By Amy Graham and Pasi Sahlberg More than one billion young people around the world are now shut out of classrooms due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even in Australia where many schools remain open, many parents have chosen to keep their kids home. Some Australian non-government schools have already shut their doors and moved classes online. Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania have ended the term early so teachers…
read moreThis essay was written with William Doyle and originally published in Washington Post on April 8, 2020 The coronavirus crisis has shattered one of the most dysfunctional pillars of childhood education. On March 20, U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos suspended the federal requirement for the mass standardized testing of children, announcing “Neither students nor teachers need to be focused on high-stakes tests during this…
read moreThey say an apple a day keeps the doctor away. But having an apple or a sandwich for lunch when students are supposed to be doing well in school is not enough. We all know healthy children learn better. Healthy school lunch served free to every Australian child would be a simple way to improve education and child wellbeing. Some schools offer children breakfast or lunch daily, but the majority have to get by with what’s in their…
read moreWhen people overseas ask me about Australian schools, I tell them that we have some of the best schools in the world — but they are not for all of our children. International reviews have proved that the Australian school system is one of the most unequal and socially segregated among the rich countries of the world. This is not a recent finding. During the last decade, evidence from abroad and findings in our own studies…
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