear good stories from the public system as i have a few friends that are teachers and principals BUT i mostly hear [ and not by them ] horror stories ie teachers threatend with knifes ..... and bashing? parents who dont give a damm about the school or how or what there kids are learning or if there even at school ,no teacher respect ...... bullying and NOTHING done about it ,kids coming to school with so many NITS that u can see them jumping around .i also have a friend that is a child physiologist and what she tells me sends shivers up my spine . taking about who they had sex with .... and these guys are as young as twelve .

i realise that not all schools are like this espeacialy the smaller schools  and I'm not one to shelter my kids from life or reality but there is a time when a kid NEEDS to be a kid . I reckon there is way to much adultising of our kids as well but thats another can of worms

becboo

its a shame we cant put all the teachers who care into a system that cares

this  IS another  reason we went with steiner .... the teachers do care and are very involved with the kids in fact they basically have the same teacher all the way through the primary years and become friends of the family and interact out side the school .

craig

on further thinking i reakon the government should be ashamed of themselves when it comes to education in this country . 2/3 of the money going to the private schools is discusting .pushing public teachers to the limit ... not enough support ....way to much POLITICAL CORECTNESS . im thinking here lies the reason why i stay away from the public system

[rescue1]

I have watched with dismay over the past 30+ years at the changing face of my old high school. It was and still is an Agricultural High School and has always been selective. However in my day we got taught Farm Mechanics as a compulsory subject so by them time we left school regardless of where we went afterwards we could drive a tractor and fix it as well. I'm sure one of my classmates who is an astro physics expert at Cambridge doesn't have much use for the knowledge but he still has it. Whilst cadets was not compulsory most joined and we punched above our weight on the sporting field as well as academically, usually placing well in state competitions. These days the emphasis is on the academic excellence and there's hardly an Australian name at the school and just recently Blacktown High beat them in debating....Ah "The Boss", as we used to call the principal, would be spinning in his grave....

[JCOJ]

I've been thinking for two pages of comments on whether I should write something or not - but have decided to.  My wife is a teacher and I used to be a teacher.

There are three facets to good teaching 1) good teachers, 2) good Parents, and 3) good Curriculum

Kids get out of school not learning to read very well or string a written sentence together because the curriculum doesn't demand that it be taught as rigorously as it used to be.  The curriculum, especially here in SA, has been dramatically dumbed down and as a comment above said - you don't need to read, write, or add up to pass anymore - everyone goes up.  Being able to re-submit failed work to try and get a pass mark is another issue - no one is allowed to fail anymore!?!?  Furthermore not adapting curriculum to today's relevant world - a perfect exxample is taking away the tech schools - not every kid wants to go to uni!

The majority of teachers out there are excellent, put in more hours than what are required and take an interest in every childs learning.  Unfortunatly there are some teachers out there that try and do as little as possible, and there are schools out there that don't support their teachers when it comes to behaviour management.  However, not enough is being done to recruit and retain good teachers.  Did you know that a teacher's salary used to be the same as politicians - now teacher's are about half!!  Politicians kkep saying they need pay rises to attract quality politicians - well what about teachers you knobs!!!

Parents have a huge influence.  Our son (6 yrs old) was sent to time out in class and had a note put in his diary from the teacher.  We took away all his teddy's that he sleeps with, plus absolutely no treats - both for one week, and had a meeting with the teacher, with him present, to discuss a reason for his behaviour and also a positive outcomes for the future.  At the school where I used to work, often when we didn't pick a kid in a sporting team (I was a PE teacher) because of their non attendance at training, or poor on field behaviour, and we used to get phoned up and abused by the parents who thought their kid was Michael Jordan and should play - regardless of their behaviour!

[Bird]

Yeah I can't wait to read the outcome of this one! Another Craig Thompson in the mix or just crap management?

Interesting...

The college's administrator, Jim Downey, told ABC 774 that the private school had $2 million in unpaid fees and may have to sue parents to collect them.
 
He said several schools had approached him about taking over Mowbray College, but that would have to wait until at least February. YOUR KIDDING?
 
He said the school had a payroll of $500,000 a fortnight.


The Mowbray Action Group is calling for a formal inquiry into how the school accrued $18 million of debt.
 
Parent Leonie Harrison, whose husband was one of the founding students at Mowbray, said the school had sufficient enrollments to sustain keeping open at least two campuses.
 
"It really has gone very wrong - it should never have happened," she said. "Two months ago was when we were first told there would need to be some consolidation due to debt.
 
"Prior to that last day of term we had no idea. We knew we had some financial worries but we didn't realise that would mean closing down campuses."
 
Ms Harrison said her parents-in-law had been among a group of parents who had fought to have an independent school in the western suburbs.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/final-stand-at-for-sale-mowbray-20120606-1zv0k.html#ixzz1wyfua2VU