[etni] Three Rs hits a big wall

Three Rs hits a big wall
Herald Sun, Australia - May 31, 2009

THE Federal Government's push to return to "three Rs" education is being 
derailed by a lack of qualified English and maths teachers, experts say.

The reintroduction of English grammar and emphasis on mathematics in the 
early years of school underpin the new National Curriculum.

But senior education professionals say there are too few teachers in the 
system equipped to teach these subjects.

Most English teachers across the country were not taught grammar at school, 
let alone when they studied to be teachers, according to Monash University's 
Baden Eunson.

"The sad truth is that there are very few people equipped to teach grammar 
in schools," said Mr Eunson, who teaches professional writing.

"And it's worse, because there are too few people able to train teachers to 
teach grammar.

"The national curriculum's aspiration to return to the teaching of grammar 
is laudable, but it will be difficult to achieve because grammar has been 
lost on an entire generation.

(To read the whole article, go to -
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25561249-662,00.html )


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