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Schools "failing to teach kids values"? 
-Samantha Thompson

Schools are failing to teach our kids values. This was the message on the front page of The West recently. The story was based around comment from Murdoch Universityís emeritus professor of education Brian Hill.

Professor Hill said "Australian state schools have been encouraged to factor the religious variable out of the curriculum, thereby leaving values education in freefall".

Just a thought: isn't that the role of the parents?

Why should teachers, already beleaguered with so much responsibility for children's educational, mental and social development, also be the ones to teach morals and ethics, right from wrong. As if they don't already have enough on their plates.

In addition to being educators, we seem to expect our teachers to be babysitters, nurses, psychologists, tutors, mentors, role models, guidance-officers and now we want them to be religious instructors too? Think about the cost for each of these experts and then compare it to what we pay our teachers.

As schools are the primary social environment in which children interact with adults and each other, the role of teachers in the establishment of a child's moral framework cannot, of course, be underestimated. Surely schools can, and do, teach values everyday - through teamwork, cooperation, collaboration, tolerance, understanding, respect for others. The Director-general of Education and Training Paul Albert, and other teachers, have said that values education is embedded in the curriculum framework.

"Values education" does not have to be connected to religion. Religious instruction does not always equal values. There are non-religious people with high ethical and moral standards just as there are also those within religious groups with dubious ethics and morals.

Communicare's Vacation Care a big hit with parents
Developing every child's potential

It's official, both parents and children alike are going crazy for Communicare's Vacation Care programmes.

"He loves it; they're always going on outings," says Julia Grimes of her son Kane, 10, who attended the October programme at Riverton and is a regular visitor to Communicare's Vacation Care programme.

"Kane enjoys the whole thing; the interaction with the other children and all the activities. They have themes for certain days, like making films (which featured in the first week of the October Vac Care)." Julia is a big fan of Communicare's Vacation Care programmes, having sent all three of her children there over the past decade.

Hot on the heels of its successful October Vacation Care programme, Communicare is now taking enrolments for the January instalment. The October Vacation Care programmes, held at Communicare's Riverton and East Victoria Park facilities, were buzzing with kids enjoying their time away from school.

Branden Criddle, eight, attended the East Victoria Park centre during his October school holidays and says playing outside was his favourite thing to do. He was there for one day in the first week, and three days in the second.

"He keeps asking to come for extra days," says Karen Criddle, Branden's mum. "He comes every term; he just likes playing with the kids from previous Vacation Cares."

Every year the popular Vacation Care facilities in Riverton and East Victoria Park fill up with children eager to join in the fun. The October programme had many highlights for the children who attended.

Activities included in the programme were: woodwork and jewellery making; kite and windmill making; 'Olympics Day' where the children had the chance to relive the Olympic magic with races and medals; and 'Messy Day' where the kids had some good 'clean' fun with arts and crafts.

Visits included a trip to the Royal Show; the World of Energy; catching 'Garfield' and 'Shark Tale' at the cinema, and outings to some of Perth's most beautiful parks, including nature walks and barbecues.

Many working parents have trouble finding somewhere for their kids to go in the school holidays where they can be assured they will be cared for in a safe and stimulating environment.

That's where Communicare's Vacation Care programme comes in.

Communicare employ a balance of trained and/or experienced play leaders who provide a safe and caring environment for children to play, ensuring adequate supervision at all times.

Communicare's Vacation Care is a creative programme for children aged 6-13 years. Activities offered include art/crafts, games, outdoor sports and team games.

Experiences and outings offered in the Communicare Vacation Care programmes are age-appropriate and entertaining for school age children. The cost of these activities is incorporated into the daily fee so there is no additional cost associated with outings.

"School holidays can be challenging and stressful for parents trying to entertain children. 'I'm bored' and 'there is nothing to do' are often familiar cries from children during the holiday periods," says Communicare Children's Services Manager Pamela Ellis-Kane.

"Vacation Care programmes are an excellent solution for both parents and children. Our programmes are based on the interests of children and are affordable to parents with no hidden costs."

Places in the Communicare Vacation Care programme are in demand. Bookings should be made at least two weeks prior to the end of each school term to avoid disappointment.

Child Care Benefit is available. For more information regarding Child Care Benefit, contact your nearest Centrelink office or Gay at Communicare on (08) 9451 9777.

Communicare' Vacation Care programme operates from two sites, with the Riverton centre being the first 'purpose built' Out of School facility in Western Australia.

Communicare's Vacation Care facilities are situated at:

• Noongar Way, Riverton

• South Bentley Community Centre, Cnr Hillview Tce and Hillview Place, East Victoria Park

To register your children in the Communicare Vacation Care programme for the January school holidays, or for more information, call Marianne on (08) 9451 9777 or email Marianne@communicare.org.au

I know he's smart, so why can't he understand?
-Brad Hutchinson, Audiologist and Speech Pathologist
-Claire Hutchinson, Occupational Therapist
-Ian Henderson, Audiologist

If you were to have a chat with Tim, your likely impression would be of a fairly bright and well-adjusted "average" ten-year-old boy. You would probably be surprised to hear that he really struggles at school. Tim can imitate dialogue from whole episodes of The Simpsons, and tell you the name of every character from Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings. Yet, when it comes to remembering how to do long division or read a word that was on last week's spelling list, Tim may simply go blank.

His parents have tried everything: being strict, allowing him to learn at his own pace (which saw him fall further behind his classmates), tutoring, hearing, vision and IQ checks. Each of Tim's assessment results fell within the normal age-expected range yet interventions did not improve his comprehension in the classroom.

Tim's sister, Brooke, is two years younger than he, yet she has experienced none of her brother's academic difficulties, achieving at least average marks. Tim's self-esteem is beginning to suffer as he is well-aware that Brooke is able to read, spell, and understand concepts he just can't seem to get his head around. Saddest of all, Tim frequently concludes, "I'm just dumb". It's getting harder and harder to convince Tim to go to school, and homeworkÖ forget it, particularly if he's tired! Why the difference between Tim and his sister?

Over the years Tim's parents have suspected that, being a boy, Tim is just taking a little longer to mature. They have also considered that he might simply be lazy, has "selective-hearing", or doesn't try hard enough to concentrate in the classroom. They have even wondered whether Tim suffers from some sort of attention or learning disorder.

Tim's current teacher realised the discrepancy between his potential and his output within the first two weeks of the school year. After speaking with his parents, learning of their efforts and frustration, she intuitively suggested he undergo a Central Auditory Processing (CAP) assessment. While the hearing assessment Tim had last year showed that he hears perfectly well, the CAP assessment was able to go one step further, to determine how well his brain understands what his ears hear.

Obviously, not every child who experiences academic difficulties will have a CAP deficit. However, any individual experiencing academic or behavioural difficulties should undergo audiological testing to first rule out an underlying hearing and/or CAP deficit. Far too frequently children with CAP are misdiagnosed and/or medicated for other disorders. The assessment of an individual's hearing and CAP abilities is comprehensive, requiring specialised technology, experience, and skill.

The results of Tim's CAP assessment shocked his parents. They showed that he processes auditory information at the level expected of a child six years and five month old! At ten years of age, it is no wonder that Tim is struggling to keep up with most of his Year Five peers. He unconsciously has to expend a great deal more mental energy to understand what he has been told.

There are numerous causes of CAP disorder. In Tim's case, this was probably due to the multiple ear infections he had as a younger child, preventing sufficient development of the auditory and language centre of his brain. Most of Tim's ear infections and "glue ear" were painful and thus easily identifiable, however some also occurred without obvious symptoms and were overlooked. Who'd have thought that "typical" toddler's ear infections would later have such a devastating impact on Tim's learning potential?

As with any learning difficulty, CAP Disorder can present in a variety of behaviours, such as:

• Frequent requests for clarification of information;

• Difficulty following multiple instructions;

• Distractible during listening tasks, particularly in noisy environments;

• Either overly sensitive or poor response to sounds or noise;

• Difficulty learning new or complex information; and

Possible behaviour problems.

Fortunately, CAP deficits can be habilitated through very effective and specialised neurological training, environmental modifications, and compensatory strategies. For children such as Tim to reach their potential it is essential that the root cause of their academic difficulty be addressed.

If you would like to talk to a specialist regarding CAP Disorder, or would like to be sent a free information package, please call Sonic Hearing's Head Office in North Perth on 9271 7711.

Tell WA your story 

Kids in Perth - The Parents' Paper strives to give the parents of Perth a forum to share their ideas and experiences with others. Now we are giving our readers the chance to get their opinions and stories published.

The paper is looking for anecdotes both humorous and inspirational, handy tips or anything else you might think other parents would enjoy reading. Even if you are not a parent, but have worked with children, we want to hear from you.

We are looking for true stories. The competition is open to all - mums, dads, grandparents, teachers, childcare workers or anyone else who would like to write about their experience with children.

Stories can be as long or short as you like and can be about any subject of your choosing - happy, sad, inspirational, uplifting, cautionary, advisory, your concerns, your hopes - anything!

In addition to being considered for publication in Kids in Perth - The Parents' Paper, a compilation of the best of these stories will be published in book or magazine form in the future.

Please note that it is an expressed condition that ownership and copyright of all submissions to Kids in Perth - The Parents' Paper will revert to Lasso Media Pty. Ltd. as publishers of the paper and the authors of these submissions will have no further claims on these articles/stories, irrespective of whether the submission is published.

Email your submissions to mystory@kidsinperth.com or post them to PO box 1418 Morley BC, WA 6943

So get writing and let the people of Perth know your story.