education system in australia

[fairystar32]

I have no issues with the schools here at all. My son thinks his education was vastly improved here and he went too a grammar school in the UK. He tells me they make you think here and work for the answers, not hand them on a plate, for the sake of good grades.

I have been pretty impressed with my younger sons school too.

 

My daughter was pulled out of her UK school from appaling behaviour from a teacher (3 other kids left that school within a month)

 

There are good and bad schools, good and bad teachers everywhere.

[Guest anitaw]

My 2 sons, now in a Sydney public high school are thriving. Their English, Maths, woodwork, Ancient History, boating,Ice skating, Science.....the list goes on, are at a very high standard. They love their school and so are doing really well. I remember my high school back in Scotland and I hated it. Sewing and dressmaking.....history. Times have changed for the better.

[fish.01]

Ireland is part of the British Isles. Not the UK. Everyone knows that, surely?

 

Not necessarily. This Aussie when he lived in the UK had to convince a seemingly well rounded university educated Englishman that Eire was not ruled from Westminster anymore. He was adamant :eek: I didn't even bother him with the subtleties of British Isles vs UK :biggrin:

[Ken]

I was in the University of Melbourne Law Library looking for law reports last week and they had parliamentary debates from the Irish parliament in the UK section. I did point out their error but they simply could not understand than Ireland is independent country.

 

Maybe there's a secret cabal of Ulster Unionists in Australia running a hidden reunification campaign? Today the Melbourne Law Library, tomorrow Google Maps!

[fish.01]

Oooh, you're goooood! :wink:

 

Just out of curiosity, did you enjoy your time in the UK fish.01 and did it affirm your view of Australian superiority regarding the Brits, or were there people you encountered there who you thought may have been your intellectual equals?

 

Actually I thought the people in the UK covered the normal range just like everywhere else. Which was my obvious point that not everyone knows, or cares about, the difference...even some in the UK who you might expect would. Unlike some I have no need for dull country wide generalisations to keep myself entertained. Given almost everyone on this thread has claimed to know who rules Ireland I'm not sure what the point of the rudeness and sarcasm is and where I have claimed intellectual superiority over a nation....a bit kettle, pot no?...shall we put it down to late Friday night perhaps?

[Maruska]

Not necessarily. This Aussie when he lived in the UK had to convince a seemingly well rounded university educated Englishman that Eire was not ruled from Westminster anymore. He was adamant :eek: I didn't even bother him with the subtleties of British Isles vs UK :biggrin:

 

I would expect teacher to know his/her geography, it`s part of common knowledge after all...... I can see here in the States not much attention was paid to geography and as a result I am often having a conversation like:

"You have a strong accent, where are you from"?

Me: Czech Republic

"Poor you, did you run away from the war"?

Me: Ummmm no, we didn`t have a war since 1945:biglaugh:

"You are not close to Iraq "??:arghh:

 

Interesting to say I work with a lot of people from India and the Philippines and they knew right away not only where my country was but the current political situation as well... I was impressed.

 

I am not saying that people necessarily need to have a deep knowledge of the subject but they should at least know where Europe is :confused:

 

My son is in a Montessori daycare now and they do teach them geography already.

[fish.01]

I would expect teacher to know his/her geography, it`s part of common knowledge after all...... I can see here in the States not much attention was paid to geography and as a result I am often having a conversation like:

"You have a strong accent, where are you from"?

Me: Czech Republic

"Poor you, did you run away from the war"?

Me: Ummmm no, we didn`t have a war since 1945:biglaugh:

"You are not close to Iraq "??:arghh:

 

Interesting to say I work with a lot of people from India and the Philippines and they knew right away not only where my country was but the current political situation as well... I was impressed.

 

I am not saying that people necessarily need to have a deep knowledge of the subject but they should at least know where Europe is :confused:

 

My son is in a Montessori daycare now and they do teach them geography already.

 

Yes, I agree you would think the majority might know but I think the whole GB/UK/British Isles thing might slip through with a few teachers more interested in maths than geography. While I think teachers would generally be more interested in a broad range of subjects than the norm I don't think it guarantees all of them are. I think they are taught more about the process of teaching than the actual subject areas at uni these days so a lot still must come down to personal interest. Some are young and sheltered and not fully developed after all. Thinking the Czech Republic is next door to Iraq is quite a bit more surprising I will admit

[Maruska]

Yes, I agree you would think the majority might know but I think the whole GB/UK/British Isles thing might slip through with a few teachers more interested in maths than geography. While I think teachers would generally be more interested in a broad range of subjects than the norm I don't think it guarantees all of them are. I think they are taught more about the process of teaching than the actual subject areas at uni these days so a lot still must come down to personal interest. Some are young and sheltered and not fully developed after all. Thinking the Czech Republic is next door to Iraq is quite a bit more surprising I will admit

 

It wasn`t a teacher who told me that, at least I don`t think so:frown:. He was a relative of a patient. I was surprised, he must have been in his early 40`s and looked normal, not a Redneck:wink:.

My son`s teacher is very knowledgeable in geography:biggrin:.

What worries me here (USA) is that people don`t bother to expand their knowledge beyond the USA affairs and have absolutely no idea what`s going on outside their border. Then a TV channel like FOX news comes in and feeds them all the bull..... and they believe it. I don`t want to generalize because not everyone is like that of course but quite a number of people think that there are terrorists everywhere just waiting for the Americans to come out so they can attack them ( a lot of people here don`t own a passport ).

[fish.01]

It wasn`t a teacher who told me that, at least I don`t think so:frown:. He was a relative of a patient. I was surprised, he must have been in his early 40`s and looked normal, not a Redneck:wink:.

My son`s teacher is very knowledgeable in geography:biggrin:.

What worries me here (USA) is that people don`t bother to expand their knowledge beyond the USA affairs and have absolutely no idea what`s going on outside their border. Then a TV channel like FOX news comes in and feeds them all the bull..... and they believe it. I don`t want to generalize because not everyone is like that of course but quite a number of people think that there are terrorists everywhere just waiting for the Americans to come out so they can attack them ( a lot of people here don`t own a passport ).

 

I guess it's hard for us to relate to living in such a large and relatively densely populated country that rules the world. The need to go outside your country must be diminished compared to the rest of us I guess. Like you said there are many well travelled Americans who are interested so it must be a matter of finding the company that suits you. With their limited annual leave I'm surprised they can go anywhere. I guess some must get more leave than we're led to believe as I have seen plenty of Americans on my world travels...Praha was full of them

[Maruska]

I guess it's hard for us to relate to living in such a large and relatively densely populated country that rules the world. The need to go outside your country must be diminished compared to the rest of us I guess. Like you said there are many well travelled Americans who are interested so it must be a matter of finding the company that suits you. With their limited annual leave I'm surprised they can go anywhere. I guess some must get more leave than we're led to believe as I have seen plenty of Americans on my world travels...Praha was full of them

 

Praha is full of everyone except Czech people it seems:biglaugh:. Getting more and more expensive. My brother lives there and loves it. My brother in law and his american wife travel a lot, his boss is unbelievably flexible in giving unpaid leave etc. Wish I could say the same:err:, we used to travel a lot but now I have to fight for continuous 3,5 weeks in the summer :mad:. Like you said there sure are people here who are interested in the outside world and very well informed.

I looked at Queensland health website and the annual leave looks great! I think it`s 8 weeks plus national holidays and every year you get some more on top of it, also you can choose double the time for half pay, that sounds GREAT to me:biggrin:.

[Maruska]

It was interesting to read both positive and negative experiences with schools in Australia. My son will be starting kindergarten next year ( if we get visa). I am actually quite impressed with what I saw on the websites of the schools that I looked at. How is it with foreign languages though? It seems that every school just have one ( I saw some schools that have Italian and some that have Japanese as the 2nd language) ?

We haven`t decided yet but looking into North Coast New South Wales ( Coff`s Harbour) or Queensland ( Brisbane area). Anyone has experience with schools there and what languages are usually taught?

[wakeboard1980]

Very Positive. The school even kept him on as an aide when he fisnished grade 12

 

Sorry to hijack the thread but how's he going? I remember reading about your boy being offered that position

[Guest famousfive]

It was interesting to read both positive and negative experiences with schools in Australia. My son will be starting kindergarten next year ( if we get visa). I am actually quite impressed with what I saw on the websites of the schools that I looked at. How is it with foreign languages though? It seems that every school just have one ( I saw some schools that have Italian and some that have Japanese as the 2nd language) ?

We haven`t decided yet but looking into North Coast New South Wales ( Coff`s Harbour) or Queensland ( Brisbane area). Anyone has experience with schools there and what languages are usually taught?

 

I live on the mid north caost and have lived in coffs harbour itself.Personally I do not know of any primary schools which teach a second language but the high schools do.In coffs,many move their kids to private education from about yr5 onwards[age 10ish]because the public high schools have not got the best reputation.

The local schools score average at best on the 'my school' website and I must say I am not surprised.Some of the private and christian schools seem quite good though.My experience,as in my previous post,were of local schools in the coffs locality.

 

The coffs coast is a beautiful spot and has the advantage of a decent air service with sydney and brisbane[if a bit expensive]and a good climate all year with very few extremes.However...........and I cannot stress this enough.......unemployment is high in some areas, so come prepared and try and have a job to come to.

[Maruska]

Wow thank you famousfive for this info about Coff`s Harbour!!! I guess job shouldn`t be a problem for us, we are both registered nurses. But living in a high unemployment area = more crime?:confused:

I would also prefer to send kids to a good public school rather than a private one....

I guess I will need to reconsider:mad:

 

Our 2nd choice is Brisbane, will look into that.....

What exactly is the "my school" website name? I tried myschool.org but it show Los Angeles area:laugh:

[Johndoe]

I looked at Queensland health website and the annual leave looks great! I think it`s 8 weeks plus national holidays and every year you get some more on top of it, also you can choose double the time for half pay, that sounds GREAT to me:biggrin:.

 

It's 5 weeks annual paid leave............6 weeks if you're a shift worker. After 10 yrs service you also get 13 weeks long service leave.

[Maruska]

It's 5 weeks annual paid leave............6 weeks if you're a shift worker. After 10 yrs service you also get 13 weeks long service leave.

 

Thanks for bringing me down to earth:wink:

 

 

It`s still better than what we get here:(. My work is not bad at all actually, my manager is very understanding and tries to accommodate me as much as she can but my husband`s:mad:

 

We just talked about vacation today, he called me from work saying that his manager said she could give him 8 days :arghh: during the July/August months. I can see packing the whole family on a transatlantic flight for a week, we wouldn`t even get over the jet lag in that time!!!!

Problem over here is that you do have the vacation hours but you are unable to take it :cry:.

They told me last year that I can only take 2 weeks straight even though I had more than 100 hours of vacation time!!! After long negotiations I got 3.5 weeks:mad:

[Johndoe]

Sorry to hijack the thread but how's he going? I remember reading about your boy being offered that position

 

Thanks for asking. He's doing fine but I thought it was too good to be true. He works 3 days at the school where he was receiving just short of $22 an hour :shocked: He also continued with his two shifts at Maccas where his duty is solely cleaning (he loves it............it's the OCD............they say he's the best cleaner they've ever had) :laugh:

 

Anyway, there was an "admin error" apparently, and the Catholic Education Authority hadn't been informed that he was only 17 and were paying him as an adult. It only came to light when (the computer said) :biglaugh: that he had just turned 18. There were apologies all round as we didn't know that he was overpaid, thinking that was the going rate, and although the school thought he was worth that rate they had to reduce his rate to the appropriate level for an 18yr old as he was getting paid the same as some senior staff with lengthy service which could cause problems with the union blah blah blah. He's now only on $13 an hour which is a huge drop but it will increase once he reaches 20 yr old.

 

The upside is that they now find him more "affordable" and are looking into (perhaps) offering him full-time. They have also, very kindly, not asked for any re-imbursement of the full yrs overpayment which wouldn't be a problem as he doesn't spend anything on himself and has more in the bank than we do :biggrin: He did buy himself a Hyundia Getz (cash) to get to work in...............well, we bought it and he paid us back, other than 5k which we gave him towards it for his 18th.

 

He spends some time working in the library and some time running the tuck shop which entails training students stock handling/purchasing/cashing up and banking etc (the kids have always run their own tuck shop with no parent involvement) and he also spends one whole day accompanying students with disabilities into the city via train for vocational training (mainly hospitality) and helping them out once there................a huge step forward as he was 14 before we could even get him to go on a train himself.

 

Life is good :yes:

[Guest famousfive]

Wow thank you famousfive for this info about Coff`s Harbour!!! I guess job shouldn`t be a problem for us, we are both registered nurses. But living in a high unemployment area = more crime?:confused:

I would also prefer to send kids to a good public school rather than a private one....

I guess I will need to reconsider:mad:

 

Our 2nd choice is Brisbane, will look into that.....

What exactly is the "my school" website name? I tried myschool.org but it show Los Angeles area:laugh:

 

 

The my school website is 'myschool.com.au' or 'myschool.edu.au/'.It gives an idea of how schools are doing against other schools of similar size and status based mostly on NAPLAN results which are literacy and numerecy tests carried out at various stages through school.It by no means tells a totally accurate story of each school but gives a good starting point for research.

 

Schools in coffs are by no means churning out uneducated kids but local parents seem to think they get a more well rounded education through the private schools when it comes to higher education.Coffs Christian Community School,Bishop Druit College and John Paul College are all well thought of and have a wide range of subjects.The first two go from kindy and the last is high school only as far as I know.If your visa type means you have to pay anyway it may be worth looking into,not much difference and in some cases cheaper.Looking to the future coffs also has TAFE and Uni.

 

In terms of employment you should be on a winner.Medical services are thriving in the area due to the high numbers of young families and interstate retirees who move there for the climate.There is a public hospital and a private one also.GPs are dime a dozen and there are clinics on every corner for any ailment real or otherwise.Coffs Base Hospital and Baringa Private are the names to search.Aged care is also a huge market in coffs with about 8-10 aged care facilities between private and public.Aged carers are in high demand,especially home care,which was apparent recently when dealing with the issue for an elderly relative.

 

Crime exists but is on a small scale,more petty crime really,even though growing marijuana seems to be a hobby there and a few meth labs have been raided lately.

I certainly never worried about crime in coffs,it is such a non issue on a day to day basis.

 

You can avail of pretty much most services you could possibly need in coffs which is a plus for a regional area.Beaches are lovely and the lifestyle is laid back,maybe too laid back at times.There is a large expat community in the locality,mostly british and south african.Many indians moved here years ago and germans too for the banana growing and are still in the area.African asylum seekers have settled there in recent years and add a nice multicultural feel too.

 

All in all coffs is a hard spot to beat as long as you have work.

 

We unfortunatly have struggled to get long term work in our profession and have decided our prospects are better back home in ireland,we leave in a few months.

[wakeboard1980]

Thanks for asking. He's doing fine but I thought it was too good to be true. He works 3 days at the school where he was receiving just short of $22 an hour :shocked: He also continued with his two shifts at Maccas where his duty is solely cleaning (he loves it............it's the OCD............they say he's the best cleaner they've ever had) :laugh:

 

Anyway, there was an "admin error" apparently, and the Catholic Education Authority hadn't been informed that he was only 17 and were paying him as an adult. It only came to light when (the computer said) :biglaugh: that he had just turned 18. There were

apologies all round as we didn't know that he was overpaid, thinking that was the going rate, and although the school thought he was worth that rate they had to reduce his rate to the appropriate level for an 18yr old as he was getting paid the same as some senior staff with lengthy service which could cause problems with the union blah blah blah. He's now only on $13 an hour which is a huge drop but it will increase once he reaches 20 yr old.

 

The upside is that they now find him more "affordable" and are looking into (perhaps) offering him full-time. They have also, very kindly, not asked for any re-imbursement of the full yrs overpayment which wouldn't be a problem as he doesn't spend anything on himself and has more in the bank than we do :biggrin: He did buy himself a Hyundia Getz (cash) to get to work in...............well, we bought it and he paid us back, other than 5k which we gave him towards it for his 18th.

 

He spends some time working in the library and some time running the tuck shop which entails training students stock handling/purchasing/cashing up and banking etc (the kids have always run their own tuck shop with no parent involvement) and he also spends one whole day accompanying students with disabilities into the city via train for vocational training (mainly hospitality) and helping them out once there................a huge step forward as he was 14 before we could even get him to go on a train himself.

 

 

Life is good :yes:

 

That's good to hear. Only felt like yesterday I remember you writing about him being offered the job, and it's been a year already.

[Johndoe]

That's good to hear. Only felt like yesterday I remember you writing about him being offered the job, and it's been a year already.

 

Forgot to mention that with them dropping his wage, he is now eligible for disability/salary support..................$21 fortnightly :laugh:

[Skani]

Many indians moved here years ago and germans too for the banana growing and are still in the area.

 

I was born in Grafton and used to go to Coffs frequently as my (English) aunt and uncle lived there. This was the very early 1950s and I remember the Sikhs growing bananas then. That's about the only thing which hasn't changed though. Went back several years ago and...OMG...they even had traffic lights! :shocked: Not the sleepy little beachside town of my memories at all. My rellies lived in Edinburgh Street at Coffs Jetty and I remember seeing whales spouting along the coast. Didn't realise at the time that the whaling station was still operating then. :sad:

[Maruska]

The my school website is 'myschool.com.au' or 'myschool.edu.au/'.It gives an idea of how schools are doing against other schools of similar size and status based mostly on NAPLAN results which are literacy and numerecy tests carried out at various stages through school.It by no means tells a totally accurate story of each school but gives a good starting point for research.

 

Schools in coffs are by no means churning out uneducated kids but local parents seem to think they get a more well rounded education through the private schools when it comes to higher education.Coffs Christian Community School,Bishop Druit College and John Paul College are all well thought of and have a wide range of subjects.The first two go from kindy and the last is high school only as far as I know.If your visa type means you have to pay anyway it may be worth looking into,not much difference and in some cases cheaper.Looking to the future coffs also has TAFE and Uni.

 

In terms of employment you should be on a winner.Medical services are thriving in the area due to the high numbers of young families and interstate retirees who move there for the climate.There is a public hospital and a private one also.GPs are dime a dozen and there are clinics on every corner for any ailment real or otherwise.Coffs Base Hospital and Baringa Private are the names to search.Aged care is also a huge market in coffs with about 8-10 aged care facilities between private and public.Aged carers are in high demand,especially home care,which was apparent recently when dealing with the issue for an elderly relative.

 

Crime exists but is on a small scale,more petty crime really,even though growing marijuana seems to be a hobby there and a few meth labs have been raided lately.

I certainly never worried about crime in coffs,it is such a non issue on a day to day basis.

 

You can avail of pretty much most services you could possibly need in coffs which is a plus for a regional area.Beaches are lovely and the lifestyle is laid back,maybe too laid back at times.There is a large expat community in the locality,mostly british and south african.Many indians moved here years ago and germans too for the banana growing and are still in the area.African asylum seekers have settled there in recent years and add a nice multicultural feel too.

 

All in all coffs is a hard spot to beat as long as you have work.

 

We unfortunatly have struggled to get long term work in our profession and have decided our prospects are better back home in ireland,we leave in a few months.

 

Thank you so much for the info!!

The place itself sounds fabulous. About the schools - I need a school which is not religiously affiliated I am afraid. Me and my husband come from totally different religious backgrounds ( don`t even know if I should say that since neither of us ever practiced religion, just our family members) and we prefer for our kids to attend school that does not teach scripture.

Your experience with crime is reassuring.... meth sounds nasty but I guess you can find that anywhere if you look for it:confused:

 

Medical facilities is what first brought me to look at Coffs Harbour, they advertise big time for staff:biggrin:

 

 

May I ask, why back to Ireland and not elsewhere in Australia? Job market would be better in bigger cities right?

[AaronS]

Thank you so much for the info!!

The place itself sounds fabulous. About the schools - I need a school which is not religiously affiliated I am afraid. Me and my husband come from totally different religious backgrounds ( don`t even know if I should say that since neither of us ever practiced religion, just our family members) and we prefer for our kids to attend school that does not teach scripture.

Your experience with crime is reassuring.... meth sounds nasty but I guess you can find that anywhere if you look for it:confused:

 

Medical facilities is what first brought me to look at Coffs Harbour, they advertise big time for staff:biggrin:

 

 

May I ask, why back to Ireland and not elsewhere in Australia? Job market would be better in bigger cities right?

 

"Scripture" is taught in public school. It's part of the curriculum. Can't get away from it here....there is not a separation of church and state like in the US. We aren't church goers so it's a bit of a thorn in our side.

 

I see you are in Houston right now. We are from Austin. On a total side note, don't expect to see any kind of Texas style BBQ here. Not even the cuts of beef to make it yourself. I can't find a proper brisket to save my life!

[fish.01]

"Scripture" is taught in public school. It's part of the curriculum. Can't get away from it here....there is not a separation of church and state like in the US. We aren't church goers so it's a bit of a thorn in our side.

 

...

 

"Can't get away from it here"...scripture is only meant to be taught in a separate voluntary session run by a chaplain, not in the curriculum except as a comparative study of religion? Up to 60% of parents/children now opt out of the scripture session in nsw. Maybe you could talk to the school about what is going on as some schools are more lax about informing you than others and some religious groups are doing their best to take advantage of this.

 

Even though the rules are similar up here in Qld the waters are muddier due to churches in 1910 pushing an amendment to the education act to remove every mention of the word secular. It would be great to have true constitutional separation of church and state like the US. Lucky you guys have it or you would be overrun by the massive religious lobbying you have there I imagine.

 

This is the best our constitution does which is not true separation:

 

The Commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance

[pintpot]

?? Scripture is only meant to be taught in a separate voluntary session run by a chaplain, not in the curriculum except as a comparative study of religion?

 

Yeah, that

 

Public schools are secular here by law AFAIK, so they *can't* teach scripture. It is done by visiting voluntary people from churches, and you can always opt out

 

It is much more separated than in the UK, where technically all schools still have to have an "act of worship" but most don't bother