“Teachers need less not more autonomy”!
Artwork by Pink Floyd, Another Brick in the Wall Part 2 (and still one of the greatest albums of all time!)
What if I came out and said that "I believe school leaders should be demanding 'less' rather than 'more' autonomy" from their teachers?
Or that "Secondary schools have become de facto mental health/life-skill services for many students", because of inadequate educational preparation by our primary schools?
Oh and by the way, all you primary educators out there, "[Reading/numeracy skills] are called primary or elementary skills as a clue to where they should be taught". Come on now, it's like you're not even trying to hide the incompetence!...just "Ask your secondary colleagues, and you will hear all about the cancerous impacts of poor reading and writing skills for a highly visible cohort of their incoming Year 7 students".
I'll stop there because I don’t want to expose you any further to this poisonous rhetoric, recently delivered by a well known university professor, and open advocate of the Science of Reading (SOR). I will also not link to the article, because I do not want to give this person’s views any more air time.
Instead, I will link to the Australian Education Union's response to the decision made by Victorian Education Minister Ben Carroll's announcement to, 'mandate' explicit teaching practices in all Victorian classrooms.
But, let’s talk about our mate Ben for a minute. Ben, like many of his predecessors, studied law and was, I imagine, a very successful student. His qualifications in education though? Interestingly… exactly zero! I will also bet, what little money I have, that he has not spent more than a few hours in a primary or secondary classroom since leaving one. In fact, I will place more bets on how many of the 'professors' and academics, touting theories and practices that work splendidly in the laboratory, have themselves spent enough time in classrooms to make the sweeping statements on what the solution to “the problem of our current education system" is.
The Union’s response to Ben Carroll’s announcement has IMO been precise, measured and direct — despite them being described by “They who shall not be named (TWSNBN)” as "having a definition of "professionalism" that is at odds with the rest of the community". Really? The ‘rest of the community’? No TWSNBN, not at odds with the rest of the community, at odds with YOU—and who is this 'community' they refer to? Academics? Politicians? The throng of conservatives and traditionalists high-fiving each other in their Science of Learning echo chambers? Curiously, the last time I checked, the Principal's Association was a part of the educational community. Teachers were a part of the educational community. Students were a part of the educational community. Were they consulted before making a decision that would massively impact every part of their practice or learning? It doesn't seem like it, or the AEU wouldn’t have needed to pull the “breach of the Victorian Government Schools Agreement 2022 (VGSA)” card, and I wouldn't be here rage vomiting all over this page!
But ok, let’s stop for a minute, as I take the 10 deep breaths that I’ve been instructed to take in these situations, and make one point very clear. I don't know much about the SOR, and honestly, I can’t say whether I’m for or against it. This is NOT a statement against the SOR, or the SOL. What this is, is a declaration against the patronising arrogance and blatant disregard of the professionals who burn themselves out every day for the children and future leaders of this country. Who sacrifice their time, money, health, and neglect their own children to look after everyone else’s. There is a reason why there is a teacher shortage. There is a reason why there is a mental health crisis among many in the profession, especially principals. There is a reason why teachers are leaving the career in droves, some after less than a year on the job. So before policy makers and investors in these so called ‘programs’ make sweeping generalisations and present unhelpful, and frankly, mind blowing solutions—such as giving principals and teachers “less, not more” autonomy—maybe some should step into the classrooms and put their money where their mouths are. Because only a person with the highest disdain for real education professionals, would dismiss the complexity of a profession like teaching and reduce it to something that can be simply emulated in a laboratory…or because they said so—or perhaps because they have a PhD and that automatically trumps all other rational opinions.
Ok, so now that I have purged my system of the bad fish my eyes ate for dinner, let me finish with this…and be very clear on it. I am not claiming to have all the answers, or even any answers for that matter. This is clearly an immensely complex issue, and I would never be so arrogant as to claim a solution. What I can say, and with much certainty, is that Ben Carroll and TWSNBN’s idea of manufacturing educational automatons to follow a script without the "useless" interference of adaptability or professional insights, is definitely NOT it. What Australia’s education system needs right now, is a calm and measured approach to the challenges currently faced by our schools. We need to be re-assessing, re-evaluating and re-addressing the crisis of teacher retention, teacher wellbeing, student mental health and school refusal. Until we do, we can implement as many educational reforms and ‘evidence-based’ academic methods as we like, but if no one is left to deliver them, what use will they be to us or our children?
