Teachers as tradies
‘What is the difference between an hourly rate and a salary Dad?’ asked the inquisitive teenager. His quiet and thoughtful…
A wonky prime minister and straw man treasurer
We don’t have a Willy Wonka and a Candy Man. We have a wonky Prime Minister and a straw man…
The rise of the expertocrats
‘You are in danger!’ This is how the rhetoric starts. ‘But there is no need to not worry, we will…
Leaders cannot legislate away social media anxiety
Concern about social media-based anxiety is popping up everywhere. Leaders of many kinds are talking about it, decrying it, and…
The IQ question in education
Does IQ matter? In 1974, the answer was a resounding ‘No!’ Fifty years later, I still remember first-year psychology lecturers…
Albanese’s game of Cabinet charades
The colour of authoritarianism is grey. I learned this the first time I sat in a wonderful old town square…
Of course there is violence
The attempted and actual murder of anyone is horrific. What I find perplexing is the tone of disbelief that accompanies…
The fight for nuclear is going to be rough
No debate. Just rhetorical fortressing. That seems to be the mode of responding to the nuclear debate from those on…
Same values, different beliefs?
Values and beliefs are not the same. People can support each other’s values while holding different beliefs. But if we…
Mental health and restraint: the unsolved conundrum
When is it appropriate to schedule someone into compulsory care when he or she is out of touch with reality?…
All schools are ‘faith-based’ schools
Facts and information can be neutral, but teaching is never neutral. All schools are faith-based schools. Some are more intentional…
The Bill of ‘self’
‘Belief Bashing’… That is what some have nicknamed Greenwich Bill sitting before the NSW Parliament. I would argue it is…
The joy of lament
Why are the people of Israel famously resilient? When you think of the hatred and persecution they have faced over…
Swift justice for the political class
The question I asked after reading a report about Taylor Swift’s biggest-ever concert in Melbourne, which reportedly had over 90,000…
Our children do not belong to the State
The Culture of Schools and the Problem of Change was the first book I read when I was moving professionally…
Steal from the rich. Steal from the poor. Steal from them all!
What does our Prime Minister really think about money? Does he see himself as the ‘Robin Hood’ of Australian democracy?…
Foreign policy gaffes
I might have been wrong… This was the thought that rushed through my mind while listening to Prof. John Mearsheimer. He…
The fog of moral clarity
I am not optimistic about seeing moral clarity from many (or most?) of our current federal government leaders. Their apparent…
Pray for sensible socialists and compassionate capitalists, son
There it was again, in a report about what Minister Bowen is planning next – that dreaded phrase … ‘dramatic…
Is Albanese’s outburst the beginning of the end?
Contrast Anthony Albanese’s response to Peter Dutton, with that of Richard Marles’ the next day. The first was emotional righteous…
Anti-family Albo?
The Prime Minister has shown his true colours, again… As reported in The Australian, Anthony Albanese agrees with an economist…
Immigration and the fires of separatism
We have seen abhorrent scenes in my home state of New South Wales. It has been thoroughly disappointing, but sadly,…
Education vs Wisdom: referendum voting patterns come under fire
Waleed Aly was technically correct, but perhaps discourteous, in the way he expressed the socio-economic difference seen within voting patterns…
Disinformation? Try ‘no’ information
The problem is not disinformation, Mr Ray Martin, it is that we have no information. Let me explain. Over a…
No special schools? Pull the other one…
Some commissioners have suggested removing special schools. They mustn’t have worked in the good ones! At one point in my…
