Sa Suffers Classroom Crush Analysis

The newspaper article ‘SA suffers classroom crush’ was written by Lauren Wilson and Tim Williams, and was recently published in ‘The Advertiser’. Although lacking images, the display of the heading in bold font catches initial attention, with the utilisation of persuasive techniques purposed to shape initial opinion. For example, the effective use of alliteration within the heading involves the repetition of the consonant sounds of ‘s’ and ‘c’, evoking meaning, memory and emphasis for the audience. Also, emotive language is successfully applied by the authors to persuade, with clever word selection of ‘suffers’ subtly inferring negative connotation towards large class sizes. Lastly, inclusion of the generalised term ‘SA’ addresses the Adelaide …show more content…
For example, current trends are deemed “concerning”, with surveys citing figures “above the national average.” Conversely, Phil O’Loughlin, executive director for human resources improvement, argues current student-to-teacher ratios as suitable, with a low class size representation nationally. Additionally, the impact on educators is addressed, with larger classes argued to increase workloads and teacher professionalism; inhibiting provision of equal opportunities for learning, especially within diverse classrooms. However, the authors’ sole focus on principal feedback in the AEU report results in missed opportunity to share the representations of 7000 teachers within Australia. This severely limits the perception of expertise, with a lack of personal reflection from teachers on impacted workload and individualised support. Similarly, the learning requirements of the students is assessed, with emphasis of focused funding towards smaller classes “in the critical early years”; recognising higher demands for one-on-one support. Also, professionals state larger classes within secondary schools as “[not] a problem.” The resulting implications upon parents is also explored. However, while Jenice Zerna, Parent Clubs president, expresses trends as “really concerning”, this assumes generalisations of the parent body; thus restricting representation through …show more content…
The reader is encouraged to consider both the growing concern regarding current trends of larger classroom sizes, in addition to contemplating the possible misrepresentation or distortion of data. Interestingly, the authors investigate the resulting influence on teacher professionalism and academic outcomes, especially for classrooms with a large number of diverse learners who require additional support. For example, Pam Kent, SA Primary Principals Association president, highlights teaching quality as a greater influencing factor on academic achievement, inferring class size has restricted impact in comparison. However, generalised statements referring to ‘the research’, without citing specific evidence or literature, diminishes the strength of her argument. Conversely, implementation of data from various surveys reveals the high nature of class sizes within South Australia. However, such evidence is selective, with the industry standards cited applicable only to public schools, and class sizes representative solely of primary schools. Also, the education department infers the data is misrepresentative: “[the survey] did not reflect the reality in most of the state’s