In 2017, Australian schools became $17 billion worse off under the Turnbull-Morrison Government. Locally, Brisbane Water Secondary College campuses at Umina and Woy Woy suffered the brunt of this, with a staggering $1.8 million wiped from their budget.
Retired teacher, Christopher Wiffen, who taught secondary mathematics on the Central Coast for 29 years, knows this negligent cut will seriously hurt our kids on the Coast, and our region as a whole.
“In an age where we should be making schools a place where a student is valued, and protected all the time”, Mr Wiffen sighs, “They do this”.
Earlier this year, peak union body, ACTU identified the Central Coast as one of twenty areas nationally with an unacceptably high rate of youth unemployment, at 18.6%.
The link between lower education standards and youth unemployment rates is undeniable.
Mr Wiffen believes school is a time not only for students to learn, but to flourish and develop passions that will see them succeed in the workforce, and indeed, in society.
“We should prioritise the fact that if you want to solve society’s problems, you have to make a student feel valued, nurtured, protected. You can’t do that in the bigger schools.”
While the Turnbull-Morrison Government propagates the ineffectiveness and financial burden of smaller class sizes, teachers think otherwise.
“The secret is to make schools smaller”, says Wiffen, “Decreasing class sizes so that teachers can be more effective” is key to over-coming education obstacles and ensuring optimal outcomes.
Experts also have something to say on the benefits of smaller class sizes.
A cross-sectional analysis of studies of classroom size and learning outcomes demonstrated students in smaller-sized classes were more attentive to their classwork and more likely to participate in group discussion. In turn, teachers were able to provide more individualised encouragement, mentoring, and counselling to their students.
Currently, Australian primary school classes average at 24 students per classroom, 3 more students than the OECD average of 21. It’s not just our class sizes that don’t measure up, it’s our spending, too. Total public spending on education in Australia is at just 3.9% of GDP, well below the OECD average of 4.4%.
The solution to the youth unemployment epidemic on the Central Coast isn’t reducing resources at their local schools. It’s a reinvestment in their education and their educators.
Schools deserve appropriate funding to adequately equip their teachers and students however they see fit; whether it is up-skilling staff, improving facilities, or striving for a better teacher to student ratio.
Bilateral learning program, Advancement Via Individual Determination, more commonly known as AVID, has suffered at the hands of recent education cuts. AVID connects selected students at participating secondary schools with University students to foster learning, and inspire tertiary aspirations.
Without federally funded assistance, institutes struggle to participate in this program. The University of Newcastle previously had great success with AVID, however, after substantial changes to university and education funding, Vice-Chancellor and President at the university Caroline McMillen, has decreed it’s no longer feasible without federal funding.
It’s clear we need to commit to children on the Central Coast, their future, and the future of Australia. That’s why a Shorten Labor Government has pledged to restore every dollar of the 17 billion that the Turnbull-Morrison Government has taken away from Australian schools. Less money for big banks and big business, and more money for schools and education.
Take action here: https://www.alp.org.au/investinschools