Echuca

Attempts to revitalise communities

Interesting story in the Daily Mail about trying to bring life back to struggling rural communities.

Farmers in country Australia are renting their empty properties for $1 a week in an attempt to attract young families from the big smoke to invigorate their communities.

Residents of rural towns like Cumnock, Errowanbang and Molong in NSW and Wicheproof in Victoria hope the bargain rentals will entice families with young children who can help populate their schools, save the local bus run and keep businesses open.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3034554/Fancy-change-pace-Rural-farmers-rent-farmhouses-1-WEEK-attempt-save-communities-willing-one-suburbs-huge-saving.html#ixzz3X2YB8u5C 

Accessing Excellent Educators in the US

Copy and paste the link below to an interesting story from the U.S .highlighting the political and professional challenges that are likely to be the explanation for declining enrollment in education preparation programs across the country. In fact, in California, enrollment is down 53 percent over the past five years. New York and Texas are seeing similar declines as well. 

These numbers don't bode well for the education profession as a whole, but especially for parents with high hopes for their child's future, anxiously awaiting the teacher placement lists posted at the beginning of the school year, the savvy ones jockeying for placement in a favorite teacher's classroom. They know what matters most for the education of their child is not only a safe, supportive school, but also a great teacher in the classroom. 

Go to the NPR website for the full story: http://www.npr.org/blogs/ed/2015/03/03/389282733/where-have-all-the-teachers-gone

Interesting quote from the story:

The list of potential headaches for new teachers is long, starting with the ongoing, ideological fisticuffs over the Common Core State Standards, high-stakes testing and efforts to link test results to teacher evaluations. Throw in the erosion of tenure protections and a variety of recession-induced budget cuts, and you've got the makings of a crisis.

The job also has a PR problem, McDiarmid says, with teachers too often turned into scapegoats by politicians, policymakers, foundations and the media.

"It tears me up sometimes to see the way in which people talk about teachers because they are giving blood, sweat and tears for their students every day in this country. There is a sense now that, 'If I went into this job and it doesn't pay a lot and it's a lot of hard work, it may be that I'd lose it.' And students are hearing this. And it deters them from entering the profession."