In 2016, my eldest grandchild (attending first year of primary school at the time) seemed to experience great anxiety when approaching homework. We dubbed it “The Homework Wars”.

To combat The Homework Wars, I wrote a voice synthesised computer program – with the primary intention of making schoolwork seem more like fun than a chore. It worked like a charm! Within a few weeks the fridge door was filled with awards for math and getting homework done etc.

Part of the mission to create this computer program involved using the school handwriting style my grandchild was expected to use. And with a looming interstate change of residence approaching, it also had to switch handwriting styles at a moment’s notice.

This is how I discovered that early education in Australia is not entirely equal. My daughter had her plate full just trying to pay the bills and I was unemployed, so we needed the fonts for free – to our dismay, this was not possible.

I quickly came to the conclusion that, irrespective of their families’ ability to pay for absolutely everything to give them an “equal chance” at life, ALL children deserve an “equal start” – if at all we are to claim their futures are of their own making.

Hence the slogan…

Because early education SHOULD be free!