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Approximately 5000 young people per year have their first contact with the juvenile justice system, but of particular concern is the rate of recidivism of those juveniles brought before the courts. Of the 4938 juveniles who came before NSW courts in 1999, over 2600 of them reoffended, on average four times before 2010. For Indigenous [...]
I read with interest this week an opinion piece in the Sydney Morning Herald by John Weekes, the headmaster of Knox Grammar. He was discussing the concept of Positive Education. Essentially, Positive Education embeds the tenets of Positive Psychology into the curriculum, both explicitly and implicitly.* Weekes says, “Our focus on academic outcomes such as [...]
Every year NAPLAN tests come under the microscope and last year the media was awash with allegations of teachers cheating, parents refusing to allow their kids to take the test, and principals selecting new enrolments based on NAPLAN scores. With stories like this it’s not surprising that anyone who wanted to condemn NAPLAN got their obligatory 3 minute [...]
This week I read a story out of – where else – the USA. It was the story of a girl aged six, who was handcuffed by police after she had thrown a tantrum in school. Apparently the school decided to call in the law when she began [...]
In what is reportedly the first systematic review and analysis of suicidality and depressive symptoms in sexual minority youth, Dr Michael Marshal PhD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in Pennsylvania conducted an analysis of nineteen studies that included a total of 122,995 participants. Dr Marshall says, “gay and lesbian individuals experience much [...]
What have we learned about Social Media this week? This week three schoolgirls were suspended for posting a mockumentary video on Youtube, in which they offered sexual favours saying they were, “Offering a public service that would help prevent unwanted sexual attacks on others.” Michael Carr-Gregg said it was a spectacular failure of the SA [...]
Engagement is one of the most over used, yet misunderstood concepts in Education. The accepted definition of Engagement with psychological circles is; the sense of living a life high on interest, curiousity and absorption. Engaged individuals pursue goals with determination and vitality. However, too often in schools the word “engaged” is a synonym for “compliant.” [...]
While the traditional three Rs (reading, writing & arithmetic) were only aimed at the students, these alternate three Rs could serve as a guiding philosophy for the whole learning community; students, staff, parents and the wider community. Relationships - Humans are social beings and as such positive relationships are key to human flourishing. As well as [...]
It’s often the case that students seek out younger teachers to confide in, as they feel they may be able to relate to them better. Often these young teachers, are also new teachers, so here are a few tips that I’ve picked up from being involved in student wellbeing for over fifteen years. [...]
This week the Black Dog Institute (BDI) announced the roll out of its Headstrong program. With the assistance of a $500,000 grant from the NIB Foundation, The BDI plan to train over 1500 teachers in the delivery of the program in an attempt to reach over 30,000 students. Mapped to satisfy the requirements of the [...]
