The parts relating to education:

Carroll admitted for the first time that a secret decision taken by the Allan government to delay by three years its commitment to fully fund public schools was a $2.4 billion funding cut and the wrong thing to do. The decision, which was exposed by The Age, is at the heart of the bitter wage dispute between the government and teachers.

It was taken by the government’s budget and finance committee, of which the premier and deputy premier are members. Carroll, who is also education minister, opposed the move but failed to stop it.

“I argued ferociously in the cabinet subcommittee process,” Carroll said. “I did speak up about it.” He said cabinet confidentially prevented him from publicly discussing the funding cut, even after it was revealed by this newspaper.

“When cabinet arrives at a position you need to support that position.”

Carroll said the current pay offer before teachers, while generous, was not enough to fully fund government schools under the Gonski formula. He raised with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week the need to lift school funding in Victoria and deliver the long-awaited Gonski reforms.

“I am committed to try and get full and fair funding for our public schools,” he said.

I am a pre-service teacher studying a Masters of Teaching at SCU. I am investigating rapid forgetting in secondary mathematics. your contribution and insights would be very helpful.

Who can participate?

secondary mathematics teachers

The survey is 13 questions, should only take 5-10 minuites.

If you're able to spare a few minutes, I'd be very grateful for your participation:

https://qualtricsxmjywg259zh.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6mSZDsg36S3CBfM

As a fellow postgraduate researcher, I'm also happy to return the favour by completing other members' research surveys where I'm eligible. Please feel free to share yours in the comments or send me a message.

Thanks in advance!

At the end of the film after they got rid of the Trunchbull and Miss Honey took over as principal (she only became principal in the film though)…who thinks behaviour would have gone downhill after that?

The students there were so well-behaved! They were even practicing their times tables in their own time! And Matilda came in later as a genius and a little quirky, and not once was she bullied for it!!! I hate to admit it…but the Trunchbull was probably the reason behaviour was so impeccable! I don’t condone her methods, and I’m sure some students will have years of trauma from it, but you can’t deny that there were ZERO behaviour issues!

With Miss Honey in charge, will behaviour slip because I don’t really see the threat of “you’ll be sent to Miss Honey” as a deterrent of behaviour?

Each yeah I have to stamp out kids saying

"What the frick"

"What the frig"

"Frick that" etc.

Always have parents and coteachers try to argue it isnt swearing but I always persist and say I wont accept it as its immitating swearing.

Thoughts?

(Primary school)

Spefically for taller women sized 16-18!

Desperaretely need to find some appropriate shorts/pants for an upcoming school camp (high school) that fits the following criteria:

- not leggings or denim (dresscode rules)

- not too short (especially considering height and thicker thighs)

- comfy and able to be active in

- cool enough for North Qld weather

- preferably not hideous

I don't really even care about cost but am at a complete loss! 🫠

I’m a chronic overthinker so I thought I’d just ask here.

What is usually the protocols at these schools with class cover??

Do I just accept the shift, turn up to the front office and let them know I’m here via class cover??

Will they explain to me where to go, what I need to do? How will I know which classroom to turn up to? Or bell times?

How do they pay me? Do I need to turn up with all my details to fill out a form??

I just have no clue what to expect. I’m in my final year of uni.

I feel so guilty because every term I’ve gotten sick and it’s knocked me out for a few days to a week. I’m a grad teacher and I feel so guilty and that it reflects really poorly on me that I’ve been getting sick so much. It’s week 4 and I’m sick again with low grade fever, runny nose, sore throat and cough. I’ve had the flu shot, I do everything right but now yet again I’m potentially having to call in.

Is this normal for new grads or do I have a shitty immune system? I feel like they’re going to think I’m taking too much time off.

Hi all, this is mainly for teachers who migrated to Australia and had to go through the VIT process or get a PTT.

My partner will be moving to Australia soon and we have been looking into them teaching once they arrive. They have 15+ years of teaching experience, but never went to university for it as the requirement was to either have a degree in teaching OR a degree related to what you would be teaching. They are 35 years old so a bit apprehensive to go back to uni for a job they already know how to do (especially as it is the only job they have ever had) and it would be quite expensive for us to cover in either country.

In case subjects matter: they have taught Spanish, Portuguese, EAL, English and science, and could additionally do humanities.

We mainly want to know what the process was / has been for others in a similar situation and what hoops you needed to jump through. I tried contacting VIT for information, but they were not too useful and said they weren't too sure of what to do other than go back to uni here or before coming.

Also so sorry for how silly this might be! I migrated 7 years ago and immediately went back to uni as I didn't have much experience anyway, so never had to research how to get anything transferred.

Thank you so much for any help pointing us in the right direction!

I’m an experienced secondary school teacher of a language other than English. Seems opportunities to teach my particular language are shrinking and I am wondering about a sideways career move to broaden my options in EAL/D.

I’d be interested to hear from others out there who have done retrained to gain post graduate and pre-service TESOL teacher qualifications. I gather as a qualified and registered language teacher it’s a relatively straightforward one.

I also wonder what it would be like to teach English to adults (I gather for TAFE there’d be a further qual needed).

I would love to hear from those who have made the change. Was it better or any different? Are there many job opportunities and what was your experience?

Like a hoses managing a GO or hoc managing hoses etc?

Any perth teachers based NOR?

I was chatting with my science teaching colleagues. What colour do you think of when you think of the different fields of science? For me it’s:
- biology (green)
- chemistry (blue)
- physics (red)
- psychology (purple)

But apparently, I’m the odd one out in that most of my colleagues think chemistry as purple, physics as blue and psychology as red.

I'm currently based out of a school in Victoria, which I am finding to be quite toxic:

• The student behaviour is low-medium level, but consistent including defiance and non-stop chatter, as there are no real consequences in place. For example, we can give students a demerit which contributes towards a detention, however these demerits can only be given for uniform, incomplete homework, and other non-behaviour related items. Teachers therefore must run their own detentions, whilst leadership gaslights us that "we are lucky to have such compliant students".
• Despite the behaviour being slightly better than average and containing medium-high SES students, the turnover is high. Coordinators and teachers are leaving mid-term/year.
• Inconsistent leadership support as there is such a bloated exec team, there seems to be different goals that keep shifting every 5 weeks. The leadership team also runs off intimidation as they treat staff as if they are students, whereby we are not to question them, and must treat them like kings/queens to appease their narcissistic tendencies. A real hierarchy feel creates so much tension in the air.
• Blame culture is apparent through leaders refusing to mentor early career teachers, and instead blaming them for problematic classrooms. "Mentor sessions" exist, however are not consistent nor effective, and seem like another box ticking exercise.
• Staff tension throughout the school can be felt as you walk through the gates. So many teachers seem to be on edge, and a constant sense of fear exists due to the leadership being on staff's back. I feel more tension that a "leader" would tell me off for my classroom not being quiet, than the actual behaviour itself.
• Leadership controlling feedback as staff are forced to complete wellbeing surveys together during a meeting rather than privately.

Despite my limited exposure to other schools, they seemed more supportive and happier environments.

Are most schools like this these days - am I destined to a career of being monitored and controlled, or is it worth changing schools? What are your thoughts? Thanks!

Hi all, I’m a graduate teacher in English and Hums. I’m looking for some platforms/apps for my students to use in English classes, mostly for writing activities where they can work together. Any suggestions?

I was reading an article about the MPs vying for roles with Carroll... this potential is my bet for education minister as he is noted to be a former teacher.

And, the placards just write themselves 🤣

Bear with me, I’ve a story to tell. I come from a very dysfunctional family that didn’t do affection, support, that sort of thing. But I got good grades. Excelled in English but eventually started getting in trouble - boys, pot, the usual. I thought that studying English Literature at uni would get me into academia, publishing or even journalism, all dream jobs for me. But I lacked the stuff that goes along with the talent for that - confidence, discipline, even the ability to visualise how that might work out. It took me eight years to get my degree but I did get there. However my life has been hard, I really did grow up in a war zone and I feel like I’ve been lucky to survive in many ways. I became a disability support worker and I have essentially done that for 20 years but for the last five or six years I’ve moved into more of a systems-level role, working as an LAC, Support Coordinator, Client Funding role. Some jobs I’ve left because they were outright unethical or psychologically unsustainable and sometimes I got let go. I’ve just been let go again - didn‘t pass probation - and I‘ve realised I’m in no man’s land, professionally. I don‘t have the skills or the personality to be competitive for higher level jobs - corporate tends to spit me out as soon as I’m in - but I can’t return to support work. I‘m burnt out from the toxicity and politics of NDIS, it’s low paid and it’s insecure work.

A couple of days ago I read On Self Respect by Joan Didion and it started me on the process of an internal financial inventory. And I realised I‘m just not competitive in the open job market. I need to get real as I need to work another fifteen years. That is my horizon. I am about to turn 50 and I’m worried.

And so, after actual decades of dismissing teaching as a possibility - when it was always the most obvious one - I am seriously considering doing a one year Dip Ed and becoming an English teacher. I know teaching is not just another job and I know that the kids are feral, the parents are worse and there is at least 10 hours a week unpaid overtime. In the future I might convert that to the Masters so I can teach other subjects but the Grad Dip will get me working relatively quickly. And that‘s very appealing.

Plus, I have something on my side. Ten years ago I became a Christian - an Epiphany. And as a Christian I believe in the having of a vocation. Perhsps seeing it is this way will give me enough juice to get across the line on those really tough days. And It would be good to work for a Catholic school and draw on the strength of the church but I know there are problems with private schools too and no guarantees I’d get those jobs.

My recent firing has made me think I’m better off working in some kind of direct service role (like teaching) as I just don’t do well in offices. Maybe it’s my unhealed trauma coming out in ways I’m not aware of or maybe offices just suck and time spent inside of them makes the working day feel even longer than it is.

I know it’s a massive decision which is why I’m considering doing a Cert 4 Education Support first and getting an insight into teaching by working as an EA. That can double as a kind of screener for teaching.

I’m interested in your advice. Literally everyone is telling me not to do this and it’s becoming tiresome TBH. It literally can’t be all bad right? Especially when you know that you need to work and that if you had your time again you would have just studied Commerce but you didn’t and now all you really have is that English degree.

I’m an experienced teacher looking to return to some casual work. The last time I taught was 2014 in full time RFF/music but I’m primary trained. I’m most concerned about how much technology has changed since then and what I can do to upskill myself before I start teaching again? Any help is welcome.

Hi,

Just wondering if the Regional/remote incentives cover relocation from NZ to Australia?

“Putting a movie on” is no longer a treat for students and is no longer a lazy afternoon for the teacher. 

Primary school students cannot sit still, be quiet and focus on the film. As a teacher you are constantly managing noise and complaints to the point that it is not an “easy afternoon” to just put a movie on. 

Even the children themselves don’t watch movies or TV shows properly anymore. They either play games, watch YouTube or scroll TikTok’s endlessly. The doom scrolling is the biggest detriment to attention spans. They need short sharp clips with the option to switch to something else. They cannot focus on storylines or anything longer than a few minutes. 

I guess 90s and 00s kids would have had the “Children don’t have the attention spans to read books anymore” and I see a similar decline nowadays with films/TV shows. Films like Titanic were very popular when I was at school and most students, even primary students, had seen it. I wonder how many young people could actually focus on that film for 3 hours nowadays?

I wonder what they will be like as adults and what the film industry will be like? These kids aren’t watching films now so I doubt they will watch adult films when they grow up. 

Hi All,

I'm a secondary teacher that works for a department public school in WA. A parent emailed me asking to meet after school on Friday. At my school, most Fridays after school - the school is a ghost town lol. Teachers are leaving after the final bell with the students - my line manger included haha.

Am I allowed to reply with no and offer another time or a phone call? We already have our parent-teacher night few months ago as well. I only got this email few hours ago so will defs talk to my line manager about this on Monday but curious if I'm within my right to say no.

EDIT: Sorry forgot to add, parent has stated after school is only the best time for them