BlueVista Consulting

Big questions around teachers at the moment. Sadly this question arises every few years - don't be misled Education Departments monitor these things very closely, they know almost exactly how many vacancies they will have during any given year.

Teachers leaving is not hard to understand - they are a free kick for many in the community, they are harassed by parents, tormented by students and often grossly over worked. Cuts across governments have been reflected across schools and in many of the support agencies which most believe are available for schools to access for their students. Public schools are public service locations and so are impacted by all government decisions both good and bad but unlike many branches of government they are easily accessed by community and on public show and scrutiny each day.

Yes, many teachers leave through overwork, long hours and little recognition but many also leave from colleagues bullying (not leaders), working near lazy and entitled teachers who are not open to change and limited career path options. Like every career it has its deadwood and its challenges even though it can be incredibly rewarding and offers freedoms few other jobs provide.

Talk of incentive pay should be knocked on the head quickly.
Do you really want your children being taught by teachers doing less university time?

Capacity to move around needs to be seriously reviewed - contracts maybe?
Fixed onsite hours should be considered and discussed.
Leaders need to consider their words carefully - words matter and education needs some serious acknowledgment by those with a voice.
Its a complex matter and complex matters need complex people to discuss them.

Education matters as do the people delivering it.

Teachers - such a confusing job.

Most people have at one time or another been part of a conversation about teacher holidays and hours of work. These conversations tend to go in two directions - People bag/tease teachers about the holidays and short hours and suddenly switch to .....but I'd never want to do your job or i don't know how you do it ..... type comments.

Did you know teachers dont have a lunch hour as part of their award - no dedicated time to actually switch off and enjoy a block of time to yourself during the day? No lunch hour for teachers.
Often a teacher will have up to 3 or 4 yard duty periods per week. Time when they must supervise students playing or eating and at the same time quickly eat their own lunch before returning to class.

Teachers do not have prescribed hours of work. They just have to get it done. This leaves a wide range of options for teachers especially those dedicated and wedded to the cause - when does teaching time actually begin and end? This is especially stressful these days with electronic communication and parents and colleagues expecting action and responses quickly and at all hours after they hit the send button.

Report writing, marking, planning and preparation, carnivals and excursions usually take place after school hours and often during home and their family time. Everything your child does at school is usually planned in detail and appropriate paperwork submitted.
Oh, and did I mention all toilet breaks are governed by the siren not your need to go - after all you can't just walk out on a class of 25+ children because you have a personal need.

Food for thought i think .......

As we move closer to the start of another school year many of our teachers are in the midst of planning, meetings and resource development. Another group are busy sorting out transport arrangements, packing and living arrangements while trying to contact new schools and leadership teams. Many of these teachers will not receive their personal goods until several weeks into the school year.

Most teachers and school leaders will have been working throughout the break, not consistently but a few hours here and there. This preparation is essential for a teacher to ensure they have an engaging and growth focussed learning program in place. Teachers will spend many hours on site moving desks, meeting with colleagues, labelling resources and student items and generally setting up rooms to be welcoming and rich learning environments. School leaders need to ensure all classes have a teacher, class lists are current, resources and enrolments are coming along smoothly and regular Covid updates are being implemented and shared with staff. Schools don’t just open on day one, many hours have already been invested during what many call, ‘holidays’.

Many parents have worries and questions about a new school year, especially if their child is starting school for the first time or moving schools. So do teachers …….. With this in mind it is important parents liaise with their child’s teacher if they have concerns. Parents must make the first contact, introduce themselves and raise any questions or concerns directly with the teacher. Do not assume information is passed on or the teacher will know any of the little nuisances necessary for your child to achieve successfully. At the same time parents need to take a breath and give both their child and the teacher time to settle into the year. This can be a tension for parents as they worry about their child’s learning. Most teachers are aware of this awkward time and are implementing strategies from day one to make things easier for all concerned.

Parents have a right to ask questions and to express their concerns around their child’s education. Parents must also realise teachers rarely set out to make a child uncomfortable or sad at school, they rarely have time to single out children for special negative treatment and almost never ignore parental concerns or requests. Another critical point is the tendency for parents to believe every literal word which comes out of their child’s mouth, in relation to schools and teachers - news flash, children can be flexible with the truth or at least tell a story to make them look as innocent as possible - it’s called human nature. Remember teachers are trained, have usually completed at least 4 years at university, have taught for a number of years and have your child’s best interests at heart. They really don’t want to create any more concerns than is absolutely necessary. Why would you want the extra work, angry parents or leadership focus any of these situations generally bring?

Not all teachers are wonderful positive people, some have passed their used by date, have personal issues intruding on their work life or have simply become lazy and ineffective. These people need to be kept to account, questions should be asked and pressure should be brought to bare to ensure your child receives the education they deserve. As a parent you should politely ask the questions of the teacher, wait for some response or uptake from the teacher and if necessary move to school leadership for some action. Remember this is a process, requires time to occur and may not actually make any real difference at the end of the day. Try to focus on the positives, hopefully your child is happy going to school and enjoys some learning throughout the day. Like all situations schools are big systems and instant results are rare and difficult to sustain. Do not talk negatively about school or the teacher, this is where your child spends multiple hours every day and it needs to be as positive an experience for them as possible.

As a parent you have the right to ask questions but please, take a breath, consider how you approach each situation, consider honestly how you would respond if someone approached you with this type of concern and remember rarely does a teacher set out to do harm.

New school years are exciting, scary and positive opportunities for you and your child to take the next step in learning, enjoy the ride as much as possible.

Technology is a critical component of learning in this day and age. Many primary schools have introduced BYOD or school funded programs into their daily timetables and parents are often paying several hundred dollars for devices they believe will support their child's learning. Are your child's educators using devices to add value to learning?
To me this is the key question - where is the value adding?
The only way value adding will occur is through significant investment in educator professional learning - a great Mathematics teacher or English teacher is not necessarily going to be a great user of technology - making skillful use of a device and therefore adding value to a child's learning will not just happen through the purchase of the device. Educators need to be unskilled, have a solid understanding of the curriculum and be able to blend the two together to ask the questions designed to stimulate the learner.
As a parent you should see evidence of this skill development across all aspects of school life - almost everything your child does should at times look different through the use of their device. Staff should be presenting material to you and your child using their devices, assemblies should clearly demonstrate how the device is impacting a different style of learning across the school. Devices are powerful tools of engagement and learning and provide otherwise unchallenged, struggling and average students an incentive to produce exciting and engaging work across a variety of media - if you as a parent are not seeing this why not? if you as a teacher are not providing this, why not? if your school is not displaying this, why are you being asked to pay large sums of money for a device?
Devices have the capacity to change the way we learn and share our learning but only if we invest in the educators who are charged with the challenge of motivating our learners everyday.

Is our education system failing our students, teachers and community?
With many 'unskilled' voices having so much influence on our education system the growth and capacity to support our students is seriously impacted. For many years educators have listened to experts advising, less focus on facts, increased focus on collaboration, communication and technology. Sadly the teaching focus remains almost unchanged, many teachers are poorly skilled in these areas and many are too lazy or too entitled to change. Those working to embrace these words can face restrictions, abuse, isolation and narrow minded scrutiny.
The education system has the capacity to meet these challenges but the voices who know the way forward must be supported, validated and encouraged. Leadership needs to be challenged, senior staff challenged and the narrative to parents refocused to recognise the true educational needs of our future adults.

Can we do it? Do we really want to? Do you/we have the courage?

Develop a safe and caring learning environment - these words are clearly articulated in many documents and philosophies for both schools and classrooms.

What do these words really mean? What do you actually do on a daily basis to develop this belief because if you really believe in the need to have a safe and caring environment you must take positive steps each and every day towards this belief - without these positive steps the statement is little more than a collection of words and aspirations.

Leaders face many challenges each day and the need for a strong and supportive team is a 'must have', for all involved. Sharing decisions, mentoring and developing aspirants ensures each team has strengths and decision making capacity. As roles develop it is important leaders are able to call colleagues or mentors to bounce ideas around but also to share experiences and approaches during these stressful situations. Leaders be prepared to seek support and guidance - you do not need to have all the answers at your finger tips, time and consultation supports good decision making.

A great day yesterday working with school leaders and sharing iSTAR processes and structures. iSTAR supports schools and individual teachers to 'know their impact' (Hattie) while identifying the need for explicit teaching and the value of a whole school approach. The practice improvement supported by iSTAR provides a focus for peer to peer discussions and a pathway to move forward together.