Anonymous #250

Submitter information

Name

Anonymous #250

Where are you located?

Victoria

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?

Secondary

What is your occupation?

Teacher

Elevating the profession

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

Somewhat agree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

The teacher’s workload is such that there is no time available for the truly dedicated to obtain these pseudo qualifications that profess high performance. I already work 60+ hours a week. I run student interest groups afterschool, I miss lunch and recess daily. How am I supposed to find the time to complete an additional assignment to prove that I am higher performing than my colleagues that do the same workload to the same standard. All this does is reduce collaboration and increase competition amongst teachers. Every person for themselves.

I prefer to put student needs in the centre of the work I do. Most teachers do.

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?

One of the main reasons students choose other professions when selecting university courses is the feedback they receive from their own teachers about the career (the reality of the job).
We can’t lie to the students we care for and tell them it’s a great job when we know the workload, the risks of injury and stress, the abuse from the community, the lower pay than comparably educated professions, and the low status in society.

I have 6 years of university education including a degree in Biomedical Science. The students I teach can’t believe what I put up with. They know I have options. They know I do this because I care and want to make a difference in their lives (and do make that difference). I don’t need some keyboard warrior on a news article telling me how lucky I am to have 12 weeks holidays when I am already on the highest pay in my profession with no ability for progression, work 60+ hours a week, work most of those 12 weeks holidays and have things thrown at me, get sworn at and sexually harassed by teenagers on a regular basis.

If we want more teachers, we need to change the narrative. Teachers are the pillars of our community. They shouldn’t normalise taking from their own wages to stock their classrooms, we need fully funded education so that we have the resources we need for our students to learn. Teachers shouldn’t be the scapegoat for everything that happens in society. Stop adding to the curriculum everytime there is an incident in the news. Instead, remind the community that schools already teach these skills and that families and communities can support schools by reinforcing these messages. We should never be the enemy.

Strengthening Initial Teacher Education (ITE)

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

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

Teaching is a really tough profession. I have had other jobs, other professions. They didn’t push me to tears on a weekly basis like teaching did in my first year of teaching.

Initial teacher training needs to be really practical and really honest. No point sugar coating it. Teaching can be really hard. You can have things thrown at you one lesson and then students absolutely outperform above your expectations in the next lesson. It’s a Rollercoaster.

Short term teacher training positions in schools are good but really need to be longer. The challenge is, they add to the workload of already overworked existing teachers. It is not easy supervising a preservice teacher. There is the preparation, coaching, observations, mentoring and feedback. It takes four times longer than teaching that class yourself. The renumeration from the universities is minimal and teachers take on preservice teachers as it is seen as just another part of our professional responsibilities and giving back to the profession. We are very generous people but that generosity is beginning to wear thin.

One way to provide the necessary experience is to employ these teaching students as Education Support Staff one or two days a week, similar to structured workplace learning which happens as part of VCAL/VCE VM. This would allow these students to earn a part time income (incentive for studying education) while observing quality teaching practice and supporting a range of students and building their own skills. It would also help address the ES staff shortage in schools currently, providing more support to the students who require it.

Maximising the time to teach

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

Somewhat disagree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

There was not much information in how this would be done.

To be honest, a lot of the administrative duties are built within schools. Reporting on student behaviour takes up the majority of my time. This needs to be done on Compass after the discussion with the student and takes 5-10 minutes depending on interruptions and internet speed. I will do between 5 and 15 of these a day. It certainly adds up.

Reporting feedback on student work is not as simple as ticking a test now. We are then expected to put a comment of what the student can demonstrate and what they need to do next on Compass. Multiply by 25 students per class and another 2 hours has disappeared on top of marking that test.

Our lesson plans need to be on Compass and visible to students and parents by 5:30pm the day before the lesson. This means writing the lesson plan or modifying one from a previous year and copying and pasting it into the compass page. Sounds easier than it is. Usually it takes 5 minutes to find the Google Doc with our Unit Plan then another few minutes to scroll down to the right lesson. Five lessons a day. We have a meeting afterschool as well so this is often done after our on-site hours.

Add on the constant student issues- students needing support and mentoring, students running through hallways and breaking lockers, uniform issues, fighting, vaping etc and we miss lunch and recess daily. And then we have to log it on Compass.

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?

Moderately effective

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

We didn’t expect to have 18 jobs advertised at this point of the year.

Covid has placed strains on staff that have made them re-evaluate the school they work at. Some just need a change, a fresh start. Some a tired of the poor behaviour of disengaged students and are moving to the private system with the hope of better behaviour. Some are tired of being taking for granted, the last VGSA in Victoria has really turned a lot of teacher off teaching all together. Some have decided to retire early. Some have decided to find a job closer to home for work life balance.

While there are real issues getting the right staff to remote and regional schools, these are long term issues that require financial incentives to overcome.

In metropolitan areas it is more likely to be student behaviour and staff culture that is affecting staff retention. Some
Subjects are harder to staff because there are less students doing those subjects from year 11 into university into teacher training for example physics and specialist maths. A scholarship to attract year 10s into this pathway may be worth a look.

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?

In Victoria, I have never met a teacher with HALT certification. Teacher awards and certifications are more about who you know than what you know. They are a farse.

Any competition or award reduces collaboration and increases conflict amongst staff. I am 100% against performance pay, even though I would likely receive it. It would become a popularity contest in most schools and tied to perceived school priorities or successes like top ATAR scores or student behaviour. It would end up going to the wrong people and create friction between staff.

Something that would help retain staff and recognise the expertise of staff are additional pay incentives beyond the top of the pay range that currently exists. In most states, you hit the top of the pay range after 10 years. If there was another pay rise at 15 and 20 years, you would be incentivising staying longer and rewarding experience.