Inequity of private schools -v- Public

[mantra.]

We watched for years as Howard increased federal funding to private schools until it reached a stage where there was a real drop in public school funding and our children suffered as a result. My children went to school during the Howard years and year 11 and 12's were forced to share textbooks - one between two children and these were second hand books passed on by Barker College and Abbotsleigh Girls. Now it looks as though Rudd is continuing the tradition of supplying millions in extra funding to these elite schools for minor upgrades while public schools receive grants of approx. $10,000 to improve demountables or build a library.

Australia is an international idiot in the way we provide for school children

There is terrible irony to this. Schools awash with unprecedented federal funding will receive a booklet this week on how to deal sensitively with children suffering poverty.

No doubt Abbotsleigh, Barker and Sydney Grammar will get their copy.

These are rich private schools that received federal grants of 2 to 3 million dollars in this week’s federal rollout of the first round for primary schools needing libraries and halls.

To give so much extra money to these already wealthy schools makes Australia an international idiot in the way we provide for our children.

Australia has above OECD average rates of poverty and around 36 per cent of Australian children live in low income households where the income is less than $1000 a week. Some families live on less than $350 a week. About half a million Australian children live in poverty or serious hardship.

Children from poorer families are twice as likely as those from wealthy families to have low levels of literacy and numeracy.

These are statistics that are being ignored when governments splash out with millions to private schools that are already among the most luxuriously resourced in the world - all in the name of fairness.

What would be fair is for those millions to go to the truly poor schools that educate the poorest children in the nation.

Some more stats for you - the gap between the highest achieving students in Australia and the lowest is one of the biggest for OECD countries.

Around 40 per cent of children enrolled in Australian public schools come from the nations lowest income families.

So national charities such as the Australian Red Cross and Foundation for Young Australians slog on trying to raise Australians’ awareness of child poverty.

The latest effort as a part of Anti-Poverty Week is the national distribution of the booklet called Social Inclusion at School to every school and every parent organisation in Australia.

It has a checklist for schools to use and asks schools to do a review every two years to identify and help children living in poverty.

The check list tells schools to avoid excursions such as skiing trips or setting dress codes for formals as low income families will be automatically excluded.

Fund raising should be done in ways that will not embarrass or pressure families with little income.

School uniforms should be available from more than one supplier with as much as possible easy to buy at low cost or second hand.

And when setting homework don’t assume a student has access to a computer unless the school is providing it during or after school hours.

The booklet asks teachers to avoid classroom activities that highlight differences in income such as reports on holidays or anything that involves family possessions.

Children who never turn up to the free social evenings may be so poor they simply do not have suitable clothes to wear.

Of course this check list will not change the uniform at The Kings School or the art excursion to New York for girls from Ascham.

But it is not just the wealthiest schools that may ignore poverty. Every year parents from public schools contact me about being pressured to pay so called voluntary fees.

Parents struggling on low incomes and embarrassed by their poverty are sometimes the least likely to appear at school to ask for a discount or special treatment.

Some families living in poverty have no idea the sort of help that is out there and even if they do they may not know how to tap into it.

I hope schools will be inspired to review their practises by this booklet.

It will arrive just as the first tranche of federal Primary Schools for the 21st Century money is put into school accounts. Starting to build their first school hall or finally being able to begin the process of replacing the demountable library will boost school spirit in many disadvantaged schools and make some students and teachers perhaps for the first time feel they really are entering the 21st century.

But the distribution of the funding based on numbers not need also highlights the acts of schools such as Abbotsleigh taking $3 million of public money to build an “infants block’’ or Sydney Grammar accepting $2.5 million for a library for its preparatory school and Barker getting a $2.5 million publicly funded primary school multipurpose hall. There is not a skerrick of the Aussie ethos of fair go at work here.

These are not acts of taking a turn or getting a fair share. They are acts of overt greed.

[skippy]

This is disgusting mantra, nothing annoys me more than private schools getting propped up by public taxes.
What really pisses me off is my sons school(public) wanted to build a new library and the bastards at the education dept said his school didn't have a large enough population to warrant it, his school are getting new shade sails, big deal.

[mantra.]

Yes Skippy - it's the same old story although many of us thought Rudd would display more interest in our public schools. It looks like the pot of gold is divided into two - half goes to the independant & elite schools and the other half to public regardless of there being in NSW alone 3,092 public schools and 902 private schools. The way it's distributed seems very unfair particularly as those children who go to public schools will comprise most of the mainstream workforce. It seems they are to be kept undereducated and neglected for the time being.

[Jovial Monk]

That spending is to provide for quick infrastructure spending--it is not a social equity or whatever thing. Up to schools to generate plans for new libraries/labs or whatever.

I hope in the budget Rudd cuts/reduces the private school (over)funding. The GFC gives him the circumstances in which that can be done. Rudd was sensitive to criticism of the Latham 'hit list' and the controversy that generated and so promised to keep that funding going: Rudd keeps his promises. But the need to reduce the deficit should allow him to reduce that wasteful Howard spending.

We will see next Tue evening.

[Ethnic]

I know exactly what you mean mantra. We have only limited number of textbooks to cater for the students at our school. 1 book between two or three students is the norm. Sometimes I can't even get them because they are booked out to other classes. 100 calculators has to somehow be shared between 600 students. Many teachers have had to buy their own sets - at significant costs. I usually have to photocopy the pages and have students stick them in their books, which uses up alot of my time. Meanwhile there are private schools with endless supplies of textbooks and calculators, paid for by taxpayers, going to kids with parents rich enough to buy their own. This is the legacy of Howard the public school hating fuckwad. Must have been bullied at his public school and he wanted revenge. Thanks Howard, arsehole.

[TomB]

This is the legacy of Howard the public school hating fuckwad. Must have been bullied at his public school and he wanted revenge. Thanks Howard, arsehole.

Rudd should've made some concessions on this by now yet they are still struggling with the laptop issue AFAIK.

[Ethnic]

The laptop issue should be dead and buried. It was always a flawed policy. Money would be better spent elsewhere.

[Jovial Monk]

Hopefully the Budget will remove govt funding of rich private schools.

Some of these charge $15K per year and give no better results than the local public HS!

[Jubial Priest]

Some of these charge $15K per year and give no better results than the local public HS!

I know this will be extremely difficult for you considering your past efforts, but perhaps you can justify your stance with some facts??

[Jovial Monk]

Here is some ripe old corn from LOW_IQ/Jubial Dickhead:

Private schools attract better conditions and better teachers because those teachers are valued, seen to be more proactive and are rewarded better. It is no wonder parents are seeking private school tution when the public schools will struggle to compete in class of student and teacher especially with a leftist government.

I always though that public education was good enough for me , it should be good enough for my kids. Not any more considering the scum we have have inhabiting this country. I will do what ever I can to send them to an educational facility that is far removed from our govt and pay for them to do so because I have seen the shit that emanates from the public system.

Yup, rich private schools can pay more for teachers, but all teachers everywhere are valued. Private schools taking govt money also can select their students, public schools must take everyone who rolls up, incl those with physical and mental problems. Taking money out the public system to give to elite private schools means public school students are being robbed, as Celetina has described.

Jubial wants to send his kids to an institution 'far removed from our govt' but very close to the govt money no doubt.

As to the value of private v public, now Julia has got her school reporting system in place we will see just how much, or little, private schools benefit their students v those at the nearby public school.