Weekend Wrap for 23 July 2023

Jordyn Beazley and Caitlin Cassidy: Private school funding increased twice as much as public schools’ in decade after Gonski, data shows.
"Real government funding to private schools has increased almost twice as much as funding to public schools in the decade since the landmark Gonski review recommended changes designed to fund Australian schools according to need. From 2012 to 2021, per student funding to independent and Catholic schools rose by 34% and 31% respectively, while funding to public schools increased by just 17%, according to parliamentary library data provided exclusively to Guardian Australia. In Queensland, the growth in government funding to independent schools per student has been nine times greater than to public schools. The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (Acara) data shows that 98% of private schools are funded above the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) recommended by Gonski and more than 98% of public schools are funded below it." (17 Jul 2023)
Read more at The Guardian
Read the entire "The Gutting of Gonski" series here

Hugh Harris: How Queensland’s state schools remain ‘mission fields’ for ‘harvesting’.
"According to government policy, state schools must halt curriculum learning for up to one hour per week for RI classes. Children from Year 1 onwards attend RI in the religion nominated by their parents, assuming lessons in that faith are available. More than 95 per cent of RI is Christian, mostly preaching a conservative version of the faith. Segregated from their classmates, non-participants cannot continue with curriculum learning. Instead, they do unstructured free reading or revision supervised by a teacher. These days, only 25 per cent of students opt in to RI. Given our stagnating literacy and numeracy rates, we are losing precious class time for the benefit of a shrinking minority. The materials used for RI are neither vetted nor approved by the education department. In 2016, I published several articles outlining inappropriate and disturbing classes, including the roleplaying of beheadings as part of the David and Goliath fable, and age-inappropriate horror stories about vampires. ... The fundamental problem with RI is that learning settings are appropriated to present beliefs as facts. RI is evangelism posing as education." (17 Jul 2023)
Read more at Rationale Magazine

Cr Tim Baxter: Taking On Far-Right Bullies Who Target Rainbow Storytimes.
"...time and again, Councils have felt compelled to cancel these events to maintain the safety of staff in the face of opposition from tiny yet coordinated far-right terrorist groups. In doing so, Councils have handed a victory to the far right, comprised of neo nazis and religious extremists, among others. The terrorists celebrate each win, advertising it as a victory in their war against “groomers”, a term they use to describe anyone who accepts that queer people exist." (17 Jul 2023)
Read more at The Star Observer

Rhiannon Shine: On their own terms.
"By the end of this year, all Australian states will have operational VAD laws, and the ACT is looking to follow. While the laws might differ in each jurisdiction, they all require a person to have decision-making capacity throughout the entire process. Dementia is the term used to describe the symptoms of a large group of neurocognitive diseases which cause a progressive decline in a person’s functioning. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) estimated there were more than 400,000 Australians living with dementia in 2022. It was the nation’s second-leading cause of death and the number one cause for women. With an ageing and growing population, the AIHW predicts that figure will more than double by 2058. Mandatory reviews of VAD legislation are about to start in the two states which first legalised the process — Victoria and Western Australia. Since the laws came into effect in Victoria in 2019, around 880 people have accessed VAD. In the first year it was available in WA, 190 people accessed it and over 500 made the first application. While the mandatory appraisals will only focus on the operation of the current laws, they have still prompted calls for fresh consideration to be given to whether people with dementia may one day be able to access VAD. But even some of the strongest advocates for assisted dying draw the line there." (19 Jul 2023)
Read more at ABC News

Van Badham: Public schools are struggling as St Posho’s builds wellness centres with taxpayer money. It’s wrong and unfair.
"A Guardian Australia series published this week has borne disturbing news about Australia’s ongoing education inequality crisis. Government funding to private schools has increased almost twice as much as funding to the, uh, public school system that educates the overwhelming majority of Australia’s children. From 2012 to 2021, “per student funding to independent and Catholic schools rose by 34% and 31% respectively, while funding to public schools increased by just 17%”. Private institutions, by definition, do not serve the public good. This whopping misdirection of shared resources away from shared outcomes is corrosive to the nation’s longterm educational interest – as well as morally disgusting." (22 Jul 2023)
Read more at The Guardian