For a long time, Australian schools were some of the best in the world, but year after year we hear our test results are slipping, leading to claims our students are worse than they were in the past.

Perhaps the problem is not that our kids aren’t as clever, simply that we’re measuring that “cleverness” in the wrong way.

“If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree,” the saying goes, “it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” And perhaps that’s the problem at the core of our education system.

Are we spending so much time trying to get good test scores that we’re failing to properly educate the next generation?

Looking at the rise of “fake news” and the number of people deceived by obvious satire, it’s clear there are a few important lessons our children aren’t being taught. 

Epistemology is an enormous word that sounds vaguely religious, but it’s basically the study of how we know things to be true. It’s something journalists are usually well-versed in, asking questions to verify the truth rather than taking an opinion at face value.

The difference between fact and opinion is also something that needs to be taught. How often do we hear it said that everyone is entitled to their opinion? Of course they are, but that doesn’t mean those opinions are true, nor should they be given any weight. The opinions in this editorial, for example, should be given the same weighting as your opinions on chocolate ice-cream. Interesting, but not world-shaking.

Being a parent is fraught with peril and at a time when so many competing voices shout loudly at us from Facebook, it’s easy to jump on “alternatives” to mainstream education, be they the Montessori method or Steiner schools. Indeed, there are some fantastic benefits to teaching children to think independently.

However, the problem with everyone being treated as a precious little snowflake is that we’re all precious little snowflakes and when we grow up, we’ll still need to conform to the rigid framework of our society, a society where participation awards are few and far between.

What we need then is a redoubling of efforts to return our existing public school system to its former glory, but it’s not cheap. 

Hopefully, the extra funding will take our local schools part of the way there.