The Worth of Teachers
The recent teachers' strike has got me thinking about teachers' roles, pay and conditions. This is a sensitive subject. I have some good friends who are teachers, and I want to keep them.
Teachers have suffered like many other award regulated government employees; the other obvious group are nurses, but this also extends to other technically qualified government employees. Wages have fallen behind simmilarly qualified persons in private industry. Where private companies can react quickly if pay falls behind and they start losing key people, award government employees are hampered by the unweildy, slow reacting arbitration system and the unwillingness of governments to tax to fund these essential services. The end result is that renumeration has fallen behind the industry standard.
Teachers enjoy a lot of popular support in the community. There is a compelling argument to raise there pay to comparitive levels enjoyed 20 years ago, but should they receive this under the same unchanged working conditions?
Rising pay levels in the private sector over past years, more often than not, have occured a result of changes in work practices and whittling down of employee benefits. I get the feeling that the Teachers Federation is not willing to negotiate changes that would allow teachers to improve their lot, as has happened with other employees.
Teachers already enjoy good working benefits. 10 - 12 weeks paid holidays a year isn't bad. Schools only open for six or so hours a day. Teachers enjoy 'development days' during school terms which are pupil free. I'm not suggesting that teachers don't do long extra hours in performing their duties, but they must realise that so do many other worker in other occupations, without the benefit of all that paid leave.
Most employees are assessed to rate their performance, but teachers seem unwilling to accept this. Perhaps they should. As a parent, I wan't to see teachers well paid, but I also want to be sure that they are competent.
A bit of flexibility by the teachers' union would be welcome.
I'm awaiting the teachers' pay decision with interest. More after that.
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The teachers I know are fairly ground down. What looks attractive isn't, with extra activities, marking and preparation.
In the early years of teaching in Australia the inspectors came round and rated teachers, which could determine pay and promotion. But they were greatly feared and used standardised criteria.
The problem is - how do we rate the teachers who get easier classes and schools against the ones who get the hard nuts, often in the same school. How do we encourage the best teachers to take on the difficult classes?
The chilling thing for parents, though, is the sure and certain knowledge that their kids could easily end up with crappy teachers and/or a vicious classroom and then life gets very very hard for the tackers involved.