21st century conditions for 21st century learning

By

Maree O'Halloran

Rebuilding and refurbishing our public schools and TAFE colleges should be a national priority.

This year Annual Conference developed a theme calling on the federal and state governments to undertake a great nation-building exercise to rebuild and refurbish our public schools and TAFE colleges. Our students and teachers deserve the best possible environment for teaching and learning in the 21st century. Conference also recognised that the demand for governments to provide 21st century conditions for 21st century learning is broader than physical infrastructure and encompasses, amongst other things, investment in the skills of the people in the system.

Public schools, TAFE colleges and other public education sites currently offer education and training of the highest quality because of the dedication, effort and expertise of the teaching and support staff working with students and parents. It is the people involved in public education communities who ensure that great teaching and learning remains at the heart of the public education system.

Teachers strive to deliver education of the highest quality but they can only do so within the conditions and resources provided by government. Currently, teachers work and students learn in less than optimal conditions. Instead of confronting the truth of the resourcing shortfalls to public education, successive ministers have tried to set up a false dichotomy between resources and teaching of the highest quality. There is no doubt that teachers are critical. We must have committed teachers of the highest quality. We must also have additional funding. Federal Education Minister Julia Gillard's call to end the "public versus private" debate is no different in substance to former Federal Education Minister Julie Bishop's statement that the education debate "had moved on from questions of resourcing".

We live in a divided world, and in societies divided by class and wealth.

In Australia the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that in 2005/6:

• the 20 per cent of households with the lowest income together hold one per cent of net worth of all households, at an average of $27,400 per household
• the wealthiest 20 per cent of households hold 61 per cent of total household net worth, at an average of $1.7 million per household.

The demands of the most economically and politically powerful often lead to huge disparities in education. While this is both within and between systems, it manifests itself most clearly in the public/private divide which cannot be eliminated by refusing to acknowledge it.

So while teachers make a great difference and generations of teachers have dedicated themselves to transforming lives, teachers alone cannot put the matter right. There is a broader societal problem. Research consistently shows that a child's socio-economic background is one of the crucial indices for educational performance. Teachers backed by resources and good government policy can help overcome the class divide.

Professor Vinson captured the desire and the struggle of teachers in his Inquiry into the Provision of Public Education in NSW report:

"Given the difficulties that daily beset the public education system, why does it work as effectively as it does? The evidence of the Inquiry's fieldwork, the public hearings and submissions received converge on one main answer to this question. The system works as well as it does because of the professional commitment of its teachers. In an era when the relevance of traditional vocational ideals of "service before self" has come under question, the Inquiry has had numerous reminders of the continuing strength of this value orientation amongst teachers."

And yet, with such a dedicated teaching force, governments and the NSW Department of Education and Training continue to implement policies predicated on disrespect for and distrust of the profession. The Department's imposed staffing procedures, for example, are built on distrust. A cumbersome, time-consuming and educationally disruptive process has been imposed because the Department cannot trust that a teacher moving from one school to another will "perform" without an interview.

Federation, as the union for public education teachers, chooses its own path and policies, regardless of whether the Department or other bodies have been captured by prevailing managerial fads. Whenever and wherever the Officers of this union advocate Federation policies, we are on secure ground because of the size and experience of our decision-making bodies and our trust in the experience, capability and capacity of teachers.

In union we offer each other the genuine and warm embrace of solidarity. A solidarity which stands up against the "best" or "warmest" regards of any Director-General. That solidarity is being demonstrated in the unrelenting campaign by teachers against the Department's new staffing procedures. Currently, random stoppages are being conducted by teachers in support of the campaign. Congratulations and thank you to everyone involved.

This year Annual Conference laid the groundwork for engaging with the Federal Labor Government to achieve additional funding for public education. Conference also developed and brought together the staffing, standards and salaries campaigns with a proposal to the State Government entitled "A plan to staff our schools". (A similar plan is now being developed for TAFE.)

Thank you to members who distributed the leaflet to parents and community members. A copy has also been provided to Premier Morris Iemma. Unfortunately, he has not yet replied to Federation's three formal requests to meet, let alone considered the plan. The State Government is now in such a state of paralysis that it is difficult to see how it can re-group. It is imperative that a Minister for Education and Training be appointed and the Government stops the neglect of public education. While the Government is in this period of hiatus, Department officials operate on autopilot to impose policies, no matter how ill-conceived, misguided or perverse.

Both the State Government and the Department have been put on notice that statewide action about staffing, standards and salaries will recommence in term 3 if there has been no breakthrough beforehand. With inflation now running at 4.5 per cent for the past 12 months, Michael Costa's 2.5 per cent Treasury funding of salary increases looks even more contemptible.

Maree O'Halloran is the President.

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August 2008 contents