EDUCATION '80's

The biggest bummer about the Labour Party’s education policy of the Eighties in Victoria was the fact that as they downgraded the relevance of the 3Rs during a time of heavy Asian and Middle Eastern immigration.

The effect this move had on multi generation Australians was drastic, but nowhere near as bad as the effect on those kids whose parent’s first (and usually only) language was not English. It was like those on an equality binge, gorged in devising the average, and had made a philosophical decision. We can now reflect that our worst educational outcomes are in the outer suburbs

Now I have heard that it is the golden thread of literacy that holds civilisations intact so it is no wonder the youth of today are losing their way - we as a society withdrew the tools that were necessary for these kids to understand and adequately respond to complex global and sociological problems.

I fully support any moves to redress this sad state of affairs in our educational system. National uniformity, a return to literacy and numeracy as priorities in education and an assessment regime that truly gives these kids an idea of how they compare with their peers I believe is essential in building a confident nation.

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