Keep baby, throw out bath water

"We can't act if we can't think and, in my opinion, we can't think if we don't read."

Jennifer Byrne

Teachers are usually the last people to be consulted about educational issues - imagine redrawing legal boundaries every few years without the input of lawyers, or changing medical procedures without the influence of doctors, and you may see the problem with having “experts” outside of education set policy.

Teachers also are also easy targets when Australia slips (again) in international rankings.  Politicians of all persuasions are particularly reactive in this area, but rarely proactive and certainly not consultative. So it’s 2017 and how do you best prepare your child for the new educational year?  According to one article the key to success is the right mobile phone…

Yep because that’s how you improve concentration and depth of knowledge.  The child can’t develop and build a phone, they can't program a phone or fix a phone, but some of us are pretty sure installing apps is the key to the country’s future! As an alternative to this appalling and dangerous advice, here is another way of preparing your child for 2017.

• Limit screen time
• Spend time with your children engaging their minds
• Read books
• Give your child good books to encourage learning
• Use the right technology the right way

As for the latest mobile phone?  Expensive, needless, damaging and pandering to the worst excess of consumerism.  Indulge yourself in FOMO if you must, but be a parent to your child.