In the end, the long-awaited Review of School Funding was completed and issued by the David Gonski AC-chaired group of renowned Australians.
Only Chapter 3 of my submission deals with fairness and disadvantage, but I also have some thoughts on how it relates to children with disabilities.
I’ve also focused on schools in Sydney’s western suburbs because I live there and my kids went to a catholic school there before they went to an independent school.
They should be commended for their extensive and well-researched report, which includes a number of ideas for improving the educational performance of some Australian children if implemented.
Reports from the panel of distinguished Australians chaired by David Gonski AC have been released following a long-awaited review of school funding.
Only Chapter 3 of my submission deals with fairness and disadvantage, but I also have some thoughts on how it relates to children with disabilities.
I’ve also focused on schools in Sydney’s western suburbs because I live there and my children went to a catholic school there before they went to an independent one.
They should be commended for their extensive and well-researched report, which includes a number of ideas for improving the educational performance of some Australian children if implemented.
the Gonski Report’s ‘Pink Elephant’
For whatever reason, I believe that the Report fails to mention “the pink elephant” in the classroom, which is that parents are the first educators of their children.. Many independent schools in Australia, like PARED (Parents for Education) institutions, are based on this idea and consistently perform well academically, despite the fact that they are not selective and do not grant scholarships to attract talented students.
As parents are the child’s first educators, schools that recognise this work in conjunction with parents to ensure that children receive the same message and expectations at school and at home work together to achieve this. There are no boundaries when it comes to academic and behavioural standards. With an eye on adulthood in mind, parents focus on creating a strong character in their children by modelling this themselves and requiring them to exhibit human values such as sincerity, cheerfulness, generosity, perseverance and thankfulness, as well as honesty and service to other people. As a result, the child is expected to put out his or her best effort in school and other activities, to show respect for school property, to be considerate of others’ feelings, and to lend a helping hand to those in need. In this case, socioeconomic standing has no bearing on the child’s character. As a result of their time in these institutions, these youngsters are able to emerge as strong, self-sufficient young adults who have a deep sense of appreciation and a strong desire to make the best of their lives, despite their poverty. If you’re looking for an example of a school that uses fees from its day pupils to pay for an after-school programme, go no farther than Southridge (in Manila, the Philippines).
The Relationship Between Social and Economic Status and Academic Achievement
Soc-economic status does not have to negatively effect academic performance, as seen at Southridge. Gonski panel’s definition of equity ‘is the belief that the underlying talents and abilities of students that enable them to succeed in education are not distributed differently among children from different socioeconomic status, ethnic or language backgrounds or where they live or go to school,’ in fact. According to Caldwell and Spinks (2008), all children can learn and succeed in school under the correct conditions and with the right support, as stated in the report.
Because of Australia’s absence of social welfare services, I feel that the most important factor in a child’s success is whether or not they have the correct surroundings and support. Children of migrants to Australia have been prominent on the list of high achievers for decades, and their parents have typically had little or no formal education and worked long hours in physical or menial professions for low pay (this contradicts the conclusions of the Gonski Report p 114) Even though these families have traditionally been on the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum, the children in these households were taught from an early age that education is the path to success and that their parents expected them to work hard in school and attend college. This was a given and could not be changed. Respect for elders and gratitude for others were instilled in them as well, with many migrants assisting their families back home even when they had nothing themselves.
Migrant parents had a belief in the importance of education, which helped them raise their children. Developing nations like the Philippines share this view. Parents believe education is the key to a better life for their children. As a result, programmes like the Southridge afternoon school have been a great success. It’s hard to predict how many parents of students from a western suburbs high school would accept a scholarship for their children to attend Kings School (for boys) or Tara School for Girls (Parramatta) if these institutions’ admission requirements included.