I think Phillip O'Neill's apparent conclusion that government high schools in the Hunter are under-performing at the HSC, while non-government high schools are not, is flawed ("Hunter's poor HSC performance escapes examination", Opinion, 15/1). His conclusion is based solely upon an analysis of the proportion of a school's HSC subject entries awarded a Band 6 result (90 and above) by utilising the HSC data bases of two of Sydney's major newspapers.
Not all Band 6s are equal because not all subjects have the same level of difficulty. That is, some subjects are harder than others (e.g. the sciences). The percentage of students attaining a Band 6 differs from subject to subject, and within a subject from year to year. I remember one particular HSC year when as little as 5 per cent of students gained a Band 6 in one particular subject, while in another it was well north of 30 per cent.
O'Neill fails to factor in the correlation between a school's Band 6 performance and its Index of Community Socio-educational Advantage (ICSEA). The very great majority of Hunter non-government high schools have ICSEA's above the median of 1000, indicating educationally advantaged student backgrounds, while a large majority of government schools have ICSEAs below 1000, indicating educationally disadvantaged backgrounds. A better measure of a school's HSC performance is "value addedness", how well a school performs moving students nominally from a Band 3 performance to a Band 4, Band 4 to Band 5 etc. If O'Neill used this as a basis for his analysis he may well have reached a different conclusion.
Greg Archbold, Eleebana
Discipline's the issue
It is no wonder that the HSC results in private schools are better than in government schools ("Hunter's poor HSC performance escapes examination", Opinion, 15/1).
The reality is, the difference has nothing to do with class sizes, facilities, support services and the like. The reality is that the complete abandonment of discipline in public schools means that in many classes it must be near impossible to learn anything. Take for example the widely reported case at the school in Raymond Terrace where the teacher snapped because of the behaviour, and was charged with assault. I believe this behaviour is the norm at many public schools.
In contrast, discipline is strict in private schools and, unlike in public schools, this sort of behaviour will get you expelled. Any parent who can afford to send their child to a private school, but sends them to a public school, is letting their child down.
Similarly, if you have the choice, send them to a same-sex school, not a co-ed one. Boys and girls in co-ed classes spend most of their time mooning over, and trying to impress, the opposite sex, rather than worrying too much about study. One of my granddaughters spent most of her year 12 sitting in the corridor studying because it was a waste of time trying to learn in the classroom. It is a story I have heard from many other students.
Jan Phillip Trevillian, Fennell Bay
Not a bright idea
Joe Hallenstein ("I'm an electrical engineer and this is why I broke the law", Opinion, 12/1), you and Rising Tide had your 32 hours of fame, but this was not enough for you and 108 of your mates, including a 97-year- old man. Your extra two hours could have cost you your life.
Yes, you broke the law. You were lucky the police plucked you from the water when they did, you may have drowned. Most boaties know the danger of a runout tide and a north east wind in Newcastle harbour. Thank your lucky stars you were not in another part of the paper. For an electrical engineer, you're not such a bright spark.
Phill Payne, Gateshead
E-scooter reservations
E-scooters are being trialled at various locations throughout the nation. I have been following some of the trials, particularly at Forster and Gloucester. The feedback from users and the community is interesting.
While users provide positive comments, others are not so complimentary. I see pedestrians and road users consider the single-user modes of transport to be dangerous and intimidating. I also note that e-scooters are being abandoned in unusual and inconvenient places. Will they create unsightly dumping grounds like abandoned shopping trolleys? A Mid-Coast Council representative tells us that NSW Police will be investigating. Surely, police resources would be better served elsewhere?
There have also been serious injuries caused by accidents. I believe that the scooters are not to be ridden on footpaths, but there have been many incidents where pedestrians have been scared and sometimes struck by irresponsible riders. Lives have been lost and homes destroyed by fires caused by overnight charging of e-scooters. Emergency services and hospitals are busy enough without having to cope with these situations.
Sure, they may be a low cost and convenient way to get around, but they can be used only by agile people with good balance, and that rules out many older folk. From my observations, now is the time to ban e-scooters in Australia. There has to be safer forms of transport available.
Stan Keifer, Arakoon
SHORT TAKES
Charged up over supermarket prices
I don't think Albo should worry about Woolies and the impact on its employees, as it has plenty of price margin to play with. A four-pack of A23 Energiser batteries in Woolies is $13.75, while in Bunnings they're $8.50 (not on special but normal price).
Ian Reynolds, Forster
Opening a can of burns
Bruce Cook ("Give Bancroft an opening", Letters, 18/1), Steve Smith needs one of those arthritis tools; that might help him be an opener.
Ken Stead, Lambton
Options to help serve
According to some reports, the federal Labor government is contemplating recruiting Pacific Islanders to fill shortages in our defence forces. Maybe it is time to bring in national service that many other countries have? Better still, how about if the courts, instead of giving lawbreakers good behaviour bonds, give them the option of jail or national service? That might stop a few law-breaking protesters and fix the shortage of military personnel.
John Cooper, Charlestown
Daylight saving to stay
Steven Busch ("Call time on daylight saving", Letters, 18/1), get over it. It's been in operation since the '70s. There's still 24 hours in a day, the sun shines the same amount of time it always has.
Graeme Bennett, Warners Bay
Baths not for dog dips
On Sunday, January 14, about 8:30am another irresponsible dog owner was seen taking her small black dog for a dip in the newly renovated Newcastle ocean pool. What a stinker.
Margaret Gaul, Newcastle
Cash is king in my book
With all the new and existing scamming alerts and people having accounts hacked, I wonder if, in part, this is due to moving to a cashless society. Must be a huge increase in transactions. With banks charging a fee to me for using my money, I will always offer cash.
