The recent Naplan Testing, an initiative of the current Labor party in Australia, has drawn much interest and provoked ongoing debate amongst parents. There is intensive discussion within the parent body about what teachers are, or are not doing for the children in their care. Many have their own ideas about what needs to be done, and how quickly it has to be effected, perhaps, dare I say, before the next wave of Naplan testing?
Sadly, little attention is paid to what is not in place for a teacher, things that greatly impact on teacher effectiveness and ultimately to student learning outcomes.
But for the time being, I would like to steer the debate away from the actual testing, and from teacher performance. There are plenty around who will want to discuss the two from an academic perspective, and others who will embrace the blame-game approach. Neither, in my opinion, will be entirely correct, for beneath this issue of student learning is a corrosive, somewhat insidious problem that has developed almost by stealth over time. It must be dealt with.
Purpose of Tests: The Naplan Tests were introduced into the schooling system to try to gauge student progress in Literacy and Numeracy, over time. Students are tested in years three, five, seven and nine. To their credit, the government has put in place, a methodology for comparing one school against another given particular criteria, which all seems well and good. Keep in mind those two words, ‘over time’.
You see, there are other factors that either inhibit or promote learning, and that is health and nutrition, and no one government, past or present, has even remotely considered the fact that teaching and learning, and nutrition and behaviour, go hand in glove. To be honest, what I see happening in schools today leaves me wondering if the Rudd government should have sought to explore the subject of nutrition and behaviour, well before considering testing.
Prying or Caring Teacher?: As a teacher I have taken time, for a number of years, to check on what children are actually eating in the hours they spend at school. Sure, I have no real way of monitoring what children eat at home (except to study the habits of parents when shopping, and that can be frightening!) but just simply looking at the contents of a child’s lunch box, and seeing what lurks there and what doesn’t, gives me enough evidence to suggest that in there might be a link to the generally bad and attention-deficit behaviour that pervades schools today. And believe me, that sort of behaviour wasn’t there as little as ten years ago. Yes, we had some problems but they don’t compare with today’s statistics.
Nutritious Lunches: Children know whether their lunches are healthy or not. They can tell you. And they always have somebody to blame if there’s junk inside. Even in year six when they exercise their rights about everything else, they take zilch responsibility for lunch-box contents!
Conduct a lunch box ‘Show and Tell’ (yes, I know there are many of you reading this who might say it’s none of a teacher’s business but bear with me) and you’ll find out that there’s precious little actual life in the boxes. Most of the food has been processed beyond recognition, white bread sandwiches, chips, cheezles, fruit straps, cup cakes………..the list goes on!
Expensive to buy, many of these so-called treats are left abandoned and languishing in the school yard with the odd teeth-mark impressions that suggest they have failed the taste test. Take some time to read the contents label of some of these. I have no idea as to what most of the additives and colourings and flavourings comprise, but bet your bottom dollar so why would we feed them to our children? Does it make us culpable?
Tuck Shop: And by the way, all of this is often compounded by the offerings in the school tuck shop, where children can feast to their hearts’ content, on a myriad of ‘healthy soft drinks’ that are anything but healthy (or soft). Another initiative on the scene is the sugar-laden slushie, a sticky colourful concoction.
Or they can buy reduced-fat, but still fat-laden pastries, cakes, and pizzas with additives that will ensure they could still be around when we are all dead and gone! And just maybe after feasting on these they might embark on further classroom learning, and maybe even engage in some Naplan Testing!
Is it any wonder their test results are down? Is it any wonder their behaviour is in question? Is it any wonder teachers are tearing their hair out? On whom might we cast blame?
Fruit Break: Some years ago, I introduced fruit breaks into my classroom, long before they became fashionable. I was strict. It could only be actual fruit, or vegetables, but noting masquerading as fruit. I was tough. Even children who looked at me pleadingly (or witheringly) were not allowed to feast on exceptions. And before long almost every child in my class was bringing fruit. Mind you, I always ensured I had a few pieces of fruit on hand for the child who consistently had a fruit-free lunch-box. The fabulous outcome of that was that the end of the year I had two parents who came to thank me for turning their children on to fruit! EASY!
Aggressive Behaviour and Diet:
There is a wealth of credible literature on hand that links disruptive and aggressive behaviour to dietary problems, problems that can often be corrected by the altering of the diet. Moreover, many studies have been done that prove that a change of diet in criminals has effected a dramatic change and decline in offensive behaviour. Now there’s a scary thought when you think about the rising incidence of crime in our society! And does it not challenge us as parents and teachers to do something positive for the children in our care?
South Cumbrian Alternative Sentencing Option: One notable study in the 1990s was the South Cumbrian Alternative Sentencing Option diet in England, which achieved spectacular results simply by altering the diets of young delinquents with aggressive behaviour. The scientific advisor, Professor Derek Bryce-Smith, was emphatic that defective diets actually altered the chemistry of the brain and could cause loss of control. ‘Contrary to what is taught in medical school,’ he said, ‘severe dietary deficiencies exist widely among the general population, and these factors particularly influence brain function’.
Attention Deficit and Stress Levels in Teachers: If that truly is the case, we are headed for great trouble if we don’t stop, take stock, and take massive action. We already have large numbers of teachers opting out of their profession at an early age, due to stress, lack of support, and the unacceptable level of attention deficit problems that seem to be part and parcel of the classroom setting, and trust me when I say that there are plenty more of as-yet-undiagnosed students who are attention deficit!
Those of us who have been teaching for longer than we’d care to admit, have had to adjust tour teaching and interaction with students over time. We have struggled to find ways of dealing with unacceptable behaviour, by attending behaviour management courses, putting students on day-to-day management plans, and resorting to tangible rewards such as stickers and prizes. You know, when you come to think about it, the bad behaviour has actually crept up on as almost by stealth, just as wrinkles, imbalance, and old age gradually tell us we are in the final stages of our living. Could it be that some of our students are coming into the final stages of classroom living and learning as we have known it? Perhaps yes, if we are to stop the attrition rate of teachers!
Where to? Do teachers have to go it alone? Where does a teacher’s responsibility begin and end? You see, from where I stand, education is a shared responsibility between teachers, parents, and governing authorities. We cannot and should not, separate the three. If we really want children to succeed, and if we really want the younger generation of teachers to stick around, start at the coal face. As teachers, we have the right to ask that parents meet us half-way at least, to discuss the diet concerns. We have the right to ask that parents meet us half-way on behaviour, and we certainly have the right to demand that Government take better responsibility for ensuring that all of this is addressed if they want that younger generation of educators to stick around and if they care in any way about the health of the students in their care! Perhaps educate parents first. The coal face is a very good place to start!! Naplan testing should wait.
Love your thoughts on this. Feel free to comment on my blog, or send me an e-mail at: maria@freedompursuits.com.au .
