Hurlstone Agricultural High School...

The HAHS Class of 1987 get together every now and then for a social gathering and a few drinks. This follows on from a reunion that was held a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the reunion as Will was deciding whether or not he wanted to come early.

But, I did manage to get to the most recent one at the Sussex Hotel. I must confess to never having been to the Sussex Hotel before. It was a pleasant little place on the Darling Harbour end of Sussex street. It is probably not a place for those looking to kick on as it does last drinks at 11.00pm. Anyways, back to the gathering, the latest gathering was a small affair in comparison to those of the past. Nevertheless, it was interesting to catch up with the few that did make it. With a bit of luck more will happen in the future and more people will be able to make it.

Do Selective High Schools Have the Best Teachers?

Do Selective High Schools Have the Best Teachers?

I am going to go out on a limb here and say, No!

I went to a selective high school for some of my schooling and a non-selective high school for the rest of it. The idea that selective high schools have the best teachers is a myth. It is a myth that could be easily busted wide open. However, the data that could bust that myth is not released by the NSW Department of Education and Training. In an era of openness and transparency where parents prefer to make informed decisions about where they send their children to schools, then this data would help parents identify which schools have teachers making a significant difference in the educational lives of the students under their care.

The myth is premised on the idea that because it is a selective high school, then not only are the students selected but so are the teachers. This is clearly not the case. Even by the Department's own admission, schools can request, perhaps even demand, certain teachers with specific skills, but generally vacancies appear and they are filled. In any event, the competitive nature of a selective school drives successful outcomes for students more than extraordinary teachers.

That is not to say that extraordinary teachers do not exist in the selective school system, for they surely do, but this is to say that these schools are likely to achieve results with teachers going through the motions because the students themselves are driven to succeed.

The reality is that you are just as likely to come across an exceptional teacher working in Bingara or Moree or Deniliquin as you are at James Ruse or Sydney Boys or Hurlstone Agricultural High School. Similarly, you are just as likely to come across a teacher going through the motions of teaching in anyone of these schools or teachers who are struggling with the profession and their educational responsibilities.

As a prospective teacher I am committed to being successful. Success comes in many forms, but paramount among these is seeing the students that I work with achieve and exceed their learning expectations.

This little rant was inspired by this article.

(Mis)guided Youth?

Am I a good-looking young fella or what?

On not so youthful matters.

Today's check up at the hospital revealed the kid to be about 3kgs and there are still 5 weeks to go!

High School Memories...

Corporal Punishment

I need to thank Jakartass for the links that form the basis of this post. It is a topic I had been thinking about, perhaps reminiscing is a more apt word, as my 21st high school reunion approaches. I was on the end of that generation that was the last to see corporal punishment, specifically caning.

Amongst my mates and I getting the cane was a bit of a status thing. We used to keep a running tab across the year to see who could get caned the most. There were some bragging rights to be had for punishable bad behaviour. And it was always more preferable at boarding school to get "six of the best" strokes of the cane than it was to lose leave privileges or sports privileges or the like. We were always caned on the hands. There were no paddling of the buttocks at my school.

I remember once having to wire brush a fence and then repaint it as punishment for having condoms in my locker (different story and has nothing to do with sex) and thinking even 12 strokes of the cane would be better than having to spend two months re-painting a fence.

Interestingly in the more than 20 years since the cane has been banned as a form of punishment there are now more than 20% of UK teachers thinking that the re-introduction of the cane would be a good thing. This is somewhat modified and the re-introduction is being thought of as a measure to manage "extreme"bad behaviour. I wonder what extreme is though?

The results are based on a survey conducted by the Times Educational Supplement and some 6,162 teachers were asked whether or not they would support the right to use corporal punishment.

It seems that the slightly more than 20% of teachers who would support the re-introduction of the cane would do so as the ultimate deterrent. They would do so because they no longer believe that current means of disciplining students is working.

It is not surprising that there has been some surprise at the results of the survey, particularly from groups such as children's rights groups and charities and from the teachers union itself.

The Children's Commissioner for England said, "All forms of physical punishment against children and young people are completely unacceptable and go against the UN convention on the rights of the child, which the UK accepted in 1991. There are far more effective and positive methods of discipline than physical punishment."

I suppose there are some teachers that would like to have the Commissioner do a please explain with regard to what alternatives there are that work as he sees it.

Violence against children is unacceptable. But the key here would be what is the definition of violence? Do we mean physical violence is not acceptable? Do we mean psychological violence is not acceptable? Let's face it a good public dressing down can do as much psychological harm as a few strokes of the cane can do physical harm (strictly my opinion -- no empirical research to back this up).

The reality though is that there are still almost 80% of teachers who would not support a re-introduction of corporal punishment. This means that the chances of this debate getting any serious air time and discussion will require that the numbers get much closer together. When it gets to an almost 50-50 split then there will be a much more interesting debate brewing with a much different dynamic.

Perhaps the alternative to the re-introduction of corporal punishment is to force the disciplining of children back onto the parents. Any infraction of school rules sees the child sent home immediately with a note saying that the child will not be re-admitted to classes until there is a guarantee from the parent(s) that the behaviour will not occur again. If the child re-offends then they are suspend automatically for a week. A second offence would result in a month's suspension. A third infraction would result in expulsion and the problem child can be handed-off to another school to deal with.

The idea of getting the cane when I was in high school meant that in order to avoid it I had to not get caught. It was very much the reward - punishment dichotomy. The punishment did not deter the bad behaviour, to the contrary it taught us to be better on the planning and execution in order not to get caught and not to get caned.

However, if it was to ever pass that corporal punishment was to be re-introduced then the teachers who are granted the authority to do it must pass physical checks to ensure they are up to the task. If the cane is going to be a deterrent then it has to hurt when you are caned. I can remember some of the teachers at my high school were somewhat lacking physically and getting caned by them hurt less than getting kicked in the shins playing football.

Second, they must pass an accuracy test. As I recall it hurt like hell getting caned on the wrists. However, sometimes this was self-inflicted by pushing my hand forward rather than pulling it away. Simply, when word got around that this teacher was a woeful shot then they generally were no longer allowed to cane students and had to get in a proxy to do the deed.

Ah, corporal punishment and high school. Now, those were the days!

Making Money From Your Blog

I post a lot to my own blog and I tend to blogwalk and post on other blogs as a means of attracting some traffic to my humble little abode. I have often wondered what it takes to make serious money from blogging and having done a little research now I know.

Now that I know it is a little sad really because I am so far from making a really decent living from blogging that I do not see myself quitting my current job any time soon to take up full-time blogging.

Technorati released its 2008 State of the Blogosphere report last week and it states that there are some 900,000 blog posts made each day worldwide. I know where 3 -5 of those blog posts come from. But here's the catch. To be making a really decent living off of full-time blogging you need to be generating some 100,000 or more unique visitors per month. This will earn you on average USD 75,000 per year. This means that full-time blogging is not such a bad gig if you can make it work for you.

The biggest problem for me as I see it is the 100,000 unique visitors per month. I have about 3,000 unique visitors per month. So, I am guessing this means I need to find another 97,000 or so to be making it worthwhile.

It would be nice to have a blog that is as popular as the blog of Perez Hilton who is reportedly seeing more than USD110,000 roll into the coffers each month! I hope he appreciates my visits! I reckon I would start working part-time if my blog was able to provide about AUD 5,000 per month. I wonder how the tax works? I am going to have to do a little research on that part of the deal.

I guess if I want to boost my readership I need to start or get involved in some "flame wars" or post some viral videos, or start getting really into Facebook, Friendster, and other social networking devices. I know the social networking thing is likely to work because I am getting a few requests to become people's friend on Facebook. I only started the Facebook account because I needed to get info about my upcoming 21st Hurlstone Agricultural High School Reunion.

Once you become a full-time blogger and your income is dependent on your blog, I would imagine this ups the ante and the pressure to produce more and more quality blog posts to keep the unique visitors rolling in and to keep me rolling in the cash.

Some thoughts to ponder.

Me in 1984

I think the only difference is that I have more hair in 1984 than I do now. I have the shorts somewhere at home in Australia. Maybe one day it will be a Harley.

Remembering the Past...

This photo relates to an earlier post that you can find here. I promised to post the photo and then forgot about it. So here it is...

The Age That I Wish To Go Back To

Thanks to katadia, I have been tagged to write about the age that I wish to go back to, thanks I think! I quite enjoy reading her blog posts and I guess she enjoys reading mine hence the desire to see what I might post now that I have been tagged.

The rules are:
Title: Age That I Wish To Go Back To
Requirement: Write about the one age that you wish to go back to and why?
Tag Mode: 5 bloggers
1st - You list 5 bloggers you want to tag and link their blogs
2nd - Let the blogger you want to tag know they been tagged by comment in their blog.

Now, I am happy to write the entry on the age. But, I am rule breaker and I am not going to tag five others. It sounds too much like multi-level marketing to me and an attempt to attract attention to my blog and the blogs of others...sorry people for being such a spoil sport (besides everyone I might have been inclined to tag has been tagged).

I really would like to write about an age that I would like to go forward to. My better half is pregnant and is due in November. Thanks to the wonders of modern medical technology we can already see the youngster (affectionately known as "The Kid") in 2 or 3 dimensions. The hospital offers 4D, I always thought the 4th D was time in space, so I am trying to work out why I might want to pay to see The Kid in 4D. However, I think what the doc was trying to explain related to spissitude (look it up if you really want to know).

Seeing, this will be the first born in my family, I am really looking forward at the moment as opposed to backwards. By the way, The Kid is a boy!

But, seeing you all want to learn something of my past, then the age I would want to get back to is probably years 8, 9, and 10 in high school (so 13, 14, and 15 years of age). Why? They were fun times, care free times, the best of times. I had started playing rugby and I was good. I was immediately selected in representative teams and got lots of free stuff like footy jumpers, socks, shorts, trousers, ties, and all sorts of other stuff.

The memories that stick out in my mind though relate not to competitive rugby but slush rugby. Slush rugby could only be played during the rain or immediately after the rain -- simply no rain meant no slush! The best of these slush rugby memories occurred on a school camp, I think it was Year 9, out near Goulburn somewhere. It was winter, so it was cold! Cold enough as a matter of fact to freeze the balls of a brass monkey. Even better was that it was pissing down with rain! And the best part was that the showers were all cold water!

In the middle of the campground was this big open space that looked like a mudpit after all the rain. In other words the perfect venue.

Not to be deterred, we stripped down into our slush rugby gear which consisted of shorts and a jersey, divided up into sides, and went at it hell for leather for the next our or so! There were some dislocated fingers, a couple of bloody noses, a lost tooth or two, and a few concussions, although I am not sure anyone is counting. I have a photo which I will scan and add later.

I cannot recall who won and it doesn't really matter.

In reality I cannot choose one age that I would really like to go back to. My childhood was excellent, I have the greatest parents that I can imagine having, my teenage years were some of the best I can recall, my early adulthood was a series of superb experiences, and right at this moment in time I am fairly content. The only thing that I miss from childhood is the absence of responsibility. I would enjoy not being responsible for so many people's livelihoods (this does not include my own family as that responsibility is one I enjoy)...

But such is life.

I hope those that read understand a little more about me and feel that you know me a little better.

BTW...high school was Hurlstone Agricultural High School (HAHS) in Glenfield (NSW)!