Unintended Consequences

As I've been in schools this week I've had to work around NAPLAN testing.

This is a minor pain in the butt, and fairly easily managed, but there are other aspects of the process that I find disquieting.

The atmosphere in schools during the week of testing is, to say the least, toxic.

It reminds me of the days when school inspectors ruled and teachers, principals and students quaked in their presence.

This atmosphere is indicative of the collateral damage caused by the all size fits all big stick approach that accompanies political interference in the education process.

Schools resemble families more than they do factories.

Until the pollies understand this, their interventions, even if well-intentioned, will always produce unintended consequences, including the commercial cashing in exemplified in the pic.