The Department of Education’s Vision & Focus

In its Annual Report 2009-10, the Tasmanian Department of Education provides further evidence, in its sloppy but politically correct writing, that educational standards are declining whilst the Minister of Education, the Department of Education, the Faculty of Education at the University of Tasmania, schools and principals and, horresco referens, far too many teachers, who are supposed to be educating students, care more for appearing to be environmentally pious.

Strategic Focus
The department’s focus on improving the quality of teaching, professional learning, leadership and the establishment of professional learning networks underpins the Tasmanian approach to address the National Partnership Agreement – Improving Teacher Quality.  We collaborate with the University of Tasmania in the Partnerships in Teaching Excellence (PiTE) program to support teachers at all stages of their career so that all Tasmanian students may benefit from high quality teaching.  [...]
The department is committed to improving youth retention and attainment in education, and is strengthening accountability and responsibility for young people continuing from high school to senior secondary education and training and that they complete Year 12 or its equivalent.  The department is undertaking significant reform in the area of youth engagement, career development, transition, retention and attainment particularly through the post-Year 10 education reforms.  The goal is to ensure that Year 10 students go on to further education and training and to achieve this by providing flexible and meaningful pathways and, wherever possible, localised solutions in all regions of the state.  [...]
By continuing to direct our energy and focus on the government’s priority areas of the early years, school education, training and adult learning, and committing the necessary resources to where they are most needed, the department is striving to improve the outcomes for learners throughout their lives.  [sic]

“We [...] support teachers at all stages of their career”.  Just the one career for all those teachers? “The department is committed to improving youth retention and attainment in education, and is strengthening accountability and responsibility for young people continuing from high school to senior secondary education and training and that [and that?] they complete Year 12 or its equivalent.”  Committed to improving attainment, eh?  “The goal is to ensure that Year 10 students go on to further education and training and to achieve this by providing flexible and meaningful pathways and, wherever possible, localised solutions in all regions of the state.” Would an English teacher, in a high school or at the university, find any fault in those sentences?
The Department of Education, seemingly, is committed to diminishing the use of the hyphen in written English; the time saved, by not typing hyphens, and also by caring very little for grammar or sense, would reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, perhaps.

Climate Change
The department’s long-term vision is for all Tasmanian schools to be sustainable with students having the opportunity to learn as part of a whole school approach to sustainability.  [sic]