Good behaviour begins at home and not as a classroom topic

Let the blame game begin with classroom behaviour issues. (“Educate students on how to behave in class”,December 2). It is the students’ fault;poor parenting;societal ills;inadequate teacher training;internal school disciplinary policies;social media and bullying. The list is not exhaustive. The recent mature teacher retirements in NSW and the exponential rise of the inexperienced to fill positions,the casualisation of the profession and the many teaching outside their subject knowledge are other causes rarely highlighted.

Classroom disciplinary actions can always be improved but there are no easy fixes. The complexity of the issue is obvious to those in classrooms.Janice Creenaune,Austinmer

So,the problem in Australian education is not the disparity of advantage and resourcing,nor the consequences of having the most highly segregated education system in the OECD that filters off the role models of better adjusted and successful students to private and selective schools,concentrating disadvantaged and students with highest needs in low socio-economic and under-resourced schools. It’s not systemic failure. It’s the teachers and the students themselves to blame. How to fix it? Spend time teaching students how to fill in a survey form!Vanessa Tennent,Oatley

There is no question that “disruptive behaviour” in the classroom is a significant distraction for all students. While the government believes that a “national behaviour curriculum” may be the answer to decreasing disruption in the classroom,the proposed strategy will go nowhere if parents aren’t on board. Moreover,if the government really wants to make a difference,it would do well to provide all parents of children from birth to three years with access to home visiting and parenting groups where they have the opportunity to learn about,and support,the development of self-regulation skills in the early years of life.Elizabeth Starr,Abbotsford

Teachers face two main problems. The first is that by the time a child reaches the doorstep of their classroom,some of these kids have not been taught self-control. The second problem is that internalising self-control in children involves some discomfort. We live in a society that shies away from anyone experiencing discomfort,especially children. However,the irony is that unless adults can tolerate the discomfort that a child may experience when a parent sets a limit,the child will not learn self-control.Michael Hawton,Byron Bay

For many centuries,it has been understood that parents are the primary educators of their children. It is a sad indictment of our present Australian society that more and more responsibility is being handed over to teachers. Classroom misbehaviour,schoolyard bullying,students claiming rights without responsibility,misuse of mobiles,vaping – where does such behaviour begin? Undoubtedly,in the home. No wonder good,committed young teachers leave a profession they learn to love and we wonder why.Tony Butler,North Sydney

Student behaviour in class has been a source of teacher drain for decades. It was one of the reasons I left teaching in 2000. The education department’s answer is to add it as a new topic to the curriculum. Chances of success? I wish them good luck.Genevieve Milton,Dulwich Hill

Interchange nightmare a fast lane to madness

During the 2000s,my colleagues at the RTA were designing the M4East as a proposed extension of the M4 which at that time stopped at Strathfield (Letters,December 2). The aim was to connect western Sydney to the airport and Port Botany. They knew the Anzac Bridge had little spare capacity,so the design comprised a tunnel heading south-east well before the bridge. The previous NSW government abandoned that design and entered into a contract to build Westconnex and the Rozelle Interchange. I remember Minister Duncan Gay saying the contractor will be able to sort out the design. $4 billion later ...David Corry,Como West

After 22 years of happily living in Rozelle,we finally bailed. It wasn’t just the noise of the tunnelling under our house,the suspect promises of a better road system or the proposed unfiltered stacks close by;it was the belief that this spaghetti junction would not solve anything and divide our lovely suburb. Why did we think this? Because in previous years,we attended many WestConnex community meetings where independent experts warned of pinch-points and dodgy planning by the then state government among other concerns.Suzan Fayle,Collaroy

Is the Rozelle Interchange a Liberal Party revenge on the inner-city latte-sippers for taking their votes elsewhere?Jennifer Briggs,Kilaben Bay

So many expressions of surprise about the fact that the newly opened Rozelle Interchange is a dog’s breakfast. Why the surprise,and who is responsible? The whole thing,along with an endless list of other NSW transport farces,was committed by the Berejiklian/Perrottet government,so the blame can reasonably be sheeted home to the voters of NSW,who were responsible for giving the LNP 12 years of opportunity to create mayhem.Ian Usman Lewis,Kentucky

There was no way the Rozelle Interchange was ever going to be a “triumph”. The total lack of transparency throughout construction made it impossible for residents to gauge just how disastrously this fiasco would affect their daily lives once finished. It has brutally severed the historically linked areas of Leichhardt and Balmain,the three massive towers with their grotesque “basket work” frame are a vile eyesore,and the “green space” will be a lacklustre park surrounded by air and noise-polluting traffic. Every time we see people living on the streets,our public transport,healthcare and education systems in crisis,we should remember that the state LNP government were responsible for this obscene waste and insist that those responsible be made to pay for it.Sally Morris,Leichhardt

This has been a spectacular own goal. With the withering of a former proud public service possessing decades of corporate and technical knowledge,the government no longer has access to anything resembling a clue. Sadly,when you need deep expertise,there is nothing quite as useless as a consultant. Not bad for bright new ideas,but woeful on anything requiring profound experience. We can only hope that as reality dawns,actual experts with actual skills and knowledge may materialise.Brian Haisman,Winmalee

Labor problem simply seasonal

Peter Hartcher reports that the people aren’t “hearing” the government’s message (“Voters aren’t hearing us,PM told”,December 2). Halfway through the electoral cycle,they rarely do. Didn’t the outcome of the Voice campaign and numerous past elections show that people become more interested and engaged the closer it gets to polling day? Perhaps we should be grateful after all that we have compulsory voting. At least that incentivises the electorate to sit up and listen,however briefly.Fred Jansohn,Rose Bay

The PM’s advisors have it dead wrong. The problem for Labor is that the voters are hearing them,but don’t like what they are hearing or getting. There are deep systemic problems,with the booming bureaucracy and interference in the economy making it worse. Instead of offering real plans to clean up our top-heavy government and simplify the rules that govern us,Labor offers patchy BandAid solutions,each patch with its additional rules,bureaucrats and costs,adding to inflation. Dealing with the tax office and Centrelink is a nightmare;more “robo-debts” are being sent out. Instead of more doctors,nurses and ambulances,we get more health “administrators” with huge salaries. Unless there is a truly radical rethink,Labor’s numbers will keep falling.David Levy,Bellevue Hill

Mark Twain might well have been talking about the Dutton/Albanese ruckus when he wrote:“It is easier to fool people than convince them they have been fooled”. Dutton has used distraction,misinformation and prevarication in his assaults on Labor. It would be unbridled smugness and over-confidence on Albanese’s part to continue to believe that Dutton “will offer a rich source of doubts for voters” at the next election,as Peter Hartcher reports. Opinion polls indicate that Dutton is being heard. He has no articulated policies to improve cost-of-living problems that afflict so many but,unless the economy improves,the nation could find itself lumbered with a backward-looking Dutton-led Coalition.Ron Sinclair,Windradyne

Arts not political

Today’s opinion piece by Ian Maxwell was the most elitist essay that I have read in theHerald (“Theatre should confront us,but not on Gaza,it seems”,December 2). Mr Maxwell should understand that despite what he may believe,people go to the theatre to escape from the real world and enjoy a performance where they can relax and enjoy and be entertained. If actors want to make political statements,they should do it elsewhere.Ewan McLean,Beecroft

As a member of Sydney’s Jewish community and theatre lover,I was appalled by Ian Maxwell’s essay. The writer framed the current controversy at the Sydney Theatre Company in terms of a political dispute. This ignored the essence of this issue,the frightening rise in hatred of Jewish people we are experiencing. This has triggered the deep-seated,intergenerational trauma carried by members of our community to the extent that it makes us feel culturally unsafe. As a community that has played an oversized part in the theatre community as patrons,audiences,producers,directors and performers,we do not need to be lectured on the role of theatre in our society. We are crying out for strong and unambiguous support from the broader community in fighting the world’s oldest form of bigotry and racism.David Port,Bellevue Hill

Have you heard of “there is a time and a place for everything”? As a (now former) subscriber,my expectation is to see the event I read about and choose to pay to see. I do not pay for the personal opinions of the actors,no matter how genuine or ignorant they may be. I do not expect a political bombshell at a play that is not about that. Many companies have restrictions on what employees are allowed to say as representatives of their organisation – so too should STC.Michele Sharp,Queens Park

Secret police shame

How can police or the judiciary maintain any kind of community confidence or respect when a senior member of the force who has committed a major misdemeanour is allowed a level of secrecy not available to other police or members of the public? (“Officer’s name to be secret until 2063 after drink-drive charge,” December 2) The decision reflects disgrace on all concerned. At least the officer should do the decent thing and resign.Derrick Mason,Boorowa

The 40-year suppression of the identity of a top-ranking NSW police officer who “allegedly downed 20 drinks ... drink-driving until he crashed his car” and then fled is beyond disgraceful and concerning for the citizens of this state. This individual will be free to pursue a career where he may continue to be responsible for making decisions that could potentially affect the lives of others. The community,particularly parents who teach their children that police officers are there to help and can be trusted,deserve to know.Kerrie Wehbe,Blacktown

Real reason for co-ed

Alistair Mackerras dreamed of turning Sydney Grammar co-ed back in the day (Letters,December 2). As the only thing that mattered there was exam results,I imagine his primary motivation was access to the other half of the population. Call me a cynic,but with GPS schools no longer the academic powerhouses they once were,I suspect realists at Newington are desperately trying to lift results to justify their wildly over-priced private school,not to provide a more rounded education. Since Newington is historically a rugby school,not an academic school,its understandable that their old boys don’t want to halve their rugby stocks to lift their academic performance.Paul Davies,Crows Nest

More old white guys holding onto the past.Neil Reckord,Gordon (ACT)

Has anyone asked the Newington students for their opinion?Barry Riley,Woy Woy

Vanity projects

Through the updating of Dorian Gray via Botox and its ilk,the anti-ageing industries must be laughing even harder all the way to the bank (“Brotox boom:Are men anxious about ageing?”,December 2). Having well and truly secured the female market,the over-valuing of youth in our society now has men falling into their clutches,making it even more challenging for anti-ageism organisations like EveryAGE Counts.Anne Ring,Coogee

Pressure to look younger is becoming more mainstream,with men feeling the need to “look a certain way to remain competitive”,eagerly taking up “Brotox” treatments. What’s next? Full facial reconstruction for four-year-olds?Judy Finch,Taree

To borrow a quote,“the secret to saying young is to live honestly,eat slowly and lie about your age”.Edward Loong,Milsons Point

Final word

Your oft-published correspondent,and my last teacher,Edward “Ted” Loong has his letters invariably appear last,no matter the topic. Please publish this after his next letter as this might be my last chance to remind all my retired teachers that they could never shut me up. Andrew Cohen,Glebe