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https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/education/fed-up-school-principal-says-critics-have-no-idea-20220613-p5ata4>
"The head of an elite private school has railed against baseless attacks and
misinformed opinions about teachers by politicians “who actually have no idea
what they are talking about” while calling out their remedies for complex
issues, such as falling educational standards, as simplistic.
Briony Scott, the principal of Wenona School in North Sydney, said teachers
were trivialised, their profession bastardised and their contribution
overlooked by a generation of political decision makers who see the world in
black and white and have no comprehension as to the complexity of the school
“ecosystem”.
In an impassioned speech at a conference about female educational leaders, Dr
Scott said everyone, having attended a school at some stage, considered
themselves an expert with their opinions often misinformed and too-rarely
imbued with facts or evidence.
“Every couple of years an education minister or prime minister will say
something along the lines of ‘we should focus on the basics of how to read and
write’. And I’m like, oh, I hadn’t thought of that one,” Dr Scott said."
Punchline:
"“Our society has the right to determine and influence what happens in schools.
I have no problem with that. But schools are not political playing fields nor
are we chess pieces to be moved at the whim of others,” Dr Scott said.
“Schools are complex ecosystems, interconnected and intertwined communities
that require qualified practitioners to navigate and to educate so that we can
give our next generation all the skills they need to make informed choices in
their lives.”
Dr Scott said it was time teachers stood up and defended their profession
because without doing so, they were “handing it to people who have no idea how
to do this job”."
Via Muse.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
