Anonymous #370

Submitter information

Name

Anonymous #370

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.

Strongly disagree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

These actions are manifestly inadequate to address the denigration of education and contempt for teachers that has been the prevailing attitude within Australia's political and media class for many years. What is more egregiously offensive is the idea that we, as a nation, require a "Government minister's say nice things about teachers" policy; especially in the same document as this federal government continues to insult the teaching profession by saying that those who chose it voluntarily are not the "best and brightest" and others must be bribed into supplementing or replacing them.

That this government, a Labor government, would have the gall to suggest the Sir Humphreyesque proposal of offering honours in the Order of Australia, and a medal for one teacher annually, as some kind of 'recognition' is a disgrace.

We are workers, we do not want medals, we want fair pay and recognition of our capability. That a labour political movement would dare suggest otherwise is a disgrace.

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.

Strongly disagree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

These proposals contain nothing that will retain current teachers in the workforce, and several things that provide disincentives to staying. The primary one of which is the incredible insult of continuing to employ disgraceful "best and brightest" think-tank rhetoric, sponsored by the Grattan Institute, to overtly imply that everyone who has chosen teaching vountarily, rather than been bribed into it with HECS concessions and direct cash payments, is not worthy of their job.

The causes of workforce drain in education are well known:

- Excessive Workload
- Excessive Workload leading to an inability to complete outside of classroom tasks (analysing student work, planning and adapting common sequences of learning, meaningful professional learning and collegiate consultation)
- Lack of career growth opportunities
- An expert field of commentary and policy-making in which there are no opportunities for teachers

Strengthening Initial Teacher Education (ITE)

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

Strongly disagree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

Mark Scott has nothing meaningful to contribute about education, he worked for two years at an incredibly elite school before leaving education behind. Appointing him to run anything more in education than a fundraising committee is gravely insulting to teachers. For shame.

Maximising the time to teach

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

Strongly disagree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

None of these proposals are policy commitments, let alone funded ones, therefore there is no point putting them forward as solutions.

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?

Slightly effective

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

Why isn't this already being done? There is nothing more to say on the matter.

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.

Strongly disagree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

The HALT programme is simply a massive talking shop for people within teaching who have the free time to commit to it. However this time necessity, in and of itself, makes it impossible for many teachers to commit to HALT, or similar programmes, as they are not compensated for by schools but present and additional work burden for no additional pay.

It is an uncontested good to create spaces such as this for teachers to have control of the teaching profession, to have curriculums written by experts in teaching, not by think-tanks and the university sector. However if this is simply presented as an additional burden, rather than a recognition of what should be taking place naturally within the profession, then it is meaningless and will yield no change.

Respect us or you will have to replace us.