The World As 100

I quite liked these pictures which display the information in quite a clear, helpful way.  For more of these pictures, and details visit the website here.

Red Pens and bubble wrap

I read with interest a piece about a new kit that was being handed around to schools in Queensland, and how to work with the children inclassroom - some of the points the kits made was that teachers should stop using "aggressive" red pens; as red is considered too confrontational, and teachers should leave wrong answers blank, as marking it wrong would have hurt the child's confidence. (more about this kit, and self esteem in education is here).

There's something flawed about wrapping kids in cotton wool, and making life rosey, and painless. I learned more from the comments on essay's which needed work; than that ones which were marked highly. We can't equip students to succeed if we don't allow them to fail.

Weekend Reading...

:: Saving the world is off the curriculum... Audio: interview with Stanley Fish author of Save the World On Your Own Time)

:: An experiment on teaching taste ... (Interview)

:: One I don't need to be convinced of - the value of the male school teacher. For more about teachers and teaching, Lesson Plans (a new NYT's blog) is well worth a read.

:: A day without google...

:: Depression and men ..

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Glimpses from the paper

:: No decrease in abortions when illegal – study

Found this an interesting article. While I do not really agree with the practice of abortion, the reality is that people will chose to have an abortion (as this article states), whether it is legal or not.

The findings presented here indicate that unrestrictive abortion laws do not predict a high level of abortion, and by the same token highly restrictive abortion laws are not associated with low abortion incidence.

:: There's more to academic research than hitting the search button

I found this to be quite an interesting article about the impact of the internet on research.

:: Generation Q.

I thought that this was an interesting article outlining a little more about the current crop of college students in the US (and perhaps here too); though I’m not sure it needs to be limited to the students.

I am impressed because they are so much more optimistic and idealistic than they should be. I am baffled because they are so much less radical and politically engaged than they need to be.

“Generation Q” — the Quiet Americans, in the best sense of that term, quietly pursuing their idealism, at home and abroad.

America needs a jolt of the idealism, activism and outrage (it must be in there) of Generation Q. That’s what twentysomethings are for — to light a fire under the country. But they can’t e-mail it in, and an online petition or a mouse click for carbon neutrality won’t cut it. They have to get organized in a way that will force politicians to pay attention rather than just patronize them.

Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy didn’t change the world by asking people to join their Facebook crusades or to download their platforms. Activism can only be uploaded, the old-fashioned way — by young voters speaking truth to power, face to face, in big numbers, on campuses or the Washington Mall. Virtual politics is just that — virtual.

“Courage.” That is what real activism looks like. There is no substitute.

:: 9/11 President (Prime Minister)

While there is the focus on how the global community has change since Bali, or New York, what is often not spoken about, is who we are, and perhaps what should not change.

:: Keeping it all together in the iAge

Are we writing the obituary for the Album?

The album demands something very different of the listener than the iPod. It wants your time and patience. Great albums have ebb and flow, and even dud tracks. But they are made up, as rock writer Paul Williams put it, of songs that like to be listened to together. Something essential is lost when the album is broken up — and this is mostly what the iPod does.

NB: I have to admit that I often leave my mp3 player off shuffle, and listen to an album from track 1 through.

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Couple of short points…

It was disturbing to read that the US seeks to send a man to walk on the moon by (or in) 2018. To me, we need to bring our gaze back to earth. What does it really matter if we walk on the moon, once we see the profound misery on earth?

Last Thursday was Police Remembrance Day, to commemorate police officers killed in the line of duty. In light of this I do wonder if it is worth making the murder of a police officer carry a stiffer penalty. In part I feel that is any one life is not worth more or less than another, but at the same time, these are men and women, who put themselves at risk day by day, surely we need to send stern messages to those who would willfully injure or kill those who perform in this valuable line of work.

We should regardless all pause to reflect on this day, and pray for those who are employed in these professions. Last year’s speech.

Two things from the newspaper: Found the Tribal Mind in today’s Herald interesting. David Dale mentioned movies that prepare ‘students for life’. For the record, David listed The Fellowship of the Ring, Rabbit-proof Fence, Contact, Billy Elliott, Memento and more. What films should be on the curriculum? What do you, my dear readers think?

Emily Maguire wrote an interesting article declaring the belief that a moral society depends on holy guidance has been contradicted.

World Teacher's Day

I was looking at the Leunig Calendar that came with our Sydney Morning Herald earlier in the year. I looked at todays date and found that today is World Teacher's Day. Having spent time on both sides of the desk I recognise the role the teachers play.

What I want to use this entry for today is to thank my teachers for their work with me. I value these hours they spent trying to teach me. I am, who I am, in part because of their efforts. Let's continue to pray for those who are in, and seek to enter the teaching profession.

…We don’t need no education…

The Sydney Morning Herlad last week got me thinking about education a little. I am a product of the public education system, and at this point, should God chose to bless me with Children, they would likewise go through the public system.

In NSW, and I’m not sure if this is a national trend or strictly limited to NSW, but students are, along with teachers, and consequently resources draining towards the Private System.

I have to say that I find this deeply concerning, as I believe it is the responsibility of the government, (State, and Federal) to provide an education system. Perhaps this is another of my biases.

I am a product of the State System, and during my education I would say that I was not disadvantaged by that. I had the benefit of teachers who loved their jobs, a school that was reasonably well resourced. I was shaped through my education, and yes I believe I was taught pro-social values. And I reckon I’ve turned out ok.

The concern for me as I’ve been reading the papers over the last week is how our education system at least in NSW is moving towards creating structural inequality Those who attend public schools are gradually losing access to decent resources, and teachers for numerous reasons are more inclined to teach in the private system. With the range of selective schools around, a large proportion of students will be likely to lose their pro-social peers. Though I would not say that outcomes are solely determined by environment. I would say that significant disadvantages in terms of teachers, and resources, would have some impact on educational outcomes.

The public system can and does work. But we need the government to continue to make education one of its priority, and in my mind, we need to see the value ascribed to teaching as a profession increased, not simply through an increase in salary, though that may help, but in the conditions in the schools. The impression I have currently from both the government, and opposition – at both state and federal level is that Education is not area of great concern, even though the current generation of children are the builing blocks of tomorrow.

Over to you all. What is your view on Selective High Schools, the role and value of teachers? Public versus Private?

Update: Visit Joe, to read another angle on my post.

Teaching …

I wanted to take some time to comment on Rachel’s question, how I knew that God was telling me that teaching was not for me.

I think that I learnt through the experience, and through the comments that my colleagues made to me.

I learnt that God has made me, to be me. He gave me specific gifts, my personality, my strengths, and my weaknesses. Likewise, he has not given me other gifts, other abilities. He has determined my steps, God brought me to Australia, and He brought me to UNSW.

Having said that I don’t always know at the time, why God has brought particular circumstances to bear on my life. But I do know that in all things, God is changing me, to be more like Christ. (Romans 8:28, paraphrase).

Through the time I spent teaching I came to realise that I am quite a timid person, and the role I would need to play to teach a class of 32 students, who don’t always recognise that you are in the room, is one that would come at a great cost.

I do sometimes think that of going back into High School, and I think the motivation is mostly out of pride - the thought that I have failed - I trained for the job, and in less than a year, I’ve moved on. But nine days out of ten I would say that I did the right thing. I am a better person because of the experience, I definitely know myself a little better because of the experience, as God has used the experience to teach me.

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In other news, Sydney's opponent for next weekends Preliminary Final will be the Brisbane Lions. In the NRL Canberra lost last night, and wait to see if the play next weekend. (If two of, Brisbane, Auckland and Newcastle win - Canberra's season is over. )