How long will it be before a student sues their university for failing to get them into their dream job? We are now seeing in Australia the first case of its kind in which a former student is suing her high school for failing to get her into law at a prestigious university. How long then before this type of litigation replicates itself at a tertiary level?
A former Geelong Grammar student, Rose Ashton-Weir, has launched a legal action in VCAT against her alma mater. The basis of her lawsuit is that the school failed to adequately support her during her time at the school.
Media reports of the hearing include a claim that negative feedback over an essay left her confused and made her doubt her ability. It is also reported that Ashton-Weir was placed on internal suspension while at the school and that her reports indicated she did not complete her school work.
The emergence of this type of litigation is a bad sign for education in Australia. Litigation is the most extreme form of a negative student culture.
Commenting on the Ashton-Weir case, Michael Stuchberry wrote in The Drum about his experiences as a high school teacher with students who expected to be spoon-fed and made threats when they did not immediately get the materials and advice they wanted.
If students of this caliber are indulged at high school then they are likely to be problematic at a tertiary level.
There are numerous similar writings from other high school teachers identifying the entitlement mentality displayed by some high school students. Similarly, there have been writings by several academics that have discussed and analysed a growing number of pushy and demanding students.
I would think that these students are greatly outweighed by a larger number of reasonable and considerate students. Nonetheless they definitely have an impact on the experience of teaching.
The danger is that students that have unreasonable expectations and who make illegitimate demands will eventually push a lot off capable teachers out of education. Yet, students of this ilk cannot exist without a cultural and institutional framework that validates their behaviour.
Indeed, our broader policy moves on education set student expectations. For example, what is the take home message from the existence of