what are schools teaching today??

[Argonavis]

An interesting article in todays newspaper seems to indicate that the so called "documentary" by Al Gore "An Inconvenient Truth" is aimed at schoolchildren, with an online interactive teaching guide.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/its-the-end-as-he-knows-it/2006/08/09/1154802957468.html

I can't think why anyone would consider this propaganda piece suitable for classrooms.

no wonder kids cant spell if class time is taken up with the latest fads

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20077692-2702,00.html

[ving]

Being in a position where by i see daily what school kids bring home for homework, little of this is a surprise to me....

whats happening with the whole education system is beyond me. :confused:

[Lee]

I think one problem is the latest bunch of young teachers went through a similar arty-farty system, so probably are little better. Apparently correcting spelling mistakes might stifle kids creativity, or upset them.

[[1ponders]]

Don't get me started. :mad2:

[Lee]

Funny - I almost finished my post with the same words! :rolleyes:
BTW - congrats on 6000 posts!

[[1ponders]]

:cool: Thanks Lee I didn't even realize it :lol: :face:

Boy time (and posts) just fly by these days :lol:

[ving]

dont they just :rolleyes:

congrats :)

anyhow... i think we should go back to the cane... it was crude and effective. kids spend half thier lessons giving the teachers a hard time and the other half texting each other inthe class room, and theres naught the teachers can do as thier rights have been stripped. they cant even send disruptive kids out of the classroom. weirdassed system if you ask me:screwy:

[Lee]

Geez, imagine caning a kid now! The kid and both parents would end up on disbility pensions for post-traumatic stress I'm sure....

[casstony]

That's not the only propaganda presented in classrooms. I've been in combat for a year with a nice little old lady who is pushing religion onto my 7 year old. I turned it into an opportunity to educate my daughter about religions of the world and how people choose to believe in different gods, etc. Now she places God right beside Santa and she just recently found out that Santa is not real :) My point is that you can turn poor schooling into an opportunity to more broadly educate the child.

Tony

[Adrian-H]

all ive got to say is public education for young people in australia is horrid. espeically in the highschools where there isnt multi-cutural peace. and another big issue that plauges every highschool in australia.. drugs....

[ving]

bring up kids these days is hard when kyou look at all this... is it any wonder that australias birth rate has dropped so dramatically!

tony: just my opinion... I had religion rammed down my throat in primary school. I have turned out ok. I am not a religous nut, I am very culturally aware, i am completely non-racist or prejudiced... we grow up, we make our own decisions about whether church and god is our thing or not... it not my thing regardless of what was taught to me in school. but I'll say one thing, it has made me a well rounded, morrally adjusted person. :)
being taught religion in school is the least of the worlds problems. at least it doesnt preach hatred, racisim or in the cae of the movies in the first post that the world is ending and we are all doomed and we are all about to fry. :)
er.. once again, just my opinion

[mickoking]

Education is definately a bit iffy nowadays, but it was no better when I was a kid in the 70's and 80's. One thing that is definitely worse IMHO is society in general. No sense of community in this "I" culture of ours.

[mickoking]

Very good point Ving. I am a Buddhist but I am more than happy to allow my daughter Nadia to attend religion classes at school which are essentially Christian based. Why? because as you said Ving, it will make Nadia a well rounded and morally adjusted person :thumbsup: I also want my daughter to grow up being a non racist, tolerent and compassionate person.

[cahullian]

No use whinging and crying about it. We are all to blame as we keep voting the same morons into office who make these decisions. If we held our elected officials to account for their decisions and then booted them for making a mockery of our society they might think twice before destroying our education,health and welfare systems.

Gazz

[mickoking]

That is so true Gazz :mad2:

[ving]

so, so true :(

more often than not we try and pick the lesser of the evils. pollies need to be made more accountable.

[casstony]

Ving, I have no problem with what you say in your post. I do have a problem with my kids being taught that a specific viewpoint on a controversial topic is absolute. While kids need core values to live by they should still be taught to look at the world in shades of grey rather than black and white.

Tony

[IanW]

IMHO it's a very complex issue and there are no simple answers yet alone solutions.

Teachers per se shouldn't be blamed for all of the issues as they are simply the tools used to carry out successive governments polcies, which ultimately should be dictated by the populace at large. Thus we only have ourselves to blame for the mess that is the current educational system.

[mickoking]

With regards to pollies. We are as a society extreamly apothetic, and the pollies know this fact only too well, and they work their spin with this knowledge. At the ballot box a small tax cut or idle promises of lower intrest rates mean more than a decent education system or an effective health care system? This is the nature of the voting public IMHO. In the end it is us who vote these clowns into office. We have a democracy of sorts, so we should demand many of these things that concern us be delt with instead of being dictated to by our political overlords :thumbsup:

[ving]

in deed, we vote them in in faith that they will do right by us... I certainly didnt see the new IR laws coming. did howard promise to stuff up if he got voted in agian? I think not. if we dont like any of the current pollies do we vote for no one? we try and pick the lesser evil for we know they are all pretty much the same.

[casstony]

One advantage of our preference voting system is that we can vote firstly for a minor party and give a major party second place. In most cases this results in effectively voting for the major party, but your protest is registered by giving your primary vote to the minor party. This enables us to moderate the more extreme activities of the ruling party. Problem is, too many people don't think before they vote.

Tony

[ving]

... or dont know how to vote to achieve these results. the majority of people are not politically minded, and kyou cant hold that against them hey.
but what do we do? make voting non-compulsary?

[mickoking]

Civics should be taught in school. I don't remember being taught about our political system at all. That might explain the lamentable lack of awareness of our political system.

Astronomy should also be taught in school but thats another story ;)

[[1ponders]]

While the context of the continuing discussion is understood, please be aware that the TOS (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=7856)makes specific mention of religion and politics.



Please keep the thread topic central to discussions, rather than make generalized statements.

Thanks you

[ballaratdragons]

Al Gore and his 'Fright Show' will be accepted by our leaders and officials purely because he is AL GORE.

Not only will they accept it, they will grovel at his feet! It's the way of international diplomacy, and crawlers: "I hate that bloke and what he stands for, oh hang on, he's coming this way, I wanna shake his hand and meet him".

:mad2:

[Nightshift]

you cant be serious?

[ving]

well i didnt learn anything in my religion class then :P

[xelasnave]

I think we can all see thru Mr Gores movie and his possible motives, however I feel that although we could no doubt do better such a movie must provide a basis for a good "class room" discussion. I think thinking about these issues could take priority over sport for example. If seen in the context that kids can see it and discuss it maybe one need not be so alarmed.
alex

[acropolite]

Having seen the movie, I wonder how many who have posted in this thread have actually taken the time to view it. As a documentary it appears to be accurate and factual, certainly the photographic evidence presented is indesputable. I for one, would feel more comfortable with my children seeing this movie, than seeing a documentary on the current "sustainable" forestry practices within our country where uncontrolled and unmetered emission of carbon dioxide and particle pollution, herbicide and insecticide (some which have been banned for many ears in other countries) use in water catchment areas and 1080 poisoning of native species is an accepted practice. Al Gores motive may be aimed at re-election, but IMO the message is a relevant one.