Technology lesson one: teach the teachers. Leading technology academics have warned that the rollout of communication infrastructure in the education revolution will be wasted if teachers do not know how to use it. The Australian, 25 June 2009. [School Education Headlines]
David Brooks reports on some surprisingly large impacts from a randomised trial of New York “Harlem Children’s Zone” schools. The effects are so big that I find it hard to imagine they’re readily replicable, but it’s tantalizing stuff.
The fight against poverty produces great programs but disappointing results. You go visit an inner-city school, job-training program or community youth center and you meet incredible people doing wonderful things. Then you look at the results from the serious evaluations and you find that these inspiring places are only producing incremental gains.
That’s why I was startled when I received an e-mail message from Roland Fryer, a meticulous Harvard economist. It included this sentence: “The attached study has changed my life as a scientist.”
[David Grayson]The CRLLEN participated in an interesting, thought provoking and valuable forum session today, staged by the Victorian Office of Learning and Teaching, with guest David Grayson, CBE.
The forum explored the relationships between schools and business with a focus on corporate social responsibility.
David is part-time director of Business in the Community (BITC) which is the largest and one of the oldest business-led coalitions promoting responsible business anywhere in the world. David shared 25 years of experience with BITC and the lessons learnt.
He provided insights on what has been achieved for education and provided some constructive insights for Victorian education and businesses wishing to embark on similar initiatives.
Based in the United Kingdom, David Grayson is an expert in the trends of corporate philanthropy. He spends much of his time speaking, writing and advising on business, entrepreneurialism and social trends for businesses, media outlets and business schools around the world. The Financial Times described him as: “one of the UK’s most respected voices on business social responsibility.”
David has worked with many leading global businesses including BP, Shell and Microsoft and with international institutions such as the European Union and the World Bank.
For most of his career David has been a social entrepreneur, starting and/or running a number of public-private-community partnerships. He is a former Joint Managing-Director of Business in the Community and currently serves as part-time Director. In addition, he focuses on small businesses as founder chairman of the UK Small Business Consortium.
David is the Director of The Prince of Wales Award for Innovation and a contributing editor to The Corporate Citizenship Briefing. He has Masters Degrees from the universities of Cambridge and Brussels, an MBA from Newcastle; and an honorary doctorate of laws from London SouthBank University.
David shared a range of insights and experiences with the approximately 60 strong audience. Of particular interest to this participant, [among many things] was the “Teach First” initiative. Teach First attracts, selects, trains, places and supports top graduates to work in challenging schools and also for leading employers. Teach First and its partners deliver outstanding teacher and leadership training, internships, coaching and networking to develop its people while achieving its mission.
Also presenting at the forum was Leah Sertori, well known to CRLLEN members as one of the presenters at our 2005 Business-Industry Forum, who shared insights in to the Castlemaine based Enterprise Teachers for the 21st Century project.
Leah is currently with Melbourne Cares. Melbourne Cares aims to enable business, communities and government to work together to sustainably improve the quality of life for the people of Melbourne and in particular for those in most need. Through the vision of Committee for Melbourne and by working in partnership with Business in the Community in the UK, a relationship catalysed by Pilotlight Australia, 21 companies have come together to establish Melbourne Cares as a pilot for Australia.
In back-to-back issues of the Curriculum Leadership Journal, educational communities from our LLEN area have been featured. This time it is the Year 10 Applied Learning Program at Kyneton Secondary College that has been featured. Richard Donker and Glenn Davey shared their work with us at the recent Future Minds Forum in Melbourne.
The Abstract says:
This year Kyneton Secondary College has introduced the option of a new program for Year 10 students. The Applied Learning Program aims to develop a positive approach to lifelong learning, improving communication skills, emotional literacy and self-efficacy. The intention is to enable students to stay at school and then decide which pathway suits them best. The program leads into the VCAL, without closing off the options of VCE or VET courses.
Kyneton Secondary College is a 7–12 coeducational school in central Victoria. The school draws students from Kyneton, a semi-rural town of about 5,000 people, and neighbouring areas.
Demographically the school is coeducational. The student population is almost exclusively Anglo-Saxon in background. Student numbers have remained stable at around 730 students and the proportion of young people is projected to remain steady for the next 10 years. The school is 100 years old and our neighbouring Kyneton Primary School is one of the oldest in the country, celebrating 150 years in 2006.
Philosophy in schools. Philosophy is about asking childlike questions – how do we know the world exists?
How do we know it hasn’t just started existing?
Why can’t we go back in time? So why not teach philosophy in schools?
It doesn’t happen much in this country (it doesn’t much happen anywhere) but it does go on in Queensland, and this week we talk to a Queensland teacher [ Peter Ellerton, Head of Curriculum, Calamvale Community College Brisbane.] who’s teaching philosophy to high school children.
As school communities across the State begin their election processes for 2007, the Minister for Education, the Hon. John Lenders, has released new materials to support all school councils.
Thousands of parent, community and teacher volunteers who sit on Victorian government school councils will now have the opportunity to be formally trained, the Minister for Education, John Lenders, said today.
Releasing new training and support materials for school councillors, Mr Lenders said school councillors who devote significant time and energy to creating the best possible learning environment for students will be better supported.
“School councillors play a vital role in the decision-making process, building community partnerships and determining the direction of the school,” Mr Lenders said.
“I’d like to thank school councillors across the state for their valuable work and the time they give up to benefit Victorian children.
“We want to ensure that councillors are not only recognised for their contribution but provided with first-rate training and training and support materials.
“School councillors play a vital role in the decision-making process, building community partnerships and are central to the efficient running of our schools.
“We need to ensure that school councillors are properly supported to carry out their work and meet challenges of the future.
“That’s why we have developed this comprehensive training and support package for new, existing and prospective school councillors.”
With school council elections under-way, Mr Lenders also encouraged more parents to consider nominating for school council.
“Not only is it a chance to contribute to society in a productive way, it is a chance to be involved in your child’s education and school and get to know other parents and teachers,” he said.
The materials include a website with advice to schools, training modules, induction sessions for new school councillors and information sheets.
In addition to the web materials, training will cover, school finance, policy development, school strategic planning and effective meetings.
Schools are encouraged to get in touch with their regional office to access training. The launch of the new support materials follows the Review of School Governance in Victorian Government Schools completed in 2005.
OUR miracle economy is running out of spark. The rapid productivity improvement of the 1990s has not continued into the noughties.
Between 1998 and 2004, growth in multi-factor productivity dropped to a below-trend 1 per cent a year, compared with 2.1 per cent during the 1993 to 1998 growth cycle.
Curriculum Leadership Journal Volume 5 Issue 28