People clinging to falsehoods is not a failure of intelligence, but a deeply human attempt to protect emotional stability in an overwhelming world. (more…)
John Frew
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Innovation talk, austerity walk: Australia’s failing science policy
Despite constant rhetoric about innovation, Australia is steadily dismantling its scientific capacity. Public schools, universities and the CSIRO are all under pressure – the result of decades of market-driven policy-making that prioritises short-term cost-cutting over long-term national capability. (more…)
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Managing bullying or manufacturing shame? How neoliberal bureaucracy gets it wrong – again
When Education Minister Jason Clare announced the Anti-Bullying Rapid Review in early 2025, he spoke with the gravity such tragedies demand. (more…)
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Counting what doesn’t count: How consultants are hollowing out the university
When Western Sydney University announced it would shed hundreds of staff, its vice-chancellor described the decision as part of a “necessary transformation”. (more…)
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From play to performance: Sport as the new Roman circus
Reading the recent article Is this the moment that will define cricket’s future? by my former university lecturer and continued mentor, Chas Keys, reminded me how sport, once a shared expression of community, is again being redefined by money and media. (more…)
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How the ALP outsourced the soul of higher education
For most of its history, the Australian Labor Party spoke of education as a public good, the “light on the hill”, a vision of collective progress through strong institutions, universal access, and the elevation of ordinary citizens. (more…)
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China’s youth: Between collectivism and the new individualism
On a recent trip through China, I was struck by the contrast between its classrooms and its city streets. (more…)
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The social smog of neoliberalism: How competition breeds violence and division
The Industrial Revolution transformed the material basis of human life. By harnessing energy and perfecting machines, engineers satisfied physical needs on a mass scale. (more…)
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How the ALP built the market that is destroying public schools
Australia’s public school system is in crisis, underfunded, residualised, and struggling to retain teachers. (more…)
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Ley’s impossible task – Leading a party at war with its future
The future of the centre-right in Australia may depend on whether Sussan Ley can weather the current storm. (more…)
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Truth, citizenship and the failure of Australian education
Australian schools excel at training students to meet external benchmarks, but fail miserably at cultivating critical minds. (more…)
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Beyond the test: Reclaiming education for purpose, compassion and community
The current approach to education in Australia, as reflected in the New South Wales Bilateral Agreement and national funding models, underscores an increasing reliance on neoliberal principles. These policies prioritise efficiency, accountability, and standardised performance metrics, shaping education into a market-driven enterprise where schools and students are treated as economic units rather than as participants in a holistic learning process. While the Student Resource Allocation model aims to address funding inequities, its gradual implementation over a decade highlights the continued prioritisation of economic pragmatism over immediate and meaningful educational reform. (more…)
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The politics of fear: How belief and emotion drive electoral outcomes
As the inevitable federal election approaches, the major parties are already revealing their strategies. The Australian Labor Party is opting for a cautious approach, banking on the expectation of securing a second term. Treasurer Jim Chalmers focuses on delivering intricate explanations of Australia’s economic performance within a global context, while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese highlights his government’s efforts to improve wages and overall economic conditions. Their campaign seeks to present a narrative of stability and progress despite global challenges. (more…)
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Public vs. private schools: The illusion of collaboration
Carolyn Blanden’s recent contribution to Pearls and Irritations,”Public and private schools are partners in educating all Australian children.” presents a counter-argument to my essay “The silent crisis killing public education”, January 9, 2025. She offers a vision of harmonious collaboration between public and private institutions. I suspect that the author misses the point of my argument: the presence of students with severe behavioural challenges is a significant, though not exclusive, reason parents are choosing private schools over public. I will address some of the evidence she presents to support her vision of ‘harmonious collaboration’. (more…)
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The silent crisis killing public education
The exodus from Australia’s public schools is not a quiet migration – it’s an outright stampede. This dramatic shift, particularly in secondary education, reveals a deep crisis that policymakers, academics, and unions acknowledge superficially but lack the courage to confront head-on. At the heart of this issue lies the unspoken truth: public schools are increasingly burdened with students facing complex challenges. (more…)
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Reframing wealth: A stark disconnect between wealth and poverty
Australia is often celebrated as a wealthy nation, with a prosperity that is purportedly shared across its population. However, such assertions crumble under scrutiny. According to the 2021 census, 122,494 Australians were denied the basic right of shelter due to their inability to afford housing. This stark reality reveals the vast and growing chasm between the affluent and the impoverished. (more…)
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A child in Gaza
A silent consequence of the horrifying hostilities taking place in Gaza is the long-term behavioural impairments for the children who, the United Nations estimate, make up 40% of the casualties. (more…)
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Teacher bashing: Grattan joins the chorus
The release of the latest PISA results provided another opportunity to bash schools and teachers. Amy Haywood and Jordana Hunter, from the Grattan Institute joined the chorus of denigrators. (more…)
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Public schools – a case for charity
Much has been written about the entrenched disadvantage in public Schools. Successive Governments have failed to provide the very basic resources for these students. Further evidence has revealed a concentration of students with disabilities that require additional support are now located in residualised comprehensive public schools. These impoverished conditions have been easily avoided for families who have the resources to enrol their students in private schools. However, another ‘private’ system has emerged that has moved in to exploit these ‘failing’ schools – charity! (more…)
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Australia continues to passively abuse disadvantaged students
The recent Senate Interim Report on ‘The issue of increasing disruption in Australian school classrooms’ has attracted the usual short-term media indignation followed by the ever-present indifference from our education leaders and politicians. (more…)
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Misogyny’s last stand
The recent plan of Newington College to become co-educational has initiated an uproarious reaction from their old-boys as well as influential Head Masters of such schools. This ridiculous reaction is simply a response to girls being admitted into the exclusive masculine territory that once was Newington. (more…)
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Our better angels: Should we include or segregate students?
I am an advocate for inclusion across the board. I find all forms of segregation offensive, students with disabilities should be part of their local school. By taking this stance I am comfortable I would be accepted as a member of the ‘better angels’. However, I wonder if my membership would survive when the ‘angels’ realise I find those other students segregated by attending private schools just as offensive? They are separated not because of their disability but by their parent’s ‘ability’ to afford the extra fees. (more…)
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Students with authentic dysfunctional behaviour
In recent Pearls and Irritations essays there has been a difference of opinion between myself and Ross Fox, the Director of Catholic Education, Canberra and Goulburn. I believe this difference of opinion rests with the definition of students with severe behaviours and my assertion that private schools do not enrol them. (more…)
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Teacher training report reflects a superficial understanding of education
A well-publicised report on teacher training from Ross Fox, the Director of Catholic Education of Canberra, runs the risk of inferring that a ‘science of learning’ that works for a private school system that has no students with severe behaviours, will work for schools that have a high proportion of these student. (more…)
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Public education’s ‘elephant in the classroom’
In the debate on the rehabilitation of public schools, there is an unpleasant issue that must not be mentioned. Not by the Unions, not the Government, not the Principals’ organisations and definitely not the private schools. ‘The elephant in the room’ is severe disruptive behaviour. (more…)
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$10 Million for consultants: a further step from reality
Last year the NSW Education Department paid almost $10 million to Deloitte Consultants for ‘expert’ advice, not to mention how much of tax-payers revenue went into the pockets of the disgraced PWC for similar nonsense. This reliance on outside know-how is a ‘logical’ step up from the failed policy of governments employing experts in leadership to head up their departments. What return did we get? After all this time, NSW school system is on life support evidenced by the abject failure of this experts’ approach. (more…)
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The education challenge facing Labor
On any measure since the mid 1980’s successive governments both Federal and State have progressively destroyed public education systems. (more…)
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Labor abandons public education
Nothing coming from Albanese and the Labor government offers any hope for public schools. (more…)
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The Watchers – Directors of educational decline
A word that comes to mind when thinking about the plight of those left in NSW Public Schools is dystopia, the antonym of utopia.
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“The fish has died”: The demise of NSW public schools
Conditions in Australian public schools are at crisis level. In searching for a cause, there is a Chinese proverb ‘The fish rots from the head’. A clear-cut example is the Department of Education in NSW, where modern neo-liberal, rational management of a public service has failed under current leadership.