Stand united for high-quality public education
14 November 2023
Section: Columns
We are at a crucial juncture in the fight for the provision of high-quality public education in NSW. The salary…
Government on notice: it will be held to its commitments!
18 May 2023
Section: Columns
It was prescient that Minister Prue Car should thank The Hon Dr Geoff Gallop in her speech at our recent…
Change for the better
24 April 2023
Section: Columns
Welcome back to term 2! Today’s live stream broadcast with the Education Minister Prue Car and Acting Secretary Murat Dizdar…
25 March – the future of public education is at stake
22 February 2023
Section: Columns
What is at stake for teachers in this election?
Everything.
All the way to the ballot box
11 November 2022
Section: Columns
Members were out in force on 12 October as part of a Day of Action protesting the Perrottet Government’s imposition…
We aren’t giving up and we aren’t going away
15 September 2022
Section: Columns
As part of our campaign, Fed Reps in recent weeks have been sending emails to their local MPs about the teacher shortages and the debilitating impacts they are having in schools.
Facta Non Verba
9 August 2022
Section: Columns
Indulge me for a moment as I meander down memory lane. My life-long commitment to social justice and the transformative power of public education was forged in the classrooms of Punchbowl Boys High School where a bunch of inspiring teachers taught me many decades ago.
When you fail teachers, you fail children
22 June 2022
Section: Columns
We are in serious danger of burning out a generation of teachers, lost through overwork and disenchantment with the way their focus is constantly taken from their students to a mind-numbing amount of administration and compliance work. They also see a government in denial, unwilling to stand up for the profession or address the root causes of the shortages: the uncompetitive salaries and crippling workloads that are turning people away from teaching.
The collective spirit of our union will see us through the challenges of 2022
31 January 2022
Section: Columns
I would like to start by extending a warm welcome to all teachers who are beginning their careers. Like our…
A day 10 years in the making
14 December 2021
Section: Columns
Tuesday 7 December, 2021 has been etched into the history of the NSW Teachers Federation. For the first time in…
Why we must take industrial action over salaries and workloads
27 November 2021
Section: Columns
Politicians and public servants love to talk about “evidence-based policy making”. They trot out the phrase to accompany all sorts…
It’s up to all of us
29 October 2021
Section: Columns
The road to winning this campaign lies ahead of us.
Government’s great deceit … (and we have the proof)
15 October 2021
Section: Columns
There is often a gap between what governments say and what they know.
COVID recovery: consult us, don’t insult us
9 September 2021
Section: Columns
No one wants kids back in the classroom more than teachers – except for their parents, of course – and such a return must be undertaken when it is safe to do so and in full consultation with the profession.
Crunch Point
15 June 2021
Section: Columns
The Gallop Inquiry flagged it, independent research confirmed it and our members are voting with their feet; NSW public education is in the thick of a staffing crisis.
Teachers vindicated and validated
29 March 2021
Section: Columns
It was a privilege, on behalf of all Federation members, to be presented with the final report of the “Valuing the teaching profession” inquiry by its chair The Hon Dr Geoff Gallop.
Welcome back
27 January 2021
Section: Columns
Welcome back to school year 2021. I hope you’ve had a restful break.
A year to reflect upon
1 December 2020
Section: Columns
At about this time 12 months ago, years of drought and environmental mismanagement were culminating in a perfect storm that would bring loss, damage, fear and pain as large swathes of NSW terrifyingly burned out of control.
It’s time for the Government to make wellbeing in schools a priority
15 October 2020
Section: Columns
A long period of drought, catastrophic fires and a disrupted school year amid the uncertainty, fear and anxiety attached to the COVID-19 pandemic has made for a perfect storm as far as the mental health of young people is concerned.
Why teachers have ordered an independent inquiry into the value of their work
4 September 2020
Section: Columns
If there is a silver lining in the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be the lessons we learn. Many of them will be about ourselves — our ability to adapt, endure and make sacrifices for the common good.
Edtech and COVID-19
28 July 2020
Section: Columns
Almost as insidious as the disease itself, multinational corporations, international coalitions and education technology businesses have seized the opportunity of the COVID-19 disruption to extend their tentacles into public education systems.