Education revolution !

The plan for prime minister Kevin Rudd's " Education Revolution " has been revealed.
All schools will be evaluated under criteria which has yet to be determined - but which will certainly include pupil achievement - and graded accordingly.

As a consequence, schools will appear on a list headed by the one considered to offer the best education - and will name the worst school at the bottom of that list.

The idea is to then throw money at the worst listed school, provide supplementary staff to improve performance and possibly enhance the school buildings if they are a detracting factor.

There is also the suggestion of added pay or bonuses to teachers who work harder to improve the performance of their pupils - but also punishment for failure. Schools which do not lift from the bottom ranking could see headmasters face the sack - or be amalgamated with another better performing school.

It sounds like an idea suggested to Rudd by someone with high academic qualifications and a string of letters after their name - and not the faintest clue about living in the real world !

Rudd would be wise to have his staff investigate a similar idea tried in Tasmania in the 1960's.

Some genius in the education department came up with the idea of amalgamating all the " dull " students into a single school. As a result, headmasters took the opportunity to transfer students who were disruptive in class, not interested in sport - or simply " did not fit in " to the envisaged framework of the " ideal student ".

It was an immediate disaster ! The kids transferred to this school saw themselves branded as " second rate no-hopers " - and quickly started to act accordingly. The school name quickly became synonymous with job application rejections - and parents threatened a physical revolt if a transfer was suggested.

We live in a fragile society where mud sticks. Give a school a bad name and that becomes a negative on future job resumes. We pride ourselves on being fair and compassionate - but reality is a horse of a different colour.

The school teachers reject this idea because they are at the cutting edge of education - and they know that branding any school as the worst is a recipe for disaster.

It is one thing for schools to be known by their reputation in the community - and quite another when that grading is confirmed by inclusion on a list - and being the school at the bottom of that list imposes a handicap no student should be forced to carry.

Our prime minister would be well advised to think long and hard before implementing this plan !