The current climate of industrial action from teachers brings us squarely face to face with what education means to us. It also brings us face to face with what we think the profession entails, what is the work of teachers, and how do we value that work.

Having been in the profession for most of the past forty years (with a seven year break in the middle), I can honestly say that the profession has changed more profoundly than many think (even those who have seen continuous service). The task is more complex than ever before, and it makes it even more important than ever that we value the incredibly difficult and complex work that teachers do.

The best simile I have heard for the work of teachers goes like this. Imagine the work of a doctor or a lawyer who sees clients one or maybe two at a time, and is expected to give each of them individual advice, treatment, or support, that is tailored to that individual. When I go to the dentist for example I don’t want her or him thinking about someone else’s teeth. I want her focussed entirely on my specific dental needs.

A teacher is like that too, expected to be able to deal with the individual needs of that child, your child. The difference is that that teacher has to do that simultaneously with up to thirty children in the room at once. We’d never expect a doctor, a dentist, a lawyer, or an accountant, to do that.

Now that has always been the case. But the weight of expectation on teachers has grown enormously, the needs of those children has grown out of all proportion as teachers deal each and every day with children with such diverse, and in some cases such extreme, needs.

They do this because they care, they do this because they understand what we call the ‘moral imperative’, the importance of doing everything they can to improve lives. I have never seen levels of exhaustion the likes of which I observe amongst many teachers now.

Teachers are fighting for some more money, yes. They are also fighting for the time and resourcing in schools that are necessary if they are to do the best job they can to meet those individual needs of your children. In my most recent Blog post ‘What do teachers make?’ https://whakataukihewakaekenoa.blogspot.com/2019/06/what-do-teachers-make.html I made the point that this is not the attractive profession it might once have been. If it were, if it really was a job where teachers worked from 8.30am to 3pm, with twelve weeks holiday a year, for good money, there would be a queue a mile long with people wanting to become teachers. The opposite is true. Teachers are hard to find, good teachers even harder, they are signing up to train in small numbers, and they are leaving the profession at faster rates than ever before. Fifty percent of new teachers have left the profession within five years of starting. They leave burnt out and disillusioned.

The same goes for the amazing support staff that are so essential to what we do in our kura. As a sign of their importance our Board of Trustees took the decision two years ago to ensure that no staff member is paid below the ‘living wage’. No minimum wage for us. We value everyone. NO job in our kura exists because we felt sorry for someone and decided to give them a job. EVERY job exists because it is important to the education, to the lives, of your children.

So, please support our amazing teachers. Also please support the cries for better funding for schools, as this is how we fund those higher wage rates for our wonderful support team. We saw a major step forward in this year’s ‘wellbeing budget’, when the Government announced that from next year it will pay an additional $150 per child to every decile 1-7 school that does not ask for voluntary donations. THAT makes a DIFFERENCE. Your support helps us make a difference.

Thank you.

Please make sure you follow us on Facebook for the latest and most up to date news https://www.facebook.com/hornbyhighschool/ , and on our website www.hornby.school.nz . You can also follow my thinking on education at Hornby High School, and more generally, on my blog at https://whakataukihewakaekenoa.blogspot.co.nz/

Nga mihi nui

Robin Sutton

Tumuaki

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