Young people have raised concerns some students are starting high school without basic literacy skills.
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The education issue has been described as “common knowledge”.
But young people at the Tasmanian Youth Conference said when they voiced their concerns about the issue, nothing changed.
Youth Network of Tasmania (YNOT) volunteer Dakoda Leary said many of the education issues raised in a conference workshop were “common knowledge”.
“People are always saying they value the opinions of young people, but then don’t implement any of them,” Mr Leary said.
He instead advocated the government and organisations acted on their concerns instead of only listening.
At the workshop, his group wrote that primary schools at times did not help students to achieve the literacy skills needed in high school.
Group member Kiarna Nibbs, 14, said it meant some young people were starting high school without basic literacy skills.
Primary schools needed to have more one-on-one support options for students, Miss Nibbs said.
High schools also needed to address the issue by boosting literacy programs, she said.
Amy Brant, 17, echoed Nibbs, saying class sizes and discrepancies in ability meant teachers could often not help all students.
“The smartest students struggle to keep learning, while others struggle to keep up,” Miss Brant said.
The group also advocated for training for teachers who recognised potential in students but did not know how to respond, support for students performing well who wanted more mentor-ship, and providing more support to improve life skills.
Members from the Department of Education attended the session, saying it was in the process of developing its strategic plan for Tasmanian education between 2018 and 2021.
A department spokeswoman said the aim of attending the workshop on education was to “listen to what issues affect them”.
There were hopes the government would be able to engage further with young people as the policy was developed, she said.
Commissioner for Children and Young People Mark Morrissey said he welcomed young people to speak up about education issues affecting them and get involved in improving education for the future.
The two-day conference wrapped up on Thursday afternoon following a keynote address from Orange Sky Laundry founders Nicholas Marchesi and Lucas Patchett. They created the world’s first, free mobile laundry service for the homeless.