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May 2009 Question of the Month

Replied Jul. 13, 2009

July 2009 Question of the Month

Replied Jul. 8, 2009

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C Phil Cullen and Danna Green are now friends

December 4, 2009

C Phil Cullen updated their profile

October 7, 2009

C Phil Cullen and Stan Harris are now friends

August 11, 2009

C Phil Cullen replied to Kim Carter's discussion 'May 2009 Question of the Month'

Kim, I'm an Aussie and I'm old so I don't expect to create many waves nor much notice taken. I've had a long but wonderful period in primary'elementary schooling and my credentials can be checked on http://primaryschooling.net where I press the poin…

July 12, 2009

C Phil Cullen replied to Kim Carter's discussion 'July 2009 Question of the Month'

One must ask 'Who sets the standards ?' Teachers in the classroom usually want to be supplied with some sort of benchmark against which they can self-evaluate their progress in each of the multitude of learnings that they control. The Principal usua…

July 7, 2009

C Phil Cullen updated their profile photo

July 7, 2009

C Phil Cullen is now a member of The Five Freedoms Network

Welcome Them!

July 3, 2009

Profile Information

First Name:

Phil

Last Name:

Cullen

Hometown:

Ipswich, Queensland

School/Organization Name:

ex-Education Queensland

Job Title:

Director of Primary Education

City:

Brisbane

State:

Queensland

My Story:

State Primary teacher and Principal in many locations [24 yrs]; Regional Director in far-flung areas [6 yrs]; State Director of Primary Education [13 yrs]. University lecturer; Co-author of three books on schooling; sole author of book on group control of public education ["Back to Drastics"]; Now wrinkled poor golfer, passionate about halting present political attitudes to schooling.

My Ideal School is a Place Where:

Children burst a blood vessel to get there every day because of the learning challenges there.

My Religious Views:

Practising [custom-built] Catholic

My Political Views:

Open. Probably left of centre.

My Favorite Freedom:

Speech

My Personal Heroes:

Every primary school teacher

My Personal Motto:

To thine own self....

My Favorite Journey:

To help children learn how to learn.

Recommended Reading:

'The Geranium on the Window Sill Just Died But Teacher You Went Right On" by Albert Cullum.

Recommended Web sites:

http://primaryschooling.net
http://kelleyandcullen.net

Quotable:

'There's a Pupil in the Middle of Your Eye.'

An expert in educational issues is a person who comes from somewhere else. Efforts are lauded if the accent is different and especially if the person resides at a University or has done so. Some are more memorable than others, mainly because of their ability to persuade the ideological like-minded. Americans love toney English-accented 'experts' and Australians love drawly American-accented 'experts'. They both really sound impressive. Nasal Aussies are too far down-under to impress anyone else. They are controlled by experts from up-over

We Aussies dutifully imported blanket testing from up-over and it has had the same effects as has National Testing in U.S.A. and the U.K. testing program. Most schoolies knew that it would but the political tsunami too much to resist on educational grounds. Electoral points had to be scored no matter what. It was introduced down-under by the Federal Minister for Education after she visited New York. Thanks Big Aps. An ex-lawyer there persuaded her that fear is the best motivator for pupils to make gains in lower cognitive test scores.

A perspicacious cartoon artist with the Courier Mail newspaper in Brisbane captured the moment well. Resident artist Sean Leahy portrayed the shame of his state running last in the test stakes, teacher recognition of the imported expert and a number of other subtleties as well.

With the artist's permission, I have included it on my website http://primaryschooling.net
Just click 'Visiting Experts' on the right-hand list and have a grin. I thoroughly recommend it.

Comment Wall (3 comments)

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At 5:31pm on September 10, 2009, Bridget Carruth said…: Hi. Would you please look at my blogs about the private prisons and give me your feedback? Thanks.

At 12:43pm on July 7, 2009, Kim Carter said…: Hi Phil,
I am enjoying exploring your posts on your web site primaryschooling.net! I very much appreciate your commitment to primary schooling, having begun my work (oh so many years ago!) there. I would like to encourage you to bring your passion and perspective to our Network by starting a discussion (or two or three!) in the Soapbox. For instance, I love your thoughts about the distinctions between the language of "students" and "pupils". In the US I think we tend to use "students" and "learners". My personal preference is to use the word "learners". I feel it honors the individuals we are working with, as well as acknowledges the journey we are ALL on!

At 9:30pm on July 3, 2009, Kim Carter said…: Hi Phil, welcome to the Five Freedoms Network. "Wrinkled poor golfer" with a LOT of passion and conviction! I love your description of the ideal school - hear hear! It's great to have you here -- how did you hear about us?

As you can see from the world map on our home page, we have a growing, eclectic community of individuals from across the globe -- from Brooklyn to Pakistan, from North Dakota to China. Thank you for taking the time to add your voice to that fascinating mix.

As you surf around the Network and its companion site, www.fivefreedoms.org, I urge you to share your voice throughout. Take our You Be The Judge First Amendment quiz (a new scenario every two weeks). Leave a comment on a fellow member's personal page and make a new contact. Upload a video to our gallery, or watch and react to one already there. Join (or start) a group or visit the Soapbox to contribute to (or start) a discussion. And invite others to join us.

In short, use your voice to co-create our online community :-)

You may also be interested in taking a look at our companion site - the or. The section on "What We Value" includes a variety of resources about the five freedoms of the First Amendment, our leadership framework, student voice, and impact factors.

Post a comment on my page anytime with questions or ideas. And please, the next time you're online, upload a photo to your personal profile -- the easiest way to make a virtual network feel more personal is by seeing each other's faces (and profile answers). Thanks again!