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Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation

Call Number
Nef 331.8809944 EDU
Created/Published
Sydney : The Federation, 1919-2021
Issue
Vol. 83 No. 05 (13 May 2002)
Images
28
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Contents

EDUCATION JOURNAL OF THE NEW SOUTH WALWS TEACHERS FEDEATION 1
Celebrate Public Education Day on May 23 1
Class sizes campaign hots up 1
Inner city win 1
NEWS Teaching through the wire 2
Women to focus on recruitment and activism 2
Back to school 2
Officers 2
Executive 2
Unfinished business in primary executive structure 3
School tragedy: Erfurt, Germany, April 26. 3
Salaries claim to be developed for next award 3
Geoff Turnbull appointed to TAFE Commission Board 3
Masters review of new HSC exams 4
English and the HSC 4
No title 4
Fantastic win on strikes and vacation pay 5
Minister acts on casual teacher shortage 5
Advertising 5
Grimshaw Review delivers for private schools 6
Are surplus budgets worth it? 7
Minister supports delay over 7-10 syllabuses 7
Stage 4 Agriculture 7
Government action slows discrimination case 7
VIEWS Say NO to private financing of public infrastructure 8
Incentive transfers 8
Advertising 8
Unsafe demountables to be fixed at Long Bay 8
World Congress raises interesting issues 9
Reviewing the National Training Agenda in NSW 9
TAFETA project aims to build activism 9
Former students to help in funding campaign 9
The President Writes Staking our claim 10
LETTRS to the Editor Mass standardised testing 10
Labor takes teachers for granted 10
Real cause of low teacher morale 11
Hornsby responds 11
Campaign against demountables begins 11
Advertising 11
Unpleasant aberration 12
Understanding the movement 12
Let down 12
Meat in the sandwich 12
Just like a marriage 12
Advertising 12
Collegial support 12
Slap in the face 13
Concern over health and jobs 13
Advertising 13
THE WATKINS BRIEFING PAPERS Support for Youth at Risk in TAFE 14
Advertising 14
Chullora Kids at Risk Program Reprieve 15
Adult Migrant English Service 15
Advertising 15
Teacher Housing Authority 16
Advertising 16
Language, Literacy and Numeracy Programs 17
Narrabri high gains extra staff at last 17
Advertising 17 , 18
Teachers Credit Union vote 19
Advertising 19
High profile writers for School Days festival 19
Advertising 19
INTERNATIONAL Afghan women and children struggle for basic human rights 20
About RAWA 20
Humanitarianism shines through for refugees in Young 20
Public Education Day 2002 Photo Competition 20
Write about dream job and win 20
RETIRED Reritred Teachers Association Second Friday of each month, 1.15 pm. Teachers House, Mary Street, Surry Hills Sydney. 21
Advertising 21
REVIEWS Up, Up and Away Perugia and all that jazz 22
Advertising 22
Theatre Serious, sublime, silly and satirical 23
GOIN' UP THE COUNTRY Painting by numbers 23
Cheap WINE The corked and the corkers 23
Advertising 23
Computer Corner Macromedia 'XLs’ with MX 24
Advertising 24
Mr Yen’s | Postcard from Hawaii 24
Advertising 25 , 26
DT SMITH 26
Abecedarian* 26
THOSE WHO CAN’T 26
Country teacher program changes perceptions 27
INSIDE 28
Set the record straight Hysterical climate makes Canley Vale a victim 28 , 27
Unfair associations tarnish school 28 , 27
See what it’s really like 28 , 27

Text

EDUCATION  

JOURNAL OF THE NEW SOUTH WALES TEACHERS FEDERATION  

Agreement No. PP 255 001  

Vo 1. 83 0.5 May 13. 2002  

Celebrate Public  

Education Day  

on May 23  

by Maree O’Halloran  

On May 23 teachers, parents and  

students across Australia will cel  

ebrate, promote and defend public  

education.  

Schools and TAFE colleges will  

be undertaking wide and diverse  

set of activities from grandparents’  

days, to district pageants, to marches  

and assemblies in local towns.  

The focus of Public Education  

Day this year will be the release of  

the first findings from the Vinson  

Inquiry. On Wednesday May 22  

Public Education Dinner will be  

held at Parliament House as forum  

for Professor Vinson to report his  

first findings. The aim is for public  

education supporters to use the  

house of government as the back  

drop to unroll blueprint for the  

future of public education. After all,  

teachers and parents established and  

funded the Vinson Inquiry because  

successive governments refused to  

do so. The Vinson Inquiry is the  

first large-scale inquiry into public  

education for 50 years.  

Schools and TAFE Colleges will  

be provided with leaflet explaining  

the concept of the Vinson Inquiry  

and its connection to Public Edu  

cation Day. Federation suggests  

that the leaflets be sent home in  

school newsletters. series of radio  

commercials in metropolitan and  

regional stations will support the  

day. For example:  

Voice Over  

“A year long comprehensive study  

into Public Education involving  

hundreds of schools and the input  

of thousands of parents, teachers  

and students is producing an excit  

ing blueprint to make our state’s  

public education system the most  

successful in the world.  

Details are available at your  

local public school this Thursday  

when we celebrate Public Educa  

tion Day.  

It’s your child’s future.”  

In addition, schools and TAFE  

colleges will be supplied with new  

“The issue is public education”  

signs for display on the day and  

following.  

Professor Vinson’s first findings  

will be about:  

• the professionalism of teachers  

• class sizes  

• effective classroom practice.  

Federation is planning to provide  

one-page summary of the findings  

by faxstream to schools for May  

23.  

Education Minister John Wat  

kins has indicated his support for  

Public Education Day and the  

Vinson Inquiry. His letter of support  

for Public Education Day and the  

Vinson Inquiry should be in schools  

and TAFE Colleges shortly.  

From May to September more  

of the Vinson blueprint will be  

released. At the end of the Inquiry  

booklet Your Child, Your Future  

will be produced for mass distribu  

tion.  

Maree O’Halloran  

is the Presi  

dent.  

Class sizes campaign hots up  

by Jennifer Leete  

With Federation’s class sizes video,  

with speakers notes'and parent  

flets now in schools, the class  

sizes campaign is in top gear.  

Parent groups and principals are  

keenly supporting the campaign. It  

is now vital that we maximise the  

attendance at parent meetings.  

Federation is currently prepar  

ing lobbying materials including  

postcards to be sent to MPs. These  

will be available following May  

Council.  

The Senior Officers continue  

to lobby the Minister and Shadow  

Minister on the class size issue. In  

Sydney Morning Herald article on  

April 30, Shadow Minister Patri  

cia Forsythe MLC was quoted as  

saying: “The weight of evidence in  

relation to smaller class sizes for the  

beginning years of school seems to  

be compelling. It’s inexcusable for  

one in five kindergarten, year and  

year students to be in classes well  

above existing guidelines.”  

Minister Watkins, on the other  

hand, was quoted as follows:“The  

jury is still out on the impact of  

class sizes.”  

“And you can’t reduce [class  

sizes] to 20 without it meaning  

huge increase in the number of  

teachers,” he said.  

Meanwhile plans for the visit by  

USA class sizes expert Professor  

Charles Achilles are well in place.  

Professor Achilles will conduct  

seminar in the Parliament House  

theatrette 4pm to 6pm on Friday  

July 5. All Members of Parlia  

ment, teachers, principals, parents  

and other key members of the  

public education community will be  

invited. Professor Achilles will give  

the keynote address to Federation’s  

Annual Conference on July 7. The  

Senior Officers have also offered the  

Minister and the Director General  

the opportunity to meet with Profes  

sor Achilles.  

Jennifer Leete  

is the Deputy  

President.  

Inner city win  

by Fionie Stavert  

After more than year of tough cam  

paigning Marrickville and Dulwich  

high schools are to remain open as  

separate comprehensive schools.  

In the words of Education Minister  

John Watkins Dulwich Hill and Mar  

rickville high schools are to remain  

open “in the best interest of public  

education”.  

The battle for the schools’ futures  

began with the release of the Building  

the Future document in March 2001,  

which proposed the amalgamation  

of the two schools on the Dulwich  

Hill site.  

Both schools were outraged and  

were immediately at war with the  

Department of Education and Train  

ing and the then Education Minister  

John Aquilina.  

It was clear the proposal was based  

on pure economic rationalism and  

showed that the creators of this plan  

didn’t understand these two com  

munities. They were about to leam!  

Federation’s policy was clear from  

the start: teachers don’t keep schools  

open, communities do. Federation  

reiterated its demand that all elements  

of the “proposal” be subjected to  

negotiation and consultation. Further,  

Federation would work with and sup  

port school communities in respond  

ing to the threats of inner city school  

restructuring, maintaining the interests  

of public education as whole.  

Marrickville High School organ  

ised rally at the school. The school  

hall was filled with nearly 1000 mem  

bers of the community chanting for  

minutes on end: “Marrickville, Mar  

rickville, Marrickville.” This action,  

combined with letter writing cam  

paign where each writer wrote on the  

envelope how many voters were in  

the household, proved to be winning  

combination.  

Teachers at the school, led by  

Karen Shaw and Federation Repre  

sentative Cindy Berwick, community  

liaison officer and local Marrickville  

Councillor Sam Iskandar, and teachers  

at Wilkins Intensive English Centre  

Inner City Teachers Association Secretary and Dulwich High School  

teacher Guri MacKinnon (pictured among students and teachers) said  

the win would “really invigorate public education”. “It will bring Dul  

wich and Marrickville high schools alive to new future,” she said.  

(situated on Marrickville High School  

site and also facing closure) worked  

tirelessly after the rally to ensure the  

pressure was kept on.  

June 2001 saw the release of Build  

ing the Future Mark Two and the sen  

tence: “Further consultation will occur  

on the future of Marrickville High  

School and Dulwich High School.” At  

the press conference to release Build  

ing the Future Mark Two the then  

Minister Aquilina stated the people  

of Marrickville had “come up with  

some very detailed plans but also  

some very considerable concerns ...  

We didn’t reach agreement in relation  

to Marrickville and Dulwich”.  

This was immediately and cor  

rectly interpreted as this plan is caus  

ing us political pain and it may be  

easier to close Dulwich.  

The additional three-month con  

sultation period and the setting up  

of review committee chaired by  

Ron Hurley confirmed this interpreta  

tion. Dulwich teachers and their com  

munity were now in fight for their  

survival.  

Over the next four months the  

Save Dulwich High School steering  

committee and Guri MacKinnon,  

Pat Byrnes, Rae Jones and Shane  

Forest worked frantically to bring  

back equilibrium in political thinking  

that would keep both schools open.  

They were strongly supported by Mar  

rickville Councillor and Dulwich Hill  

Chamber of Commerce representa  

tive Dimitri Thanos, Con from the  

Last Drop Cafe and Craig Cootes  

from the Gladstone Hotel who dis  

played large banner for more than  

seven months. On July 25,2001 the  

Chamber of Commerce organised to  

close local shops at 4pm and march  

on local member Dr Andrew Ref  

shauge’s office. These shopkeepers  

were demanding that both schools  

remain open.  

For 12 Saturdays in row teach  

ers petitioned community members  

at local shopping centres. The com  

munity wrote more than 2000 letters  

to Deputy Premier and local member  

Andrew Refshauge.  

Teachers at the school took stop  

work action in late September. They  

marched to Refshauge’s office.  

As result of this community  

debate local activist, Karen Campbell,  

formed the Primary Parents Alliance.  

The activism and passionate demands  

of this group was an important intro  

duction to the issue for the newly  

appointed Education Minister John  

Watkins.  

Senior Officers of the Federa  

tion, especially the then Senior Vice  

President and now President Maree  

O’Halloran, took every opportunity to  

emphasise with the Minister, ministe  

rial advisers and senior departmental  

bureaucrats the absolute necessity of  

keeping both schools open and 7-12  

in composition.  

Fionie Stavert  

is City Organ  

iser.  

Cite

Citation options:
Work identifier

http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-682634238

APA citation

N.S.W. Teachers' Federation & New South Wales Public School Teachers' Federation. (1919). Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation Retrieved March 27, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-682634238

MLA citation

N.S.W. Teachers' Federation and New South Wales Public School Teachers' Federation. Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation Sydney: The Federation, 1919. Web. 27 March 2025 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-682634238>

Harvard/Australian citation

N.S.W. Teachers' Federation & New South Wales Public School Teachers' Federation. 1919, Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation The Federation, Sydney viewed 27 March 2025 http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-682634238

Wikipedia citation

{{Citation
  | author1=N.S.W. Teachers' Federation.
  | author2=New South Wales Public School Teachers' Federation.
  | title=Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation.
  | year=1919
  | section=volumes.
  | issn=0013-1156
  | issue=Vol. 83 No. 05 (13 May 2002)
  | location=Sydney
  | publisher=The Federation
  | url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-682634238
  | id=nla.obj-682634238
  | access-date=27 March 2025
  | via=Trove
}}

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