Education
Childcare – Why should you pay for it?
Starting before they are born, our governments spend a lot of money on children. The Commonwealth budget for education alone is $67 billion, and in NSW $24 billion. Add the other states and territories, plus health care, and as the saying goes, pretty soon you’re talking real money. While our society obviously values children highly, it is rare that anyone questions...
Raising Free Thinkers: The Case for Homeschooling
Two months ago I wrote an article in which I questioned my boy’s childcare centre for indoctrinating kids at preschool age about the controversial political matter of Acknowledgment of Country. Shortly after, our second baby was born. During the hospital stay, unable to work much, I listened to several audiobooks that made me reconsider our children's future education. I had...
A Digital Dark Age (part 3)
‘We will continue to be your single source of truth. Unless you hear it from us, it is not the truth’. So said former New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. Covid When Covid hit in 2020, people had no reason to doubt what they were being told by their political leaders. However, the pandemic very quickly exposed the incompetence of many in the medical...
Another Brick in the Wall
Libertarians don’t argue a lot about education policy. And yet, ‘school choice’ and ‘decentralised education’ are ideas that unite us with conservatives generally. Empowering parents to homeschool forms a branch of this policy, and indeed many parents have become more interested in homeschooling as Australia’s education standards have slipped and an ideological agenda has emerged within its curriculum. But the...
A Letter to My Kid’s Childcare Centre
Background: A few weeks ago, when dropping off my child at their childcare centre, I noticed something on the classroom whiteboard that I hadn't paid attention to before – the "Daily Routine". Amid the usual activities, one particular sticker caught my eye: “Acknowledgement of Country”. I was SHOCKED. It prompted me to write the following letter to the Centre. Dear Centre...
The Everyday Libertarian
In today's politically charged atmosphere, evangelical libertarians often stray into polarising debates around topics like firearms or drug legalisation. Is there a subtler, more effective approach? I suggest the “everyday libertarian mindset”. It involves reframing common complaints and concerns through the lens of smaller government and individual liberty. I often hear myself responding to complaints about government by saying “that’s why...
The University Trap
As the university semester begins and students head back to classes for another year, it is worth examining the troubling history and reality of Western higher education. THE INCOME CEILING It is widely acknowledged that without a university education the ability to earn an income can be limited. While trades, vocational institutions and technical colleges do present lucrative opportunities, achieving a...
University River
In William Blake’s hymn Jerusalem, the phrase ‘those dark Satanic mills’ was assumed to refer to the cotton and woollen mills of his time and their terrible working conditions. Based on the date of the hymn and Blake’s religious background, many question whether he was referring to the Dickensian factories and cotton mills at all, but rather to the universities...
Capturing The Glory Undeservedly
Somehow, the West has gotten into a real twist about identity, especially that of minorities. In the name of justice for minorities, identity is being used to undermine equality and liberty. Minority group identity has become a weapon to be wielded against the alleged privileges of the majority. The result is that common humanity and individual freedoms are being...
14 Crackerjack Ideas To Revivify Education
It’s no secret our education system is one of many government institutions at breaking point. Our children are the ones who are suffering with student academic results showing a steady decline and an increase in youth mental health presentations. Staffing shortages and unprecedented violent attacks are at the forefront of the crisis. I have worked in the system implementing my performing...
