Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Starting a new job is never easy.
But for teachers beginning a career in the classroom, the first few years can be a baptism by fire.
In every grade of twenty-something students, there’s twenty-something malleable minds ready to be shaped.
It is a heavy burden to bear.
Young teachers in Bendigo should be commended for choosing a career path that is fundamental to the future of their city and country.
But the fact remains the road ahead for these new graduates is not an easy one.
We live in a time when the expectations placed upon educators continue to grow.
They are not only responsible for the content taught in their classrooms, or the welfare of their students, but more and more often they are called upon to monitor standardised testing, provide extracurricular activities and seek out their own professional development opportunities.
The last thing these teachers need is to constantly apply – and reapply – for their jobs.
But that’s what 70 per cent of beginning teachers in the Loddon Mallee region will have to do when their short-term contract roles come to an end.
An Australian Education Union survey has also found four in every five new teachers found job hunting a distraction from their classroom duties.
These dedicated professionals do not need more demands on their time and their generosity of spirit.
And their students do not need job insecurity taking teachers’ minds off the task at hand.
What teachers need is certainty and support.
They need to know they have an income that can be counted on.
They need to be able to establish a foothold in a school community, develop relationships with their peers and monitor the development of their students.
That’s when these new professionals will become experts in their field.
Most of all, teachers – new and experienced – need a community that respects and acknowledges their contribution to society. Ongoing work is one way of saying, “You are valued.”
If these steps are not in place, then we risk driving teachers out of schools and into other professions that take less of a toll on their time and wellbeing.
Mark Kearney, journalist