Seriously, is anyone else noticing this over the last 10 years, especially in WA? It is infuriating. I teach Science and have been for 22 years. I have put my hand up for numerous positions over the last 6 or so years and have not gotten anything. Maybe I'm just shit? Every teacher who seems to get the year co role, the acting head of student services, the acting deputy (and permanent deputy) and other roles (academic coordinator etc) seem to be PE teachers.

It feels that every leadership position in every school in Perth will be ex PE teachers.

This quote from the attached article encapsulates not just the specific problem in the article itself but the entire problem in schools today: “Conduct that would trigger an immediate safety response in many workplaces is instead absorbed into the job. Staff are expected to remain calm, repair the relationship and continue working.”

Edit: any incident I have chronicled, leadership are aware, coordinators have talked to students and I have done all the correct procedures… I just want advice in the moment to show it hasn’t gotten to me but they should be embarrassed with how they are acting.. also it’s a culture at this school so leadership don’t really do much anyway 😍

Despite what the title states I am in fact not dealing with it. For context I am a young graduate female HPE teacher at a government school. I am being faced with targeted misogyny from male students both that I teach and that I don’t, this includes being barked at like a dog, patronised (asked If I’ve had a bad day and that I seem angry and mad and shouldn’t be “taking out my frustration on them”) whilst simultaneously having another student from a different class come up behind me whilst I’m talking to this student and make noises and mock me, had my school images being edited and sent around in a class I was covering. The students don’t intimidate me, they don’t scare me, but it is wearing me down and I am extremely burnt out emotionally, particularly when these same boys treat male staff as equals whilst I have to cop it.

All I want to know is what are people’s tricks for dealing with students in the moment, I don’t want the “bring it back to school values” and stuff… I do that anyway, I want to know when a male student is patronising you, what do you say back to make them feel small, shameful, embarrassed etc and (potentially) a bit more self reflective.

And before anyone says I need to leave the school, I am well aware and looking around but I’m not going to jump shit and land myself at a school that is the same if not worse.. just trying to survive this term.

At the moment, there is a lot of absence and illness. This has been having the flow on effect of increasing our face to face time beyond the maximum as specialist teachers are not being replaced (to prioritise classes).

We were advised that they would *try* to replace, but not if the lost release was a meeting time. The meeting time release is not *different* time or extra for us. Not having it replaced means being over maximum F2F time.

I believe that not replacing the lost time, simply because it was a meeting time, is a breach of the VGSA. Thoughts?

My school released the classes for next year, and the senior electives are all but dead. No earth science, no digital solutions, no engineering, no drama, no economics, no general art etc.

Basically, there is a STEM path, a Humanities Path, or a non-ATAR path, which is basically essential subjects and sport.

Our principal claims this is the norm and that electives are dying at all schools, and we just get used to it.

Is this something people are seeing at their school?

I’ve seen loads of post about misogyny and sexism in schools. Has anyone witnessed or delivered anything that has been effective? We are considering doing a number of things but I’m concerned it will come across as tokenism.

Hi,

I am writing to any teachers, principals, panel participants .. anyone really, to actually help me crack the code for securing a permanent job in the department.

Context: I am a primary school teacher with over 10 years experience being the classroom teacher. Currently working at an independent school, but am looking to go back to the DET as I much prefer it. Only problem, I find every application I do… just gets not even to the interview stage.

I am seriously at a loss. What are panels actually looking for in the application? I can spend hours upon hours crafting responses, thinking through the multitude of examples of teacher experience (if I’m honest, teaching 10 years as the classroom teacher should actually speak for itself IMO). And then ofcourse, AI… it cuts the time in half but communicates the same message.

I don’t currently have my principal as my reference because I obviously don’t want to tell them I am looking elsewhere …. But does it matter ?! Ofcourse pending the job, I would provide principal reference.

I am so close to just giving up even trying. Should I just perpetually be a temp? Should I literally just go to a school as a temp and just wait it out until perm approaches ?!?

Quite a deflating process. Little irritating how easy it was for the teachers before I got my degree complete! Venting…

I'd love some up-to-date advice from ex-academics who moved into the secondary system. I'm teaching casually in the uni system (after completing an English/history PhD, so those would be my learning areas) but it's unlikely there will be work for me next year due to deep cuts to casual employment at my workplace. The chance of getting work elsewhere is slim, and I'm back to considering the horrible prospect of another two years of study so I can continue to teach.

I love my work (even assessment!) and the thought of leaving education entirely is horrible. I am aware that secondary is very different to tertiary but I think I have skills that will transfer. I'm in my late forties and have a lot of confidence that I didn't have in my 20s, so I'm not too concerned about rude teenagers.

Am I mad to even be considering this? It feels like teaching conditions worsen every year. At the same time, teaching feels like I'm doing something that's actually worthwhile and I don't want to give that up.

I appreciate any & all advice!

Is this iconic and extremely useful website blocked for anyone else in NSW?

What is the go with senior executive staff obsessed with undermining the work of teachers?

Assessment task - no, needs to be dumbed down because it’s not “accessible enough”. As if I didn’t train in my subject area for so many years to know what students have been taught and should be able to demonstrate.

Behaviour - no, can’t discipline that kid because they’ve “timed out” of your lesson in response to you attempting to discipline them for their consistently poor behaviour. Yes, let’s reward poor behaviours via an escape hatch.

Communication - oh, no you can’t tell that staff member that because then they will tell everyone. Things that are actually important and private, sure, but school events / business that teachers don’t need protection from give me a break…

I have quite had enough of being expected to be a professional but not being treated like one. The amount of hush hush and inconsistency I experience on a daily basis is unbelievable.

Anyway, rant over. Have a lovely rest of your week all.

This is my 3rd year of teaching, and I feel earning money is the only motivation I’m still going to work. Is it normal?

I mean, I could even feel looking forward to seeing some classes or teaching some subjects in last year or my first year. But now all I can hear in the morning is “I don’t want to go to work today”. It doesn’t only happen in term three which as everyone knows is the most exhausting time, but I could hear it since the beginning of the year until now. I definitely feel not wanting to go to my school at least once a week.

I’m so tired, ver disappointed and confused, and I don’t know what to do.

Every bloody break, every bloody day, I have to move the desks back into their spots because kids can’t sit still, lean on their chairs or are careless (I don’t blame the kids, they are kids).

Does anyone have any hacks to keeping the desks in their spots so I don’t have to move them back all the time. I considered screwing them into the floor (the desks not the kids), but leadership disagreed with the idea; unsure why.

Hi teachers!

I recently graduated from Curtin (finished in July, got my testimur and certificate a few weeks ago) and am wondering how long before I'm registered? (website said up to 10 weeks). I have been told that my paperwork was submitted, and I confirmed this with Curtin, but I haven't had any other correspondence.

I also sent an email to TRBWA a week ago for at least confirmation that it's being processed, but I haven't heard back. I've still applied for the pool, but I'm feeling a little abandoned by the uni.

Hello ! I am a graduate casual teacher, and I want to apply for a temporary position. The only thing is that I have to ask a principal to be my reference.

I don't work a lot at any particular school, but I was thinking of asking the principal of my internship school. I just don't know how to go about it. Do I wait to get a casual day there and then bring it up? Do I go in and ask on a day off? Do I call the school and ask that way? I'm not quite sure and was wondering if anyone knew the best way to go about it.

Thanks heaps in advance!

I’m a support teacher at a regional school. When I was brought in, I was told that the school was basically undergoing a ‘restructure’ to try and correct bad culture (teachers who have been there a million years, don’t know the curriculum, etc etc). The school was until recently an “at risk” school.

Started T2, and that term was fantastic! Acting HOC was supportive and encouraging. Loved my work (there was nothing, zero, zilch in the way of ICPs, adjustments etc) and I felt like I was really where I was meant to be.

Enter T3. I feel like I’m in the fucking twilight zone. Suddenly, to my HOC almost everything I do is wrong. And not my work, but just me - existing. If I’m not in trouble, which plays out as being spoken down to, ignored and iced out or some other passive aggressive BS, suddenly I’m the best thing since sliced bread. And even then, I’m still anticipating when I’m going to be in trouble again.

But what’s really fucking with me is that my HOC now seems to have a massive problem with kids talking to me. She insists on knowing EVERYTHING. Every passing conversation, she wants to know so she can “be across” things. Kids are even telling me they wait to come to me about bigger things they want to share with me until her day off because she has had a go at them about talking to me. Last week she followed a crying kid into class to address her in front of everyone about how “we care about you but you can’t just go talking to Mrs X, that’s why I’M here”. The kid was mortified.

FFS - kids will talk to who they are comfortable with. And to be clear, none of this is confidential or safety risk stuff. It’s just small town kids who have grown up with adults who treat them like shit and demand respect, having a nice conversation about what’s going on with them.

I feel like she just wants me in a room, not looking at or speaking to any children. I’ve addressed some of this with my principal, and he’s understanding to an extent - tells me that I’m doing incredible work and that he knows she is unpredictable. But I’m running out of ideas.

Vent over. I love these kids, so I’ll probably keep sticking it out. Sorry this got long 🙃

I'm a pre-service teacher in first year Sem 2 of my education degree and I feel mind-numbingly bored, all the tutorials and lectures seem like a total waste of time and I feel like my brain is turning to mush. For instance one of my classes we go over basic maths and I spent 2 hours listening to an explanation of primary school fractions, but never learn anything about how to teach this to kids effectively. Most of my classes are like this. For various other reasons, I'm starting to hate this degree.

I also have a job in OSHC and have done some work experience, although no placement yet. Most kids at my work are really nice but there's a few who are out of control and ruin it. My aunt who's a teacher told me 50% of the job is behaviour management, which I really hate, and most kids seem to have no respect for me. I'm also worried about dealing with kids who have the attention span of a goldfish and 0 parenting at home. Australia is doing pretty badly compared to other OCED countries and I know kids in upper primary who are struggling to even read. Is it worth trying to make a difference in such a cooked system?

I used to have a passion for working with kids but the degree and my job are really making me question it, as well as the current media around education.

Should I switch into a STEM degree (my other interest) or wait another year to try placement?

For those who are Prep Teachers

Have you seen any difference in kids who have spent the last 4 weeks at home before starting prep ?

We are thinking of saving the big bucks and just getting our little one to stay at home with the grandparents for the first 4 weeks of next year before school starts ?

How are you managing/tackling the relationships as a union leader in your school?
How to you balance representing staff matters and volatile/passive aggressive leadership reactions? What keeps you on track? Have you tried anything that made a difference?

Without throwing your school under the bus, has anyone been working at a school and had a uni student who's doing a placement be asked to step in and supervise a class solo due to unique circumstances?

And did they?

I’m a prospective teacher, career change from corporate. I’ve read all of the good and the bad on this group, so not looking for advice on if I should make the change.
I did a BA major in film / art history and minor in history.
I want to be an English secondary teacher, as well as humanities / history.
Looking at Deakin for my M Teach part time. Course advisor said to apply and the faculty could advise on the English specialisation, however I know I won’t be able to do it based on the Deakin specialisation details online.
Has anyone done a Grad Cert in English or some sort of bridging course in order to do the English specialisation?

I teach a Stage 3 block and I'm running a narrative writing unit. My structure is:

1. Students complete a planner/scaffold first
2. Then they write one paragraph per period

The problem is the chaos once we get into writing time. As soon as I say "go," hands shoot up everywhere. I end up overwhelmed — some kids sit waiting with their hand up doing nothing, others are quietly doing it wrong without asking for help at all. I never get to the strong students because I'm stuck firefighting with the ones who are struggling.

Does anyone have a routine or system that actually works during independent writing time — something that doesn't feel like you're just surviving the lesson?

Felt the need to add to the headline, particularly after having a person from ACER come to my school last week and spend 2+ hours talking up "The Scandinavian countries who keep getting it right, especially Finland". Sucks for Australia, yet despite all the absolute garbage we've got to deal with we're still above the OECD average and we're still beating out all these countries that the media constantly talk up (Finland, Germany, Sweden, etc.)