Home-made electricity and storage is becoming more widely used.Credit:Peter Rae
Let’s hope that this scheme has strong regulatory and quality control measures in place before it starts. Other laudable initiatives,such as the NDIS and even pink batts,have brought out shonky and even illegal operators at the first whiff of government money. We don’t need a spate if battery caused house fires before a problem is recognised.Viv Mackenzie,Port Hacking
As the owner of a home battery,I can attest to the savings to be made by sourcing power from your roof. Since purchasing the battery,the only relationship I’ve had with the grid is that I sell power into it. The battery enables me to “bank” it in the day,when it’s plentiful,then sell it at night,when the feed-in tariff is much higher. It’s common to get 25¢ a kilowatt-hour,but I’ve seen it as high as $18.48. I made $36 that evening,in no time flat. I also did my fellow Sydneysiders a favour,by providing extra power when there was a shortage in the grid. Well done to Labor and The Greens for prioritising the rollout of home batteries.Ken Enderby,Concord
Devices replacing teachers
I was a lone wolf decrying the (over) use of devices at my son’s school,as well as student-led inquiry learning (“Laptops before laces:pupils tied up in digital education”,April 6). It’s a concern when they don’t worry why your child is absent because they can do their work at home with access to an online “diary”,get their assignments or other information and submit their homework. No teacher directed learning required. Starting devices in primary school is a joke,or is there going to be talk around access to social media,screen time and banning phones during school?Jenny Greenwood,Hunters
Handwriting seems to be almost a lost art,deteriorating to the point of illegibility,and overuse of digital devices from a young age must take much of the blame. Although some exposure to digital devices is no doubt useful from year 2 or 3 at primary school,learning directly from a teacher together with the ability to read,write clearly and articulate is far more important in these early years of education. Furthermore,most students would agree that in the quest to memorise important facts,handwriting the information during the learning process is an invaluable aid.Geoff Harding,Chatswood
If private schools wish to require students of any age to provide their own laptops,that’s their business,but it is totally beyond the remit of public schools to require the same of their students,irrespective of where the school is. A government-provided education with the necessary equipment is a basic requirement. Ministers for education should knock this ridiculous idea on the head and come to an arrangement with federal education authorities if necessary.Ian Adair,Hunters Hill
Boys need practical activities
Parnell Palme McGuinness,with her experience with one pre-teen,offers further insights into theAdolescence issues (“Things that ‘Adolescence’ gets wrong”,April 6). In fact,after teaching adolescent boys for a career lifetime and two years in the UK,I can say that there is very littleAdolescence gets wrong and at times,such as in the school episode,does not go far enough. Boys are continually looking to find themselves,to adopt radical ideas and to justify their thinking. Research has shown experiential learning,hands-on practical activities and activities to test personal resolve feature best. Many of which have been cut in schools in both the UK and Australia. The research has been delivered,the government funding is now essential.Janice Creenaune,Austinmer
We finally have quasi equality between the sexes and some men can’t cope. Women are empathetic,but there’s no going back. Why should men not want to meet us as equals?Claudia Drevikovsky,Croydon
Sugar gliders for cats
With cats running rampant in our urban landscape,can anyone explain to me why they are legal,while keeping native sugar gliders as pets is outlawed (“Sugar gliders abandoned outside Scottish supermarket”,April 6)? Can we please do a swap?Toby Waters,Emerald Beach