Busting the myths behind the school funding mud-slinging match

Greg Cudmore

By Greg Cudmore
Community contribution / June 20, 2017

George Orwell warned us 70 years ago about the threat to democracy in the form of propaganda, double-speak and its present incarnation, fake news. Look no further than the current bun fight about education funding in Australia to witness a tawdry farrago of misinformation that Orwell could have easily included in I984.

Let’s revisit the following claims made in recent days by the key players in what has become a tedious annual ...

GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANT

Veritas North West London

Teaching - Secondary / Dec 17, 2025

Early Childhood Teacher

Story House Early Learning Chinderah Chinderah NSW

Explore how we enhance and support our Story House-ers at our Chinderah service, proudly certified as a Great Place to Work!

Teaching - Early childhood / Dec 17, 2025

Story House Early Learning Stones Corner QLD

Dive into leadership at our Pakenham service! As a float, surf the waves of collaboration, aiding the manager in service operations.

Childcare & Outside School Hours Care / Dec 17, 2025

By Greg Cudmore

Community

Greg Cudmore is a retired teacher with 45 years experience working in Australian Schools. He recently published 'The Elephant in our Classrooms' (amazon.com) which critiques contemporary Australian education, a primer for aspiring and practising teachers and for those like Mark Twain who never let schooling interfere with their education.

Similar news

School news / Science unit busting myths School news / Call for ambassadors to step up and help bust scientist gender myths School news / Libs to match ALP on Vic school funds

Latest comments

Timed to take effect at the start of school holidays so that teachers won't have to deal with the withdrawal symptoms...

— Phil Uren on Difficult Period Ahead As Kids’ Social Media Ban Officially Takes Effect From Today

Top events

Professional Development / February 5, 2025 / 2026 Filmmaking Summer School

Could it be that education spending is a bottomless pit where the amount spent bears little resemblance to better learning outcomes?

— Greg Cudmore

My premonition is that what happens in classrooms is far more important than how much money we spend on schools.

— Greg Cudmore

Anecdotally, 40 years ago my students could write more coherently and fluently than today’s graduates.

— Greg Cudmore

School news / Safer in school: extra year of compulsory schooling reduces child harm: new study

Compulsory schooling for 16-year-olds boosts attendance and reduces their risk of maltreatment and need for emergency healthcare, new research has found.

School news / National Curriculum designed to fuel climate anxiety among children, new report says

The National Curriculum is skewed towards ideological environmental instruction through the mandated cross-curriculum priority of sustainability, according to a new report, which has also been criticised for its political motives.

School news / Vic Govt resources supporting students’ mental health at school and online

The Victorian Government has released new resources for schools to help students, teachers and parents navigate the impacts of social media and screentime.

School news / ‘Timely intervention’: almost 80 per cent of adults support social media ban for kids

With Australia’s social media ban now in full swing, a new survey from Monash University has found that almost four-out-of-five Australian adults support the Federal Government’s social media ban for children under 16.

School news / Global review reveals what works for older students with reading difficulties

A comprehensive new review of interventions for students in Grades 4-12 who struggle with reading challenges the misconception that support beyond the early years of school is ineffective.

School news / Welcome turnaround: encouraging improvements in ear health for First Nations children

The proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) children who reported a long-term ear or hearing problem has more than halved over the past couple of decades.

School news / Not up to scratch: calls for SA Govt to address its ‘outdated’ education standards approach

There are calls today for the South Australian Government to commit to a basic minimum standard for all public education facilities.

School news / Independent schools community rallies in response to unthinkable Bondi tragedy

Leaders from the Jewish and broader community have broken down after 15 people, including a child, were shot dead by father-and-son terrorists at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.

School news / Just days in and social media ban slugged with second legal challenge

Reddit should not be considered social media, the app’s management argues, as it fights Australia’s world-leading ban for under 16s.

School news / ‘Infringement of fundamental rights’: Austria passes headscarf ban for under-14s in schools

Austria’s lower house of parliament has passed a ban on Muslim headscarves in schools for girls under 14 ⁠despite uncertainty over whether the legislation will be ruled unconstitutional as a previous ban was five years ago.

Comments