Naplan - Teaching for the test

It hardly suprises me but Oxley SS seems to have given up on doing school plays. 

A casulaty it seems of Naplan.

In fact it seems like Naplan is the reason these days for everything.  It is the reason to do something and the reason not to do it.

Megan is a music teacher and from what I can gather, Naplan does not have a question on music so music plays second fiddle so to speak.

To me the school plays were one of the stand out features of Oxley.  They showed an edge.  Teachers of course have to put in extra effort as school plays use up class room time and lunch times and after school times.  But now the excuse is "too busy doing Namplan".  Mind you it just confirms my observations about the poor state of public education.  The race to the bottom.  The emphasising of medeocrity.  The other thing that is interesting is that for some reason it is not the school that makes the decision about a school play.  It is simply up to what the class room teacher "wants" to do.  Surely that should be a factor but at the end of the day, the school say "we are going to do ...."  I guess they have done that.  They have said "We are going to do Naplan"

The problem with Naplan and the whole idea of the national curriculum is that it promotes uniformity.  Sameness.  A sort of McDonalds of education.  The problem with this is like genetic engineered crops.  When they work they produce fantastic results but when there is a problem the whole crop is stuffed.

We should promote diversity in education.  Let schools be different.  We keep hearing about how kids are different.  Well let some schools have an academic leaning and others may be more into sport and others into music or art or whatever.  Respond to the local needs rather than some Canberrian beurocrat who would not know a student if they tripped over them.