Australian Greens: No benefit for students in cookie-cutter solutions

A new report calling for a bank of centralised lesson plans for teachers is a one-size-fits-all solution that undermines teacher expertise and will lead to worse student outcomes, the Greens say.

Comments attributable to Greens spokesperson on schools, Senator Penny Allman-Payne:

“Lesson planning is at the core of the work teachers do. Outsourcing it to the government or the private sector undermines that work and will produce worse outcomes for students.

“The Grattan Institute report frames the difference between lesson plans as a ‘lottery’, but any teacher will tell you that in order to meet the needs of the diverse range of learners teachers have in their classes, lesson plans need to be differentiated so that reasonable adjustments can be made to meet the needs of all their students.

“Governments should stop casting about for neoliberal quick fixes. The solution to the problem of teachers not having enough time to plan isn’t to supply them with cookie-cutter lessons, the solution is to give them adequate resources and more planning time.

“If we gave less of our money to elite private schools so they can build extra boat sheds and install plunge pools for their headmasters, we could invest more in public schools, take the burden off teachers and ensure better outcomes for all students.”