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. 82 No. 04 (9 Apr 2001)
Images
28
View Catalogue

Contents

EDUCATION JOURNAL OF THE NEW SOUTH WALES TEACHERS FEDERATION 1
Getting loud for public education 1 , 2
Communities rally against school rationalisation 1 , 4
State-wide action needed on piecemeal 1 , 4
Workers compensation under attack 2
Officers 2
Executive 2
NEWS Parkes and public education praised 3
Public Education Ambassador Program 3
Doubts 3
Principals are not OH&S employers 4
DET responds on violence 4
Mardi Gras Out there: everywhere 4
Discrimination against gay and lesbian parents and their children 4
Time to act on THA issue 5
ACTION 5
Date set for Women's Conference 5
TAFE maintenance win 5
In BRIEF 5
The introduction of State Aid 6
Education 6
Liberal and Country Parties policy 6
ALP Policy 6
Send postcards supporting No Sweat Shop label 6
Step in right direction 6
Reflections on women's day 7
Kemp refuses VET demands 7
Advertising 7
The President JR, | Writes Inner Sydney proposal exposes government neglect 8
LETTERS. to the Editor 8
Why the difference? 8
Best weapon isn't striking 9
Carbon Copy Public school closures 9
One size doesn't fit all 9
Animal acts 9
Advertising 9
ADMINISTRATION Elections to be held at May Council 10
Review 10
Public Education Day March 15, 2001 A day to celebrate our contribution 10
Annual Conference delegate vacancies 2001-2002 11
Teachers beware 11
ACCOUNTS Year end accounts NSW Teachers Federation 12
Australian Education Union (NSW Branch) 12
Public Education Day March 15, 2001 Our message makes it to the airwaves 13
Sign language 13
Sizzling in TAFE success 13
Looking on the bright side 14
Solidarity from other unions 14 , 15
Advertising 14
Hands up for public education 15
Advertising 15 , 16
RETIRED Retired Teachers Assciation Second Friday of each month, 1.30pm. Teachers House Mary Street, Surry Hills Sydney. 17
Federation salutes Edith Gilmour on her centenary 17
Advertising 18
VIEWS People's response to globalisation 19
Primary schools a no man's land 19
Education too important for market whim 20
Advertising 20
The Anzac's incense Countdown for Canberra 21
Stewart House celebrating 70 years 21
Advertising 21
Up, Up and Away Beware of gifts bearing Greeks 22
GOIN' UP THE COUNTRY Travelling experience 22
Theatre The Sound of Great Theatre 23
Website Different system, same issues 23
Advertising 23
REVIEWS FILM Thrillers, romances and animation 24
Cheap WINE Grapes for the teacher 24
Law of unnatural selection Mr Yen's World 25
Computer Corner Multimedia gives literacy appeal 25
Advertising 26 , 27
DT SMITH 27
Abecedarian* 27
THOSE WHO CAN’T 27
INSIDE 28
Cabramatta's day a career highlight 28
Edith at 100 28

Text

EDUCATION  

JOURNAL OF THE NEW SOUTH WALES TEACHERS FEDERATION  

Agreement No. PP255003 00104  

Vo 1. 82 0.4 April 9. 2001  

Getting loud for public education  

"Let's Get Loud": Felicity Cameron leads students getting vocal for public education.  

by Dennis Long  

Public Education Day was  

marked on March 15 with an  

extraordinary range of events cel-  

ebrating public education and its  

place in Australian society.  

Schools and TAFE colleges  

throughout NSW organised com-  

munity events. Articles on pages  

3, 10, 13, 14, 15 and 28 report  

fraction of these activities.  

Schools and colleges also  

handed out leaflets alerting the  

public to the threat posed to pub-  

lic education by the Howard  

Government, with about 630,000  

English language leaflets, 80,000  

leaflets in eight community lan-  

guages aimed at school parents  

and 60,000 TAFE-specific  

leaflets distributed.  

The Department of Education  

and Training supported Public  

Education Day with promotion in  

Inform and with an in-service  

course on the day establishing an  

Ambassadors for Public Edu-  

cation program (see story page 3).  

The Department also worked  

with the Federation to stage an  

event at Australian Technology  

Park in Redfem which allowed  

students to get loud in support of  

public education and showcased  

some of the enormous talent  

being developed in the public  

education system. This polished  

and tightly scripted show featured  

79 students.  

The dynamic performance,  

which was videotaped for distri-  

bution, was compered by Natasha  

continued page  

Communities rally against school rationalisation  

by Maree O'Halloran  

Less than one week after Public  

Education Day, the State  

Government has released "draft  

proposal" to rationalise inner city  

schools. The proposal is under-  

pinned more by property values  

and asset sales than an educa-  

tional vision.  

Instead of comprehensive,  

expansionist plan for public edu-  

cation, the Government's draft  

proposal for the inner city contin-  

ues the piecemeal restructuring  

process of the past. For many  

years school communities in the  

inner city have faced the constant  

threat of restructuring or closure.  

The State Government appears to  

have banked on the school com-  

munities being demoralised. Ho-  

wever, school communities have  

rallied with strength and vigour  

post the announcement. Parents,  

students, teachers and community  

members have begun active cam-  

paigns to oppose the school clo-  

sures, expose the weaknesses of  

the draft proposal and demand  

genuine consultation before deci-  

sions are implemented.  

The atmosphere at the 1000  

strong community meeting at  

Marrickville school hall on  

Thursday March 29, 2001 was  

akin to bushfire. The State Gov-  

ernment has set alight the smoul-  

dering community anger about  

the chronic under-funding of pub-  

lic education and the proliferation  

of private schools. By the next  

morning media reports indicated  

that there may be change of  

heart about Marrickville.  

Major community events and  

meetings with politicians have  

already been held for Maroubra,  

Dulwich Hill, Cleveland Street,  

"When size doesn’t matter The following private schools, with enrolments  

from 30 to 183, receive funding from the State Government. 1. Birchgrove  

Community School, 2. Inner City Montessori School, 3. St Brendans, 4. St  

James, 5. The Athena School, 6. Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 7. St Marys School.  

Hunters Hill, Glebe, Balmain and  

Leichhardt. School communities  

are currently considering alter-  

nate and better proposals to put to  

the Government than what has  

been planned for their schools.  

Federation Council on March  

20 resolved to "actively support  

those staffs and school communi-  

ties which resist attempts to  

impose closures, forced amalga-  

mations or other rearrangements  

unacceptable to the school com-  

munity".  

The announcement of the inner  

city draft proposal also pro-  

claimed the beginning of new  

era for this arrogant State  

Government: the era of "non-  

negotiable consultation". The  

Minister wrote in the Daily  

Telegraph on March 2: "The plan  

is in draft form and urge all  

members of the public to come  

forward and have their say on the  

future of their local school."  

Despite that comment and after  

taking great pains to announce the  

proposal was draft, the Minister  

was also quoted in the Daily  

Telegraph as saying: "The clo-  

sures are not negotiable...those  

schools are either dead or dying."  

"Dead or dying". Where is the  

affirmation of public education?  

Where is the acknowledgment of  

quality education under difficult  

conditions? Written assurances  

must be given regarding transpar-  

ent and genuine consultation over  

longer timeframe.  

The frightening effect of the  

inner city proposal is apparent  

from the Minister's news release  

on March 23:  

"No closures planned for coun-  

try schools  

"The State Opposition claims  

there is 'secret plan' to close  

country and regional schools as  

result of the Inner Sydney  

Schools Strategy.  

"There are no plans to close any  

regional or country schools.  

"The State Government's Inner  

Sydney Schools Strategy relates  

to schools in the inner east and  

inner west of Sydney.  

"It has no effect on any schools  

anywhere else in NSW."  

The reason for such news  

release the closure of small  

primary schools as well as small  

secondary schools in the city had  

made small and successful  

schools in country areas fearful  

they too would face closure.  

Size doesn't seem to matter in  

private schools. The State Gov-  

ernment funds at least nine pri-  

vate schools in the inner city with  

less than 400 secondary students.  

Plan  

Federation acknowledges that  

plan is required for the inner city  

community. Such plan must be  

premised on four key points:  

1. an optimistic and expansionist  

future for quality public educa-  

tion  

2. the value of successful compre-  

hensive high schools and small  

primary schools  

3. rejection of the view that  

because school is "small" it is  

incapable of providing high qual-  

continued page  

State-wide action needed on piecemeal  

The State Government's piece-  

meal restructuring of public sec-  

ondary schools and some public  

primary schools rolls on. The  

Government's proposal for the  

Inner City is yet another exam-  

ple of this process.  

critical mass of members,  

parents and students has now  

been affected or imminently  

could be. Parents and commu-  

nity members have expressed  

serious concerns about the  

strategic direction for public  

education. As has been noted in  

previous editions of Education,  

the Catholic system is embrac-  

ing comprehensive 7-12 model  

at the very time when Director-  

General Dr Ken Boston appears  

to have sounded the death knell  

for public education's compre-  

hensive high schools and small  

schools in general.  

Review of secondary  

education  

Federation has been calling for  

review of secondary education  

for some years. The review  

continued page  

Workers compensation  

under attack  

"Act of bastardry"  

denounced by union  

movement.  

Time to act on  

THA issue  

Take moment to pen  

note to the THA, but  

more importantly your  

local member.  

Cite

Citation options:
Work identifier

http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-680978259

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 July 29, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-680978259

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. 29 July 2025 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-680978259>

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 29 July 2025 http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-680978259

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. 82 No. 04 (9 Apr 2001)
  | location=Sydney
  | publisher=The Federation
  | url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-680978259
  | id=nla.obj-680978259
  | access-date=29 July 2025
  | via=Trove
}}

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