READ ANYTHING INTERESTING RECENTLY ??

[BrisRecky]

I myself am reading Sir Alex Ferguson's autobiography....I'm up to were he is about to leave Aberdeen for Manchester...so far a good read, the one bit i did find a bit harsh was when he was playing for Glasgow Rangers and they treated him a bit shitty due to his good lady wife's religion....all in all, a not half bad read thus far

 

[dibo]

Gordon Moyes being an utter c**t to the family and friends of Jeff Shaw, the former NSW AG who died suddenly overnight from complications from pneumonia. Shaw got busted for drink-driving and was forced to quit the bench, but nothing justifies what Moyes tweeted this morning not 12 hours after Shaw's passing:

Jeff Shaw, former Atorney General, brilliant mind, judge, advocate for the poor like Marcus Einfeld. Also liar,cheat and hopeless alcoholic.

He's backtracked with the apology you give when you have no intention of apologising:

I apologise for hurt given to Jeff Shaw's family or friends. I believe a full picture of a man's life should be presented "warts and all".

That's pretty much the equivalent of saying 'No offence, but you're a c**t'.

 

[FFC Mariner]

Will be reading lots of budget analysis tomorrow that is meaningless as the Govt is adding in revenue from a tax they wont get up.

 

[grendel]

The NAPLAN Language skills test paper - a government's simplistic answer to the problem of changing levels of literacy - part of the problem being that few of the teachers of today were actually schooled in grammar themselves.  There's many a roving apostrophe where it shouldn't belong in teachers' communications!

 

[curious]

Gordon Moyes being an utter c**t to the family and friends of Jeff Shaw, the former NSW AG who died suddenly overnight from complications from pneumonia. Shaw got busted for drink-driving and was forced to quit the bench, but nothing justifies what Moyes tweeted this morning not 12 hours after Shaw's passing:

Jeff Shaw, former Atorney General, brilliant mind, judge, advocate for the poor like Marcus Einfeld. Also liar,cheat and hopeless alcoholic.

He's backtracked with the apology you give when you have no intention of apologising:

I apologise for hurt given to Jeff Shaw's family or friends. I believe a full picture of a man's life should be presented "warts and all".

That's pretty much the equivalent of saying 'No offence, but you're a c**t'.

What a lovely Christian fellow he is.

The NAPLAN Language skills test paper - a government's simplistic answer to the problem of changing levels of literacy - part of the problem being that few of the teachers of today were actually schooled in grammar themselves.  There's many a roving apostrophe where it shouldn't belong in teachers' communications!

The intention of NAPLAN 'was' an additional teaching aid for the benefit of assistance to individual students in two areas of learning, not the be all to end all, sole measurement of a child's overall competency, nor be hijacked as a tool for political purposes.

 

[dibo]

Shouldn't "a government's answer" be "the Commonwealth Government's answer"?

Regardless, MySchool has been designed to try to provide a basis for comparing different schools' performance against some objective indicators. The indicators against which the schools are to be compared are the NAPLAN results.

I think the information should be more comprehensive and give better detail of socio-economic factors as well as publishing whether the school is fee paying or not and the level of fees not to mention whether the school's academically selective or otherwise has special programs that make it a special case.

It should also measure whether from there is improvement for the students there - there's no point measuring levels and expecting it to tell you much, there needs to be an account of movement! It's not too hard to show things like whether it's school x or demographic factor y that appears to be the driver of performance either, and subtly point out to parents that moving schools won't change the two things that are the primary drivers of their kid's performance - what's going on in their house and what's going on between their ears.

All up, the reason why it's being published is because people want to know how different schools are going. The AEU has gone berko about the data being published, I think they're on the wrong tack. The AEU has to address why it's bad that the data is limited in scope and propose realistic improvements to the system. They're not going to win an argument if they're proposing to simply not publish. They need to point out the limitations and address them.

 

[curious]

The AEU has to address why it's bad that the data is limited in scope and propose realistic improvements to the system. They're not going to win an argument if they're proposing to simply not publish. They need to point out the limitations and address them.

If you were privy to the numerous state wide teleconference meetings regarding the issue, you would be aware of the lengths of the attempts to do just what you suggest, Dibo. It fell on deaf ears. Why it did, is open to the level of one's scepticism of political agenda's.  This frustration is what led to the threat of refusing to do the testing.
The AEU has faulted badly in not making loud public noises regarding the substance of their attempts. They have instead held a somewhat myopic public line and allowed the government propaganda machine to ride roughshod, unheeded.

The extent of information on school variances and peculiarities required to enable apples for apples comparison of L & N standards is enormous and not just limited to socio economic and/or funding variables we are yet to see. (And I doubt we will, btw, as 'unusual' funding distribution then becomes public) It also includes levels of 'Special needs" students per school, (autism, ADD, hearing, down syndrome, severe behavioural ect. ect.) home welfare and many others.
These are all the inclusions they want for a realistic comparison of schools standards.
BTW, parents (and education depts. have always received schools and student results) could always see their child's state levels standards comparison in their school reports. The change is only in comparing schools. Without all the information available to make a fully informed decision,  Mrs. Brown might mistakenly think that Jimmy can get better teaching at a "better" school when it might be far from the reality. In fact, many of the most proficient and hardest working teachers work in the most difficult schools. They have to be to get even an 'OK' outcome from a well below average situation.

To give you an example of a pretence of "we just want to know how each school is performing so we can give them assistance as required", Jimmy doing the NAPLAN test very early in year 7 of high school, has, obviously, received all his previous L & N education in his previous primary school. But for reasons known only to the federal education minister and her advisers, Jimmy's early year 7 NAPLAN testing results, be they good or poor, are measured as the responsibility of his brand new high school. How this can lead to correct knowledge of each school's standards level to enable remedial/funding measures and/or an informed decision by parents, well, you have to scratch your head.

 

[dibo]

Clearly I'm not privy to those discussions and I'm neither a teacher nor working for the feds, I'm just a very interested onlooker marvelling at what I think is a serious tactical error from the AEU - they've handed a lay-down misere to Gillard here.

 

[hasbeen]

If the public has been made aware that the comparisons on MySchool are based on the NAPLAN results, then it's a good thing the AEU has kicked up a stink, if only to increase that awareness. It's been said all along, and the press have been guilty of distortion here to a massive extent, the AEU and teachers in general are not opposed to NAPLAN, only the results being misrepresented and used as a tool in Gillard's pet website.

 

[kevrenor]

It's been said all along, and the press have been guilty of distortion here to a massive extent, the AEU and teachers in general are not opposed to NAPLAN, only the results being misrepresented and used as a tool in Gillard's pet website.

  x 100

The use of NAPLAN as it is through the MySchools site is very wrong - one comprehensive govt school near here (doing quite well in fact, but not as well as a nearby school) saw enough parents panic at the relative rankings to try not send their Yr 7 starters there but to the other school - thus causing 1.6 teachers to be moved from the school (possible to go and teach at the aother school) - what was actually achieved by that?

Dibo - tend to agree but it is a matter of actually fighting only the battles you can win, to win the war

 

[Mr Cleansheets]

Hi there guys, I'm reading a quite fascinating account of the life and career of Walsingham (Lizzie 1's spymaster). I'm hoping that some of you might have read Mr Cleansheets by now. It's in all the shops and Gosford Library has just acquired it.

Recommended by Lawrie McKinna and Simon Hill.

 

[jiggles]

^^ I'm actually buying Mr Cleansheets this weekend. Have been waiting to get paid. I'm very interested in reading it.

I have ordered a couple of books off ebay, and am waiting for them to arrive...so once I've read them I will of read something interesting...hah.

Did just finish House Rules by Jodi Picoult. Very interesting look into a family who has a member living with Aspergers Syndrome.

 

[Mr Cleansheets]

Onya Poko, hope you enjoy it.

Chelsea fan huh? I just learned yesterday that the bloke who wrote the Chelsea song (Blue is the Colour) lives at Avoca. I'll be giving him a piece of my mind if I catch up with him!

 

[curious]

^^ I'm actually buying Mr Cleansheets this weekend. Have been waiting to get paid. I'm very interested in reading it.

I have ordered a couple of books off ebay, and am waiting for them to arrive...so once I've read them I will of read something interesting...hah.

Did just finish House Rules by Jodi Picoult. Very interesting look into a family who has a member living with Aspergers Syndrome.

A new one of hers? Aspergers is an alien world for most to understand and incredibly difficult for other family members to cope with. How do you find the book?

 

[FFC Mariner]

Avoca huh.............

somewhere to dump the boat if the greeny hippy bludger scum win their case.

 

[Ranyen]

I have almost finished reading all the Lord of The Ring books.

 

[hasbeen]

I have almost finished reading all the Lord of The Ring books.

Not a bad effort! ... Return of the King was published in 1955 ...

 

[serious14]

Just finished "1984" by Orwell.

Working my way through "The Ghost" by Robert Harris, "The Story of War - A New History of the Second World War" by Andrew Roberts, and a few different books on Caesarean/Augustan Rome (one written by Caesar himself) in preparation for my first two subjects at University come mid-July.

 

[Mr Cleansheets]

Sorry Serious but it's all downhill for you now. 1984 is (IMHO) the greatest book written in English in the 20th Century...by miles. If you liked it, you might try Keep the Aspidistra Flying - one of Orwell's less celebrated books but possibly his most human effort.

Mr Cleansheets, of course, was written in the C21.

 

[serious14]

Sorry Serious but it's all downhill for you now. 1984 is (IMHO) the greatest book written in English in the 20th Century...by miles.

I'm inclined to agree with you - I've already started it again.....