The Stolen Generation

[old man emu]

No, not that Stolen Generation. I'm talking about the generation of Black, White and Brindle children whose Right to an education has been stolen from them, once again by uncaring State Governments.

 

One can say that education, as delivered by qualified educators, ceased to be delivered in Australia around 23rd March 2020, but delivery recommenced in Term 4, 2021. So a whole generation of children missed what all previous ones received - grounding in the basics of the 3-Rs, and a bit more for two years. Home-schooling was a hit & miss affair, depending on the ability of families to provide a level of instruction approaching that provided by the professionals while at the same time struggling to work to provide food and shelter. 

 

The education system waffled through 2022 trying to teach a curriculum to an audience who did not have the pre=requisite grounding in the various subjects. Now in 2023, the education system is trying to rectify that lack of grounding by using "Booster" sessions, where the children are taken in small groups from their home classroom and given "catch-up" lessons. However, in doing this, the schools are robbing Peter to pay Paul because as the small group is removed from the main body of the class, the main body receives the scheduled lesson in another topic. The children in the Booster Session miss the scheduled lesson altogether.

 

If the education system had, at the beginning of 2022 declared the 2021 school year null and void, and returned children to the year level they would have started in 2021, it would have been as though each child had repeated a year, as so many children have traditionally done. The only problem the education system would have had to face would have been a doubling of numbers beginning school in Kindergarten, and that the spike in numbers in that group would continue through for the next 13 years to the end of those children's Secondary education. Sounds silly? Actually, research into children's learning abilities indicates that starting at a later age - up to seven years of age - gives each child a better result due to a higher mental maturity. 

 

However, this decision to carry on regardless has left us with a whole generation of children who have been handicapped as much as harnessing Phar Lap to a milk cart for the Melbourne Cup. The vast majority of these children will never overcome that educational handicap. 

[facthunter]

I'm an ex secondary school chalky and I don't accept the extreme view there. The pick up process is known as "remedial" and properly administered can be very effective. Victoria examined this and found the adverse effects were much  less than first feared. IF you're really concerned the money available to and staffing of state schools should be looked at as  more and more Parents are being asked to find more money for their kids activities. and the private schools  are far better off with their facilities. Universities target overseas students and don't pay their staff enough or give them secure tenure and a few other issues with sponsorship that question their Independence. Nev

[old man emu]

3 hours ago, facthunter said:

I'm an ex secondary school chalky and I don't accept the extreme view there.

The stimulus for my comment was what my son and his wife were discussing following a parent/teacher meeting this week. That's where I got the info about Booster Sessions.

 

My comment was not based on the financing of education. Funding for education is an altogether different topic than the one I raised. My comment based on the negative impact on that generation of not being able to access a planned curriculum at a time in their development that the curriculum was designed for. Because these children's education was not recommenced where it left off, but what was to be taught was glossed over, there will be a big loss of capability in all fields when those children become adults.

[facthunter]

I have grandkids too so I'm going though this with them. in some detail. My point is there are ways to catch up available though in some areas that may not be so obvious. Adult entry to Universities is an example which has always had pretty successful outcomes due to the better motivation./ My wife was until recently  involved with education of kids with disabilities and I know plenty of teachers who do extra coaching /learning sessions.. Once a chalky always a chalky. That's probably  why I like instructing...  Nev

[spacesailor]

'' My point is there are ways to catch up ''

Please tell , as I lost a huge amount of education from '' illness '' AND Bad teacher's .

AND

I Need a memory chip for my head to supplement my untrained brain .

spacesailor

[facthunter]

Get a tube of motivation.  My avatar says "Never stop Learning'. If you don't USE it you Lose it.  Anyhow your secret is safe with Me.  Nev. Hell it just wrote NEVer stop ... then.

[old man emu]

The problem is that a child's willingness to even stay on an equal footing is diminished if they can't reach that level and se the other kids going ahead. It's too easy for kids to lose interest in a subject when a teacher is introducing material that rests on prior knowledge. Have you ever read "Noddy Goes to Toyland"? He wants to build a house and his logic tells him that he should put up the roof first so that he and Big Ears won't get wet while they are building the walls. That's the situation this Stolen Generation finds itself in.

[facthunter]

IF it's overcompetitive and high pressure and not given to understanding (a just LEARN IT thing) that happens more.. Kids are naturally inquisitive till we bore it out of them. There's plenty out there to distract them also. Sitting still at a desk is not that natural for active young People and often the circumstances at home are not conducive to doing extra work. IF they are not kept occupied they do tend to muck up and disturb the rest.  Nev

[Old Koreelah]

Traditional schools, which are mostly built and staffed on a strict budget, have done plenty of damage to kids’ development.
Decades ago I copped a backlash from my community when I pointed out that the local horseracing track (used about six time per year) had far better facilities than most of our school classrooms (used 206 days per year).

 

It sure shows where our society’s priorities are.

[facthunter]

 HOT and COLD portables that no one would ever live in.. Horses are the Sport of Kings. .  Nev

[old man emu]

I don't know why you should complain about climate control in classrooms and facilities. Socrates and the rest of the Greek teachers sat under an olive tree in the market place and taught.

[Old Koreelah]

I’ve often taken my kids out of a metal oven to work under a tree. We didn’t have shady olives or a nice cool Medierranean breeze. We were tuff!

[pmccarthy]

Metal oven? We kept our kids in a cardboard box.

[old man emu]

You were lucky. My school couldn't afford a cardboard box. We had a sheet of newspaper for a shade, and a bottle of tank water to pour on the ground so that we could draw mud maps for Geography class.

[red750]

How could they afford newspaper?

[Old Koreelah]

Luxury! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[old man emu]

2 hours ago, red750 said:

How could they afford newspaper?

Donated by the old Greek bloke who had the Fish and Chip shop.

[Bruce Tuncks]

When I went to school, there was just a fibro ( asbestos cement sheet) outer wall shell. I well remember using a noggin to store stuff on. There was a ceiling however., and a pedestal fan which aimed at the teacher's desk. We got a great education there, ( discipline administered kindly )  with the Barossa Deutsch  teacher saving us from the pommy notion that working with your hands was demeaning. I sat next to an abo kid called Walter who came from Borolloola  and went home there on holidays.

Here's what I believe to be true for primary school kids ....  they are like jugs and can only hold so much stuff, If you try to overload them it just goes to waste.

So the Finnish thing about not starting school till 7 is correct and we should not get hung up over interruptions to their curricula.  ( Finland kids beat ours by far in educational outcomes, I think they have discipline in their schools.)

[facthunter]

A good Finnish makes it all worthwhile. Nev

[Marty_d]

14 hours ago, Bruce Tuncks said:

 I well remember using a noggin to store stuff on. 

You're supposed to use your noggin to store stuff in.

[octave]

17 hours ago, Bruce Tuncks said:

( Finland kids beat ours by far in educational outcomes, I think they have discipline in their schools.)

I don't think that is the reason.    In Finland the profession of teacher requires a Masters Degree and commands respect from society.   The Finnish place a lot of importance on equity.   The very few private schools in Finland are publicly funded and cannot charge fees or generate profit.  Finland's education system tends to be more child centred and does not rely on standardized test scores.

 

Many years ago my (homeschooled) son who was 15yo  at the time struck up friendship online with a Finnish girl.   They used to video chat regularly and they both had a great interest in each others method of education.    She was unbelievably articulate (in English, her second language) and knowledgeable.   

 

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

After a working life inside Australia’s teaching systems, that report almost made me cry with envy for that clever country  and frustration at the utter stupidity of our own policy makers. 
Will our country ever turn away from copying every failed trend in the USA? 

[old man emu]

13 minutes ago, Old Koreelah said:

the utter stupidity of our own policy makers

Policy makers have to take an intelligence test before they start work. If they pass, they don't get the job.

 

I've just started reading a history of the NSW Air Ambulance and have gone through the 1940-50s. It seems if it wasn't for the dedication of the individual ambulancemen few Country people would have survived medical emergencies. Members of the numerous district ambulance boards and the State board failed to be progressive. After flicking through the book, it seems that Luddite mentality continued until public outcry - and more importantly what we now call 'crowd funding' enabled the establishment of the Air Ambulance Service.

[Old Koreelah]

10 hours ago, old man emu said:

I've just started reading a history of the NSW Air Ambulance and have gone through the 1940-50s. It seems if it wasn't for the dedication of the individual ambulancemen few Country people would have survived medical emergencies. Members of the numerous district ambulance boards and the State board failed to be progressive…

Too many organisations follow a rigid “Top-down” management model. Presumably military in origin, that was the main impressive I got from my dozen years in the SES. The resulting inflexibility hampered efforts to adapt and reform. Many of us left in frustration. 
Joining the VRA was a revelation: very “bottom-up” with plenty of feedback opportunities for those at the front line.

After every training exercise or callout we habitually form into a circle and debrief; the best learning available.

These discussions help us to hone our techniques. Sometimes we identify the need for a new tool, which, in the past, we might have built ourselves. These days, we aren’t so dependent on wood raffles and other fundraisers. Government grants allow us to buy the equipment we need.

[Marty_d]

On 25/03/2023 at 9:08 AM, old man emu said:

Policy makers have to take an intelligence test before they start work. If they pass, they don't get the job

 

That explains One Nation and the Nats, what about the rest?

 

Edited March 26, 2023 by Marty_d