THE SCHOOL The Ups and Downs Of One Year In The Classroom
So what is wrong with our schools? I have just finished reading Brendan James Murray’s book, The School. I taught for forty one years, mostly in Primary Schools, but also Pre -Schools and High Schools. I have been retired for three years but still find myself reading articles about education all the time, and especially those about the current debate in Australia regarding teaching phonics. (Learning to read is a complex skill and each child is an individual and should be offered as many strategies as possible to become a competent reader.)
Murray was a High School teacher. He writes eloquently and with great compassion about the challenges facing teenagers and their teachers in the educational process. This is a work of non fiction storytelling. He amalgamates ten years of teaching into a fictional year, based on children, teachers and a school he knows well. He works at the school he attended as a student.
He also explains the ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank) ranking system currently used in Australia to determine the students’ ability, or their ‘rank’ compared against their peers. The ATAR score determines university acceptance. The score reflects the students’ performance relative to other students. So, if you have an ATAR of 86.4% you performed as well or better than 86.4% of other Year 12 (final year) students. Despite ivigilating/supervising ATAR exams at the end of each year, I’d never really considered just how each student was competing against every other student, nor how subject scores were scaled up or down to reflect the performance of students across the country.
There are great teachers, teachers who will become very good, burnt out teachers and teachers who should have left the profession. Funding for education is always insufficient for the best outcomes. The students in Murray’s book display every range of expected behaviours and abilities to learn, mixed in with some awful health issues.
What is most evident is students who are poorly parented will probably result in poor outcomes. The student who lives in a chaotic home, with unstable, poorly educated parents, has few routines, is not regularly fed or read to, will probably struggle, despite good funding and good teachers. The cycle of impoverished parenting needs to be addressed more consistently to break this cycle. Even brilliant, compassionate, highly motivated teachers, and there are many, cannot overcome the multitude of poor outcomes associated with poor parenting.
A thought provoking book, sometimes funny, sometimes sad and often informative, I would recommend it to anyone with children, involved in education or in any way influencing programs designed to improve parenting skills.
GOOD INDIAN DAUGHTER How I Found Freedom in Being A Disappointment
Ruhi Lee came to Australia from India as a small child. Her parents migrated here believing Australia would offer them, as a family, better opportunities. In contrast to the previous book, Lee parents do offer a stable but harsh home environment. A clever student, Lee is expected to do as she’s told and to be the best. Physical punishments and cutting comments leave her questioning her value. She knows she is not behaving like a “good Indian daughter.”
Secrets, lies, failure, confrontations and a long term secret boyfriend cause conflict. Her parents crave conformity and she’s told to just shrug off violence, sexual abuse, verbal abuse and expectations which don’t resonate with her character. Appearance and family are everything .
When she learns she’s carrying a daughter she begins to really analyse her own upbringing, determined to do it differently. Sometimes shocking and sometimes funny, this story highlights the way many females are still treated within society. The conflict of generational, personal and cultural divides can leave deep scars. The unrealistic expectations placed on Lee will be familiar in many families, not just amongst Indian families.
When the expectations of parents clash with the plans of children, things can become splintered beyond repair. This story made me wonder, when should she just give up? Not every situation has a happy ending but Lee has surrounded herself with a family and friendship group which is genuine and supportive. She and her husband will ensure their daughter will have a different childhood.
As usual, I borrowed both books from the library.
A DAY DOWN SOUTH
My Mother had melanoma surgery 12 days ago and has been staying with us since then. Today she was well enough to go back home.She has a dressing on her nose covering a graft, a long dressing on her hand and another site under her eye. Although her wounds are healing well, she’s been told to stay out of the garden for a few more weeks. She’ll find that very hard! I picked some lettuce for her and she was keen to “poke” about.
July 14th was Bastille Day in France. Did you celebrate? Macarons anyone?
