I wasn't too pleased to read the other day that teachers in Victoria were being forced to enter lease agreements for outdated Apple computers and that the lease would lock them in until 2016. Their students would have far better computers, probably paid for by taxpayer dollars, as opposed to the computers that the teachers would use (and pay for).
I don't fancy being locked into anything especially if I have no choice in the matter. If a laptop is deemed by the government to be an essential tool for all teachers then surely the relevant education department should be responsible for providing them. I don't get this. In this country if a uniform is required then the company has to issue it. If personal protective equipment is necessary then the company has a duty to supply it.
How can we be in a situation whereby the teachers have inferior products to the generation that they are supposed to be teaching? It's like having a university lecturer whose experience is dated and irrelevant. Oh, wait....
Aren't the youth of today supposed to be tomorrow's leaders? What happened to the Education Revolution from the Australian Labor Party? Ha, I like the reference to "in a Rudd Labor Government" throughout the linked document. That didn't last long. I guess now that KRudd is no longer in charge the Labor Party doesn't have to honour those particular promises.
Get your act together, the Australian Government, and provide for education outcomes that are necessary in this country.
Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Saturday, September 03, 2011
Monday, January 08, 2007
Oprah Winfrey's Leadership Academy
Article on the news yesterday told us that Oprah Winfrey's Leadership Academy was due to open soon in South Africa. Nice idea that. It's something that Oprah pledged to Nelson Mandela a few years back to do.
I must congratulate her for this. To give underprivileged kids the opportunity to gain an education in such a poor country is great. The school cost in the vicinity of US$40m to build and will have the best teachers/instructors/life coaches etc and the students are not allowed to get pregnant. It is for girls only. And these girls must come from an underprivileged background and be straight A students. You will see girls that fit the bill busting their arses to get into this school.
My concern is really that it should be called Oprah Winfrey's Leadership Academy for Underprivileged Over-Acheivers. It doesn't really fit the bill of looking after the students that have been over-looked and forgotten. Rather, it will be an elitist school which will have intangible benefits for the poor communities. Results to improve the lives of people in the communites surrounding it will only materialise once these students have graduated and started to put something back into the communities that they came from. Perhaps the students will all be scholars and head overseas never to be seen again and lost to their country.
Probably the worst publicity that could be generated is "The first Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Student to be Murdered" or "The first Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Student to Become Pregnant and Expelled" headlines that are inevitable. It's a pity that Oprah couldn't have done a little more to help out at the grassroots level. Still, we shall see.
Having said all that I do firmly believe that some genuine world leaders will emerge and create much betterment for their brothers and sisters.
Article on the news yesterday told us that Oprah Winfrey's Leadership Academy was due to open soon in South Africa. Nice idea that. It's something that Oprah pledged to Nelson Mandela a few years back to do.
I must congratulate her for this. To give underprivileged kids the opportunity to gain an education in such a poor country is great. The school cost in the vicinity of US$40m to build and will have the best teachers/instructors/life coaches etc and the students are not allowed to get pregnant. It is for girls only. And these girls must come from an underprivileged background and be straight A students. You will see girls that fit the bill busting their arses to get into this school.
My concern is really that it should be called Oprah Winfrey's Leadership Academy for Underprivileged Over-Acheivers. It doesn't really fit the bill of looking after the students that have been over-looked and forgotten. Rather, it will be an elitist school which will have intangible benefits for the poor communities. Results to improve the lives of people in the communites surrounding it will only materialise once these students have graduated and started to put something back into the communities that they came from. Perhaps the students will all be scholars and head overseas never to be seen again and lost to their country.
Probably the worst publicity that could be generated is "The first Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Student to be Murdered" or "The first Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Student to Become Pregnant and Expelled" headlines that are inevitable. It's a pity that Oprah couldn't have done a little more to help out at the grassroots level. Still, we shall see.
Having said all that I do firmly believe that some genuine world leaders will emerge and create much betterment for their brothers and sisters.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)