What type of Homework should kids be doing?

Occasionally I see a post that leads me to slap my forehead with the sheer simplicity of its brilliance. The post in the link below discusses the idea of homework for kids and I flag that I’m on the School Council of my kid’s Primary School, where this discussion runs rampant.

 

The research we have shows that homework does little other than to appease parents stuck in the ‘how we were taught’ mode. That does not however negate the discussion in the School Council Board, or in the playground at pick up times.

And then this article comes long with what could well be the definitive answer on homework, though perhaps not worded quite as I’m about to:

Kids should ABSOLUTELY do homework but it should NOT involve anything that requires a keyboard or a pencil. Instead, if parents really want to benefit their kids, the homework they should have their kids doing is PHYSICAL activity. One hour  of running; climbing, throwing, swimming, dancing etc each night. And even better, let it be free range, not scheduled!

Here’s the link to the story the prompted this none too subtle rant

Why does Facebook think it’s okay to treat Violence against women as acceptable?

May 21, 2013

In case you haven’t had time to keep up with these events, here’s a quick overview of the Everyday Sexism project’s attempts to hold FaceBook to account for its explicit support of sexual violence against women as portrayed in the many permitted Facebook pages that promote rape, rape culture, and violence against women. Facebook appears…

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How the ‘Perfect Plan’ can lead you to Disaster

May 13, 2013

Today I have a bee in my bonnet, so please look away if my frankness might bother you. In the last couple of days I’ve had yet another conversation with a Local Council planning team manager about Strategic Planning for their Council that bothered me a great deal. What really has me bothered is that…

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Micro Drones & Your Privacy

Apr 28, 2013

Whilst many people have heard about Drones in terms of their military applications, the concept of micro drones and their use in civilian settings is not quite so well known. It appears that the surveillance capability that technologies like Drones provide, are edging their way into more social environments. That may or may not be…

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Assessing the Opposition’s Alternative NBN plan

Apr 17, 2013

The link below will take you to the audio of the discussion I had with Annie Gaffney on ABC Radio Sunshine Coast the day after the Opposition released its Broadband policy. There’s been much discussion about the perceived value or otherwise, and I flag my bias here upfront: As a small business owner likely to…

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Higher Ed is still playing catch-up – will it ever be on par?

Apr 9, 2013

In the article I link to below, Diana G Oblinger, the President of EDUCAUSE offers the Higher Ed community some insights such as this one: we’ve moved on from the Information Age and are now in the Connected Age. Such a statement will come as quite a shock for many Higher Education Institutions and policy…

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Jobs of the Future and What Parents can do to help their kids

Apr 7, 2013

In case you haven’t heard, technology is making so many jobs redundant, that only the adaptable will survive. And when I say ‘jobs redundant’ I mean across EVERY conceivable industry and level of specialisation. Robotic surgery is now so good that not only can it be done remotely, it can be done without human intervention.…

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Coca Cola Versus the Public – container recycling as a branding challenge

Apr 4, 2013

Coca Cola, Lion Nathan and Schweppes have successfully challenged the Northern territory’s compulsory container deposit recycling scheme in the Federal Court. The scheme had seen recycling rates jump by 30% in just a few months and was widely applauded by the public as the right thing to do. Despite the overwhelming public support, Coca Cola…

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Advanced Strategic Organisational Management course in Manila

Mar 25, 2013

If you’re looking for an accelerated course in Strategic Planning and Advanced Management techniques in the Philippines in July, then TruEventUs has a two day session coming up on the 4th and 5th of June. Marcus Barber, founder of The Australian Strategic Planning Institute will facilitate this intensive program. For full details   You can…

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Is your Personal Bio-Waste Stream a source of Potential Income?

Mar 14, 2013

Without putting too fine a point on it, most of us pay little attention to what we ‘deposit’ in our toilets each time the body needs to exit our bodily waste. And yet with a looming phosphate shortage around the world (along with other useful components) our personal waste streams are worth billions of dollars…

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The Future of Retail has landed.

Mar 6, 2013

As co presenter of the ‘Future Matters’ series with the National Geographic Channel back in 2004, I discussed the idea of Rapid Prototyping or 3D Printing. At that stage, 3D printers were like very large office photocopiers and the better ones had starting prices of around $150,000. I stated that in the near future, people…

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