The What matters to the West survey found that European languages such as French and Italian seem to be out of favour.

Almost half the survey’s respondents thought Mandarin should be taught in schools, followed by more than a fifth who said students should learn indigenous languages.

The survey canvassed the opinions of more than 3400 people and was run by _The West Australian _ and Channel Seven.

French was the favourite for 18 per cent and Italian, just 13 per cent.

Chinese Language Teachers Association of WA president and Mt Lawley Senior High School Mandarin teacher Anita Chong said there had been a push by parents wanting their children to learn a language that would help with career opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region.

Mr Rudd’s linguistic abilities had also improved the popularity of Mandarin, she said.

“It is difficult; speaking it is easier than writing and students might not become fluent but through the language they understand the culture and have the opportunity to be one step ahead,” Ms Chong said.

Learning Mandarin opened up opportunities in places such as Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, where it was also spoken, as well as China.

Kimberley Land Council senior cultural adviser Irene Davey said she was encouraged by the number of people who thought indigenous languages should be taught in schools.

She believed it would deepen understanding of Aboriginal culture, help young Aboriginal people retain their own language and secure indigenous languages as an important part of Australia’s history and culture.

Education Department school support programs executive director David Axworthy said the department was aiming to raise the quality and profile of teaching of Mandarin and other Asian languages in WA public schools.

The department had opened six specialist language hubs in secondary schools this year.

He said Aboriginal languages had a unique place in Australia’s heritage and cultural and educational life and 25 Aboriginal languages were being taught at public schools in WA.

Survey respondents also overwhelmingly supported compulsory uniforms at school, with 85 per cent in favour.
Half thought students got a better education at a private school, while a quarter thought public schools did the job.

Source: The West Australian

The pressure comes after a Facebook memorial site for murdered 12-year-old Queensland schoolboy Elliott Fletcher was desecrated with images of child pornography and bestiality.

Users of two Facebook groups set up for past and present students of North Albany Senior High School, in WA’s south, posted threatening and defamatory comments about current and former teachers.

One comment said: “If we get over two million people saying they hate ( ) all staff and workers involved should be massacred by chainsaws and the school should be shut down.”

It is understood the Department of Education and Training has identified the student who allegedly posted the comment, although no action has yet been taken in the case.

Albany police said they were not involved at this stage.

In one discussion, past students referred to a teacher by name, claiming he was a “pervert” and had “sleazed” on to them.

State School Teachers Union president Anne Gisborne called for tighter protocols governing the use of Facebook and similar internet sites.

“What you’ve got potentially is the setting up of a kangaroo court, without the opportunity for any witness statements to be made or any defence,” Ms Gisborne said. “It can be the ruin of an individual and their professional integrity.”

Facebook refused to comment.

State Education Minister Liz Constable said she was appalled at the students’ postings and they should be punished.

The school’s principal, Sharon Doohan, indicated staff were being instructed in the appropriate use of social networking sites.

She urged parents to be vigilant over the potential misuse of the internet by their children.

Federal Education Minister Julia Gillard said yesterday a $3 million pilot program to combat cyber bullying in schools would promote “smart, safe and responsible use of technology”.

Source:  The Australian

In the first case of its kind in Western Australia, Hans Ulrich Meier, a father of six children was given a conditional release order in Midland Magistrate’s Court.

The court heard that two of his daughters, aged 14 and 15 years, missed almost three terms of school.

Mr Meier attracted headlines last year when he claimed children should be allowed to enjoy their time outside rather than being locked up inside a classroom.

He said his children spent their time watching videos, listening to music or drawing and teaching themselves.

Today he told the court that he had never refused to send his children to school but it was their choice.

He broke down when he told the court that his children’s fundamental rights had been “taken away”.

Outside court, he said he could not guarantee that it would not happen again, despite being warned he would face a $300 fine for each of his daughters if he breached the conditions of his order with a similar offense.

He said his children “feared school” and could learn from Google and the library.

Education Department student support assistant executive director David Price welcomed the outcome, saying it would compel Mr Meier to work with the department to ensure his children attended school.

“On any given day all schools in our state are monitoring the attendance of children,” he said.

“Given the nature of this case and the court outcome of course, we will be taking a very particular and close attention to that particular case.”

Mr Price said the law acknowledged that “chronic non-attendance” affected a child’s prospects in life.

There were also two similar cases involving Perth children before the department at the moment but no one had been charged.

Source: AdelaideNow

The neuroscience competition tests high school students on a range of topics, including intelligence, memory, emotions, sleep, Alzheimer’s disease and stroke.

In front of a live audience in Sydney on Monday, Uma competed against other state winners in the national final of the competition, which included a brain-teasing anatomy exam, doctor-patient diagnosis and a neuroscience quiz.

“The competition was tied right up until the end and it was a really nerve-wracking finish,” Uma said after the event.

“I’ve never won a national science competition before, so it’s amazing.”

As the Australian Brain Bee Champion, she will travel to California for the International Brain Bee Challenge in August.

Competition national organiser and Queensland Brain Institute professor Linda Richards said it would be a fantastic opportunity for Uma.

“She has shown that she has a special talent and passion for neuroscience and we’re very proud of her to be representing Australia at the international level,” Prof Richards said.

The Australian runner-up was Andrew Li, from James Ruse Agricultural High School in New South Wales.

Source: Perth Now

Almost 400,000 students returned to school across the state on Monday, with just one teacher vacancy.

It is a far cry from the economic boom years, when there were 264 vacancies at the start of 2007 and 79 at the start of 2008.

A WA Education Department spokesman said that while teacher shortages were still forecast over the next five years, the economic slowdown had seen more graduates and qualified teachers return to school, after being lured away in recent years by the high-paying resources sector.

The spokesman said the department had undergone an “intensive recruiting strategy” in recent years to fill difficult positions.

But he said fewer teachers were leaving the profession to enter other fields, while many had put off retirement after seeing their superannuation funds hit by the downturn over the past two years.

“We did have a high number of new graduates this year,” the spokesman said, adding that teaching was seen as a more stable profession after the recent economic bust.

There were 1266 new graduates registered as teachers this year in WA.

This year also marks the beginning of WA’s new independent public schools program, with 34 schools across the state being given greater autonomy to recruit teachers and other staff, and set their own curriculums.

Principals will also have greater control over school budgets and be allowed to expel students without departmental approval, under the new initiative announced by the Liberal government last year.

Of the 397,000 students who attended school on Monday, 29,000 were starting their first day of pre-primary.

There were about 260,000 public school students, with the rest attending private schools.

Five new public schools opened up in the Perth suburban area.

Source: Perth Now