Ed-Vine

January 2005

Managing Editor: Ms Debra J. Brydon

On the Move
MAJOR MOVEMENTS IN THE UK. Following the resignation of UK Home Secretary, David Blunkett, former Education Secretary Charles Clarke has taken over as the UK’s Home Secretary. Thirty-six-year-old former economic writer and Bank of England staffer, Ms Ruth Kelly has been appointed as the UK’s new Education Secretary, and Schools Minister, David Miliband is leaving education to take up Ms Kelly’s former cabinet position. Mr Miliband’s post has been taken by Mr Stephen Twigg, a junior education minister with responsibility for London. Stephen Twigg’s post has been taken by Mr Derek Twigg. David Hart, General Secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said that losing two education secretaries so quickly was ‘not particularly helpful’ but he did not expect significant changes in policy.

Snippets
IMAGINARY HOOP. Congratulations to the girls’ basketball team at William Duncan State School. Despite not having a basketball hoop to practice on, the team still won the Gold Coast Primary Schoolgirls’ Basketball Competition. William Duncan State School was one of many Queensland schools forced to take down its basketball rings after a Beenleigh schoolboy was almost killed while attempting a slam dunk late last year. The accident resulted in an Education Queensland audit of school basketball courts, with many schools ordered to remove potentially dangerous hoops. Unable to play the game properly, many teams pulled out of inter-school competition. At the time of writing, William Duncan State School was seeking quotes to have two affordable approved rings installed.

TOO BORING. ‘Education should be fun and at the moment it just isn’t. Certainly, in the UK, the curriculum is so boring and we need to figure out how to bring back some of the excitement into learning.’ So reportedly said UK Professor Brent Davies, from the University of Hull, speaking at South Australia’s State Education Leaders Convention on 23 January (Adelaide Advertiser).

HEAD LICE CHECKS. From the beginning of this year, parents of Victorian government school students will be asked to sign a one-step form giving permission for their children to be checked for head lice throughout their entire stay at any one school. Previously, parents had to provide written permission every time the school wished to conduct a check, a system that proved to be ineffective when the parents of some lice-infested children did not respond to the school’s request.

SCHOOL-BASED APPRENTICESHIPS. Figures released on 24 January by South Australia’s Department for Education and Children’s Services show that 1,500 students signed on to a new school-based apprenticeship last year, compared to 497 in 2001.

STUDY ON TEXTING. City University (in London, UK) has recently completed a study to see whether a small group of children who used mobile phone text messaging spelled just as well as non-texters. They found that children who sent text messages wrote significantly less when asked to describe a picture or an event. Researchers say that the findings reflect children’s ability to ‘code switch’ or move between different modes of language.

Education and the Law
EDUCATION QUEENSLAND WARNED. In December last year Queensland Coroner Christine Clements warned Education Queensland to review its supervision policies after finding that a hearing-impaired teacher was the only staff member to supervise 1,400 students at lunch time on the day a teenage boy died. On 27 October 2000 Edwin Raj Croney was a student at Corinda State High School, in Brisbane, when he was involved in a fight with another boy over a water bomb. The boy was punched in the head during two separate fights, became dazed and confused, and was finally taken to a medical centre by his father. He was diagnosed as suffering from concussion and transferred to hospital, where he died four days later. A post-mortem examination found that the boy died from a subarachnoid haemorrhage, which was caused by a pre-existing aneurism embedded in the deep tissue of his brain. The Coroner found, based on medical evidence, that the rupture could have been caused by the adrenaline of the fight, and not the punches. The school, the hospital, Education Queensland and the other boy in the fight were cleared of any responsibility. The inquest was told that the day Edwin died was ‘muck-up’ day and only one teacher was rostered on duty at lunch time. The Coroner also found that Education Queensland needed to review its policy on when an ambulance should be called after a student is hurt and how long he or she can be held at school after suffering a head injury. She also said that Education Queensland needed to ensure there was scope to excuse any teacher with an impairment from yard duty, and that recommended that schools review the enforcement of their student behaviour policies.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DISPUTE. A Melbourne software company, iP3 Systems, is suing Victoria University for $48 million following a dispute over the ownership of intellectual property. The university took the company to court in February 2004, claiming ownership of intellectual property and software products. iP3 Systems was founded by academics Professor Kenneth Gregory Wilson and Donald Feaver, who both once worked for Victoria University. The Supreme Court found that the university did not own the intellectual property. However, it determined the university was entitled to a 47% share of the profits because the academics had a duty to inform the university of their research. Injunctions taken out by VU prevented the company from operating. Executive Director and CEO of iP3, Mr Ahmed Youssef, said the company was suing the university for ‘loss of business, revenue and business opportunities’. At the time of writing, the outcome of legal action was unknown.

FIRE THREAT. On 31 December Melbourne’s County Court heard that a mother of five took a petrol container to her children’s school and threatened to set the building ablaze unless staff released her daughter. Iraqi refugee Mrs Raja Abdul-Rassool, 39, covered herself in petrol and demanded the return of her 19-year-old child, who had four days earlier been moved to a women’s refuge, after speaking with a school counsellor.

The jury was told that Mrs Abdul-Rassool went to Maribyrnong Secondary College on 5 August 2004 and splashed petrol around the assistant principal’s office. The school was evacuated as a paramedic tried to remove the petrol can from the distraught mother. Ambulance officer Peter Calnan received second-degree burns to his face and hands as a result of the struggle. He told the jury that he saw a cigarette lighter in the woman’s hand bag and feared for his life. At the time of writing, the outcome of the court case was unavailable.

Cautionary Tales
WRONG INFORMATION. After consulting the school’s Senior School Curriculum book for 2004, some Year 12 students at Henley High School, in South Australia, enrolled in a subject called Health Education, believing it would count towards university admission. Unfortunately, the information in the book was incorrect, as the school has now admitted. To be accepted for most university courses, SA students must study at least four ‘General’ subjects out of a total of five subjects. Other subjects, such as Health Education, are classified as ‘Restricted’ and do not count towards university entrance. As a result of the incorrect advice, some students studied only three ‘General’ subjects, believing they were studying four. The school is currently negotiating with the Secondary Assessment Board of South Australia and the South Australian Tertiary Admissions Centre to resolve the problem.

Money Matters
BUILDING FUND REVIEW. The Australian Tax Office commenced a review of deductible school building funds in August last year, in response to allegations that some schools were soliciting donations from parents in lieu of fees, and then using the money to upgrade playing fields and other auxiliary facilities.

The ATO wrote to several schools, saying that it would be checking that donations to their building funds were used for the ‘acquisition, construction and maintenance of a school building’. To be eligible for a deduction, the gift must be voluntary and the donor is not allowed to receive an item of value in return.

The review was completed in December and the ATO is now considering the best way to educate schools about the legal use of school building funds. The ATO has not indicted whether or not any action will be taken beyond the provision of an information campaign.

E-BAY THE END OF THE ROAD. The Los Angeles Times reports that at least a dozen small communities in the USA have sold shuttered dilapidated schools through e-Bay. Apparently buyers are more than willing to pay bargain prices for the huge, sometimes beautiful, buildings, most of which are located in nearly extinct prairie towns.

Events
LEARNING TO LEARN. The Specialist Schools Trust (United Kingdom) and its international arm, iNet (www.sst-inet.net), are currently calling for papers up to 3,000 words for their third Online Conference, which focuses on the theme, ‘Learning to Learn’. The Online Conference will run 24 hours a day for seven days only, between 7-13 March 2005, and will include a wide range of papers to stimulate online discussion and debate. Each day participants will have the opportunity to debate one of seven selected Focus Papers, as well as contribute to a further general online discussion on the entire range of papers published for the ‘Learning to Learn’ topic on the Online Conference website.

There is no cost for registering in this Online Conference.

There is no limit on the number of participating staff from each school/institution. Staff members who wish to register for the 3rd iNet Online Conference should email the Online Conference Manager, Ms Debra Brydon, at: brydon@bigpond.net.au with all of the following details: (1) full name and title (e.g., Ms, Prof., Miss, etc.), (2) full name of institution/school, (3) school or institution’s telephone number and its full postal address (4) preferred individual email address for Online Conference contact and (5) professional role at the school/institution. For information on joining iNet (Australia), contact Dr Wendy Cahill at: wcahill@sst-inet.com.au

The E-Revolution
INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARDS. After twelve months of construction, Hamilton and Alexandra College, in Victoria, will open eight new hi-tech. classrooms. At a total cost of $1.5 million, the eight senior classrooms are fitted with interactive whiteboards that use digital technology to broadcast lessons. More whiteboards will be fitted across the junior campus in 2006. Other new facilities at the school include multi-purpose laboratories, a large central preparation area, a live animal handling area and a greenhouse.

TIME TRACKING. In an attempt to give their children an extra ‘edge’ in standardised testing, some US parents are buying gadgets known as Time Trackers. Once used to time piano practice, homework or to place limits on TV watching, the Time Tracker is now being used for trial run-tests, to help students manage their time better during a standardised test situation.

New Solutions
FLOATING DAYS OFF. Muslims in Baltimore County, USA, want school to either close for two more days for religious observance or close for no days at all. A state education committee investigating the issue of school closure for religious observance has proposed that all Maryland schools give pupils up to two ‘floating holidays’ for religious observance but still allow students to earn perfect attendance records if they miss no other days of school.

IMPROVING THEIR ENGLISH. This year a Japanese publisher, Gakko Tosho Co. has launched a maths book that is written entirely in English. It is expected to be popular with Japanese schools that aggressively promote English instruction.