To state the obvious | BAB archive

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To be blunt I am shocked at the conditions teachers are forced to endure in the state system. The private system and the state system are, with a couple of exceptions, hard to compare. I understand why parents (those who are interested/can afford it) try to send their children to private school; especially for the secondary phase of their education. The governments in this country have colluded to slowly but surely establish a two-tier education system. Private schools have advantages state schools cannot offer. The principals can pre-screen undesirable students as well as expel them much more easily. Parents tend to me more involved, raise higher expectations for their children which most of the students absorb. Of course, more money means better facilities. The private schools I've worked at by far tend to have superior classroom equipment, teacher-student ratios and more support staff.

My situation:

To tell you the truth, I am running out of state schools I am willing to teach at (within 35-45 minutes driving time of a morning). Most of them offer quite a traumatic experience. I know I am not a bad teacher. I must admit I received an S2 rating by a principal who never saw me teach-not once! Likewise, I grant you my GPA is not perfect (6.72), and I could have had more experience with young people-only four years working in vacation care, three years as a private music teacher and two years working with special needs children as part of the QLD community visitor department (CCCYCG).

One full-time teacher for whom I often substitute for when she is sick once did say to me" Z..., you are a teaching tragedy! " When I asked what she meant, she said "in my last twenty years as a teacher in the state system I've never seen a more born-to-be teacher in such a hurry to leave the profession, but I completely understand why you want out! " I have to admit I was a little taken aback. And she is right, I am leaving teaching the moment my exit plan is finalised. What amazes me is that the QLD education system has any teachers left at all! For anyone who thinks good teaching is easy, I challenge them to do a bit of volunteer work (you'll need a blue card) for a half-a-day here or there at a couple of state classrooms/schools in their area.