Last night I attended the Tasso Southern Region meeting at Campbell St. There was a lot of passion in the room and the sense from School Representatives and Parents in the room was very much dismay that a government that had promised to “rebuild our essential health and police services, and invest in education to create a job-ready generation” and given parents so much hope had in a few short months slashed staffing and left schools in a position where they had no choice but to cut educational programs.
One discussion centred on how people outside the state school community could be engaged in the conversation that we are having. We need all Tasmanians whether they be grandparents, aunts, uncles or just friends to back our cry for better funding. A good education system supports everyone in Tasmania. Employers have long been crying out for a skilled flexible workforce. Tasmania needs an educated literate and numerate workforce as we move further into a world dictated to by global economies. We need a workforce fluent in languages that can engage with their Chinese and European counterparts. We need a workforce skilled in Information Technology, capable of being creative and able to communicate globally. Sadly what Tasmania has got is another government that is so short sighted it can’t see beyond their term in office.
Today my placard read;
Teachers = Numeray and Literacy
Numeracy & Literacy at School =
Numerate and Literate Employees
CUT Education CUT Everyones Future
Teresa O’Leary, South Hobart Primary and Taroona High parent
