This week Pete (@mr_van_w) talks about Malcolm Roberts' idea to restrict K-3 teaching to cover only Literacy/English and Maths/Numeracy. By his reasoning, these concepts are mostly interchangable and isolated to any context. Pete has other thoughts.

John (@jfcatto) looks at the difference between item teaching and curriculum teaching. Apparently one is good for students learning and the other raises school results. Unsurprisingly, Pete thinks that  one of these is more important than the other. 

Pete: Malcolm Roberts Academic Review 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/education/gonski-academic-review-a-turning-point-in-australian-education/news-story/cd55f77d7c6c0783393b6e3cfeb53286 

John: Why Teaching to the Test is Educational Malpractice - Steven Singer

https://gadflyonthewallblog.com/2016/11/03/why-teaching-to-the-test-is-educational-malpractice/ 

This week Pete (@mr_van_w) examines the tempting lure of building lessons around the current fad in student culture. This happens to be Fortnite at the moment, it was Pokemon a couple of years ago and it will be something else next time you teach the topic. 

John (@jfcatto) highlights the need for teachers old and new to have a mentor to support them and their teaching. #findyourmarigold

Pete: Teachers and Parents Share Stories From Inside the 'Fortnite' Phenomenon - Patrick Klepak

https://waypoint.vice.com/en_us/article/59j9pk/teachers-and-parents-share-stories-from-inside-the-fortnite-phenomenon 

Forego Fortnite - Doug Robertson 

https://hestheweirdteacher.blogspot.com.au/2018/05/forego-fortnite.html 

John: Every Teacher Needs a Mentor - Heather Walport-Gawron

https://www.edutopia.org/article/every-teacher-needs-mentor 

Pete (@mr_van_w) talks about anxiety and depression and its effect on teacher burnout. Sometimes maybe a change is as good as a holiday and experiences may vary. 

John (@jfcatto) delves into some of Australia's Chief Scientist's criticism of the ATAR.   

Pete: Breakdown, reach out, recover - Victoria @mrshumanities 

 https://teacher5adaybuddybox.com/2017/04/18/breakdown-reachout-recover/ 

John: ATAR should be simplified or even abolished, says chief scientist Alan Finkel - Michael Koziol

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/atar-should-be-simplified-or-even-abolished-says-chief-scientist-alan-finkel-20180423-p4zb74.html 

This week John (@jfcatto) brings in an article that he is really conflicted about and put down to the difference in application of Flipped Learning rather than the pedagogy itself. 

Pete (@mr_van_w) managed to finish the full 150 pages of Gonski 2.0 (BTW in no way building upon or related to any other reports that may have been written by the same person and referred to by a very similar name) and gives us his take on the key recommendations.

John: Is Flipped Learning looking at education the wrong way? - Melanie Ralph @lustreeducation   

https://au.educationhq.com/news/47871/is-flipped-learning-is-looking-at-education-the-wrong-way/ 

Pete: Through Growth to Achievement - David Gonski et. al.

https://www.appa.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/20180430-Through-Growth-to-Achievement_Text.pdf 

John (@jfcatto) and Pete (@mr_van_w) are back from holidays to answer listener questions that have been coming in over the last couple of weeks. 

Despite John's "fat voice" https://youtu.be/1urXgf0gilg they manage to talk about:

• Primary school teachers using music for good 
• Social media accounts for teachers
• The disappearance of the catfisheducation website.  
• Some advice being a new teacher and knowing that there is a better way to teach but not seeing anybody doing it. 

New website: https://sites.google.com/view/catfish2 

Old website: https://sites.google.com/site/catfisheducation/ 

In this episode of Lefty Teachers Talking Teaching our guest-John, Matt Smedley (@SmedBoule), tells us how our children can best outsmart NAPLAN as if it is a thing that matters. He also points out some problems with the test in general. Pete (@mr_van_W) doesn't have much of an opinion about it really.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-09/naplan-writing-test-bizarre-heres-how-kids-can-get-top-marks/9625852?pfmredir=sm

Pete enjoyed the controversy of another article in the SMH this week, except this one didn't suck - we all just took it a little too personally.

https://www.smh.com.au/education/grandparents-education-gives-year-3-students-huge-naplan-boost-20180406-p4z85d.html 

On this weeks episode of Pete (@mr_van_w) and John (@jfcatto) both rage against some things that we feel are wrong in education, or at least within our little bubbles.

Pete: Secular groups call for review of 'blatantly discriminatory' school chaplains program Paul Karp

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/apr/01/secular-groups-call-for-review-of-blatantly-discriminatory-school-chaplains-program 

John: Flipping teaching on it's head - Linda Morris  

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/flipping-teaching-on-its-head-20180327-p4z6gr.html

First up Pete (@mr_van_w) gives a shout out to our local university Charles Sturt (CSU), who have don some cool innovation in teaching in the School of Engineering 

John (@jfcatto) realises that the research kind of goes against his use of music in the classroom. He then tries to justify himself and eventually ends up questioning his current practice. 

Pete then brings it home with a criticism of beloved Progressive EduGuru Sir Ken Robinson. 

Pete: NSW uni course with no exams or lectures named among top 4 i the world by MIT - Pallavi Singhal 

https://www.smh.com.au/education/nsw-uni-course-with-no-exams-or-lectures-named-among-top-four-in-the-world-by-mit-20180328-p4z6pu.html 

John: Listening to Music while Studying: a Good or a Bad Idea - Carolina Kueppa-Tetzel

http://www.learningscientists.org/blog/2016/11/10-1 

Pete: We don't need no Sir Ken Robinson

https://gregashman.wordpress.com/2018/03/24/we-dont-need-no-sir-ken-robinson/ 

Learning salsa as important as maths, education expert says - Henrietta Cook

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/learning-salsa-as-important-as-maths-education-expert-says-20180327-p4z6f8.html 

This week Pete (@mr_van_w) calls on Eddie Woo to reaffirm the importance of schools and the importance of relationships within those schools. 

John (@jfcatto) has a look at some new research that shows the ATAR is about as relevant as we thought but much less so than most students or parents realise. 

Pete: Raising a child is mission impossible. That's why it takes a school. - Eddie Woo (@mrwootube)

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/07/raising-a-child-is-mission-impossible-thats-why-it-takes-a-school

John: ATAR relevance questioned as report finds fewer students admitted based on rank - Shalailah Medhora 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-21/atar-relevance-under-fire-as-report-says-fewer-students-admitted/9569052 

ATARs losing relevance for university admission but students are still hooked - Megan O'Connell

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-21/university-admissions-atar-is-outdated/9567862 

A quarter of grads think their uni courses are useless, survey finds - Shalailah Medhora 

http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/quarter-uni-grads-think-course-useless/9312446 

Pete (@mr_van_w) debunks the adage that we need to lecture kids at school because that will prepare them to be lectured to at university.

John (@jfcatto) questions the need for school at all and suggests a radical approach to home-schooling.

Pete: 'Sage on the stage' era of university lecturing 'is over' - Ellie Bothwell 

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/sage-stage-era-university-lecturing-over 

John: Don't send your kids to school and they'll go on to get a PHD. Wait, what? - Mammamia Team

https://www.mamamia.com.au/unschooling-in-australia/