said it before, Australia has a serious problem with priorities.

Now some might want to get caught up on one thing or another over this issue. I will spell it out to all that this is not about the teachers or education. So on we go.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-02/school-funding-shortfall-met-by-teachers-and-parents/8407866

For those who know teachers or actually discuss these issues with teachers, this will come as no surprise. Sure there is always an element of children who struggle with poverty to attend school for various reasons. One of the reasons this does not see light of day is that generally the number of families that need assistance from teachers and schools is small and is handled within the school. Teachers and schools usually do not make comment as making light of families who are travelling tough and not for the reasons some would have you believe. Various reasons find children in such devastating circumstances that they are demoralised.

Illness, death, divorce and so many other issues occur that just put entire families into a detrimental position. Teachers usually the first to see how such things affect children have always had the tug on the heart strings to do what they can to help in such small ways that go unnoticed. Fitting students out with text books and equipment is small to many but do it often enough, well you get the picture.


HOWEVER, when you have to start feeding children, supply the children and simply bolster children’s self-esteem on this issue we really need to examine our priorities. When charities are advertising to put an AUSTRALIAN CHILD through school, schools are considering putting meals on so many children who possibly not able to eat at home don’t you wonder what why and how it could be changed???

Often enough this issue is ignored in favour of finding insult in comment (18c) or adverts on TV upsetting somebodies stomach. It is about time people stood up and really looked at how to fix such problems…

 

Teachers are very well paid. Only teachers unions think 65-95k/year with 13 weeks of school holidays is bad pay. I support school choice wherein the funds given to any student in a public school are freed up and available for any educational use: public school, private school, homeschooling or otherwise.

 

Sorry, I think you missed the point, I am not discussing what teachers are paid or how much money is allocated to education. I was referring to the point that teachers pay a reasonable sum of money from their own pocket to assist the poorer of the community. It has been a fact for many years that has occurred while in many regions decades ago people would come together to raise funds in activities to assist in these areas as well.


NOW, We have argument over clauses in freedom of speech legislation that promotes offence, If the billions of dollars for a jet fighter is good choice and Adverts for coal mining making people ill. Seriously, shouldn't we be discussing this issue of how charities are actually having funding drives to help children go to school in Australia's so called free education system??? This FREE education people are so happy to demand is clearly not as free as they want, yet they still refuse the truth of their ideals.

 

Agree absolutely. Our priorities are seriously skewed. Education should be the first consideration , not a poor sixth or thirtieth, after defence , Indian coal miners, or tax cuts for businesses. It goes without saying that kids should have enough to eat and food shouldn't be a schools responsibility.

 

It is an area very subject to emotional reasoning. Won't somebody please think of the children?

 

There are actually two different issues being conflated here and they need to be clarified.

Schools usually raise funds for "extras" like sending the seniors on a class trip somewhere or buying special sports equipment. That has always happened and probably will always happen and yes, schools in more affluent areas raise more than those in less affluent communities.

The second issue the problem that actually needs to be addressed IMO and that is children not having enough to eat!

So why are those teachers NOT raising this issue in their staff rooms and/or bringing it to the attention of the local social services in their areas? It is not beholden on schools and/or teachers to feed children. That is something that society as a whole must address and school feeding programs here in the USA have been threatened with budget cuts by the Trump regime.

As far as Australia goes do they not have programs to feed hungry children and are they not doing so via the school system? From the OP that would appear to be the problem that needs to be addressed as a matter of some urgency because every teacher knows that a hungry child is not going to be able to concentrate on learning.

 

Typical extremist alt right blaming the victims again instead of addressing the problem of hungry children.

Not surprising given that their "god-emperor" wants to take away the money to feed hungry children and give it to himself and his fellow greedy 1%'ers.

 

As far as I know, feeding students happens sometimes in before school programs, but no where else.

 

In which case why are these teachers not arranging for that to be happening to the students that are feeding themselves?

Something doesn't make sense in the OP if that program already exists.

 

It's not universal , I read about it in the Age. It was in a depressed western suburbs school.

 

Not on the alt right. Show me a reasonable limit for education spending and I'll show you 21 million buffoons who want more. You cannot lose that argument. The other guy automatically hates children, even if you're already spending 80% of GDP on failing public schools.

 

.

 

its not just education.

 

And how exactly do you think politics works? You get in and get to do whatever you like? We have a system of government where the PM is kept in power by a majority of the lower house, and where parties can change their leader as they so wish.

As a consequence, Turnbull has to balance the left and right of his party. Hence the plebiscite when he probably favours a free vote personally. This is no less true of Turnbull than it was of Rudd and the left of the ALP.

I'm a big advocate of viewing politics as it actually is rather than how snowflakes pretend it to be.

 

Only the extremist alt right regurgitates disinformation like "failing public schools".

 

He's supposed to be working for ALL Australians, not just his political donors.

 

You seem to misunderstand how politics works.

He cannot just do whatever he likes. Otherwise he will be kicked out and it'll all be for nothing. Even as leader you never lead alone.

I recommend some reading on majoritarian legislatures and how they function.

 

In Australia yes money is raised for extras and usually those extras include making effort to include those who can ill afford the need to meet extracurricular activities. The point is not that we can avert such but that it is generally ignored as the problem grows. Sometimes we can point the finger at parents and blame them for some very poor ideals and people usually come to the assistance for many until it becomes apparent they play on such. Unfortunately it is the child that suffer under these circumstances and the only assistance they get is the teachers.


As to you point of the food, Australia has no real food program in schools like America and those who need to use such are generally too proud to admit it. BUT there is considerable effort in creating such programs aside (as pointed before school).

We could blame teachers, we could blame the system but in all essence I do believe it would be better to address the problem than point the finger. Teachers do raise these issues in the staff rooms and on government programs, in fact it has only been a couple years now that the problem has become prolific enough to raise publically without corollaries. Teachers raise subjects such as these and they fall on death ears while others just pretend it does not exist.


Perhaps, food programs in school would be an interesting thing, but Australia’s last experience of this was the school milk program which was stopped, due to food standard issues.

At any case, the point is while people want to discuss clauses in speech laws which actually promotes people to be insulted, or the environment (which is a big empathetic claim) these issues are ignored, as you can see…

 

There's no need to be snide.

 

I consider myself the foremost authority on what I am and what I'm not.

Kindly sod off.

 

He was voted in because he was seen to be a more unifying leader than his predecessor. This has not seen to be so . Spare me your lectures that sound like mansplaining.

 

Backatcha mate.

 

At least we weren't accused of being Nazis.

 

Mansplaining? Now listen here missy, I couldn't care less what's between your legs. That you have to sink to such accusations says more about you than it does about me. Educate yourself or don't, I couldn't care less. I care about what's in your head, not between your legs.

He was elected on the plebiscite because it was a demand of the right of his party. That's how politics works. I don't like it any more than you do, but to claim that it's just Turnbull being a dick is simplistic thinking.

Why hasn't he put in an ETS? I suppose he's changed his mind. Of course he hasn't, political realities ensure that no one man can get whatever he likes. The party rules, not the leader. If you want to have a discussion about the merits of majoritarian legislatures I'd be very happy to, but that's another topic entirely.

 

You said sod off. End of conversation.