2015-02-13
Senator Penny Wright
We rely on our teachers to do one of the most important jobs in Australia but this Federal Government and other state governments are failing to give teachers the esteem and respect they deserve.
Most Australian teachers do not feel the profession is properly valued and, looking at how government policies are framed, it is hard to disagree with their assessment.
Every teacher knows the feeling — it is not just the jokes about holidays, it is not just about those parents demanding that the rules not apply to their precious offspring, it is not just being asked to do more with less, every year. It is all these factors and many more which erode teacher morale.
In my home state of South Australia, it is shameful that teachers lodge stress claims at a rate higher than any other category of public servant, with violence and abuse from parents a major contributing factor.
The Australian Principal Health & Wellbeing Survey points the finger at the increasing prominence of NAPLAN scores through the MySchool website.
On any given day, a teacher will be called upon to fulfil the roles of an administrator, mentor, cleaner, social worker, mediator and surrogate parent. It is both the honour — and the challenge — of the profession.
But explaining the lack of respect for teachers is pretty simple — like most things, it starts at the top.
Rather than being guided by educators and standing with them, governments of both stripes have all too often found cynical political points in pillorying teachers.
Governments unveil increasingly more bureaucratic standards for teachers which fail to recognise true proficiency.
The previous Federal Government encouraged parents to use NAPLAN scores to 'tell off' teachers. But numbers never tell the whole story. My Senate inquiry into NAPLAN showed the MySchool site had put huge pressure on teachers and means that all too often schools and teachers are judged on matters beyond their control.
The lack of respect for teachers has only increased under the Abbott Government. Teacher expertise has been sidelined. In the recent, ideologically driven review of the National Curriculum, few subject 'experts' had current classroom experience and no teachers were interviewed by the reviewers.
In Opposition and Government, Christopher Pyne's rhetoric has been strident — he continually points the finger at teachers for sliding PISA results, rather than looking at PISA's own explanation — that of inequity in the Australian education system.
Rather than addressing school funding, the Minister would rather create a distraction, using a review of teacher training. Yes, improvements in this area can always be made, but this mantra of “teacher quality” — which implies poor quality — is highly offensive.
Despite the need for reforms in health, do you ever hear the Federal Health Minister talking about “doctor quality”? Yet teachers are equally entrusted with responsibility for the health and wellbeing of our kids.
This is the nub of the problem — when governments do not treat teaching like the profession it is, the community follows suit.
While all political parties say they want the best and brightest in our classrooms, the Australian Greens know this can't be done unless teachers are paid competitively and given comparable career paths to other professions.
Student surveys clearly show that long-term salary prospects and status are the main reasons that many more able students do not choose teaching.
Although the salaries of experienced teachers in Australia lag behind international averages, it's about more than just money. When conditions are poor, the best and brightest practitioners – those with the most options – move on. Working conditions must be improved. This means better support in addressing the administrative burden on teachers and principals and allowing for more out-of-class time to confer and prepare.
Education is crucial for a fair, inclusive and productive society. Good teachers will change lives and have a profound influence long after their students have left the schoolroom.
In the words of that 1960's hit — it's high time for some R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
Senator Wright is the Greens Spokesperson for Primary and Secondary Education. This article originally appeared in Education HQ.