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Despite what the media might tell us, it appears that our teens may not be as out-of-control as some of us believe - or at least not in the ways we think they are. Try Googling “teens out of control.” At the time of writing that search query returned 58,200,000 results (in 0.29 seconds if [...]
My article last week that discussed whether of not particular school discipline procedures were a breach of students’ human rights, I didn’t even think to comment on corporal punishment. Why would I? It’s not relevant these days is it? So what to make of the fact that last week, Dr Kevin Donnelly stated that, as [...]
According to this article, 85% of Australian teachers send naughty students to the ‘Naughty Corner’, give them Timeout or tell them to leave the classroom. This caused something of a storm on Channel 9’s the Today Show Facebook site after the Dr Anna Sullivan appeared on the show. The reason? Dr Sullivan suggested that sending [...]
Whose job is it to teach children about cyber-safety, online behaviour or digital citizenship? Parents seem to be waiting for schools to take the lead, whilst this is another area schools believe that parents have dropped the ball, and unfairly they’ll say, need to find time and resources to fit this into an already jam-packed [...]
Most states are either on school holidays this week, or are in their final week of term time. Term 2 is always a particularly hectic term - aren’t they all? - due to report writing pressures, and in some states the fact that this year, schools have had to squeeze ten weeks worth of stuff [...]
I’m really exploring the concept of Student Voice at the moment. Both in my writing and in my work with schools. Last week I was invited back to the school where I last taught in 2012. I was part of a panel for an evening that the Year 12s had put on to discuss some [...]
It’s interesting isn’t it? We often talk about approaches to student wellbeing in school, without ever really chatting to students themselves. Indeed I’ve spoken to many students in schools all over Australia, and whilst they are aware of phrases like resilience, social & emotional learning and/or wellbeing, not too many can actually articulate what those [...]
I recently heard Student Voice being described as the ‘latest trendy term in education.’ That may be so, but I’d argue it’s a pretty important concept to understand if we are serious about reaching every kid. Research indicates that disengagement from school rises with age, to the point that nearly half the kids sitting in [...]
Over the past few weeks I’ve been speaking at the Generation Next seminars lamenting the fact that in today’s society, it seems every kid needs to get a prize! Indeed I’ve heard of teachers being berated by over-zealous parents because their child didn’t receive a fifth place ribbon. Why do we feel the need to [...]
Last year, Gallup surveyed 7000 students in Years 5-12 in 36 schools across six states. The survey found that students become less engaged as they make their way through school and only 1 in 3 believe they will find a good job when they leave school. Gallup said this reflected a lack of hope. Overall, [...]
