Give us an education policy

I was interested to read the new policy called “Teach Next” - an initiative designed to attract skilled professionals like accountants, bankers, engineers, and scientists to teaching. The policy says that some of these individuals have been interested in a career in teaching but have been put off by the time it takes to meet the qualification hurdles. So - guess what? They get to by-pass those qualifications and be trained in eight weeks. Now I do think that an experienced and highly qualified, highly motivated professional can, with significant school support in an experienced team, teach without any teaching qualifications. But the Gillard claim is that “In schools that have been struggling to recruit specialised teachers, Teach Next will result in students being offered a greater choice of subjects in senior secondary school”. So these individuals are going to be put in schools without the support of any experienced specialised teachers to help them learn the art and craft of teaching. Amazing!

The Labor Government has had three years to implement its Education Revolution. What have we had? A Building the Education Revolution - a stimulus package to help the country to ride out the global financial crisis, and which, as a by-product, has just increased the divide in facilities between non-government and government schools. (Non-government schools have been much better able to manage capital works quickly in their schools to meet their individual needs.)

We have had an attempt at the development of a national curriculum which, as the NSW Board of Studies states “lacks coherence, clarity and continuity and has inconsistent levels of expectation”.

And the laptop roll-out has been ineffective and slow in many schools.

I wish for a federal government which cares about the long-term educational needs of our country and looks further than the next election. I wish for a federal government which believes that the teaching profession has an important, informed point of view which is worth at least listening to. I wish for a federal government which is deeply thoughtful about public policy, rather than concerned with cheap, trite headlines and five-second grabs.