Teaching has always been a challenging career. For those long term teachers:
do you think things have changed? If so, in what way?
What would you change immediately if you could?
I’m lazy (and disillusioned).
Have labor significantly changed NG/CGT settings- akin to pre Howard settings? Or are they just tinkering around the edges and have a policy that’s as useless/damaging as their 5% first home buyers scheme?
I have zero faith that the political class can make real decisions that will help the next generation.
Please enlighten me.
*Asking for a friend who is a young female second year teacher.
A regularly violent and abusive child threatened to kill her earlier this week. Is it appropriate that that student continue in her class?
He currently is.
I think my advice to her next week will be to document everything for the eventual work cover claim.
Why do Australian classrooms rank 70th out of 77 in OECD data?
Are our kids coming from greater trauma at home than countries in our region (if so, why and how)?
Alternatively, are our management strategies not working (if so, which ones)?
This is an educational euphemism that means you will take abuse (spitting, hitting, kicking, death threats and violence) under the false idea that we are in some way fixing these poorly behaved children.
What we end up with is kids who don’t get provided with boundaries for their behaviors and staff who end up with mental health problems and very often end up leaving the profession.
Everyone loses.
No profession on earth should ever tolerate abuse. We need to flip 180 degrees on this issue.
Background- I have been a teacher for 27 years in low SES schools in both a high school and primary settings.
Analysis- if the general public truly knew how catastrophically things have degraded in these settings schools would be shut down overnight and a new system would be created.
Personally I protect my own children from the system I work within as much as I possibly can (I have often said I wouldn’t even send my dog to exist in these spaces, let alone my children).
I feel for all teachers, SSOs and decent families trying to navigate and survive this system we have collectively created.
Change will have to come at some stage.
Good luck all.