Journal article

D o you agree with the following statements about poor farmers in India and Africa?
• They are poor through their own fault.
• They are poor because of the climate.
• They are poor because their countries were colonies belonging to European nations.
• They are poor because a few rich people in their own countries control all the wealth.
• They are poor because the people of rich nations control the world's resources.

In Australia, women are 60 percent of all teachers, but that is an average figure and disguises the fact that they are 85 percent of primary teachers in some States, and less than half of secondary teachers in others.

Computer programs are not a magic remedy for dyslexia. But they can be a very worthwhile teaching aid when you need many ways of reinforcing each teaching point. In this way the computer can add a new dimension to dyslexia teaching, not by replacing carefully structured tuition, but by complementing the basic lesson. For instance, the microcomputer is unbelievably motivating. Pupils work hard in order to have time for the computer, and are often reluctant to go when time is up. And the micro channels this motivation well.

Developmental Dyslexia is a specific learning disability characterised by difficulty in learning to read. Some dyslexics also may have difficulty in learning to write, to spell and, sometimes, to speak or to work with numbers. The exact cause of dyslexia is not known, but we do know that it affects children who are academically capable, physically and emotionally healthy and who come from good home environments. In fact, many children with dyslexia have the advantages of excellent schools, high mental ability and parents who are well educated and value learning.

Mid-year exams are looming, and Mr Davey has a paper to set for his senior maths class. Going to his classroom store cupboard he drags down a battered manilla folder labelled 'Exams', bulging with dog-eared and yellowing papers. He flicks through the top few copies looking for last year's senior mid-year exam and the ones for the three years previous. On a sheet of lined paper he copies out those questions with double ticks or SSFG (sorted sheep from goats) written in the margin.

Schools do not create jobs. They do create school leavers. However, there is no reason why they should create school-leavers who do not have the practical know how to participate competently in life beyond school. In Melbourne schools programmes which join academic study with practical experience have been underway for 14 years. They have been given several names: youth participation programmes, youth action, or youth advocacy projects. These have been observed and reported on.

This discipline strategy is designed for schools rather than single classes. A proper implementation process involving in-service training for all staff is recommended. The strategy requires consistent application by all teachers and administrators. It is only for use when students are being difficult and their disruptive behaviour is making it hard for the teacher to teach and pupils to learn. In other

Teachers are the keepers of attendance registers. They have a legal obligation to do so. But where there are absences, what can be said? What can be inferred? What can be done? Most research into attendance difficulties has focused on families and their problems. It is true that the vast majority of children with attendance difficulties have home circumstances that are causing them stress. However,
many of the children who are regular attenders have the same home circumstances and they attend. When children are absent, what counts as a reasonable excuse, a reasonable cause?

Children often enjoy play fighting and wrestling together. From the preschool years onwards, this kind of play - often called rough-and-tumble play - is a common feature of school playgrounds or any open spaces where children can play. But attitudes to rough-and-tumble (or r&t for short) vary considerably. Some adults favour it (parents rnay do it with young children, for example), others regard it as harmless but of little benefit, yet others see it as noisy, dangerous and like real fighting. So what do we know about r&t? How rough is rough-and-tumble?

The sweeping and controversia1 1978 American Education Act is now challenging many assumptions about the integration of handicapped with nonhandicapped children. The Act stated that al1 handicapped children should be educafed in mainstream schools, except in the most extreme cases. Professor Douglas Biklen of Syracuse University, New York, was commissioned by the Federal
Government to conduct a four-year evaluation of 45 different schemes. His fmdings knock down four particular myths.