Polls - Employment & Education

a very few years ago I had a small business and a young male came in to apply for a job. I asked him to fill in his details (experience, name, address, age etc.) He told me his name & he wrote down his first name. He then stunned me by asking me how his surname was spelt! I asked him why & he said "Well at school they only taught us how to spell our First name". I was able to teach him in just a few minutes. Computers etc. can be a boon but they can also be a total disaster

If you click on the following link:

http://www.rankopedia.com/Countries-With-The-Best-Education-System-In-The-World/Step1/18996/.htm

it shows that Japan is, in fact, the current leader. Following is Canada, UK, Germany, Finland and France. Australia ranks 7th in the world ahead of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, USA, Switzerland. HOWEVER, this particular ranking is supplied by the questionable RANKOPEDIA which is not really an officially recognised authority but, rather, a ranking provided by general public contributors and, therefore, highly unreliable.

Yeah ... but look who did the ranking.

Not one of the major plausible organisations.

Try TIMMS or PISA. They actually mean something.

The students and ex students of today cannot speak without "like" or some foul expletive peppered through their conversations. Their spelling is atrocious and maths are below par and most need a calculator. It is not a good practice to compare us to other countries and yes I have travelled to over 30 countries so I can speak with some knowledge. Our standards must be high and stand on it their own. My daughter is a teacher and she is horrified when she goes into a new school whether her home state or another and finds the children are so far behind in basic abilities and behaviour. The school system has the children 5 days a week from roughly 9am - 3pm so yes, they do have a large input into their behaviour which includes good manners and respect. I agree some teachers also need to be examined and perhaps tested on a regular basis but without prior notice as this seems to allow certain proceedures to be put into place to allow better outcomes to the detriment of the children.

I agree lcarmo that many children of today are foul mouthed and I often see this sort of language coming from children's mouths as young as 10. Society has certainly changed when it comes to education (since back in my school days anyways) whilst there was more discipline and children were less lazy because they had to think for themselves and not relying on modern technology like today.

I totally disagree with juiwei2000, Australia has a very high standard of education! I worked in NSW State education for over 15 years as a teacher in the TAFE system and primary state school system. The standards in NSW are world class and we have one of the highest literacy standards in the world. If the Liberal State premiers do the right thing and agree to co-sign the Gonsky system, we will have the best system in the world. Those who believe Australia has a poor education system, should travel more!

Australia have the worse education system in the developed world, we need to reshuffle our education system, referencing successful education system, such as Japan, which is currently consider the best in the world. We also need to keep an eye on our primary school teacher, to make sure they are doing their job, because unlike high school kids who will complain if the teachers slack off, primary school kids can't be happier if their teachers give no homework

Correction of juiwei2000 spelling and grammar errors in his/her above comment (corrections capitalised): Australia HAS the WORST education system in the developed world. We need to reshuffle our education system, referencing successful education systems, such as the Japanese system, which is currently CONSIDERED the best in the world. We also need to keep an eye on our primary school TEACHERS to make sure they are doing their job. Unlike high school kids who will complain if the teachers slack off, primary school kids can't be happier if their teachers do not provide homework.

My point is that you cannot make sweeping judgements about the supposedly poor state of spelling and grammatical expertise in our current school system when you cannot spell nor display a proficiency in grammar yourself. People who live in glass houses .....

It is not jsut kids who like to missout on homework. Parents cannot and should not expect the teachers to take over teaching everything incluidng manners and social skills. Some parents cannot even be bothered to listen to their children read - what message about education does this send to their children?Educating our children is a partnership and technology is only a part of it.

Japan is not even close to the best.

Had you said Finland, Sweden, Norway, Germany or Singapore, you'd have been right.