EDITORIAL COMMENT

This is the final ACSSO Newsletter for 2009.  All seven currently active Newsletters (see below) now go into recess until the commencement of the 2010 school year at the end of January 2010.

This may also be the last-ever edition in the Values Education News sequence which we launched, together with the website at http://www.valuesineducation.org.au, in March 2005.

We launched this joint initiative in that year in response to some extreme comments then being bandied about by a number of federal politicians, to the effect that public schools were “values free zones”- moral vacuums and ethical wastelands: to challenge those assertions and expose them as pernicious nonsense. 

Plus the larger objective of contributing positively to an informed discussion in school communities across the country about the articulation of shared community values, and the ways in which the elements of the education processes are shaped by those shared values - and in turn assist in the formation and reinforcement of a values framework which underpins each student’s personal development.

Over these years our work has been supported by successive governments through the Department of Education, Employment & Workplace Relations. However, current funding arrangements concluded in October, and there has been no indication from the government of any possibility of further funding.

Without that essential funding the program must now cease.

We wish all of our readers a happy, safe and relaxing holiday break, in preparation for the challenges, opportunities and achievements of the new school year in 2010.

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THE SEASON TO BE JOLLY

Nativity reborn: How a Christmas tradition is getting a festive facelift:

Schools buying jolly packaged kit versions off the shelf

Hilary Wilce, Independent, Thursday, 10 December 2009

No, it isn't the nativity story as we normally know it but the essential elements –the birth in the stable, the Wise Men and the Shepherds – are all there. Joseph sports a suitably traditional headcloth, and the seven- and eight-year-olds at North Ealing Primary School are having a fine old time belting out songs as they rehearse for their Christmas play, The Egyptian Nativity. This is definitely a new twist on the old story, but it preserves the essence of a school nativity play and seems sure to bring the house down on the night.

This is the week when the short but intense annual nativity season gets underway and thousands of parents prepare to park themselves in primary school halls to smile proudly at the thespian antics of their offspring – and dab their eyes as sweet, young voices are raised in Christmas song.

But they might be very surprised if they knew where many of these inventive school plays come from. While some schools still lovingly write their own scripts and play their own pianos, growing numbers are doing it the 21st century way by going online to order a complete nativity package.

For little more than the price of a Christmas pub lunch they can buy a script, backing tracks, and song CDs from one of a number of companies set up to take the hard graft out of school stagecraft.

This is the third year North Ealing Primary School has gone down this road, and Sarah Horgan, who teaches Year Four, says it is a godsend. "We were looking for a school play and neither of the two of us who were involved with it could play music, so it was good to get the script, the music and everything. The first year we did The Right Shepherd and it was very, very successful so we decided to do it again."

Read entire article: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/schools/nativity-reborn-how-a-christmas-tradition-is-getting-a-festive-facelift-1837052.html

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RELIGION & PUBLIC POLICY

Faith groups to be key policy advisers:

Minister vows faith groups to have central role shaping government policies

Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Guardian (UK), 14 Nov 2009

John Denham, the communities secretary, said the values of Christians, Muslims and other religions were essential in building a "progressive society".  He attacked secularists who have called for religion to be kept out of public life.

Mr. Denham revealed that a new panel of religious experts has been set up to advise the Government on making public policy decisions.

The move has been criticised by secularists who warned that it represented a worrying development.

However, Mr Denham argued that Christians and Muslims can contribute significant insights on key issues, such as the economy, parenting and tackling climate change.

"Anyone wanting to build a more progressive society would ignore the powerful role of faith at their peril," he said.   "We should continually seek ways of encouraging and enhancing the contribution faith communities make on the central issues of our time."

Read entire article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/6569144/Faith-groups-to-be-key-policy-advisers.html 

Denham's misplaced 'faith group' faith

A.C. Grayling, Guardian (UK), 16 November 2009

John Denham, our government's minister for communities, is going to have an advisory body made up of representatives of "faith" groups, further eroding the de facto secularism that has kept our society relatively stable and collegial, at least until recently.

He pours scorn on secularists, which means the majority of the population who, whatever their faith or lack of it, are secularist in the sense that they do not wish religion, still less any one particular religion, to be in the driving seat of policymaking in this country.

Apart from the fact that the "faith groups" represent less than 10% of the population – namely, the less-than-10% who go to church, mosque, temple or synagogue regularly each week, and therefore represent no one but themselves and a tiny minority – what does Denham think he is going to learn from them? Are their points of view not extremely well-known and entirely predictable?

Evidently, Denham does not know enough about this. Let us therefore ask him a few questions about what he expects to hear from the faith groups on such matters as community cohesion, discrimination, the rule of law, the treatment of gay people, the rights of women – on all of which, of course, the faith groups have spectacularly marvellous attitudes calculated to maximise peace and inclusion across society.

Read entire article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/nov/16/john-denham-faith-groups

Anthony Grayling is professor of philosophy at Birbeck College, University of London

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EDUCATION 2.0

Don't knock blogging – it's the answer to our literacy problems

Hilary Wilce, Independent (UK), 3 December 2009

According to all the data, Daniel Moseley and Rahil Thobhani ought to hate writing.

Educational research shows that many British schoolchildren are struggling with this basic skill, and that secondary school boys from poorer city areas are among those who flounder most.

But these two 11-year-olds sit in their school library talking passionately about letting their imaginations run riot, and how you can use suspense and dialogue to craft a good story.

So what's the big secret of turning boys on to writing?

"Technology," says Bev Humphrey, their innovative and sparky school librarian. "The boys here have more technology in their mobile phones than we could ever afford to buy for them in school. They don't see technology as separate from life: they see it as part of everything they do, so we can't just take all that away and sit them down with a pencil and a piece of paper and say 'write something'."

Her approach is endorsed by research from the National Literacy Trust, published today, which has found that although nearly half of all UK schoolchildren claim writing is "boring", blogging and social networking greatly improve their attitudes and make them much more confident about their writing skills.

Read entire article: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/schools/dont-knock-blogging-ndash-its-the-answer-to-our-literacy-problems-1832593.html

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INFORMING THE EDUCATION REVOLUTION

The need for a national review of school libraries

A letter to the Rudd Government from the Australian School Library Association – 24 November 2009

In light of the developments of the BER, teacher quality and national curriculum, our association believes it is timely for the Rudd Government to undertake a national review of school libraries.

The last national review was undertaken by the Gorton Government over four decades ago.

ASLA’s joint policy position with the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) is that professional and support staff are essential for the effective functioning of the school library and information services centre and the achievement of the school’s teaching and learning goals.

In particular, the professional staff should be fully qualified teacher librarians who hold recognised teacher qualifications and qualifications in librarianship.

As a profession we strongly believe we have a responsibility to be involved in the development of the Australian education agenda. Teacher librarians play an integral role in delivering the school curriculum as our focus is on the digital literacy and soft skills required for successful learning.

Read entire letter: http://www.asla.org.au/advocacy/government/letter241109.htm

Mr Rob Moore, President, ASLA and Ms Karen Bonanno, Executive Officer, ASLA

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RESEARCH

Why single-sex schools are bad for your health (if you're a boy)

Boys taught in male-only schools face divorce and depression by their early 40s, research reveals

Richard Garner, Independent (UK), 1 December 2009

You might have thought that boys brought up in a single-sex environment would find relationships with girls difficult to handle.  Now research due to be published tomorrow proves it.  

It shows that boys taught in single-sex schools are more likely to be divorced or separated from their partner than those who attended a mixed school by their early 40s.

(However, those who stayed together were just as likely to be happy in their relationship as men educated in mixed schools – when asked to rate the quality of their marriage on a scale of one to seven).

The findings, taken from studying a cohort of all those born in a single week of 1958, will be presented by Professor Diana Leonard, from London University's Institute of Education, at a conference at the Perse School for Girls in Cambridge.  

The research covered 17,000 adults who had been taught in a range of institutions from private boarding schools to state comprehensives. The majority had been brought up in day schools.

Read entire article: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/why-singlesex-schools-are-bad-for-your-health-if-youre-a-boy-1831636.html

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OUR STORY:  FAIRFIELD HIGH SCHOOL, NSW

Finding refuge in the school playground at Fairfield High

John Huxley, Sydney Morning Herald, 10 December 2009

Back in the badlands of his native Sudan, Yohana and his two siblings became separated from their parents by war. For more than six years children and parents each believed the others dead.  Then, miraculously, from the confusion of an international conflict that has ensnared millions, Yohana and his family were reunited, brought together in Australia by the Red Cross.

For five months, Yohana has attended Fairfield High School, studying at its Intensive English Centre, building a life, dreaming of a future as a footballer.  His teacher Sonia Durney shakes her head half in delight, half in disbelief, at the dramatic turnaround in Yohana's life. "It is an amazing, amazing story."  But as the principal, Robert Mulas, explains, Fairfield High is full of stories; amazing, perplexing, uplifting, disturbing, inspiring, stories that speak eloquently of a world in flux, of an Australian future in the making.

With refugee organisations talking of a new wave of arrivals - some 6000 Iraqis and hundreds of Sri Lankan Tamils to Sydney alone - Fairfield High is one of the schools in the front line.

Mulas, whose parents fled Poland in the 1950s, concedes that once the school was perceived as "a typical south-western Sydney rat-hole" full of unruly kids, social misfits, warring factions. It may still be a little rough round the edges. But today, everyday, it stands with arms spread in welcome, offering a fresh start to children trying to put together broken lives, and a focus to communities still all at sea in new Australia.

Read entire article: http://www.smh.com.au/national/finding-refuge-in-the-school-playground-20091209-kk3t.html

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COMMERCIAL EXPLOITATION

Teach five-year-olds to beware of advertising, says government inquiry

Jessica Shepherd, Guardian UK, 14 December 2009

Children as young as five should be given lessons in how to deal with the onslaught of adverts hurled at them, a government inquiry has found.

The inquiry into the commercialisation of childhood revealed that firms spend at least £100bn each year advertising to children in the UK. It said children are increasingly bombarded by brands, advertising slogans and commercial messages.

Even children in primary school need lessons in becoming media-savvy consumers, according to the inquiry by Prof David Buckingham, an international expert on children's consumption of the web, TV and adverts.

Companies increasingly use schools and playgrounds to conduct their market research, distribute free samples of their products and advertise their logos, the inquiry, commissioned by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, found.

Some companies offer schools free classroom exercise books that carry adverts from soft drink companies and pop bands, while others specialise in placing advertising posters in schools. A growing number of schools are sponsored by or managed by firms.

Read entire article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/dec/14/children-advertising-exploitation-report

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OPINION

Personal choice & personal responsibility

Dr Ken Henry AC, Secretary to the Treasury, Address to the 2009 ANU Conferring of Degrees, 10 December 2009

The students of the 1970s were idealists. They grew up in the fog of the Cold War, and faced the real risk of having to go off to fight in the Vietnam War.

Then, in 1972, Gough Whitlam became Prime Minister. Access to a university education expanded enormously and Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War was brought to an end.

In the 1970s, as in other periods, student idealism found expression in music and fashion. And it found expression also in a level of interest – unprecedented in Australia – in environmental concerns.

Some of those concerns were motivated by the nuclear cold war horror that that generation had grown up with. But environmental consciousness was actually very broadly based.

The students of the 1970s were also deeply concerned about poverty and other forms of extreme social disadvantage. And they understood, perhaps better than any other generation, the importance of social infrastructure – infrastructure to support education and health care services, for example.

And yet, if we are to judge by outcomes, we would have to conclude that most of my generation left these concerns behind the day they graduated.

How else might one explain our failures?

Read entire speech: http://www.treasury.gov.au/documents/1693/HTML/docshell.asp?URL=ANU_Conferring_of_Degrees.htm

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SUSTAINABILITY

Decision Time

Kevin Anderson, Independent (UK), 7 December 2009

It is not possible to overestimate the global significance of the next two weeks of intense negotiation. Copenhagen is unprecedented; it is not an updated Kyoto and even Bretton Woods is little more than a footnote when compared to the magnitude and urgency of the challenge we now collectively face.

Whilst the next fortnight of discussions in the Danish capital is pivotal to thrashing out the scope and structure of any meaningful agreement, stringent targets and detailed national commitments are unlikely to be forthcoming at this stage. Consequently, Copenhagen must be seen not as the last battle, but as a kick-start to an intense international process culminating, within a year, in detailed national commitments informed by the science of climate change.

Anything short of this will mean knowingly bequeathing to future generations a life of hardship and uncertainty at best and social and environmental collapse at worst. Moreover, our failure to act now condemns many millions of the world's poorest citizens to the additional ravages and instability of a rapidly changing climate.

So what is the scale of the challenge, why is it fundamentally different from what has gone before, and what do targets from the Copenhagen process need to look like?

Read entire article: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/kevin-anderson-decision-time-face-the-facts-or-give-up-1835525.html

Professor Kevin Anderson is director of the Tyndall Energy Programme at the Universities of Manchester and East Anglia

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HOLIDAY READING

Feeling out of touch with the research that sets the context for strategic policy development?  Here's the Dusseldorp Skills Forum’s selection of some of the best for your holiday reading.

Australian Social Trends:
Full of interesting facts and figures, such as... over the last decade, the number of jobless families has fallen, while the number of people who live alone has been increasing. Australians are less likely to smoke than in the past, but more likely to be obese and that many workers work non-traditional hours

State of Australia's Young People:
A pulse take on the nation's youth, if you want to catch up on what's been happening this is your ticket. Some take-home facts include 80% of 18-25-year-olds are enrolled to vote, in comparison with 95% of the eligible population, and that the latest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 11.9% for 15-24-year-olds (including students looking for work).

A 21st century solution to skills shortages in Australia:
The term 'skills shortage' gets bandied around, so what does it actually mean? This paper discusses the term and potential solutions to the problem, citing the lack of skilled work to allow novices to practice as a major issue in the shortage.

Find out more at http://www.dsf.org.au/  

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