The long-awaited Review of Funding for Schooling has become completed along with the Report with the panel of eminent Australians chaired by David Gonski AC continues to be released.
In this Submission, I have only focused on Chapter 3 to equity and disadvantage but also have comments in terms of disabled children.
I have also targeting western suburban schools in Sydney as I reside in that area and my kids attended western suburbs catholic school before moving with an independent school.
The panel has to be congratulated since the Report is both comprehensive and well researched and produces several recommendations that, if implemented may, to some degree, enhance the educational outcomes of some Australian children.
The ‘Pink Elephant’ In the Gonski Report
I believe, however, how the Report, (for whatever reason) doesn’t acknowledge ‘the pink elephant’ inside the classroom and that’s that parents are the first educators of the children. This is the foundation premise of numerous independent schools in Australia, such as PARED (Parents For Education) schools, which excel academically year in and year out, although they are not selective and provide no scholarships to secure bright children which will boost the overall marks with the school.
Schools that acknowledge parents since the first educators with the child are employed in partnership with all the parents so that the child receives the same message and expectations in the home and school. This applies not only to academic expectations but additionally to behavior.
When the parents bring the child up with the end in sight (ie. adulthood) not simply the existing moment, they target having a strong character in the child by modeling this themselves and expecting the child to show human virtues like sincerity, cheerfulness, generosity, perseverance, gratitude, respect, honesty and service to others. This means that it’s only natural for the kid to complete his or her best in class along with other endeavors, to respect school property, of looking after concerning the feelings of others, and to help those less fortunate. This is simply the taught character from the child which is unrelated to socioeconomic status.
These types of schools run in countries the place that the majority live well below the poverty line as we know it, such as the Philippines and these children still emerge as strong, independent young adults, full of gratitude and determination to generate the most of life, even though they’re one of many poorest from the poor.
One such school, Southridge (in Manila – Philippines), runs a course whereby the fees of the day students are used to fund a few hours school for students who’d otherwise attend a poorly resourced public school and also the university entrance marks in the afternoon students are in reality outstripping those in the more financially privileged day students.
Socio-Economic Status and Academic Performance
The Southridge experience shows us that socio-economic status won’t need to adversely affect academic performance. Central for the Gonski panel’s concept of equity ‘is the belief the underlying talents and talents of students that enable the crooks to achieve schooling are not distributed differently among children from different socioeconomic status, ethnic or language backgrounds, or as outlined by their current address or visit school’. The Report cites the findings of Caldwell and Spinks (2008) that all kids are effective at learning inside them for hours in school in the right circumstances and while using the right support.
I believe that the step to success is your children contain the right circumstances and support and this just isn’t necessarily connected to socio-economic status, although, due to a lack of social welfare programs in Australia, issues are. For decades the children of migrants to Australia are already well represented in the lists of high achievers as well as their parents have generally had little or no formal schooling (which contradicts the findings with the Gonski Report p 114) and both worked extended hours in manual or menial jobs for low pay.
These families have been within the low socio-economic segment but the youngsters were, however, raised using the belief that education is the important thing to success and while using parental expectation which they would study hard and check out university. This was a non-negotiable given. They were also raised to respect their parents and other elders and also to come with an attitude of gratitude and service to others, with a lot of migrants supporting family members back in their residence countries whilst they had little themselves.
