I used to think that shadow minister Julian Leeser was serious about his principles, but it seems he has now joined in the culture war officially (“Pride in flag, Western culture, and soldiers in schools: Coalition unveils education plan”, smh.com.au, September 19).
asserted
Coalition → use → smh.com.au
There is no connection between what you teach at school and NAPLAN scores or Programme for International Student Assessment results.
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you → be → Assessment
It is how you teach that matters.
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that → teach → ?
If pupils are not doing well in their literacy, how it will help by changing the curriculum is beyond understanding.
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help → do → understanding
While we have strong trade and some defence treaties and we are getting stronger, you would think that we’d want future generations to learn more about Asia to help build stronger relationships; instead, Leeser goes the other way.
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Leeser → have → relationships
It has never worked in Australia.
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It → work → Australia
It is understandable that the Coalition is desperate and trying to find some topic that can gain traction with voters.
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that → try → voters
If this is the best it can come up with, good luck with that.
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it → come → that
There is zero doubt in my mind that abolishing Indigenous culture and other such 21st century social studies-linked subjects will immediately improve NAPLAN results across the nation, particularly with male students.
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abolishing → be → students
I sincerely hope that in the fine print of the policy will be the abolition of Advance Australia Fair, to be replaced each morning with boisterous renditions of God Save the King.
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God → hope → King
Long socks and garters would not go astray, hemlines must be lengthened, girls, and haircuts above the collars, please boys.
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hemlines → go → boys
I always thought that military-style marching around (and around) the quadrangle was a great use of everyone’s time, and the newly minted soldiers-come-teachers would be ideal at running these activities.
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teachers → think → activities
Finally, lessening screen time can easily be achieved by reinstating the 32″ AWA TV in the assembly hall and then have the entire school sit on the dusty floor and watch reruns of royal tours and Menzies orations.
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school → lessen → tours
Tony Bennett, Broke
Julian Leeser, what makes you think that providing a fast track for veteran ADF personnel to become teachers is a good idea?
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personnel → make → track
It is hard to become a teacher, and so it should be.
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it → become → ?
You must earn a master’s degree in teaching or a degree in a subject specialisation plus teacher training, including assessment in classroom management.
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You → earn → management
To fast track ADF people just because they manage the discipline of “warriors” is not a well thought-through policy.
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they → track → warriors
Dealing with sensitive school students, and especially behaviourally difficult ones, is vastly different to dealing with adults who sign up expecting hard military control.
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who → deal → control
By all means, retrain ex-military personnel as teachers, but require that they earn the qualifications now required by the profession.
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they → retrain → profession
Your report on the Coalition’s plan to pare back Indigenous histories and cultures in the national curriculum made extraordinary reading.
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report → pare → reading
Yes, let’s tidy up Australian history.
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’s → let → history
Put the uncomfortable bits neatly to one side and concentrate on the story we would prefer to tell ourselves.
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we → put → ourselves
I have spent this week in Cowra, the town where I grew up.
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I → spend → Cowra
While there, I interviewed an Aboriginal woman in her 80s who grew up in the same town at roughly the same time.
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who → interview → time
Listening to her describe an Australia profoundly different from the one I experienced was a wake-up call.
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I → listen → one
We shared a town.
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We → share → town
We did not share the same Australia.
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We → share → Australia
I am 70 years old and I am learning parts of my own country’s history that I was never taught at school.
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I → learn → school
I don’t find that threatening.
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that → find → ?
I find it illuminating.
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it → find → ?
Australia is full of people courageous enough to look squarely at our history, celebrate what deserves celebrating and accept responsibility for what does not.
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what → look → responsibility
National pride should be strong enough to survive the truth.
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pride → survive → truth
It might be time to read the room, Angus.
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It → read → room
Lynne Strong, Jamberoo
Here we go again.
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we → go → ?
When a political party is struggling, apparently the answer is to discover that Australian education has been captured by dreadful lefty teachers teaching too much Indigenous history, sustainability and Asia, and that what children really need is more flags, Western civilisation and a few former soldiers to sort out the discipline.
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need → struggle → discipline
Teachers are highly trained professionals doing an extraordinarily demanding job, not ideological punching bags for politicians searching for a culture war and a few cheap headlines, taking potshots at teachers and pretending that waving the flag more vigorously constitutes education reform.
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waving → train → reform
And how anyone in the Coalition remotely imagines that repeatedly attacking teachers and turning our schools into another battlefield in its fight for votes will persuade Australians to return to it is quite beyond me.
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attacking → imagine → me
Denise McHugh, Tamworth
Howard speaks sense
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Howard → speak → sense
It’s not often I agree with former prime minister John Howard, but on this occasion, when he says, “the best way to deal with Pauline Hanson is to not pay her too much attention”, I must (“Immigration is a national success story, says Howard”, September 19).
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Howard → ’ → attention
The Coalition hero also states that Australia’s immigration policy works and is one of our great achievements.
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policy → state → achievements
…and 50 more, not listed.
The Aporia
