The Victorian Department of Education is developing lessons for Year 10 students about the impact caused by violent sexualised images found in pornography and advertising on relationships. Nine News reported that, pending government approval, the lessons are to be part of a respectful relationships pilot program. Adding to concerns that students are being bombarded with images of violent sex in advertising and video games, research has been presented to the Royal Commission into Family Violence that shows one in three Year 8 and 9 students have attitudes that support or excuse family violence.
Parents at Marsden High School received a letter from the principal citing a non-existent ‘Federal Government requirement’ that their children have permission to attend prayer groups and their attendance must be recorded in a register. The NSW Education Department released a statement to The Daily Telegraph calling the letter and the advice ‘completely incorrect’ and assuring schools and parents that there is no such requirement. The letter has since sparked outrage among Islamic groups.
The Royal Commission heard oral submissions in relation to Case Study 23 on Knox Grammar School on Monday. Submissions from counsel expressed that former Knox headmaster Dr Paterson did not commit a crime by failing to assist police who were investigating claims of sexual abuse at the school. ABC News reports that if the Commission finds evidence of criminal activity, it has the power to refer the alleged crimes to the police.
A new national primary curriculum has been unveiled, with the Federal government prioritising a ‘back-to-basics’ approach. The Australian reports that the new curriculum will combine history, geography, civics and citizenship and economics and business into a single subject called Humanities and Social Sciences. It will also mandate the use of phonics-based reading. Critics of the changes have said that the new curriculum will lead to a loss of critical engagement and a widening of the gap between private and state education.
The first round of literacy and numeracy tests for teachers is fully subscribed. Over 2,500 teaching students reportedly flooded the registration website for the Government’s August round of testing to identify their level of literacy and numeracy capability. This comes after the announcement that the test will become a university requirements for education students in the future. 1,200 students have expressed further interest and are on the waiting list for September’s tests.
Choir teacher Carol Burton in Seattle has been told that her employment with Garfield High School will be terminated because of a field trip earlier this year. The Seattle Times reports that during the field trip two teenage girls were allegedly groped by a male classmate. The School alleges that Ms Burton was the one ultimately responsible for enforcing the rules on the trip and failed to do so when male and female students were free to visit each other’s hotel rooms.
The ban on term-time holidays in England has been blamed for a dramatic increase of parents being taken to court for failing to ensure their children attend school. The Guardian reports that 16,430 parents were taken to court last year because their children had skipped school. Fines range from £60 – £120 and a failure to pay may lead to maximum fine of £2,500 or a jail sentence of up to three months.
A group of schools in Wellington, New Zealand have been awarded $90,146 in funding to enable more classes in Japanese and Mandarin as part of the Asian Language Learning in Schools fund, Scoop NZ reports. The fund is part of an initiative from the government to encourage the next generation to be able to communicate and work in different languages as international and trading links grow.
A 14-year-old American student has been sentenced to 11 years imprisonment after stabbing his teacher in a racially motivated attack in June. The teacher, Vincent Uzomah, survived the attack but has said that it’s left psychological scars, The Guardian reports. Mr Uzomah has joined calls for all schools to use airport-style metal detectors to prevent weapons being brought into the classroom.