Um, why are we doing this now?
BySo the government, in it’s infinite wisdom, have launched the My School website, which allows you to see how your school rates and compares it to other schools and check out how the school performs and other stuff.
(Not much other stuff from what I can gather, but whatever)
You may also have heard that it was launched yesterday – when schools officially went back – and it crashed due to “unexpected number of visits to the site”, and has had significant criticism about incorrect data and comparison of schools, and a few other things.
Um, perhaps a silly quesiton or two, but what is the point of launching such a website now? When schools have started back?
Ok, that maybe was a bit of a silly question, because it is really irrelevant when it was launched. People are checking out schools all time for their kids. In Victoria, it’s recommended you enrol your kids in pre-school of school around April or May, so I guess it’s kind of useful now.
What I really don’t understand is why the site fell to bits due to so many visitors when school has started back. Which parents are checking out to see if the school is ok now? What are they intending to do? Change schools now? Or start off with a preconceived idea about, and attitude towards the school, before they’ve even started?
I now I can be anally organised, and did check out schools a good 8 months before my first started at school, but sometimes I can be completely disorganised, like I haven’t even begun to think about next Monday when my kids do go back.
But I really do not understand checking out how “good” your school is now!
I agree Amanda – I think it is all a little silly. The timing is one thing, but the idea for the website itself is questionable.
Surely, SURELY, it must have crossed their mind that for parents checking out a new school, and comparing them, they would go for the “best” one. But what about the ones that perform not so well? Shouldn’t we be trying to give them a bit of a boost rather than just telling well meaning parents to send their kids somewhere else?
And another question – if a school is underperforming according to this site, is is because the school is crap? Or the kids just aren’t so bright?
I think that they should have taken what I imagine was quite a bit of money and poured it into the “underachieving” schools. That way it might actually be put to good use.
I refuse to look at the stupid thing.
I love the school my child attends, I have no desire to know if another school is better & so I boycott the waste of taxpayers money.