online
Where the news never stops couriermail.com.au
PLAY LESS,
PAY MORE
SM
EA
Cool
Yule
Hot music for
IJRI
L6 8I
S M EA
under the tree
A
IJR
I L
6
8I
SM
E
»LIFTOUT
Aussie cricketers’ pay claim » P3, 88
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2008 $1.00 incl GST
couriermail.com.au
Teachers told to use
kid gloves with pupils
Patrick Lion
QUEENSLAND teachers are being
warned to use bean bags to reduce student
stress, organise ‘‘mind dumps’’ to clear
kids’ thoughts and even stop using ‘‘aggressive’’ red pens to mark work.
In a controversial suite of tips that has
divided psychologists, a Queensland
Health kit tells teachers to use blue or
black pens to mark assignments because
red is considered too confrontational.
The effort to handle students with
care — backed by Health Minister
Stephen Robertson, pictured — also
includes teachers being told to
apologise to them when
necessary and organise
‘‘check-ins’’ at the start of
each day to assess how
they are feeling.
The Queensland Council of Parents and Citizens
Associations last night
demanded the kit be
scrapped.
‘‘It is definitely over the
top and quite unbelievable,’’
council president Margaret
Black said.
‘‘We’re calling for our
children to grow up normally, including their work
being marked with a red pen.’’
The Good Mental Health
Rocks kit — of which 1000 have
Handle with care
Queensland Health’s tips for
teachers on dealing with mental
health in the classroom
Don’t mark in red pen because it
may be viewed as aggressive.
Time-out bean bag for students to
use when in distress or when they
need a break.
Start each lesson with a “check in”
about how students are feeling.
Mind dump. Ask students to record
anything “on your mind”.
So-called “learning logs” in which
students write reflections on
their work.
Steam time. Each student gets a
one-on-one chat with the teacher for
5 to 10 minutes each week.
been distributed — was revealed in State
Parliament yesterday by the Opposition,
which has labelled the red pen advice
‘‘kooky, loony, loopy, Left policy’’.
Continued P4 »
Education’s priorities under fire
32° Cairns
Fine
FRST
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
32° Townsville
Fine
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
34° Rockhampton
Fine
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Coast
30° Gold
Late storm
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Coast
31° Sunshine
Late storm
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
32° Toowoomba
Late storm
32°
Brisbane
Late storm
WEATHER P71»
P4»
4 NEWS
Worse than death
Patrick Lion
A STATE Government department
responsible for looking after children
considers bad publicity more important than a death in a school.
A leaked Education Queensland
risk matrix policy document tabled by
the Opposition in State Parliament
yesterday revealed the ranking system
public servants should use when notifying bureaucrats of issues.
‘‘Sustained adverse publicity’’ was
ranked in the worst category of critical
but ‘‘loss of life or permanent injury’’
was considered less serious in the
major category below.
Other results considered less
Bureaucrats fear bad publicity above all
important than bad publicity included
a 10 per cent financial impact on the
budget or long delays to programs.
The existence of the rankings has
emerged three years after former
health inquiry commissioner Geoff
Davies labelled a similar document
used by Queensland Health as
‘‘shocking’’.
Opposition
Leader
Lawrence
Springborg yesterday questioned how
the Government could still be using
such a system.
‘‘After 10 long years, the Beattie-
defended the document, saying the
critical category also included ‘‘multiple deaths’’ alongside the bad publicity.
‘‘Yes, it lists ‘sustained adverse
publicity’,’’ Ms Bligh said.
‘‘Of course the department would
have to deal with that.
‘‘That is just one example of what
would be a critical risk in the category
of managing the external environment.’’
But Mr Springborg said the loss of
one life should be considered more
SHOCKING . . .
health inquiry
commissioner
Geoff Davies
uncovered a
similar policy at
Queensland
Health.
Bligh Labor Government has clearly
lost its way when it is more concerned
about bad news stories than people’s
lives,’’ Mr Springborg said.
However, Premier Anna Bligh
Experts put
unproven
pen policy
to sword
WHAT YOU SAY
What next, corks on the end of food utensils
so the kids will not injure themselves?
Start supporting teachers instead of imposing more
nonsense on them!
Peter Williams of Brisbane
I am deeply perturbed by the aggressive red
in the Australian flag. There is a big angry
red cross in the left-hand corner, which no
doubt is having a major impact on the
healthy psychological and emotional growth
of our children.
Jlow of Brisbane
I have always thought to write to someone
in red pen is quite rude … but at school it’s
easier to see where the corrections are to
be made.
stephiepuss of brisvegas
barrongreenback of Toowoomba
If the only thing that some bureaucrat has to do is to
worry about what colour pen teachers use, I would
say we have one too many bureaucrats.
Tanya Chilcott
Ken Wilson of Bundaberg
Red is a colour. It only has perceived
meaning. Using a red pen does not display
aggression.
Rochedale
What a ridiculous act of political correctness
gone too far – how will these children ever
survive in a corporate environment!
Carmen of Manly
OUR ONLINE POLL
Should teachers be stopped from
using red pens to mark children's
school work because the colour is
"too aggressive"?
Yes 4% No 96%
(94 votes)
(2100 votes)
Total: 2194 votes so far
online
Do you agree? Have your say couriermail.com.au
Teachers told to use kid gloves on students
»From P1
The kits were distributed to 29
schools which participated in the
Queensland Rock Eisteddfod this year.
The Bligh Government yesterday
defended the kits, which cost almost
$3000, and labelled the attack a
‘‘cheap political stunt’’ which failed to
understand serious mental health
issues.
Mr Robertson said teachers did not
have to use the advice devised by
specialists as it contained only hints
and tips.
Numbers to
call if you
need help
Kids Help Line
1800 551 800
Lifeline Counselling
13 11 14
Salvo Care Line
1300 36 36 22
‘‘This is not something you ridicule,’’
he said.
‘‘You only have to look at the suicide
rates in Queensland to know that this
is no laughing matter.’’
Opposition health spokesman Mark
McArdle said the pen advice showed
priorities were wrong when literacy
and numeracy levels were so low.
‘‘This is a kooky, loony, loopy, Left
policy from a Labor Government that
is out of touch,’’ he said.
The kit said the so-called ‘‘mind
dumps’’ allowed students to write down
everything in their mind and then
throw the piece of paper in the bin.
Another tip was a ‘‘steam time’’,
allowing for one-on-one chats with
teachers each week.
Psychologists are split on the red
pen advice but Toowoomba child
psychologist Paul Bramston said a
softer colour could help some children
with problems.
‘‘The red pen brings up association of
aggression more than blue or black as
red is linked more with dramatic things
like stop signs,’’ Dr Bramston said.
important than a bad run in the media.
According to the Davies Commission of Inquiry report, former Bundaberg health bureaucrat Peter Leck
testified that decisions were made by
reference to a risk matrix which rated
‘‘significant and sustained statewide
adverse publicity’’ on the same level as
‘‘loss of life’’.
Furthermore, ‘‘sustained national
publicity: QH reputation significantly
damaged’’ was on the same level as
‘‘multiple deaths’’.
‘‘The view, which seems to be that of
Queensland Health, that substantial
adverse publicity is as serious a
consequence as multiple deaths, is
shocking,’’ Mr Davies found.
Queensland Teachers Union president Steve Ryan hung up on The
Courier-Mail after claiming the kit did
not exist and the Government would
never give that advice to teachers.
‘‘Mental health is a serious issue,’’
Mr Ryan said.
‘‘It is disgraceful the Liberal National Party would make fun of mental
health.’’
Mental illness group Mind Frame
said about 14 per cent of children
between four and 17 suffered from
mental problems.
EXPERTS say they know of no
evidence linking adverse child
mental health outcomes with
teachers marking in red pen.
Leading child psychiatrist Dr Scott
Harden said the public had a right to
be sceptical about the Queensland
Health policy.
‘‘There is no doubt that people
would see red as a colour associated
with anger, but I am not aware of any
studies showing that it has significant
impact or adverse results (on
children’s mental health),’’ Dr
Harden said.
‘‘If they could show me some
scientific studies that demonstrated
there is a big difference between
these colours in terms of their effect
on young people, sure, but I just
haven’t seen any evidence of that.’’
He said the public had the right to
question policies which had no basis
in fact, with proven mental health
policies vital in the battle against
childhood anxiety and depression.
Griffith University mental health
public campaign expert Dr Jing Sun
said she too was not aware of any
evidence linking the use of a red pen
to childhood mental health.
She said teacher-student
relationships would be more
important to a student’s wellbeing.
Queensland University of
Technology clinical psychology
Professor Ian Shochet refused to
comment on the red pen policy,
dismissing it as ‘‘a storm in a teacup’’.
‘‘I think it is just a politician beatup and I would hate to see that
distract from the main message that
school and teachers are very
important in teenage mental health,’’
he said.
inside
Schools vital to children’s mental wellbeing
Tanya Chilcott
SCHOOLS play a vital role in overcoming
childhood mental health disorders, with one
in five children now suffering anxiety
disorders and depression inextricably linked
with their education environment, health
experts warn.
QUT clinical psychology Professor Ian
Shochet said research in his department
4 The Courier-Mail Thursday, December 4, 2008
found a 50 per cent overlap between
symptoms of childhood depression and
school experiences.
‘‘It got us to recognise the vital protective
role that schools play in the mental health of
children,’’ Professor Shochet said.
‘‘If they encounter warm and inclusive
and validating teachers, and if the whole
school system, not just individual teachers,
(is) able to create that kind of environment,
it makes a huge impact on the wellbeing of
students and their future trajectory.’’
Dr Lynette Douglas, of the Pathways
Health and Research Centre in Brisbane,
said one in five children now suffered from
an anxiety disorder.
‘‘Resilience programs conducted within
schools are a major component in helping
children to build their schools to reduce
their anxiety,’’ she said.
Leahy’s View
»P31
couriermail.com.au
FRST