By Ann Marie
CHRISTOPHER Harrison is a “family first” man in more ways than one.
Besides running under that political party’s banner for Tarneit, in the coming State Government election, the Hoppers Crossing resident is father to four young children, including newborn twins.
Mr Harrison said he believed voters would be interested in a representative “sticking up for families for a change”.
In early campaigning, the software engineer has identified as a major voter concern school issues, especially the trend to educate students in composite or multi-age classes.
“These measures are done to balance the books in most cases, and is at the detriment of student learning and welfare,” he said.
When choosing a school for his seven-year-old daughter, Mr Harrison said there was virtually no choice in finding an alternative to composite classrooms.
Wyndham’s 25 primary schools almost all put more than one grade together in a single classroom, especially in the middle years.
Iramoo Primary School has traditionally been the exception, except for this year when, for administrative reasons, it joined years 5 and 6.
Mr Harrison said he knew of several disgruntled families who were pulling their children out of schools that used the composite system to place them in private schools.
He said a Family First government would eliminate the need for composite primary school classes, and reduce student numbers in upper primary school by properly funding schools.
Mr Harrison said the merger of several schools in Laverton was also a major concern and could be a sign of things to come in Wyndham under Labor candidate Tim Pallas.
“It’s reminiscent of the school mergers that were so common in Victoria during the Kennett years, but it’s not a vision shared by Family First,” he said.
Julie Mason, principal at Derrimut Heath Primary School, said quality teaching and the recognition of a child’s individual needs were more important factors than composite classes in a good education.
But Paul Hanrahan, a Melbourne University education expert, said shrinking budgets were forcing principals to use composite systems.
“Instead of getting extra teachers to take on extra students, they will sell composite classes to parents as being better educational opportunities for their children,” he said.
