Without TAFE, some would fall through cracks
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday October 31, 2009
So Verity Firth knows that school is "still the best place" for children to complete their education ("Jobs training gets top marks in TAFE plan", October 29). Has she asked any TAFE teachers who spend their time educating troubled teenagers for whom school is not an option?What about those who have dropped out of school because of bullying, teenage pregnancy, expulsion from school and many other reasons? What of those who run away from abusive homes and end up in refuges? What of those for whom school is too rigid and pressured?My colleagues and I have taught thousands of these students over the years, and forcing them back into the schools would be extremely detrimental to many of them. The reason they end up in TAFE is that school has failed them.Many of our students thrive in the TAFE environment and go on to other courses, university and/or good jobs. Others have to be coaxed and nurtured to get them through. If we gave up on these students, I shudder to think what would happen to them.I get the feeling this Government is after a "one size fits all" approach to education. The result will be that people fall through the cracks. A general education through TAFE is not only desirable, it is essential for many of the students who, for one reason or another, have found that school is not an option.Margaret Grove Abbotsford
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald