Best of the Web: School Funding Alarm, Forget ‘Find your Passion’, and Why Kids Need to Know the World of Work

Our selection of thought-provoking and useful articles from around the web on educating and raising children.

 

(David Crowe, The Age)

Independent Schools Victoria, along with counterpart associations in NSW and South Australia, has told the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of its serious concerns about contentious school funding proposals. A joint letter to Mr Turnbull said there was ‘growing alarm among Independent schools caused by the disturbing signals emerging from public and political discussion about school funding’. Parents would react with ‘dismay and anger’ if the government gave in to a political campaign by Catholic schools to extract a special deal. ‘We support more funding for all schools, regardless of sector, as long as there is a level playing field,’ the letter said.

‘Find Your Passion’ Is Awful Advice

(Olga Khazan, The Atlantic)

What career advice do you give young people? Is it ‘follow your passion?’ Or maybe ‘do something you like and it won’t feel like working’? These have become increasingly common refrains, but they may also be wrong. Two academics from Stanford have challenged the conventional career advice in a new paper. Passions aren’t found, they argue. Rather, they are developed.

AI could change the way we measure kids’ intelligence

(Jenny Anderson, Quartz, via Agenda, World Economic Forum)

Standardised testing in schools is popular in many countries. And as this article notes, we treasure what we measure. The problem is that we may be measuring the wrong things – teaching children that we value a very narrow definition of intelligence, such as identifying the purpose of a World War I treaty on a multiple-choice test. Enter Artificial Intelligence, which can master knowledge-based curricula. What’s left for humans? This article looks at a new book that calls for a radical redefinition of intelligence.

Why school kids need more exposure to the world of work

(Kate Torli, The Conversation)

Bringing together the worlds of school and work makes good sense, where everyone benefits. This article details the findings of a new report by the Mitchell Institute, called Connecting the worlds of learning and work. All students need to experience the world of work, particularly work of the future, long before they leave school, the report finds. The collaboration with industry and the community is vital to better prepare children and young people for future work and life. Governments have a leading role in making sure it happens.

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