[LINK] The VITTA 2006 Conference

[stephen at melbpc.org.au]

From: Karl Auer <kauer at biplane.com.au>
Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2006 6:19 PM
Subject: Re: [LINK] The VITTA 2006 Conference

>> Do you have a suggestion for something you'd like to see
>> at this year's conference?
> 
> Why yes I do!
>
> The school my daughter goes to just released its 2005 annual report ..
> The crowning glory? It had to be "signed off on" (that's another ghastly
> invention of the times) by a specialist in the education department! No
> mere crud this, no! It's officially sanctioned crud.

Maybe .. and every public servant might well agree. However as tiring as
it may be to read, try writing an 'offical school document' then you will
know the meaning of frustration. Offhand, it would be difficult to think
of another Department that like it or not *must* be so utterly politically
correct. And fair enough, school reports can determine a kid's whole life.

One wacky-parent complaint (all schools have numbers of loony parents
amongst their wider school-community) can mean quite a few problems for
schools including the Dpt being sued. Have you ever had to write official 
Gov docs? Specifically student reports? The result is that no-one's happy.
 
> Reports like these are wasted effort if people can't get from them a
> clear idea of where they went wrong, what they did well, where they are
> now and where to go next. Making such a report clear, concise and
> accurate makes the effort of writing it an investment instead of just a
> ticked-off item on a to-do list. *Someone* needs to tell these people
> that they should be leading by example and writing clear, clean English.

Yes, well, tell the various Edu Dpts. School reports formats are largely
proscribed by State Dpts. Schools don't have much say in report headings.

And having written ten thousand + reports, (4/year/student by 200 kids)
I am utterly tired of phrasing things such as, 'your kid is a lazy dill'
in a way I avoid hospital, and schools avoid court. I suggest *you* try :)

'Beware a woman scorned' has got nothing on 'beware a parent whose son
you just failed, because he's just like dad'. Indeed, memories of thugs
armed with baseball bats and storming my office come flooding right back. 

> make continued employment contingent upon them never, EVER using
> the phrase "improved student outcomes".

Without the phrase every Vic school would ground to a halt come reporting
time ... one hopes that you will do all school teachers a favour and take
it up with your local Ed Dpt, Karl. Clear reporting is apparently coming,
but don't hold your breath. It's a recognized problem, with few clear and
simple answers.

> PS: And YOU, Stephen, could start by promising never to say "key
> highlight" again :-)

Never said it in my life :-) It's a copy & paste from the VITTA website. 
 
> PPS: The CC list looked interesting, so I kept it. Heh heh :-)

Just don't spam them Karl. There are thousands of teachers on those lists 
and teachers being what we are, believe me, someone will follow you up :-)

Cheers, Karl
Stephen Loosley
Victoria, Australia