The " Education " Quandary !

Pauline Hanson and her " One Nation " political party are dismissed by many people as " fringe politics " so far outside the mainstream that their ideas are worthless, but it must be remembered that sufficient numbers agree with her to win valuable seats in parliament.

Her latest observation - that children with disabilities such as autism should be segregated from mainstream classrooms - has provoked a storm of protest across the nation.  The parents of children with autism are outraged but many with disquiet about how out education system compares with that of our trading partners are keeping an uneasy silence.

We are about to spend a lot more money on the school system and it is important that we get value for those dollars.  Comparisons show that our children are not meeting the same educational standards in the same year groups as comparable children in some other countries.  Pauline Hanson is suggesting that mixing children with disabilities in mainstream  classrooms is disruptive and lowers the group learning ability.

The suggestion is that these children should either be in special classes where they can learn according to their intellectual ability, or even in special schools.  Unfortunately, removing them would definitely brand them with a " taint " that is not there when they are educated in a mixed classroom and autism usually reduces with age.

This opens the door to another criticism that worries most parents.  Australian law requires all children to attend school and courts often impose sanctions on the parents of truant children.  As a result, public schools are forced to accept pupils who often have absolutely no concept of discipline and no interest in any form of learning.   They take a delight in disrupting class activity and often bring the learning process to a standstill.   Such schools are often the demarcation line between " good " suburbs - and ones homer buyers avoid !

These are subjects where consensus is unlikely.  The parents of children with autism will fight tooth and nail to keep their kids in mainstream classes and schools " on the wrong side of the tracks " will always battle to attain standards for kids from under privileged families.   There will be kids who go to school hungry, and some who miss excursions and basic amenities simply because they lack money.

This is clearly a matter of balance.  In any classroom there is always a few kids who are " not the brightest globe in the chandelier " but who often outshine their classmates when it comes to business acumen later in life.  Those with mild intellectual abilities can cope, but it is unfair to slow the natural progress of a class to the  speed of a seriously disadvantaged student.    Those with a discipline problem that have no interest in learning have a need for removal that probably needs a law change to accomplish.

Its about time we removed " politics " from education and made the decisions that bring results.  Unfortunately, everyone across the entire educational spectrum - from parents to teachers and the captains of industry - all claim to be " experts " !   It leads to acrimony when a " maverick  " politician throws a suggestion into the melting pot !