There are often articles being published about teacher quality, everyone seems to have an opinion because everyone (except the under 5s) has experience of an education system, through their own experiences or through their children making their way through an education system. Recently there have been a number of these articles about how to improve teacher quality in the press again.
Sometimes as educators we feel like we are fodder for journalists and dinner conversations. No doubt as parents we have discussed our own teachers and our children’s teachers too. So today, I hope to refute some of the generalisations about teachers, teaching careers and teacher quality, and engage in a discussion about what creates quality teachers.
‘A Grattan Institute survey of almost 950 young high achievers in 2019 showed that better career paths and higher pay are critical to encouraging them to choose teaching’ (Sydney Morning Herald, April 2021). It might be true that some high achievers look for careers that will pay more than a teacher’s salary, some high achievers seek positions that are perceived as more glamorous or have a higher status quo, and some are simply not interested in joining the teaching profession. But it is not always the case that pay and glamour are the incentives for school leavers and furthermore it is a gross oversimplification to suggest that by attracting only high achievers into teaching that we will end up with better quality teachers.
At Claremont College we are extremely proud of our teachers. Regardless of whether they were high achievers all through their school years, all are lifelong learners themselves, all are curious adults who are always looking for ways to improve and to do better, they love working with children and helping their students to love learning and reach their true potential, and they all see the extremely important value in being a positive role model in the lives of young people. The teachers we believe improve the quality of teaching are collaborators, researchers, learners, resilient, ambitious, empathetic and reflective.
And, teachers are all leaders themselves and this is perhaps one aspect of teaching that is underrated and even more likely, unrecognised.
Teachers are some of our most important leaders. Teachers are the guardians of spaces that allow students to breathe and be curious and explore the world and to be who they are without suffocation. (Brene Brown Ref., Teachers: Our Most Daring Leaders, brenebrown.com)
Sonnermann and Hunt from the Grattan Institute in their article in the Sydney Morning Herald on 16 April 2021, noted that ‘Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge wants Australia’s best and brightest to take on teaching’, and that might work sometimes, however, being the brightest at school will not automatically make you into a quality teacher.
At Claremont College we believe that by choosing the right people with a passion for teaching and by providing ongoing professional learning, we have the key to unlocking the potential of teachers, their teaching and therefore the learning, and it is because of this that we have the following programs in place.
Teacher Accreditation
We actively support and encourage teachers through the levels of teacher accreditation to not only improve their professional practice but also to support their professional growth. At Claremont College we have teachers across all levels.
Job-Embedded Professional Development
Every year our staff complete PD days at the beginning of every term, and we also have three additional PD Days for staff throughout the year. These job-embedded PD days focus on school initiatives and priorities.
We also have PD sessions every Monday afternoon and occasionally on a Thursday afternoon as well. These sessions also focus on school initiatives and priorities but also on mandated and regulatory training such as Work, Health and Safety, First Aid, or Syllabus requirements.
External Professional Development
We also send staff offsite to attend courses that are important for an individual staff member’s professional growth and/or for an individual to learn and bring back their new knowledge to up-skill other staff.
Graduate Teachers’ Program
These are fortnightly afternoon workshops designed to help and support new teachers in their careers.
Intern Program
We have had an Intern Program for a number of years now, where we target talented graduates and support them in their first year of teaching to prepare them for the Graduate Teachers’ Program.
Orientation Program
All new staff to Claremont participate in a number of workshops across their first term with us, to help them to settle into their new school and to ensure they have had all of the mandatory training expected of staff at Claremont College.
Team Leaders’ Program
These fortnightly workshops aim to develop the leadership skills of the Team Leaders and to support these middle leaders in the management and leadership of their teams.
Executive Leadership Program
Throughout each year, in quarterly meetings and an Executive Retreat, the Executive Leadership Team study and learn together to improve their leadership, and to develop school priorities.
Gallup Strengths
Our whole staff have been using Gallup Strengths for a number of years to help us to understand our own strengths and the barriers to our strengths, and we also use Gallup Strengths to help us to recognise each team’s strengths.
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Arguably the most common reason that teachers decide to teach is the opportunity to make a difference. There are many professions that give people the ability to have a positive impact on the world, but there are few professions that have as direct of an impact on creating a better society as teachers do.
(Ref.,https://www.kangan.edu.au/students/blog/teachers-love-teaching)
May my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, like gentle rain upon the tender grass, and like showers upon the herb. Deuteronomy 32:2
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Public consultation opens on Australian Curriculum changes
Also in the press and may be of interest to you...
Public consultation on the proposed revisions to the F-10 Australian Curriculum has now opened. The revisions, which were developed in consultation with 18 reference groups of around 360 practising teachers and curriculum specialists from across Australia, have attracted intense criticism in the media, with commentators variously claiming a resurgence of the ‘history wars’, the ‘culture wars’ or the ‘reading wars’. ACARA has issued a statement correcting several claims. Information and documentation relating to the review are available on a dedicated website. Consultation closes on 8 July 2021.
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Sit back and enjoy reading the newsletter this week and to all of the Mothers in our Claremont community, have a wonderful Mothers’ Day.
Janelle Ford
Co-Principal
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Website: www.claremont.nsw.edu.au
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