Compulsory Pre-Schooling
Saturday, January 01, 2000
The Australian Education (Teachers) Union is calling for compulsory pre-schooling, taking in all children aged 3 and 4, on the grounds of better literacy and social development.
This is an appalling idea. Schooling already consumes too much of childhood. Life in the family and wider community, where available, is generally vastly superior to the school environment for social development.
And as for the literacy problem, this is not due to too little schooling. This is due to very poor teacher training and pathetic teaching methods. Our school enjoys top literacy results, often with late starters, using common sense, tried-and-true methods.
The beneficiary of this union proposal is the union, which would score thousands more members. It is sickening that they would impose this compulsion on the entire infant population to further their own ambition.
Philip O'Carroll