tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1663680578112260744.post1386408341851400577..comments2024-03-13T08:18:08.922+10:30Comments on Catdownunder: There is apparently a shortage ofcatdownunderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08189081688973141295noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1663680578112260744.post-65664922618541972692010-02-11T14:52:23.256+10:302010-02-11T14:52:23.256+10:30I will be interested to know what you make of the ...I will be interested to know what you make of the facilities in Seattle Janet - after all you were a librarian! I believe that the US varies from appalling to absolutely superb. Seattle should be pretty good according to a friend of mine who was brought up in Washington State.catdownunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06959328192182156574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1663680578112260744.post-80685986435483052442010-02-11T13:34:30.936+10:302010-02-11T13:34:30.936+10:30I'm following this library debate with renewed...I'm following this library debate with renewed interest. I am here in Seattle with 2 granddaughters in elementary school. There appears to be a good school library and also a well-supported public library system. I am enjoying seeing what the children are reading and trying to remember what I read at their age.Janethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08193395027474680289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1663680578112260744.post-74716104083687784072010-02-10T08:01:37.876+10:302010-02-10T08:01:37.876+10:30Our local library is a meeting point for the commu...Our local library is a meeting point for the community - it is just a pity that the local government authority fails to recognise it with more funding!catdownunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06959328192182156574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1663680578112260744.post-47593672947029177282010-02-09T21:24:11.319+10:302010-02-09T21:24:11.319+10:30Hi
So big thumbs up to JK Rowling for igniting so...Hi<br /><br />So big thumbs up to JK Rowling for igniting some kind of unleashing of imagination among kiddies!!! And adults too.<br /><br />I say this time and time again use your library, support your library - they try their best under extreme financial/political pressures to keep the integrity of all things literary, of all things community, alive whether in e-form or in print.<br /><br />Take care<br />xOld Kittyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13185547869183611159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1663680578112260744.post-20764752702581510512010-02-09T14:07:55.393+10:302010-02-09T14:07:55.393+10:30My daughter attends the "best" primary s...My daughter attends the "best" primary school in the area. It has a lot of funds. It has strong leadership and is right up there with the latest of everything but it doesn't matter how much technology, bells and whistles you throw into a classroom - if the teacher is not skilled at including all types of learners and is not prepared to use common sense or is afraid to deviate from the narrow confines of the school's individual policies, then all the technology in the world is worth very little. I just with more time and money went on the things that make a difference to the kids. Having a flash chair is not going to help anyone - it may look state of the art but a chair is still just a chair.<br /><br />And yes, it's down to money and in order to qualify for more funding my daughter's old school - back when we lived in the UK, threw out a whole IT suite - chairs, pcs, desks, all less than two years old, in order to increase their budget allowance for the following year. It's strategic money wasting that goes on all too often.Rachel Fentonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10046917627054462214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1663680578112260744.post-71874043633229506032010-02-09T13:18:20.706+10:302010-02-09T13:18:20.706+10:30I think it might depend on where you live Donna. T...I think it might depend on where you live Donna. There are good schools and bad schools. I went to some very bad schools - my father was posted to them to try and sort the mess out. The Education Department sent him to several for this precise purpose. Some rural schools, even now, have almost nothing in the way of facilities.<br />There is another state primary school about 5km from here that has more facilities than the three high-fee schools in the vicinity - and it has a waiting list as well.<br />I just don't think there is enough money spent on education anywhere - and that a lot of time in school is wasted.catdownunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06959328192182156574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1663680578112260744.post-81700498329857726722010-02-09T12:35:01.384+10:302010-02-09T12:35:01.384+10:30It is down to money. There is only a certain amoun...It is down to money. There is only a certain amount of funds available and the fact is we live in a world now dominated by technology. Principals are under a huge amount of pressure to make their school the most progessively up to date one there is in order to fill places.<br /><br />I think there should be a balance. It isn't just the schools who should have a library of fiction and non-fiction for children to read. If they aren't doing it in school, then they should do it at home. <br /><br />Rachel, I totally understand your anxiety. When we lived in the UK, I despaired at the education my children were receiving and often thought of home-schooling - in fact I did do it in order to fill in the enormous gaps. <br /><br />I have found that the education system in Australia is MUCH better.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1663680578112260744.post-62245384947477713292010-02-09T10:10:46.350+10:302010-02-09T10:10:46.350+10:30I asked about the whiteboard - do they have back-u...I asked about the whiteboard - do they have back-up paper lesson plans and activities - apparently yes. Did she have a paper back-up of the evening's presentation - no.<br /><br />You see, there are hundreds of online pages of knowledge and implementation strategies for improved learning, pdf documents where a child's needs have been reduced and compartmentalised into flow charts and graphs. I am sick of my child being compared to a cohort. My child is a child - one individual person. I HATE the education system. It doesn't work. My daughter is tall - regardless of whether she could rest her back or not she will come home with back ache because her chair is too small! When does common sense kick in?<br /><br />Effective learners apparently seek out new ways of learning for themselves - funny that because in practice children are told to shut up and not ask questions.Rachel Fentonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10046917627054462214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1663680578112260744.post-50219850936588188462010-02-09T09:04:07.199+10:302010-02-09T09:04:07.199+10:30Why have the chairs got back rests if the children...Why have the chairs got back rests if the children are not allowed to use them? <br />Oh - and what happens if there is a power cut? Presumably the inter-active whiteboard relies on power?catdownunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06959328192182156574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1663680578112260744.post-7901017424009520562010-02-09T08:58:05.069+10:302010-02-09T08:58:05.069+10:30Last night i attended my daughter's parent tea...Last night i attended my daughter's parent teacher meeting - the one where the teacher introduces herself and her intentions to the parents of her latest class.<br /><br />The class room has been kitted out in new furniture. The chairs and tables look like something from a Star Trek film. My daughter tells me the shape is to improve posture. My daughter tells me they are not, however, allowed to rest their backs against the back rests in case they damege the new chairs. And they have a new interactive white board - mimeo - the teacher doesn't know what that stands for. It didn't work. It is to be the primary teaching tool. It is to present the days lessons to the children and is the way forward. One father asked "what about handwriting" - the teacher's reply was - "well, that's the dabate of old fashioned versus 21st century"....Libraries are losing librarians because schools are rejecting people in favour of technologies that cannot enthuse, even when they do work. I am considering home schooling. My writing "career" will end but I'm at a loss as to what else to do.Rachel Fentonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10046917627054462214noreply@blogger.com