Author: admin

It seems like 21st century learning is a bit of a buzzword at the moment. Everywhere you go, schools are either ’embracing 21st century learning’ or they are being urged. Usually, there’s flash graphics of computers or tablet devices, and even talk of open spaces and options and pathways. However, like a lot of so-called…

This is a first draft of a piece that I submitted for the TASA Sociology of Youth SIG Blog. I Just Don’t Care: Youth Engagement with Politics and Citizenship in Western Sydney  ‘I don’t really care about politicians. They seem to spend all their time arguing with each other. How’s that helping anyone?’                   –…

If you’ve had even the slightest interest in federal politics, you’d probably agree that it looks like Labor is heading for a wipeout at the election in September. Bookies have got the ALP out to $7, and there’s talk that Tony Abbott will sweep to power with a 20 seat majority. Polls are showing that…

Despite the rather lofty title, this is a light-hearted piece. Recently, we celebrated our Foundation Day at my school. It came at a good time; there’s a lot of pressure on students and teachers at our school this year, and Term 3, as always, is the toughest term. Added to that, we’ve had a lot…

Schools can be pretty tense places. I’ve worked in hospitals, in the armed forces and in a few other places besides, and all of these workplaces bring their own kind of stress, but, to be honest, I think that there is a level of tension that is peculiar to schools. Of course, wherever you have…

There was another reason why I was enamoured of Michie’s book, ‘Holler if you hear me’, and this reason has more to do with the thesis that I am writing than anything else. I was impressed with the way that Michie structured his text. He begins by having a rich, detailed, narrative piece about a…

I recently read Gregory Michie’s book, ‘Holler if you can hear me’. It’s a powerful text that deals with his experiences as a beginning teacher in the Chicago Public School system. It’s confronting for the honesty that Michie brings to the text – both about the lives of the students that he attempting to teach,…

I’ve been reading ‘Can Education Change Society?’ by Michael W. Apple. If you don’t know, Michael W. Apple is one of the foremost critical pedagogues. He has worked closely with, amongst others, Paulo Freire in developing the various theories of critical pedagogy that are so often referred to in today’s educational arena. This volume, which…

At my school, we’ve started talking about writing a great deal. Not writing about writing, but it’s a start. Ha ha. It’s not before time – we have a large bottom end of students who are below national minimum standards for persuasive writing in the NAPLAN tests, so it’s important that we address these issues…

So, in 2014, the G20 summit is coming to Australia, and Australia is, I believe taking on the Chair for the G20. I think this is the first time that we’ve been the chair, so quite rightly it’s a bit of a big deal – a recognition of Australia’s place in the global economy, if…