Opinion

Views and analysis of the issues affecting our members, their students and the wider community, plus our regular columns and cultural reviews.

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TAFE & Adult Provision

Pastoral care intrinsic to TAFE

Pastoral care cannot be easily measured or quantified, but it is one of the things that makes TAFE a unique and special environment in which to learn.

For everyone

Streaming for disadvantage

While many schools assume streaming is good for students, research suggests we need to think more carefully about this common practice, writes ELENA PRIETO-RODRIGUEZ.

For everyone

The tip of the iceberg

When the threads of student confusion get tangled, experienced teachers bring out the sharpened blade of a good metaphor, writes TRAVIS MCKENZIE. He shares one of his best.

For everyone

The Lowdown: Assange and the risks of truth-telling

The Assange case is not only a test for his personal freedom but for the freedom of the press overall, writes MYKE BARTLETT.

For everyone

Make ’em laugh, make ’em laugh…

Every classroom has one. A resident class clown. So, how to manage these funny-guys without crushing their spirit?

For everyone

TV review: Educators

Set in a Kiwi secondary school, buried at the base of each joke in this TV series is a soupçon of truth – especially for those in the know.

For everyone

Book review: The Spoiled Heart

In this multi-layered novel dissecting the contemporary political and cultural landcape, a union organiser running for general secretary finds himself facing an unexpected rival.

For everyone

Film review: Sunflower

This Melbourne-set queer drama reminds us that coming out can still be complicated for teens navigating their way through the world.

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For everyone

Recipe: Fail-safe banana bread

Three simple versions of this essential breakfast or lunchbox snack – basic, healthier, and vegan/gluten-free – designed to quickly whip up on a school night.

For everyone

The motherhood penalty: the case for accessible early childhood education and care

In Australia, a woman’s loss of earnings after having children is greater than almost any other nation. The solution? More accessible early childhood education and care, writes The Parenthood CEO GEORGIE DENT.

For everyone

Equity the path to excellence

When it comes to schools funding, arguing about whether private school parents are just “ordinary Australians” completely misses the point, writes MYKE BARTLETT.

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Shelving the ‘showcase’: How to help VCE art students write about their work

How to get VCE students to care about writing about their art as much as they care about their creative projects? With a new ‘Season of Excellence’ category, TRAVIS McKENZIE sees hope on the horizon.

TAFE & Adult Provision

AI no match for the human touch in TAFE

EDWINA PRESTON: One TAFE institutes’s experiment with using AI to write curriculum only reinforced the critical knowledge and professionalism of its teachers.

For everyone

Book review: The Palestine Laboratory

Australian-Jewish author Antony Loewenstein’s latest award-winning book is a groundbreaking investigation into the way Israel has used the occupied Palestinian territories as the testing ground for its industrial-military complex.

For everyone

Film review: Housekeeping for Beginners

Melbourne-based filmmaker Goran Stolevski’s third feature Housekeeping for Beginners is radiant stuff, writes STEPHEN A RUSSELL.

For everyone

An edible education

There’s only one thing that makes A.J. BETTS wish she was back at school – and that’s the advent of the edible garden.

For everyone

Recipe: Poké bowl

Poké (pronounced similar to ‘POH-KEH’) means ‘to cut or slice’ in Hawaiian. The poké bowl is a Hawaiian staple that is nutrient-rich and super colourful!

For everyone

TV review: Girls State

Girls State continues the conversation started with Boys State, finding further cause for hope and concern as a new generation of American students prepares for public service, writes STEPHEN A RUSSELL.

Schools

Care factor: teaching in the age of AI

In the age of artifical intelligence, it’s time we stopped thinking like machines and worked out what we really care about, writes columnist TRAVIS McKENZIE.

TAFE & Adult Provision

Winning respect in TAFE

EDWINA PRESTON: Many TAFE teachers do not have pay parity with their counterparts in the schools sector after a loophole leaves some with salaries that are, quite frankly, insulting.