The week’s best education and union reads
Why unions support vaccination but not employer mandates
From The Conversation
Despite a push for mandatory workforce vaccination by some union members, the Australian trade union movement has been remarkably cohesive in opposing employer mandates.
Experts support Victoria's plan for schools covers ventilation and vaccination
From ABC News
A paediatrician has described the Victorian government’s ventilation and vaccination measures as "fantastic", and says they will reduce the risks of COVID when children are back in classrooms.
Climate education is essential for a better future
From Independent Australia
We need to teach future generations how to properly understand the effects of fossil fuel power and become more efficient energy consumers.
Temporary COVID school closures to remain in NSW
From the Sydney Morning Herald
The Education Department is preparing COVID-19 mitigation measures for when school resumes but deputy secretary Ruth Owen said NSW public school classrooms would not be fitted with air purifiers despite them being part of the plan in Victoria.
Push to make sexual consent education compulsory in Australian curriculum to stem assaults
From ABC News
Sexual assault survivors and advocates say consent education needs to be compulsory, explicitly about intimate relationships and taught much earlier in all Australian schools.
Parents speak out against inconsistent quality of remote learning
From The Age
Victorian schools have had six terms of moving in and out of lockdown. The minimum guidelines have not shifted in that time.
Australian students say they understand global issues, but few are learning another language compared to the OECD average
From The Conversation
Only 8% of Australian students say they are learning two or more foreign languages, compared to 50% of students across OECD countries.
What we know about COVID-19 in kids and the risks of returning to school
From ABC News
For many parents, the return to on-site learning will come as a relief, but also with a sense of trepidation, as COVID-19 case numbers have surged among young people in recent months.
Eat the rich! Why millennials and generation Z have turned their backs on capitalism
From The Guardian
Nearly eight out of 10 of young Britons blame capitalism for the housing crisis and two-thirds want to live under a socialist economic system. How did that happen?
Read More.
Anti-vax, far-right activists undermining Australians’ health, safety
From Australian Unions
We won’t reach the required levels of COVID vaccination without both significantly increased vaccine supply and a rollout program that doesn’t rely on workers to try to get the jab on weekends or during lunch breaks.
5 Ways to (Win Friends and) Influence People… To Get Vaccinated
From Megaphone Journal
By now, you’ve no doubt stumbled into some of the disinformation that’s been festering away online about COVID and vaccinations. And perhaps you’ve wondered how to respond. Here’s some tips to help you talk to (and maybe even persuade) your vaccine-hesitant mates.
Australia’s Right-Wing Libertarians Are Trying to Capitalise on Anti-Lockdown Sentiment
From Jacobin Australia
Libertarianism is marginal in Australian politics. But the governing coalition’s failings and the rise in support for right-wing anti-lockdown protests have given the dangerous Liberal Democratic Party an opportunity to make gains.
Petition: Paid vaccination leave for all workers
We won’t reach the required levels of COVID vaccination without both significantly increased vaccine supply and a rollout program that doesn’t rely on workers to try to get the jab on weekends or during lunch breaks.
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