#010 - The Australian Education System is Failing 📚📉
In this episode of Neuroeducation, host Angie Dee discusses the intersection of politics and education. She highlights how taxpayers are the ones funding the education system and argues that they should also have a say in how it operates. Angie criticizes the current outdated and boring factory-style method of education and calls for a revolution in the system. She empowers listeners to take action and make a difference in shaping the future of education.
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Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:31 - The State of Education Funding
00:01:15 - The Need for an Education Revolution
00:02:09 - Political Engagement in Education
00:03:01 - Montessori Programs in Brisbane Schools
00:04:07 - Parent Advocacy for Montessori Education
00:05:11 - Neuroscience and Montessori Method
00:05:44 - Community Involvement in Education
00:06:06 - Parental Activation for Educational Change
00:07:11 - Supporting Overworked Teachers
00:07:53 - Montessori Curriculum in Australian Schools
00:08:59 - Call to Action for Local Educational Change
00:09:10 - Closing and Podcast Subscription Information
Transcript
Our money is currently funding a totally outdated, factory-style
Speaker:method of education. It's f***ed. Welcome to Neuroeducation,
Speaker:where we're exploring the neuroscience of how to switch on the brain to
Speaker:supercharge learning. I'll be sharing with you innovative teaching techniques,
Speaker:effective parenting strategies, and educational advocacy. I'm
Speaker:your host, Angie Dee. Together, let's revolutionize children's
Speaker:learning. Hello
Speaker:and welcome back to Neuroeducation with Angie Dee.
Speaker:Today we're talking about politics and education and what you
Speaker:can do. We have an education system
Speaker:in Australia that is funded on the backs of
Speaker:taxpayers. That's you, that's me, that's
Speaker:your brother, your sister, all of the people you know. When
Speaker:you look around they are the people that
Speaker:are literally funding our education system.
Speaker:Now we are funding this education
Speaker:system. If we are the funders we should also have a
Speaker:say and in this democratic nation that we live in
Speaker:We have a democratic right to have a say how our
Speaker:education plays out. What is
Speaker:our money currently going towards? Sadly,
Speaker:our money is currently funding a totally outdated
Speaker:factory style method of education. And
Speaker:excuse my French, it's fucked. Because children
Speaker:are sitting there day after day bored as
Speaker:batshit. I feel like what we
Speaker:need is a total education revolution and you
Speaker:and I can have a massive impact
Speaker:on how that plays out. In so many other areas of
Speaker:politics, people feel like they have a say. They want
Speaker:to put their hands up and they want to have their two cents heard. in
Speaker:voice to parliament, in renewable energy, in
Speaker:all of these areas, people are talking about what
Speaker:they want to see happen in our current
Speaker:political climate. But when
Speaker:it comes to education, I hear
Speaker:crickets. but we have the power. It
Speaker:is a totally democratic area where
Speaker:we have the power to make positive change.
Speaker:Now the most dramatic areas of positive change I
Speaker:have seen in education has been on
Speaker:the backs of parents. In
Speaker:two incredible schools in
Speaker:Brisbane, Australia, they are running a
Speaker:Montessori program. That
Speaker:means alongside the mainstream method of
Speaker:education that's running in the traditional school, they
Speaker:have started a Montessori method of education through
Speaker:the schooling process, starting in prep and every year
Speaker:gaining one grade more. Groverley
Speaker:State School in Brisbane and also Capalaba
Speaker:State School in Brisbane have been running these innovative
Speaker:programs, bringing Montessori, an alternative method
Speaker:of education that is highly, highly recommended
Speaker:by neuroscientists worldwide, into our
Speaker:public education system. This is one of the first times
Speaker:we have had something that is usually private, incredibly
Speaker:expensive, that is only available
Speaker:for the, let's say, high echelon of society, of
Speaker:people that can afford it, bringing it to the people. Now,
Speaker:how did these two schools implement a
Speaker:totally alternative method of education? A parent group
Speaker:in Grovely who had their children going to a
Speaker:Montessori community kindergarten wanted
Speaker:a Montessori primary school option for
Speaker:their children. There was nothing available to them in the area. So
Speaker:they approached Groveley State School and as a
Speaker:parent body, they advocated for their children and
Speaker:they advocated for an alternative method of education. Lo
Speaker:and behold, six months later, Groveley
Speaker:started the first Montessori program. The
Speaker:same thing happened at Kapalipa State School an
Speaker:incredible woman, Rebecca Gruen, who
Speaker:was running Montessori childcare centres, wanted a
Speaker:Montessori option for children, for her own children, and
Speaker:for children in that area of Brisbane. There
Speaker:was nothing available, and after
Speaker:trying also to start an independent school,
Speaker:She decided with the parent group that was supporting her to
Speaker:take it to the state school. She took it to Groverley
Speaker:State School. Lo and behold, six months later,
Speaker:Montessori had started. Now we know Montessori is
Speaker:backed by neuroscience. It's backed by educational research
Speaker:and it's backed by child psychology. What
Speaker:we have now in two schools in Brisbane is
Speaker:a innovative educational approach to
Speaker:learning. and the two
Speaker:parent groups that brought this education method
Speaker:in brought it in by advocating on behalf of
Speaker:their children. Now this is no different to
Speaker:you or I where we can approach another
Speaker:school For your children, you
Speaker:can get together with a parent group. You can talk to people about
Speaker:how we can create change in our school community. Obviously,
Speaker:there are so many things you can do without even dramatically changing
Speaker:it to the point of introducing an alternative method of education. There
Speaker:are other things you can do. Participating in school
Speaker:maximizes your child learning. As the old adage
Speaker:and the quote goes, it takes a village to raise a child. And
Speaker:the best classrooms that I have personally seen
Speaker:across Queensland are classrooms and
Speaker:schools that have had the maximum amount of community support.
Speaker:That means there are grandparents that are coming in and
Speaker:reading and helping with the classroom. There are parent
Speaker:volunteers that are helping to run reading groups or math
Speaker:groups to make the hands-on learning more available
Speaker:to the children. And at these schools, the maximum amount
Speaker:of input from parents and grandparents and
Speaker:the community members is where I see learning
Speaker:excelling the most. So it
Speaker:comes down to our capacity as
Speaker:parents to be able to
Speaker:activate change. Teachers, God bless them,
Speaker:are so overworked and have
Speaker:so much demand put upon them
Speaker:by the curriculum, by the state board, by
Speaker:the national government, and every single other thing that they
Speaker:have to tick off to be able to teach our
Speaker:children. So yes, we can come in and we can advocate as
Speaker:parents, to the PNC, the parent teacher
Speaker:communities at the schools, and we can also do this for
Speaker:the principals, and it can propose different options. But
Speaker:the Montessori curriculum in Australia is
Speaker:now approved as an independent curriculum, which
Speaker:means state schools have the
Speaker:capacity to be able to do what
Speaker:Groveley State School did and what Kapalaba State School did.
Speaker:They have the capacity to come in and to implement
Speaker:an alternative method of education like Montessori, even
Speaker:if it's co-aligned with the school. Montessori
Speaker:being a very independent method
Speaker:of learning where the children are slowly building their independence from
Speaker:a very young age is really important that it is started
Speaker:from the age of prep and that slowly builds in. Montessori
Speaker:is not something that can be implemented school wide in one
Speaker:shot, but it can be implemented step by step slowly
Speaker:as one prep class moves into grade one and grade one
Speaker:into grade two and so on. These
Speaker:are things that we can advocate in our local community
Speaker:and I hope I have inspired you to talk to your parents
Speaker:and teachers and even your principal to make positive change in
Speaker:your local community because if it's not you
Speaker:then who? Thank you for listening. Please
Speaker:subscribe on Apple Podcasts and
Speaker:also on Spotify. Give us a five star review
Speaker:and subscribe on YouTube and look down below for
