Anonymous #025

Submitter information

Name

Anonymous #025

Where are you located?

Australian Capital Territory

What type of area do you live in?

Metropolitan

Are you an education professional?
(e.g. teacher, school leader, learning support assistant, teacher’s aide)

Yes

Which sector do you work in?

Early childhood education and care,Primary

What is your occupation?

Teacher

Elevating the profession

The actions proposed recognise the value teachers bring to students, communities and the economy.

Strongly agree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

I appreciate deliberate and thoughtful responses to the plethora of anti-teaching commentary and media articles, particularly vicious comments by Kevin Donnelly

Improving teacher supply

The actions proposed will be effective in increasing the number of students entering ITE, number of students completing ITE and the number of teachers staying in and/or returning to the profession.

Somewhat agree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

Practicum are becoming extremely difficult to arrange and are less effective due to co strainers rather than better design. Teacher training could include PAID work as a Learning Support Assistant or Preschool Assistant. Such educator roles have multiple benefits in addition to formal practicums.

Strengthening Initial Teacher Education (ITE)

The actions proposed will ensure initial teacher education supports teacher supply and quality.

Somewhat agree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

See moments on the earlier question

Maximising the time to teach

The actions proposed will improve retention and free up teachers to focus on teaching and collaboration.

Strongly agree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

Please reconsider all aspects of traditional expectations on teacher time. Perhaps auxiliary staff such as Learning Support Assistants could take responsibility for playground duty, in concert with a responsive executive teacher support.

Alternatively, the important role teachers provide in social and emotional learning during play should be included in the calculation of face-to-face teaching with longer time off class for programming, lesson prep and reporting.

Throughout the day support by properly implemented, whole-school behaviour management would also provide increased actual teaching during class sessions by classroom teachers rather than managing escalating numbers of students with severe diagnosed and undiagnosed medical and learning difficulties.

Prompt response to students exhibiting major and persisten minor misdemeanor and personal crises has the added benefit of reducing increasing levels of occupational violence by students and parents against teachers.

Better understanding future teacher workforce needs

How effective are the proposed actions in better understanding future teacher workforce needs, including the number of teachers required?

Extremely effective

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

The Australian Bureau of Statistics provided rich sources of population data which can help state and territory governments better plan explosions and reductions in needs for schools and portable classrooms.

Also, reversing the trend of independent and Catholic school systems using data to show the minimal educational benefit actually delivered will put pressure on the government school system. This needs careful analysis and sophisticated anaylysis.

Better career pathways to support and retain teachers in the profession

The proposed actions will improve career pathways, including through streamlining the process for Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher (HALT) accreditation, and providing better professional support for teachers to retain them in the profession.

Somewhat agree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

Making classroom teaching attractive will presumably keep more skilled teachers in face-to-face roles rather than seeking executive or deputy principal positions.

However, with additional income comes increased responsibilities. HALT and experienced teachers should have mentoring student teachers as an expectation. Balancing workload from items such as coordinating athletics and aquatic carnivals, camp, school events and resource management such as STEM, especially maths, literacy and play-based and inquiry equipment and resources.

Better still, professional development, collaborative lesson planning and student teacher mentoring would be teacher responsibilities and administrative tasks would be managed by admin staff.