Monday, August 24, 2009

Darebin - no kinder places but a fantastic climate change policy

This could make me leave Labor, buy an F250 and permanently lose any faith in public education in one swift hit. *

Kids are not getting places in kindergarten in Darebin. Come again, you say, because we are a 1st world country and although not everyone is happy with their local schools surely the public system does guarantee everyone a place?

Apparently not.

We are calling around neighbouring suburbs and I'm yet to see whether there is some decent option somewhere out there. But surely this would be a bit of a funding priority for the council?

Apparently not:


Darebin Council’s Community Climate Change Action Plan commits $250,000 in this year’s budget to deliver more programs that will work closely with business and industry, low income households and culturally and linguistically diverse communities to support further greenhouse emission reductions.

Oh FFS. Low income families probably want their kids to go to school first, you might get a slap in the head if you rock up and tell them to eat more hummus while they sit there rotting at home, kids missing out on basic educational milestones. Climate change is serious but I thought 2 other levels of government were putting a large portion of their policy budget into this issue? It might be a nice idea, but try meeting your most basic deliverables first before whipping out creative and vague Action Plans.

Anyway, who cares when we know they're going to get a fcuking laptop in primary school. It'll all be better when they have laptops.

(*please forgive slight case of having the shits and sliding into exaggeration.)

5 comments:

Helen said...

Please no, not the laptops in Primary school. Primary school kids can't find their own arse until at least year 6 and many not even then. It'll just be an additional stressor for the mums, and yes I know you probably contribute more equally Armanac but in many / most households it'll still be the mum who has to keep track of this expensive liability.
/rant

Penthe said...

I couldn't get into kindergarten in 1977 either. Not sure what this means for the future of your child.

Getting into kindergarten is actually notoriously difficult all over the place, actually. Well-heeled parents used to queue all night at the kindy near our old house. It was all very funny, until one day I woke up pregnant.

Armagny said...

Penthe, noted. I'm sure a sense of exceptionalism based on the new boom etc is exaggerated, and every parent feels particularly aggrieved by such things. Then again, it's our role to be so.

Helen, no disagreement from me, let alone the fact that such technology will be redundant in 15 years and it's just another way of distracting from REAL education issues like paying for more teachers, kindy places, etc.

seepi said...

Wow - really?

The ACT govt is shite in almost every way, but here every child gets a free kinder spot at their closest centre, guraranteed.

Child health is garbage here tho compared to Melb.

Unknown said...

What annoys me is that Darebin policy reads that people who "work, study, have childcare" or live in Darebin have 1st preference - so much for the rate paying constituents in Darebin who cant get a kinder place having any priority benefits!!!