Looking Back at Australia’s Divisive Same Sex Marriage Vote, One Year On

A reflection on Australia’s vote for same-sex marriage, one year to the day since it was enshrined into Australian federal law.  Today, the 7th Dec 2018, commemorates the one year anniversary since the Australian parliament passed same-sex marriage (SSM) legislation. This was the culmination of a government-run nationwide postal vote which had concluded with 61.6% […] Read more

Why Teaching Canonical Texts Still Matters

Though the literary canon has fallen out of favour with many teachers, introducing it to students is still a valuable and worthwhile exercise. In one of the first tutorials for my Secondary English class at university, back when I was beginning a Master of Teaching degree a year and a half ago, the topic of […] Read more

The Missed Opportunity of Gonski 2.0

The Gonski 2.0 report is a missed opportunity which doubles down on what has caused declining achievement standards in Australian education. On Monday morning in Australia, the much-anticipated Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools was released to the public. More commonly referred to as Gonski 2.0, the second iteration of the report on education […] Read more

Is Australia’s Literacy Education Failing Its Children?

Despite ever-increasing investment in education, Australia’s literacy rates are not improving and are falling behind those of other nations. Why is this so? The gradual decline in literacy standards in Australian schools has garnered much attention in recent years. Despite standardised testing in the form of NAPLAN as well as ever-increasing sums of money being […] Read more

Q&A with John Perkins on Australian Secularism – Session 1

John Perkins is the President of the Secular Party of Australia. The party is intended to promote secular humanist ethical principles in Australia as well as advocate for the separation of church and state. In this educational series with Scott Douglas Jacobsen, Perkins discusses secularism in Australia. Read more

Postal Ballots Sent Out Ahead of Australian Same Sex Marriage Vote

The long campaign to legalise same sex marriage in Australia is nearing its close and ballots for the non-binding, voluntary postal vote are being sent out. Following an unsuccessful challenge to its legality in the High Court of Australia last week, the same sex marriage postal vote was declared constitutional and able to proceed. Ballots […] Read more