By Cres Eastman for the Sydney Morning Herald

When will we ever learn? After the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Studies and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study results were released in 2012 there was widespread surprise and disbelief to discover that Australian children had performed poorly compared with many other countries.

This was most marked when measured against most of our neighbours within Asia. Blame was heaped upon our teachers, rundown schools, overcrowding in classrooms, lack of government funding and so on.

[But] we are overlooking some simple facts and principles. Could it be that our children are not competitive and it is not simply the result of a defective teaching system? If that is the case we can do something about it.