Page 380 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 13 May 1992
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That reflects something of a sensible attitude. The author continues:
I maintain that the Liberal party did not adequately capitalise on it. But it needs to be taken much further. Schooling is a very important issue where a real choice can be given to parents if only the funding is directed at the student and not the institution. Recent reforms in New Zealand provide a great deal of experience from which the Liberal party here can learn. A major aspect, of course, relates to the militancy of teacher unions.
Those terrible ones. The document continues:
Again, a Liberal sponsored discussion paper on the subject would be timely and would enable you to lead the debate.
The important point that I am drawing here relates to the words "I maintain that the Liberal party did not adequately capitalise on it". One cannot help wondering how important it is for the Liberals to make capital out of an issue rather than dealing with the issue in a genuine and important way. We need to ensure that the three Rs are considered at high school level and have an appropriate level. The three Rs are an important part, but skills testing will not necessarily improve achievement in that area. In addition to that, particularly at high school, we need to recognise the changes that adolescents are going through and educate them in the real basics - the basics of problem solving, communicating, self-expression, creative use of leisure time - and other skills vital for their healthy survival and active contribution in their consolidation years, that is, in high school.
Of course, the three Rs are included. We talk about communication; we talk about reading and writing. We talk about problem solving; we talk about mathematics. Of course, I include those areas, and they are important. Without those basic areas there would be even greater problems for students. But the important and critical factor is that the notion that students should be tested across the board for statistical evidence to allow people to understand that they are the dummies is not necessarily the case.
What is important about testing is testing individuals to see whether they need to improve, so that the professional teacher can then take them through a program to ensure that they have the necessary skills. That is what has been happening. We do have a testing system in the ACT. I mentioned it yesterday, I believe. There has been constant testing by the Australian Council for Educational Research. I suggest that, before the Liberals go any further with this testing and when they prepare their paper as ACIL has told them to do, they should make sure that they get the evidence from the Australian Council for Educational Research. They should do very well by doing so.
Mr De Domenico: Give us a paper and we will consider yours too, Michael.
MR MOORE: Mr De Domenico suggests that I could perhaps prepare a paper for them, but I do not need to take advice from other people on how I run my political methods or political campaigns or whatever you wish to call them. If we are looking at three Rs with reference to Mr De Domenico, I suppose we could look at "rude", "ridiculous" and "rhetorical".
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