Messrs Pyne, Donnelly and Wiltshire,
I admire your goal to improve Australia's international standing in education. I, too, think we can learn a great deal from the Asian countries that continually score so highly in these ratings. My findings here are based on significant research (I did a google search or two) and vast experience. I teach Japanese, and consider this makes me an expert on Asian education. Whilst my suggestions are based on observations of the Japanese education system, I'm sure they apply to all those other successful Asian countries too. Asians are all the same, right?
So, to assist in your review, I would like to propose the following changes be applied in order to allow Australia to climb those all important league tables:
- Curriculum change - We need to change the Australian curriculum to place far greater emphasis on the learning of facts. Academic rigour and consistency can be assured, as all students will be taught from a limited range of State authorised text books. Far too much time is currently wasted in the Australian classroom on left wing ideas such as creativity, team work, problem solving and, perhaps worst of all, critical thinking. Imagine allowing students to question what they are taught? To even sometimes question authority. How outrageous! We all know that these things have no place in the real world. What we need are people who know a lot of stuff and can pass standardised tests.
- School systems - Australia needs to completely change the way our school systems operate. One suggestion could be to align our secondary schools with particular universities (or TAFE colleges for those who aren't quite clever enough to get to university). Each school could then set their own entrance exams, so that we can weed out those less valuable individuals who can't pass a test. This whole system could filter down to even the early childhood centres, so that we could have 4 year olds vying for positions at the top kindergartens. Wouldn't that be fantastic competition? Of course, this all leads to a new business opportunity for enterprising Australians. The government could provide special grants for people to set up 'tutoring centres' to cater to all those students studying frantically to pass the test for the school of their choice. This will be fantastic for families, as it keeps those annoying kids out of the house until 9 or 10 at night. Think of the business opportunities! There will be plenty of willing workers - mostly parents trying to pay for their kids' tutoring sessions. Not to mention all the extra psychologists and counsellors we could employ dealing with students' depression and stress caused by the pressure to pass all of these exams. A sharp rise in youth suicide rates will be a small price to pay for those improved test results.
- Teacher standards - Teachers will be far more effective if we implement some of the teaching conditions experienced in Asia. Firstly, teachers do not teach more than two lessons per day. The rest of the time is spent on preparation, marking and helping individual students. Of course, this is going to mean we will need a lot more teachers, but I'm sure that will be financially supported to ensure that Australia climbs those league tables. We could partly reduce the numbers required by increasing class sizes to at least 40 students. I'm sure teachers and parents would be happy to do that. Pre-service training could also be overhauled, with new teachers more or less serving an apprenticeship with a master teacher. Of course, the master teacher would have no other teaching duties other than to supervise and support the new teacher, and he/she would be well compensated financially. The Federal Government would naturally be happy to fund this initiative. This will, of course, be paired with ongoing mentoring and professional development of the highest calibre throughout a teacher's career. at government expense of course.
- Cultural Change - This is the easiest thing to do by far! We need to change the whole way that Australians value education and teachers. Teaching will become a highly desirable career choice and will be treated with the kind of respect usually afforded to people like doctors. Parents will understand that teachers are well-trained professionals and will work in partnership with them. Parents will happily welcome their child's teacher into their home to discuss the education of the child. Parents will openly support teachers, and back up what they are doing at school in the home. Mothers will give up on their careers to make the primary purpose in their lives to improve their child's performance at school. Parents and teachers will set high standards for each student and expect them to be met. Students will respect their parents and teachers and will work hard to achieve these high standards, even studying until the early hours of the morning if necessary. They will gladly attend their extra tutoring sessions, as they understand that the way to happiness and fulfilment in life is to get into a good school, so they can get into a good university, so they can get a good job and live happily ever after. Until they die. Of stress and overwork.
Or we could look to Finland, arguably the best overall performer in recent years. Some of those wacky Finnish ideas include:
- No compulsory standardised testing, except at the end of high school
- No rankings or comparisons of students, schools, regions
- Funding for special classes for non-Finnish speaking students, or students with special needs. Intervention is done at a school level and is seen as temporary, until a child overcomes whatever difficulty they were having. More assistance in the classroom.
- Compulsory education doesn't begin until age 7
- Voluntary participation in pre-primary education for 6 year olds, focussed on play.
- Small class sizes in science - capped at 16 - to enable more practical work, small class sizes generally
- Extended play time for primary students
- Students generally have the same teacher for 5 years of primary school. In this way, the teacher really gets to know the students and their families and how to best meet the needs of each individual.
- Students are fed state-funded meals
- Teachers are selected from the top 10% of graduates and require a Masters Degree, with strong competition for places.
- Teachers are well-respected by the public and authorities (hmmm, I see a common thread here...)
- Students attend compulsory education at a comprehensive school for 9 years (age 7 - 16). They then move to either a vocational high school or a general high school for three years. Vocational education is popular and can also lead to higher education. There isn't greater value placed on one type of school over another.
- The education system is almost entirely state funded and run by educators, with consistency and stability regardless of political changes.
- There are very few private schools (religious affiliated or alternative) but these are also state-funded. Students of all ability levels and social status learn together. There is not a 'two-tiered' system.
- The Finnish made changes to their education system about 35 years ago and then waited for those changes to have an impact on the student outcomes. Imagine that?
- Finnish students learn 3 languages. They must be super smart!
I really hope that I have been able to help you. I look forward to being able to provide some more feedback to you as you consult teachers on how they feel about the Australian Curriculum. I would love to go through the History Curriculum with you, as it seems you have never seen it. Let me know if you would like to consult with me further.
Regards
Batcat
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