ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

..interesting you should say that Neville, my Dad used to say You don't go to school to learn, you go to learn how to learn! Wise words I reckon and it backs up your statement....Dad turns 90 in November and still as sharp as a tack...I guess he knew what he was talking about.

That's it Ross, it was called a liberal education. Maths so that you could learn how to analyse problems, English so that you could learn how to search for things in literature and talk about issues sensibly. Spelling so that you could think clearly and express yourself clearly.

People ( in Maureen's example ) who put things like daycore for décor show that they cannot think clearly. They don't know what they're talking about, it's only a fuzzy guess.

I don't suppose it is any wonder that so many kids are leaving school poorly educated when we consider that they receive twelve weeks holidays a year; five days off for school development days; all public holidays; excursions; sports days, etcetera.
Combine this with school hours of from 9am to 3pm (6 hours) less 15 minutes for play lunch and between forty minutes to an hour for lunch and I think we might begin to understand.

Rough calculation I'd say: 15 weeks holidays and sundries (close to four months off)
less than five hours a day (maximum of 25 hours a week)
less excursions/sports days/special events...

Add to that teachers who reportedly are themselves under educated for their roles and we might have the glimmer of a hope of understanding the problem.

Oh, I forgot it was recently reported that NSW teachers are not in favour of setting homework! Good Luck!

I didn't find it to be particularly daychorus Heather - the piece of furniture had seen better days IMO but then I suppose some home deckoraters do go over the top and appear to be missing the odd plank or two

Had a conversation with an old retired teacher yesterday and put my calculations re time the average school student is spending in actually attending lessons and he agreed (in round figures.)
However, he being of the old school (excuse the pun) who trained in the 50's and 60's, explained to me that school programs are no longer about students but about teacher's working conditions and political correctness.
He said that he was forced to retire early because he could no longer tolerate what was going on in his school or the extreme left wing who control the education bureaucracy and the teacher's federation.