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| PacShady | Linux in Every School | 8 | Jun 1 2008, 3:43 AM EDT by old-bonez | |||
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Thread started: Mar 2 2008, 9:28 AM EST
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Many of our education tax dollars are spent paying out licensing fees to companies like Microsoft, as well as upgrading systems simply so they can run the new, bloated operating systems. Not to mention the money spent on anti-virus software, technicians fixing Windows problems such as adware and spyware, etc. Switching all public school computers over to Linux would literally free up hundreds of thousands of dollars each year in paying licensing fees for Windows, as well as virus scanners (since there are less than 50 viruses that affect Linux, most of which are now obsolete). It would teach kids that there are different systems than Windows, and give them a wide variety of FREE tools and programs which can usually do just as well, if not better, than their expensive, Windows counterparts. Anything children need to do on a Windows computer in school, they can do on a Linux computer, at a much cheaper cost to taxpayers.
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| Anonymous | Make Educators accountable | 2 | May 1 2008, 9:58 AM EDT by Anonymous | |||
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Thread started: Apr 12 2008, 7:06 AM EDT
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Why can't we reward the best teachers with the best pay, move the poor teachers out of the system and hold Principals accountable for school perfomance?
Seems every initiative that may drive accountability in education is condemned by Teaching Unions. A teachers performance should be measured by the annual improvement of students within their classrooms. Test all students annually and you can measure the results. Survey parents to get their perspective on teacher performance and school cultures. Cum the annual movement in student performance to measure school results. It's not hard, it's done in business throughout the world every year. Use the results to reward the best - they are the one's who'll make a difference. Use the results to move on those who don't cut it.
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| Anonymous | Stop government funding private schools | 2 | Apr 18 2008, 3:26 AM EDT by Anonymous | |||
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Thread started: Mar 31 2008, 8:42 PM EDT
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Stop government funding of private and religious based schools. Spend the money on the government school system.
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| Anonymous | A New Way of Teaching of Languages in Primary Schools | 0 | Apr 13 2008, 11:53 PM EDT by Anonymous | |||
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Thread started: Apr 13 2008, 11:53 PM EDT
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Government policy for all schools teach a LOTE provides theoretical benefits however, despite best efforts of teachers, the education department and even the Language Industry admit it is not working
Tens of millions of dollars & resources put into teaching LOTE but, if language proficiency is the criteria, failure rate is in the high 90’s Although some indirect benefits as claimed, our children are spending hundreds of prime learning hours trying to learn languages that they have almost no chance of success. In addition, students often find no continuity when the change or progress to Secondary - after trying to learn one language for 7 years that have to start again in the new school. A Better System ! In a similar way that the recorder is often used when teaching music, the teaching of languages can commence by the learning a easy to learn, practical and enjoyable language that provides the basis of learning foreign languages. Such a language is Esperanto. With simple rules of grammar without irregularities, words being completely phonetic and an ingenious word building system, students are not required to learn vast vocabularies. The success rates of language learning for all students, not only the gifted, significantly increases and thereby giving everyone the pleasure of actually being able to use a language. It would act as a ‘bridge’ language give students a solid foundation for further studies in national languages. All the benefits claimed by foreign language learning can be exceeded and in addition the cost of providing a LOTE would reduce. Other major benefits include: - Savings in cost and resources - Much easier for teachers to become qualified - Access to the widest variety of cultures in all dimensions: language, religion, arts, etc – not just that of one nationality This concept has already been adopted and proven - see www.springboard2languages.org and http://learn.esperanto.org.au |
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| Anonymous | Introduce a school voucher system | 0 | Apr 7 2008, 3:47 AM EDT by Anonymous | |||
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Thread started: Apr 7 2008, 3:47 AM EDT
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Instead of funding schools directly (public schools presently get about $10k combined state/federal funding), parents should be given a voucher to spend at a school of their choice. This will force schools to compete for their funding. The result of this will be improved standards (compare this approach to the top-down funding we now have - where schools simply try to keep costs down as much as possible).
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| Anonymous | "FREE EDUCATION" WE WANT IT BACK. | 9 | Mar 28 2008, 7:58 PM EDT by Anonymous | |||
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Thread started: Feb 23 2008, 11:52 PM EST
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We are a rich country despite the gloom and doom of what passes as reportage in news media.
We had free education from about 1973 until the rich conservative forces (including in the ALP) decided we were over educated and not producing cheaply enough Howard fooled almost every one most of the time into thinking we were in Heaven. Now we have to pay for our foolishness. We need more and better education. Let's go back to free education.
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| dra_red | Push universities to compete | 2 | Mar 26 2008, 9:43 PM EDT by dra_red | |||
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Thread started: Mar 9 2008, 9:47 PM EDT
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Higher education courses should be broken into components that allow assessment to be done independantly to course content. Universities and similar services providers hould be in charge of assessment but course material should not be combined with assessments. When a course provider is able to set the assessment and teach the course, he/she is able to change the assessment to ensure an acceptable number of people pass. It hides incompetency within the educational system.
If the assessment was offered separately to the course then teachers/lecturers would need to ensure they met a minimum level of competency. Students would have a chance to select alternative providers of the learning material or might even choose to study independantly. This set up would open higher education up to more competition and would reveal weaknesses that can be currently hidden by adjusting assessments as they wish.
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| Anonymous | Education is a service like any other, not a right. | 4 | Mar 8 2008, 7:54 AM EST by drwoood | |||
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Thread started: Feb 27 2008, 1:52 AM EST
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Public education should be abolished.
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| Anonymous | Include course-required material (such as textbooks) in HECS | 0 | Feb 21 2008, 2:55 PM EST by Anonymous | |||
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Thread started: Feb 21 2008, 2:55 PM EST
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University is expensive, even with HECS funding from the Government. Textbooks per subject are usually well over $100, and at the beginning of each semester a student participating in four subjects per semester can be paying upwards of $400-$500 up front, before they even begin the semester. Assuming said student is receiving their measly odd $220/fortnight from Centrelink (if they're still living at home), with no job due to needing much of their time studying, that is a huge sum of money for the student to be forced to shell out, especially since they also have everyday expenses to consider. If the price of these textbooks and other course-related required materials were included in HECS, it could go a long way in helping those especially from low-income families to make their way through university and out of poverty.
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| Anonymous | Use the surplus to increase teacher salaries | 1 | Feb 19 2008, 9:02 PM EST by Anonymous | |||
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Thread started: Feb 14 2008, 7:34 PM EST
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Teachers perform one of the most important missions in today's society, and yet, they get paid the least. Most tradies earn double what a teacher makes. I know my plumbing is important, but in today's day and age, I'd like to see some of the surplus money go to increaseing teacher salaries.
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