Perth college bans mobiles from the schoolyard
The West Australian reported about a boys’ school in Western Australia banning mobile phone use in schools due to concerns that students will be distracted and students will stop communicating with each other face-to-face. There were also concerns that students are using the phone to tether the school’s internet to get around school security settings on filtered internet sights. The school’s headmaster said, “this level of constant connectivity causes distractions that remove the focus from learning and reduces social interactions during recess and lunch.”
How an Australian school solved the homework problem
The Sydney Morning Herald wrote about a Sydney primary school principal not giving homework to students. This issue was raised when a parent asked what the purpose of homework was at a P&C meeting. The school decided to conduct a survey and ask students, parents and teachers on whether they thought homework was valuable, and found that 70 per cent of parents said that homework was somewhat important to their child’s learning. Now, since the beginning of the year, students are no longer sent home tasks to complete, instead they are given projects at certain times in the year.
Teen charged over school bomb hoaxes in Victoria, NSW and South Australia
The Herald Sun reported about a 17-year-old boy who has been charged over a wave of school bomb hoaxes across Victoria, NSW and South Australia. The teenager has been charged with 74 offences over alleged bomb hoaxes to educational facilities. In a coordinated hoax, thousands of students were evacuated in both Victoria and NSW due multiple phone calls and computerised messages.
'Gonski 2.0' review to allocate resources as funding is cut to private schools
The Guardian reported about the Turnbull Government cutting funding to 24 private schools over a 10-year period, in a plan to bring all schools to the same funding level. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has asked David Gonski, the author and architect of the 2011 school funding report under Labor, to lead another review of school funding. Mr Turnbull said, “by 2027, the commonwealth will be providing 20%, up from 17% currently, of the school resourcing standard for all government schools and 80%, up from 77%, of that standard for non-government schools.”
Centre for Independent Studies report says Gonski overfunds disadvantaged students
The Australian Financial Review wrote about the Centre for Independent Studies report on the foundations needs-based 2011 school funding Gonski review. The report titled The fantasy of Gonski funding: the ongoing battle over school spending, disagreed with the 2011 Gonski review’s assumption that that more funding for schools with disadvantaged students would improve their results as there is no clear link between government spending and student outcomes.
USA: Teachers launch GoFundMe campaigns to help pay for classroom expenses
The Chicago Tribune wrote about how Illinois educators and school supporters launching approximately 2,450 GoFundMe campaigns for classrooms since 2010. The campaigns have so far raised around US$1.2 million, allowing Illinois teachers to provide books and classroom supplies to students without the need educators to the personally bare the cost of classroom supplies.
USA: Shaming children so parents will pay the school lunch bill
The New York Times reported about a common practice across America, where if a parent has not paid the school cafeteria account, then child will not be served lunch and be shamed for parents not paying the lunch debt. As part of the lunch shaming process, some children have been stamped or written on to show that the child’s parents have not paid their cafeteria debt. In March, New Mexico passed a law which now makes the practice of lunch shaming illegal and now directs schools to work with parents to pay debt.
Canada: Windsor school teacher pleads guilty to sex charges involving former student
The Toronto Sun reported about a former teacher pleading guilty to having sex with a former student. The teacher pleaded guilty to sexual interference with a minor. The court heard how the former teacher even bought the student a mobile phone and used it to send explicit messages to the student and arrange rendezvous points. The former teacher could face the possibility of a mandatory jail sentence of one year, but her lawyers are trying to apply for the former teacher to serve time under house arrest.
New Zealand: Teacher censured for pinning student against wall
According to the the New Zealand Herald, a teacher has narrowly escaped being struck off the teaching register for pinning a student against a wall in a fit of anger. The teacher has been censured by the Teacher Disciplinary Tribunal and ordered to undertake supervision or mentoring for 18 months due to assaulting a 14-year-old female student. The Teacher Disciplinary Tribunal decided not to ban the teacher from teaching as to maintain professional standards, punish the teacher and support her ongoing rehabilitation.
New Zealand: Auckland pre-school teacher accused of force-feeding children, washing their mouths out with soap
Stuff.co.nz reported about an early childhood carer allegedly assaulting nine children and even washing the child’s mouth out with soap after swearing at a teacher, force feeding a child and even taping child's mouth shut. The early childhood carer broke down in court after her colleague gave evidence about the incidents that occurred between 2011 and 2016. The matter has been set for trial, before a jury, later in the year.