With the 2015 school year a distant memory, spare a thought for the incoming 2016 cohort and those blindly accepting their lot in stage 4, 5 and 6.
The articles "App helps keep exam anxiety under control" and "HSC hospitality is sizzling hot" (Leader, October 27) and "Gymea Bay homework policy" and "Teachers sought" (Leader, January 20).
The question needs to be asked: who is teaching your child?
Teachers in Catholic, public and private schools/colleges are trained in disciplines such as mathematics, the sciences, geography, history etc. They are mostly experts in their chosen field. Their priority is to prepare students with the appropriate knowledge, skills and values to be effective and contributing members of an evolving community. This is what parents expect and in the 1970s and '80s this is what they got.
In today's climate, education seems to be one of excessive management at the expense of effective leadership. Key learning areas (KLAs) are the vogue — and with that comes the sacrifice.
To get teachers into the classroom, teacher training takes a back seat. Should parents accept their child taught maths by those trained to teach PHPE; geography by those trained in English or history and vice versa? Mathematics trained maths teachers and geography trained geography teachers. Parents and students will not get the value from the education they expect and are entitled to — they should not accept a management compromise.
The quality of children's education and the integrity of the profession are at risk with priority given to addressing numbers rather than the executive at the school level embracing leadership and decision-making.
Jeff Harte, Caringbah
