With Ms Gillard, Mr Rudd and our very own Ms Bligh constantly beating their own chests about education, NAPLAN testing, a national curriculum, safety nets and how single-handed they will tackle numeracy and literacy problems in our schools, I feel I need to add my opinion.
Here in Queensland, the "smart state", we have policies in place stating that 26 students are deemed too many for one classroom, ie the largest number of students in any one classroom will not exceed 25.
Keeping up?
This same policy that applies to city classrooms also applies to one-teacher schools such as ours. So if your school enrolment is less than 26 you will have one teacher only. As is the case at our school this year, with only 24 students enrolled, we are losing our second teacher. Our new principal (who has never been a principal before) will teach 8 year levels from Prep to Year 7, aged from 4 to 12 years (he has never taught the early grades before) in one classroom.
We're the "smart state".
Can anybody begin to explain to me how it is possible for one teacher to adequately educate 24 students in 8 year levels. In one classroom.
Mr Rudd, in his infinite wisdom, as he worked to boost the economy and revolutionise education, provided our small country school with a $250,000 new state-of-the-art classroom last year. We are using it as a library as we have no need for a new classroom, after all we only need one for all of our students. Ms Bligh, also bolstering our economy, and in the process running our state into the greatest level of debt ever recorded, also gave us a $50,000 playground. We tore down a perfectly functioning playground that our children loved, so QBuild could construct a new one.
We're the "smart state".
And now, as Day 8 approaches, the day when enrolment figures are uploaded, and our staffing allocated for the year, all we hear about is Ms Gillard's new pet project, the "my school" website. Whereby everybody can see the progress of a school, see the problem areas, and address them! Ain't that great!!!
These people aren't serious about educating our kids. Not up here anyway, because there just aren't a lot of votes to be bought in regional Queensland where these problems exist.
So while my youngest is given play dough to entertain her for the day, and my oldest is assigned work and left to work independently for the day, I will continue to be sickened by the politicians and their "political speak" about what they are doing for education in this state and country.