ACADEMICS, teachers' unions and their media lackeys live in a peculiar world. In this world, providing information about school performance is treated as a sin. While these groups were complaining about the Rudd government's My School website launched last week, parents hungry for information logged on to check the status of their child's school.
So many logged on - nine million hits on the first day - that the system couldn't cope with the demand. The simple fact is that last Thursday parents across Australia had available to them more information about almost 10,000 schools they fund and entrust with their children than was the case the day before. One senses that teachers' unions had better get used to this. And much more. In case they haven't noticed, the tide is turning against them.
Each time a reform has been proposed in our schools, the vocal bosses of the teachers' unions have opposed it. They tell us the reason is they care for our children. In truth, teachers' unions care about protecting the jobs of teachers and the status quo of schools, no matter the performance of those teachers or the school. Don't rock the boat has been their motto. For too long, state Labor governments beholden to union influence obliged.
But now their boat is being rocked. Not every teacher is equal. Some are brilliant. Others not so good. One of my daughters once had an English teacher who had trouble spelling words her young charges could spell with ease. We laughed about it over dinner. But to a teachers' union, that teacher needs protecting, not the young students in her care. We get that. That's what unions do.
But that is not what good governments do. Education Minister Julia Gillard says she cares about kids too. Not every school is a great school. And she wants to see outcomes improve, especially for those caught in the tail of educational disadvantage. If you don't know where failure is happening, how do you address it? If you can't spot the success stories, how do you learn from them?
She wants to arm parents with information about school performance so that they can have "robust conversations with teachers and principals". The bureaucrats have had this information for years and nothing much changed in our schools. So let's try giving this information to parents. Good on her. No one cares for their kids more than their parents.
Teachers' unions are in a terrible bind. Now unions are dealing with one of their own. Gillard is a creature of the Left and she is staring down their anti-reform agenda with aplomb. Even before the launch of My School, the Australian Education Union voted to boycott national literacy and numeracy tests unless the government stopped its plan to publish the results online. Gillard's response? Just try. And then see who supports your selfish status quo agenda. Good on her. I'm guessing most parents are behind her.
The Deputy Prime Minister knows that teachers' unions have little credibility when it comes to caring for children. Put it this way. When was the last time a boss of a teachers' union made headlines by saying something sensible? It would make big headlines because it is now so commonplace for them to say and do something stupid.
Stupid stuff such as the NSW Teachers Federation announcing in 2006 that teachers should not be compelled to include comments about a student's performance in school reports. Stupid stuff such as Pat Byrne from the AEU attacking the Coalition government at a teachers' conference in 2005 for framing education in terms of "conservative values . . . in terms of choice, excellence, quality, values and discipline". Since when was this a conservative agenda?
Stupid stuff such as Maree O'Halloran from the NSW Teachers Federation in 2006 waving at us the teachers' industrial award, which prevented the public release of comparative data on school performance.
Parents don't care about awards that protect teachers. Parents care about their children. They can see through this stupid stuff, stuff that says teachers' unions really don't care about children at all.
What is it then with wet Liberals wanting to befriend the teachers' unions? By immediately criticising the website, the Coalition's spokesman on education Chris Pyne gives the impression of siding with the unions. If ever there were a case where the opposition should show a mature understanding of its role rather than a knee-jerk opposition to every government move, it's here. The Liberal Party would be better advised to say: "Good move, minister. But what's next?" Let war break out on the Left, where teachers' unions will be exposed as protecting their own vested interests rather than the advancement of the children they teach.
So what is next? For clues, listen to New York City education chancellor Joel Klein. Australian parents are fortunate that Gillard is listening to Klein, whose aim has been to improve outcomes for the city's most disadvantaged students. When he visited Australia at Gillard's invitation in late 2008, he made the point that transparency becomes your ally in reform "so that parents can raise hell" about schools that are failing their children. Doesn't Gillard sound a lot like Klein?
However, the measure of the Education Minister's conviction is whether she can stomach the pointy end of reform that Klein has managed to implement. Online reporting of comparative school performance is the easy part. Klein told me last week that comparative performance data was only the first step.
A year later, three years ago now, real accountability kicked in with carrots and sticks. Klein introduced publicly available letter grades for schools: A to D, and F for fail. Teachers who perform highly earn bonuses of up to $US25,000 ($28,400) a year. Principals have greater discretion over budget and staffing. And the city signed agreements with principals to change leaders, restructure schools or close them where student performance did not improve.
It's no surprise that Klein has attracted motivated leaders to lift the performance of schools in high-poverty areas such as Harlem and central Brooklyn. Inspiration begets inspiration.
The Rudd government is keen to broaden the My School website to introduce more information. More information for parents is good. But it's not good enough. Real accountability depends on real consequences. Real change requires incentives and penalties. Bonuses for best performing schools and teachers, and ultimately the threat of restructure or closure for schools that consistently fail to lift the performance of their students.
If Gillard is serious about a genuine education revolution and reclaiming the education system for students and parents, she has much more to do. Parents will be right behind her when she does it.
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