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Last week I published a few thoughts about the way that I see various forces are coordinating an attack on education, and in most cases, the public system of education. Of course, none of this is particularly revelatory – it is the modus operandi for neoliberalism. It is part of a concerted attack on the…

As I sat in traffic on the M4 this morning, I listened to the Chairperson of the Australia Industry Group explain how Australian schools are just not doing enough to ensure that young Australians are job-ready, and it’s symptomatic of the grave concerns that employers have about education systems and why there should be greater…

So I was in Tempe presenting at a conference hosted by ASU. Of all the places that I wanted to visit in the USA, I have to say that Tempe didn’t even make the list – which, now that I’ve been there, might have been something of an oversight. There was much to like about…

I first met my daughter on a long haul flight from Sydney to San Francisco. She was four months old at the time, and the cabin was dark and silent except for the rushing wind and creaking of the airframe. My wife was sleeping, and it seemed that, despite the hundreds of people within metres…

This is another episode in my series about organising and what I’ve learnt during my time working with the union. I’ve forgotten what number we’re up to, but this is the first one I’ve written in more than three months, I think. We’re approaching the end of the school year which will also be the…

Without sounding too much like a communist (or at least no more than I usually do), I have decided that babies are communal property. Don’t worry, I’m not about to start advocating some kind of baby-sharing mechanism or a secret trade in newborns. I’m talking about the way that when you have a baby, suddenly…

Sometimes, I get frustrated by the way schools run. I get annoyed when I hear about teachers who have to spend three afternoons out of five in meetings, or how they have to fill in myriad bits of paperwork to get access to resources, or how the school can’t offer courses because theycan’t employ enough…

This post was originally posted here: http://au.educationhq.com/news/33099/christopher-pynes-failures-as-federal-education-minister/#.VjaMmLX-mAg.facebook There will be few teachers or principals who are sad to see the back of Christopher Pyne as Federal Minister for Education. Much like the rest of the Abbott Government, Pyne’s time in charge of education in Australia has been characterised by ideologically-driven approaches, sudden backflips, changes in policy…

It ended like so many action movies seem to begin. Oh, not with the explosions and the bullets and all sorts of those teasers, but the part that normally comes after that: you know what I’m talking about – the part that gets passed off as character development or the main character showing that he’s…

  I’ve been a Social Sciences and English teacher for a long time now. Recently, I’ve taken the step into academia, and I’ve begun working with pre-service social science teachers as they prepare for careers in the classroom. This has been a powerful experience for me, because it has allowed me to examine my own…