I was intrigued by the PM’s message yesterday, pleading with teachers to keep schools open.
As if it is teachers themselves who make those kind of decisions, rather than school authorities; both state and independent, and governments -- you know, like his.
It was even odder because schools are already open -- apart from during the holidays -- and remain so -- public schools anyway. Maybe the PM was talking to teachers who work at private schools, because those are the ones that can decide whether or not to open or close as they choose, despite their very high levels of public funding.
But if that was his intended audience, why did he try to tug at the consciences of teachers by talking about the students who are most likely to fall behind if most education goes online for the duration? They include the approximately 150,000 Australian students who do not have internet access at home or the kind of devices needed to participate properly.
This is the first time that I can recall -- and I have been in the trenches fighting for greater equality of opportunity for disadvantaged schools and students for decades now -- that Scott Morrison has actually acknowledged the stark educational divide between our poorest and richest students.
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