Literacy vital
I strongly believe that literacy is the building block of the quality of life we will enjoy.
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In another life I was a director of a wonderful organisation called Books in Homes and I wrote their vision statement. Books in Homes Australia's vision is to re-awaken a sense of wonder in children and excitement in parents by creating an Australia where every child and family has access to books-of-choice at home.
There is absolutely no educational reason for any child to have a mobile or social media device during school time. People harp on about a child's safety but every member of school staff has a mobile if any safety issue arises.
Mobile phones and social media devices are ruining our children's literacy, comprehension and social skills . Every second article highlights this, but no one seems to want to do anything about it except a few private schools.
I was informed that public schools do it in some primary schools. However it is High Schools where the major issues arise with cyber bullying etc.
For many years I worked in employment and the biggest issue for employers was the low literacy level of young job applicants and their lack of social skills.
Better education leads to better long term jobs/careers , salaries, housing, health care, and all round quality of life.
Schools and school staff give their best every day but literacy level in particular is still very ordinary.
However I sometimes wonder about the literacy levels of young teachers. Also in another life I was a lecturer of trainee teachers at Notre Dame university. When I was marking students exams I was very concerned with the literacy and comprehension skills of some of them .
Problem is if we keep doing the same thing we will keep getting the same poor results. So its time to think outside the box.
Rural areas badly need creative ideas and people like these to give all our children a better shot at a successful life
Frank Pearce Bega
Animal consumers the problem for climate
A question I would like to ask all children, teenagers and adults that believe in human-induced climate change: Do you consume animal products and their secretions?
When we go deep down to the roots of the problem of this planet, we discover that animal agriculture is one of the main causes. According to various studies including a report from the UN, livestock and their by-products account for at least 32,000 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, or 51 per cent of all world greenhouse gas emissions.
Some facts: Methane is 25-100 times more destructive than CO2 on a 20-year time frame. Cows produce 150 billion gallons of methane per day.
Water: 477 gallons of water are required to produce 1lb of eggs; almost 900 gallons of water for 1lb of cheese; 1000 gallons of water to produce 1 gallon of milk. Five per cent of water consumed in the US is by private homes. Fifty-five per cent of water is consumed for animal agriculture.
Land: Livestock or livestock feed occupies one-third of the earth's ice-free land.
Rainforest: Animal agriculture is responsible for approximately 91 per cent of Amazon destruction for livestock and feed crops.
Humanity: Worldwide, at least 50 per cent of grain is fed to livestock; 82 per cent of starving children live in countries where food is fed to animals that are eaten by western countries.
In summary, animal agriculture is the leading cause of species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution, habitat destruction.
Who wants to rescue the planet? Answer: those who have a plant-based diet. Food for thought for all animal consumers.