Today’s papers have reported that Maths, Literacy and Science standards in Australian schools, compared with those in other nations, ranked 19th in maths and equal 13th in Literacy in 2012. Not good, in a country that has so much going for it. As Julius Sumner-Miller would have said, “Why is it so?”

Well, if you really want  to know, just ask a teacher.

Teachers know that, day after day, they are in many ways tackling the impossible. In a culture that in some ways is adversarial — teacher versus students — today’s curricula offer little to the teacher in terms of structure, diagnostic testing, and worthwhile assessment procedures. Further, there is little acceptance by many students that what they are studying is worthwhile, and will lead to something that really counts in their lives.

Who can blame teachers for the decline?

Teachers — am I right, or am I wrong?