APPA COLUMN // Malcolm Elliott
Encouraging student participation GIVEN THAT ONE OF THE MAIN PURPOSES OF EDUCATION IS TO UNDERPIN OUR DEMOCRACY, THE FEDERAL ELECTION JUST PAST PROVIDES A FERTILE FIELD FOR LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES, WRITES MALCOLM ELLIOTT, PRESIDENT OF THE AUSTRALIAN PRIMARY PRINCIPALS ASSOCIATION (APPA).
Malcolm Elliott has been a teacher for 40 years. From 2015-2018 he was president of the Tasmanian Principals Association, representing government primary and secondary school principals. He is now president of the Australian Primary Principals Association (APPA).
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At election times the media is awash with reports on announcements, appearances and analysis of policies. The complexities of all this are tough for voters to get their heads around, let alone our students, but I think it is essential that we approach this with rigour in our classrooms. This may be done more effectively a little after the event, so to speak. While newspapers have been flatlining in sales under the pressure of the internet, they nevertheless can provide a very useful ongoing stimulus for discussion – especially for children in the upper primary years, and following an election. In Tasmania, for example, there are three daily newspapers – each published from the regional centres of the north, northwest and south of the state. A classroom display of front pages can open up discussion, research and cooperative learning based on editorial choices and issues of importance to the regions. Similarly, comparisons of the daily newspapers from the capital cities prove very useful and broaden students’ horizons beyond their hometowns and locations. And, there are the smaller regional newspapers which provide even closer insights into what matters in those locales. Newspapers
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too, remain influential enough for mainstream screen media to regularly report on their content and thus provide audio visual supplements to print analysis. In his paper ‘Beyond Certainty: A Process for Thinking About Futures for Australian Education’, commissioned by the Australian Secondary Principals Association, Professor Alan Reid AM, in regard of the impact of social media says,
Students willing to take on responsibilities are respected by their peers and acknowledged by their schools. Representation is highly valued. But at parliamentary level public confidence in political leaders has clearly been eroded. This is reflected in the ‘un-civil’ way in which our parliamentarians and candidates are treated.
