Tuesday, September 14, 2004

CALIFORNIAN "LIBERALISM" AT WORK

"Fifty-three percent of Los Angeles area workers are functionally illiterate, according to a United Way report.

Continued immigration and a stubborn high school dropout rate have stymied efforts to improve literacy in Los Angeles County, where more than half the working-age population can't read a simple form, a report released Wednesday found.


Ten percent of poor readers take an adult literacy class, but half drop out within three weeks. That's what happened when my mother volunteered to teach reading to Mexican immigrants; most of those who signed up never came at all, even though the class was held at the restaurant where they worked".

Cribbed from the excellent Joanne Jacobs





Teachers in rush to UK high-pay jobs

By SHARRI MARKSON in London

THOUSANDS of top Australian teachers are being lured to work in British schools by offers more than double their existing salaries. A "Sunday Mail" investigation revealed British principals and recruitment agencies had headhunted about 3000 Australian teachers since January 2003. This comes at a time when teacher shortage is a serious problem affecting Australian schools.

British schools also claim to be experiencing a staff crisis. The dropout rate is high, with 55 per cent leaving five years after completing their training.

Schools in London are also offering incentives including free flights and accommodation. Starting salaries for teachers in the UK are between $60,000 and, $90,000, compared with an average $41,109 in Australia. In inner-London schools, one in four teachers is from Australia. Britain's National Union of Teachers said schools relied heavily on Australians' talent.

But Australian principals are fed up with their best teachers being poached. Secondary Schools Association vice-president Bernie Shepherd said Australia could not afford to continue losing teachers.

Queensland Teachers Union president Julie-Ann McCullough said the brain drain had been a problem for years. "I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing for some teachers to work overseas for a while - but it's important to get them back again." Ensuring attractive conditions in Australia would help retain staff and encourage others to return.

The background to the above report is amusing. British schools are so politically correct that most discipline is impossible. No wonder British teachers give up and move on to other jobs as soon as they can. And the Australians who go there mostly do so for a short while only also -- for a working holiday. But even then they need the enticement of comparatively huge salaries to put up with the mess that is British schools, London schools in particular.

The above report appeared on p. 19 of the Brisbane (Australia) "Sunday Mail" on Sept. 12th., 2004



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