Last year, Victoria’s Legislative Council Legal and Social Issues Committee launched an “Inquiry into the state education system in Victoria“. As we wrote last year, it was never clear what the purpose of the inquiry was other than to stir up trouble for the Labor Government. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing. The inquiry wrapped up its hearings a couple weeks ago, with the intention to report in October, and a couple things seem worth noting. Continue reading “Grattan, Ashman and the Legislative Council Inquiry”
Month: June 2024
Assange is Out
Well done, Albo. And, of course, well done the many people who fought for years for Assange’s release.
But let’s not forget Millar and Karvelas and Rowland and Greste for the chum-clubby, idiotic and sanctimonious assholes they were and are.* Continue reading “Assange is Out”
Phonics, Experts and the Warriors for Freedom
It is unnerving to suggest it, and it is still early days, but Ben Carroll might be a very good Minister for Education. Carroll was righteously and rightly angry about the VCE exams screw-ups, on which basis Carroll instigated the excellent Bennett review. Then, a week or so ago, Carroll announced that the Government would be “putting explicit teaching in every classroom”, including that K-2 students in Victoria’s public schools will be taught reading “using a systematic synthetic phonics approach”. This is great news, which of course pissed off some people. Which is also great news. Continue reading “Phonics, Experts and the Warriors for Freedom”
Secret 2024 GAT Discussion Business
I know very little about the GAT, held today. I don’t believe I’ve posted on the GAT other than a couple of WitCHes last year, and I haven’t see this year’s (ugh!) “Numeracy” test. But a discussion post has been requested and so here you are. Continue reading “Secret 2024 GAT Discussion Business”
Tell VCAA What You Think. Now!
You have four days left to complete VCAA’s questionnaire on the loathsome mathematics Study Design. Do it. Consider completing this task the fee for all the jokes and the catharsis provided by this blog.
Of course you needn’t parrot the views of this blog. You needn’t note that the current loathsome Study Design is loathsome. There is no requirement to note that CAS poisons everything and that, other than Outer Mongolia or somewhere, there’s not another region in the World that imposes this technocrap in the manner of VCAA, and that there’s not an iota of evidence that this technocrap is of any proper purpose or benefit whatsoever. You may skip mentioning that pseudocode is pointless and that “algorithmic thinking”, if anything at all, is just a trashed version of mathematical reasoning. There is no obligation to highlight that hypothesis testing at the school level is pointless and unanchored garbage, loathed far and wide, including by professors of statistics. You can stay absolutely silent about the need for a senior mathematics curriculum to be based around properly deep and mutually reinforcing topics, and that this hasn’t been seen in Victoria since John Batman wandered up the Yarra. I will not be making any suggestions whatsoever of what you might say. It is totally up to you.
But do it. Please. Continue reading “Tell VCAA What You Think. Now!”
Can Students Do Their Homework Anymore?
A couple months ago, we had a post on homework, and the research of some educations clowns arguing that homework can “lead to the compounding of intergenerational negative mathematical dispositions and identities”. And so on. This included parents whining about the incomprehensibility of their Year 3 kids’ homework. Whatever. Back on Planet Earth, where Year 3 homework is comprehensible or, preferably, non-existent, there are questions of what homework is and what it should be. To this end, frequent commenter Terry Mills has asked,
I would like to know what sort of homework policies are used in other schools, particularly, but not only, for mathematics.
So, how does your school mandate or constrain homework? And although Terry doesn’t ask, how should your school mandate or constrain homework? How much do teachers pay attention to any such rules?
And, here’s your song:
Tom’s Story of O
(And you thought the previous post had a clickbait title.)
Tom Peachey has written a new post on his blog: What is the O in BODMAS? As I have indicated, I don’t really care. Nonetheless, readers should head over to Tom’s blog, give his post a read, and let Tom know where he’s wrong. Continue reading “Tom’s Story of O”
Mathematics Teachers and Their Culture of Mediocrity
Let’s see. Who haven’t we insulted recently? Ah, yes: teachers.
OK, so the title of this post could have been a tad less inflammatory. I’m serious, however, so what the hell. We’ll begin with a story. Continue reading “Mathematics Teachers and Their Culture of Mediocrity”
Estimating a Censorious Twit
About a week ago, eSafety censor Julie Inman Grant appeared before the Senate Environment and Communications Committee. The most notable (= most nauseating) exchanges are compiled in the video below, and Inman Grant’s entire performance is here (14:21 – 16:51). When watching, it is worth keeping in mind Inman Grant’s latest act of heavy-handed censorship, and Inman Grant’s recent chickening out of a Musk-brawl, which Inman Grant defends in a convenient brown-nosing interview. Previous posts on this censorious asshole are here and here.
The (Redacted) Deloitte Report
Below is a copy of VCAA’s redacted “independent” review of the “examination development process”, conducted by Deloitte. Yes, Burkard and I started this. No, I haven’t yet had time to look.