Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Lindy Matthews on January 28, 2010 at 10:50pm

So who do you believe is holding doctors, lawyers and engineers accountable?

I find it interesting Iain that you are happy to go with the hope technique when it comes to your children's education! You hope that the right people get the "calling" to become teachers and be willing to work tirelessly for little pay. You hope that there are enough of these people putting their hands up to take on this extremely demanding job to staff the classrooms of Australia, in spite of being publicly demeaned at every opportunity by parents and government. Yes we must keep teacher wages low to relieve your tax burden as we all know that investment in education is a waste of money. What does it matter if our future generations are poorly educated? That won't ultimately cost the government and tax payers much ... will it??? No need to worry, soon the teacher shortage will lessen the cost of paying reacher salaries as there will be so few left!

Permalink Reply by Samuel Burke on January 31, 2010 at 1:51pm

My 4 year Bachelor of Education Degree would indicate that I am a professional. How discouraged I am to read your responses throughout this site Iain.

Are you an educator? Do you hold a diploma/ a degree/ a masters in education? Is this what makes you so knowledgeable on the topic of educating?

We are bound by a code of conduct, child protection, police checks, planning checks, etc etc. We must register every year with the College of Teachers. At this time we must have evidence of 25 hours worth of Professional Training (outside of school time) as well as our annual police checks etc

Permalink Reply by Michael Lamm on January 31, 2010 at 5:34pm

Dare I ask you to inform us of your profession?

Permalink Reply by Michael Lamm on February 1, 2010 at 5:08am

What do you have to hide?

Permalink Reply by Lisa on February 1, 2010 at 11:30am

It's irrelevant to the the discussion!

Permalink Reply by Lisa on February 1, 2010 at 1:12pm

ok just for fun :) - an editor?

Permalink Reply by carla brown on January 28, 2010 at 11:33pm

You do not address Davids last question above !

I too find this need to " blame" teachers fascinating and frustrating because government policy of care and duty dictates all of these "professions" to some degree. Teachers are held accountable everyday for what they do. In some cases too much so and yes, in others , as in all professions, not enough. There are many schools that do the best with what they have-which will (if some comments on this website are any indication) get less and less due to the scaremongering caused by league tables . Unions are NOT against accountability and this myth needs to STOP! It is media and political hype. Accountability is needed in any profession but there needs to be care and thought put into how it is done. What many educators are against is a system that makes children into "products"to be measured economically, they are against economic rationalism and elitism in education and against teacher accountability based on school and social contexts where statistics do not account for the human factor or the current policy . League tables will not bring accountability for teachers , rather they have the potential to hurt communities......

For the record....I never agreed with joining unions before I became a teacher but with so many societal myths about schools and no other body to support and protect educators I would never consider teaching without membership.

Sadly, in teaching today you are fair game for generalisations and stereotypes that other careers do not have to put up with.......but you are right about one thing- it is a profession that IS a "calling ", so most of us take it on the chin and soldier on because the classroom is what makes it all worthwhile. But what damage will this do for the hopes of young teachers of the future ?

Learning is a partnership. A partnership dictated by the political pary of the day at times but ultimately one between teacher and child and community. Perpetuating myths about educators must stop if this partnership is to be valued and successful.

The majority of teachers care. Lets fix our teacher education system and resource our schools instead of labelling and dividing. It is the children who matter most.

Permalink Reply by Mary Jackson on January 31, 2010 at 7:35pm

And what is your professional Iain? You seem to be all knowing about the Teaching Profession, it just made me wonder....

Permalink Reply by Michael Lamm on February 1, 2010 at 5:18am

With regard to our unions, please keep in mind the fact that when I started teaching in 1975 I had 43 kids in a composite Year 2/3 class. That was a struggle compounded by the fact that it was in a low socio-economic area where kids came to school with all sorts of problems. Class sizes have diminished dramatically to around 28 in primary schools. This didn't happen because of govt generosity or even parent action. It happened because teachers and their union fought long and hard for it. Yes we took industrial action as we often do over the learning conditions of children in our schools. We lose pay and then cop nonsense from people like you who not only make trite patronising comments such as 'teaching, as admirable, noble and rewarding as it is, is not a profession in the strictest sense of the word' but castigate them for fighting to defend the public school system.

Permalink Reply by Oliva on February 1, 2010 at 5:56pm

Funny Iain!

Permalink Reply by Lisa on January 29, 2010 at 1:30am

The reason I used being in one of the forces as a profession as my example is that anyone in the profession of a lawyer or a Doctor etc… can still obtain and practice being in this profession if they are academic enough to get themselves through. I believe workers in their profession and the public determine if they are cable to work or even if they are good enough to get work. Or maybe some go underground (the demand for GP's and them actually being good is another debate). Even most Counselors have to be counseled.

So why is it anyone can become a teacher and in saying they have to get a police check and clearance and if they pass that just says to me maybe they haven't been caught yet. Sike testing can pick up many interesting facets of people's personality and underlying truths.

The demand for teachers is too high and they are too valuable. I think we are scared in losing them. It's a catch 22. The profession needs to be more sort after by teachers and up and coming graduates because it's respected and well paid.
I personally would be happy to pay higher for the education of my children.

My private health seems to go up more than school fees!

Permalink Reply by HB on January 29, 2010 at 1:33pm

I take some offense to the comment that counsellors need to be counselled. The reality is that because of their training, mmay be more apt to get help when realizing they need to talk to someone. Also, it is not sike testing, but psychometric testing. If you prefer you can call it "psych" testing.

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