{"title":"Chris Bonnor","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Bonnor\u003c\/strong\u003e offers insightful explorations into the challenges and opportunities within education, blending analysis with commentary that provokes thought and discussion. His works delve into the complexities of educational reform and policy, encouraging readers to reflect on how learning systems evolve and impact society.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith titles such as \u003cem\u003eThe Stupid Country\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eWaiting for Gonski\u003c\/em\u003e, readers can expect sharp, engaging perspectives that challenge conventional wisdom and invite critical examination of Australia's educational landscape. These books are essential for those interested in education, policy debates, and social change.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"waiting-for-gonski-by-chris-bonnor-9781742237268","title":"Waiting for Gonski","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLonglisted, Australian Political Book of the Year Award 2022\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWhy is education in Australia failing?\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWhere did we go wrong, and how do we fix it?\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Gonski Review seemed like a breakthrough. Commissioned by Prime Minister Julia Gillard and chaired by leading businessman David Gonski, the 2011 review made clear that school education policy wasn't working and placed a spotlight on the troubling and growing gap between the educational outcomes of disadvantaged children and their more privileged peers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eGonski proposed a model that provided targeted funding to disadvantaged students based on need, a solution that promised to close the gaps and improve overall achievement.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAnd yet, over a decade later, the problems have only worsened. Educational outcomes for Australian schoolchildren continue to decline, and there is a growing correlation between social disadvantage and educational under-achievement. So why hasn't Gonski worked, and what should we do now?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWritten by teachers Tom Greenwell and Chris Bonnor, \u003cem\u003eWaiting for Gonski\u003c\/em\u003e examines how Australia has failed its schools and offers inspired solutions to help change education for the better.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'A forensic and gripping analysis of the power plays and vested interests that flipped Gonski from a needs-based, sector-blind funding scheme to its exact opposite. Greenwell and Bonnor even dare to float some ideas about how we might unravel the unholy mess that education funding has become.' - Jane Caro, novelist, writer and social commentator\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'School funding arguments cut straight to core questions of national identity and this book is a tremendous feat of history and economics which privileges understanding over judgment. Greenwell and Bonnor present a definitive and clear account of how we got into this mess, and they offer bold ideas for how we might get out of it.' - Bri Lee, writer, journalist, activist and author of \u003cem\u003eWho Gets to be Smart\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eEggshell Skull\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eWaiting for Gonski\u003c\/em\u003e forensically maps the sweetheart deals, spin and threats that cynical vested interests have wielded over and over to maintain their own privilege, in the process damaging Australia's future and throwing our most vulnerable students under a metaphorical bus. Read it and weep. Then agitate.' - Marion Maddox, Honorary Professor of Politics, Macquarie University and author of \u003cem\u003eTaking God to School: The End of Australia's Egalitarian Education?\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'When Gough Whitlam broke the stalemate on \"state aid\" he hoped that the Schools Commission headed by my old mentor, Professor Peter Karmel, would provide equal opportunity for all students, particularly for \"poor Catholic kids\". Unfortunately, the powerful and greedy private and Church lobbyists have subverted that hope. They have lobbied all governments to protect the privileged at the expense of millions of children in public schools and some private schools. The virtue of this book is that it places the failure of the Gonski reforms within the larger story of state aid in Australia.' - John Menadue, publisher of \u003cem\u003ePearls \u0026amp; Irritations\u003c\/em\u003e, who's had a distinguished career both in the private sector and in the Public Service\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Rigorous research compellingly presented, a sharp account of the highs and lows of the Gonski rollercoaster. This book offers both a cautionary tale and some excellent advice: we can do better for the nation's schoolchildren.' - Helen Proctor, Professor in Education History and Policy, Sydney School of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Sometimes education systems need to choose a new way to address old problems. That remains Australia's challenge. \u003cem\u003eWaiting for Gonski\u003c\/em\u003e is a must-read for all policymakers, educators, and parents who want to know why we ended up having one of the most unequal school systems today and how we can rebuild it so that all children will have a fair go in education that they deserve.' - Pasi Sahlberg, Professor of Education, Gonski Institute for Education, University of New South Wales and author of \u003cem\u003eFinnish Lessons: What can the world learn from educational change in Finland\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47559118848236,"sku":"9781742237268","price":44.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781742237268-waiting-for-gonski.jpg?v=1776929640"},{"product_id":"the-stupid-country-by-chris-bonnor-9780868408064","title":"The Stupid Country","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book warns of a future where the hardest schools for Australian parents to get their kids into will be public ones.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith insight, passion, and a great sense of urgency, Chris Bonnor and Jane Caro show how government, anxious parents, the church, and ideology are combining to undermine public schools.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Stupid Country\u003c\/i\u003e is not a one-sided defence of public education. However, it challenges us to consider whether we really want to continue stumbling blindly down our current path, risking the health of our public schools and everything they have created—our prosperity, unity, stability, and perhaps, even our democracy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFor more information, visit the author's website.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47600448504044,"sku":"9780868408064","price":34.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/f8de902865758c25913350728670e862.jpg?v=1778020331"},{"product_id":"what-makes-a-good-school-by-chris-bonnor-9781742233291","title":"What Makes a Good School?","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHow much of what you hear about schools can you trust? Can you believe the marketing hype about unsurpassed facilities, genius teachers, and stellar academic achievement? Do you listen to neighbourhood gossip about your local school? Are government statistics the answer? School choice has become one of the most agonising issues of parenthood.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eChris Bonnor and Jane Caro have no magic formula, and agree that complex factors come together to make a good school. But drawing on their own experiences and knowledge as school principal, parents, and advocates, they give parents the tools to do homework about schools themselves. They compare talk about schools—public, Catholic, private, selective, comprehensive—against the reality.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThey examine how good schools respond to the recurring crises in the lives of kids. They help navigate NAPLAN tests and the My School website. And they place their analysis squarely in the middle of the national discussion about education. Schools have to be good for students, for parents, and for the nation. \u003cem\u003eWhat Makes a Good School?\u003c\/em\u003e will help you to cover all bases.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47601316561132,"sku":"9781742233291","price":39.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781742233291-what-makes-a-good-school.jpg?v=1777997407"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/chris-bonnor.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}