Country teaching
I was interviewed by DET’s PR company this week for an advertising campaign to recruit new teachers, especially to the country. I think I have lots of thoughtful stuff to say on this subject, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t say any of it. Mesmerised by the lights and the large video camera I was rendered inarticulate. I stumbled through the questions, forgetting where I was up to, um-ing and ah-ing and not being myself. My wife, who was teaching in the background, assures me I even made up a word. I think we can safely assume none of it will be usable.
The shortage of teachers (in some areas) over the last couple of years has been well publicised in WA. There has been a concerted effort to address this by recruiting overseas teachers by the department with mixed success. When I applied to teach as a graduate at the end of 2007 there was no interview. The fact that I had the piece of paper to say I was qualified was enough. My understanding is that new teachers in WA are still not interviewed. Meanwhile in other states the process is much more rigorous. In Queensland, aspiring teachers present a portfolio and are interviewed by a panel including department people and principals. Every applicant is graded. Only the best are appointed. It seems logical to me that as a result of this, new teachers appointed in QLD are probably of a better calibre than those in WA. Some teachers rejected by the Queensland system end up teaching in WA, perhaps they go on to be great teachers – I hope so. The solution to this shortage is to make teaching more desirable so more people want to do it, then we can cherry pick the good ones, or at least not employ the dud ones just because we want to put a body in front of every class. Although there are many ways of making teaching more desirable, I think the advertising campaign could help. So, what are the things I would say to someone thinking about teaching, possibly in the country, from my perspective of mid-life career change…..1) Studying is exhilarating. I loved studying again – it was hard work but fun. I met a heap of people I wish I had more time to catch up with now. The people you meet will be a valuable resource later. 2) Teaching is hard. The stakes are high and resources are limited. Every decision is a compromise. Any offhand word you say to a child might scar them forever. Even if there were a consensus on the best way to teach students you would never have enough time or resources to implement it. You are working for an employer who often seems to not value you, most of your students say they would rather be somewhere else, many parents, often encouraged by stories in the media, will distrust you and may blame you for problems you think could be addressed by them. If you are a male, any two girls could ruin your career in an afternoon by making up a story about you. Your profession will frequently be infected with academic fashions, and all sorts of obviously stupid ideas will have to be implemented by you as a result of politicians feeling they need to do something. The problems of the students you deal with will usually not be solvable by anything you can do on your own, if at all. 3) Teaching is incredibly rewarding, meaningful work. If you do it right you can make a real, positive difference to someone’s life. You can enjoy the success of the kids you work with. People in the education system will support you – they want you to succeed because they have the same passion for students to become the best people they can be. 4) Country schools (based on my very limited experience) are great places to start a teaching career. I have small class sizes, I know every kid in the school, and when I walk around the school in the morning I am followed by the sound of “Good morning Mr Bailey!” I know most of the parents and the community is supportive of the school. The school is very supportive of new teachers. I feel there is not a single person on the staff (and I mean the entire staff here – cleaners, EA’s, gardener, administrators, teachers and office staff) who would not help me with anything I asked them about. 5) DET does some great things to support new teachers. I love the Graduate Modules the PLI run. As well as being a practical help, they give you some breathing space out of the school to step back and look at what you have been doing. I also benefited greatly from the Graduate Coach program. I had a fabulous coach (thanks Vanessa) who chatted with me once a week about what I was doing and how I thought it was going. This was all confidential and with an experienced educator from outside the school. All the questions I had that I thought sounded too stupid to ask in the school got dealt with this way. If you like kids and think education is important, if you are willing to learn, if you want to work in an environment where everybody wants you to succeed – teaching could be for you.