by Cheryl Lacey, DSJ, Take The Lead On Education™, ©2024
(Jul. 17, 2024) — I first published this article on 18th December 2016 – 33 days prior to President Trump taking office.
A great deal has happened since this article was written, most notably in terms of how much I have researched and learned. A major outcome is First Principles on Education®, a framework for returning the responsibility of raising and educating children safely to parents through the establishment of Schools of Distinction™.
It’s this framework that lies at the heart of my desire to meet President Trump.
So, as you read this article, remember that it was written seven and a half years ago, and if it were to be written today, some things would change.
Having said that, one thing will never change. Meeting President Trump is on my bucket list, and I intend to tick it off.
I trust you’ll enjoy a look back in time…
Australian education needs a major overhaul. For evidence, look at the 2015 exam results recently released by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).
The PISA exam, which is administered every three years, measures 15-year-old students’ abilities in 73 countries. It is the world’s leading external exam, and provides a snapshot of a nation’s education. In 2015, Australia was ranked 10th in science – down from 8th position in 2012; 12th in reading – down from 10th; and in mathematics … yes, down again – from 17th to 20th place.
Despite the billions of dollars spent, year after year, we have been in consistent decline. These latest results raise essential questions about our educational system and our global ranking, and suggest the need for dramatic change, if we are to achieve improved educational outcomes for our students and, indeed, for our nation.
Dramatic change calls for dramatic action. We mustn’t be afraid to go deep—to the root cause of stagnation and decline. Neither should we resist the repurposing of some of the greatest initiatives previously presented by both major parties.
Where it all began: Australia
In 1788, the First Fleet sailed into Botany Bay. Among the first arrivals were 36 children: 19 were the offspring of the marines, and 17 were from convict parents. Children of the privileged and the poor lived together in the penal colony under one rule of law. We had our first charter of justice, which articulated law and order but failed in its provisions for education.
As our colonies grew, so too did the need to address the significant failure to provide education. There were attempts to provide schools for the children and stem the vagrancy that came with rapid population growth. Trial systems were implemented, and there were the inevitable struggles for control, and loss of trust. The result was a major fallout between government, parents, and faith groups.
The political battle that ensued pitched man against man, colony against colony, culture against culture, and faith against faith. Land, power, legislation and opportunity were all part of the balance – or imbalance – and a centralised public system was born.
Schools and schooling became big business.
Where the USA is-was!
In matters of education, the USA is similar to Australia in many ways. It shares its powers between the Federal and State Governments, and it has seen a decline in PISA performance. There have also been some outstanding reforms designed to counter lack of choice and offer opportunity and progress to every child; none of these reforms has survived the poison of political ego.
Australia and the USA have both public and private schools. Each has denominational institutions, homeschooling, international schools, and virtual schools. Australia has selective entry public schools, and the USA has ‘magnet’ schools. Although they are public, these schools are highly competitive and highly selective. They’re renowned for their special programs and high academic standards.
The USA also has a growing charter school movement. Charter schools are public but, as the term implies, they have the freedom to chart a more autonomous course, reducing the top-down influence of Federal and State governments. Charter schools are independently operated by community organisations or for-profit companies, who receive tax dollars and private sponsorship.
The challenge for both the USA and Australia is to create a decentralised, flexible school system, where Federal and State governments put a bipartisan approach to greater choice and greater autonomy ahead of political power.
In Australia, the current funding model is shaped by the Gonski reforms. It links funding to children’s needs, but funds still go directly to the schools.
In some US states, however, school funding is based on a ‘voucher system’, where funding follows the child. This system fosters greater choice, and access to more autonomous, specialised schools, including magnet and charter schools. This approach has attracted Donald Trump’s attention.
Read the rest here.