What kind of school tells its students not to get a life-saving vaccine because it encourages promiscuity? What kind of school tells its students pornography causes holes in the brain? What kind of school tells its students same-sex relationships are evil while at the same time barely disciplining a staff member in a same-sex relationship with a disciple and former student? Do we think old school ties still matter? Not for long is my guess.
For all we know,there are schools across Australia rabbiting on about the dangers of promiscuity,Gardasil and pornography as if these were matters of fact. From my own personal experience,teen promiscuity means you will end up as a dull yet devoted wife of one and mother-of-three.
As Australian taxpayers we support private schooling by allowing the government to continue to fund private schools. AsFour Corners reported,in 2021,Tangara received $5 million dollars in government funding,an increase of 66 per cent in five years. Tangara and its sibling schools scored $20 million in 2021 alone. A year ago,we learnt130 private schools were overfunded by $120 million in one year.
David Zyngier,adjunct associate professor at Southern Cross University and a Greens councillor in Victoria,has campaigned for years forgovernments to defund private schools. As he puts it,it’s not government funding,it’s taxpayer funding. He conducted a little experiment on whether two public schools,where his grandkids go,are funded fairly. The answer was neither is funded to the Schooling Resource Standard. Every year,each school is underfunded to the tune of more than $1.5 million. Meanwhile,private schools are over-funded.
“The governments are robbing our public schools in order to fund private schools,” Zyngier says.
We don’t have transparent insight into what happens in private schools. Parents need to ask hard questions. Australian parents think they have to pay for values,says Debra Hayes,who leads the education program at the University of Sydney.
Louise Milligan presented the Four Corners program on Opus Dei on Monday night.
“But public schools are hothouses of values and value-driven practices,” she says. “Parents need to trust the public system and vote for it to be funded adequately.”
And as David Gurr,who runs Melbourne University’s education program,asks:“Can we say with our hand on our heart every school is a quality school? Is it a quality school for all students?”
It’s not as if private schools even share the load when it comes to students from disadvantaged backgrounds,or who have differing abilities.
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But when it comes to education,money matters. All kids need access to good schools,ones that teach fairness,respect,reading and (don’t kill me) times tables.
Time to turn the tables on private schools. Labor has struggled eternally to deal with the unfairness of education funding. It’s time for Australian voters to say we back change now.
All praise to the students who spoke up on Monday night. Maybe we should ask the same questions of students at private schools everywhere.
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