"I resigned after teaching for 6 years and have now been a police officer for 10 years.
As nice as it is to be all warm and fuzzy about what a rewarding job teaching is, the fact is that a lot of the time it is just plain thankless.
Poor pay, increasingly atrocious behaviour from both students and parents, soft discipline guidelines that favour problem children at the expense of the teacher and other students, countless unseen hours of unpaid work in your own time, a revolving door of curriculum & policy changes with every change of government, etc etc.
I have never had a second of regret about my decision to leave teaching & it would take more than just decent pay to ever coax me back.
Teachers are largely overworked, stressed, underpaid & underappreciated.
No thanks. "
The Sunday Mail
Tuesday 11 November, 2008
A teacher at The Kings School, one of Australia's most exclusive private schools, has allegedly been seriously harassed by three students.
The Daily Telegraph revealed that the male teacher was targeted by aggressive behaviour that "went beyond verbal harassment" over a period of time earlier this year. Historical link preserved from the original page.
Headmaster Timothy Hawkes refused to comment on the condition of the teacher, saying it was an "internal matter".
Teacher bullies booted from elite school, Bruce McDougall and David Barrett, The Daily Telegraph and The Australian Historical link preserved from the original page.
Tuesday September 16, 2008
Maths teacher Natalie Dove was being hailed a hero today.
A gang of five youths, two of them carrying knives, invaded the grounds of Marymount College on the Gold Coast during the busy lunch hour.
Natalie Dove stepped in to protect the students after a male student had been punched to the ground.
A 25cm kitchen knife was held to her head.
Construction worker Justin Gibson, who was building a new basketball court on the oval, grabbed a star picket to chase the gang away while a colleague brandished a shovel.
They chased the gang away.
Mr Gibson said he could not believe the how brazen the gang members were.
"They kept coming, " he said.
"When I grabbed the star picket, one of the kids with the knife said 'you can't do anything, you'll get fired'.
I said to him, 'mate, I'm not a teacher, I'll hit you if you pull a knife'.
Teachers are expected to step in to stop fights.
They can be de-registered if they fail to step in.
In 2002 a male teacher was on yard duty at Langwarrin Secondary College when a group of girls aged around 16 started yelling at each other.
A brawl developed, the teacher sent for help but did not try to separate the brawling girls.
The Education Department sacked the teacher.
Their decision was backed by the Industrial Relations Commission.
And the Victorian Institute of Teaching cancelled his registration (see details of this case below).
But,
as this student with the knife clearly knew, teachers can also be sacked for dealing violently with children.
So this student knew he could safely attack a teacher, male or female, because teachers are vulnerable.
But, as soon as he realised that the construction worker was not a teacher, the student with the knife became afraid and ran away.
Teacher a hero as armed teens invade school, Greg Stolz, The Courier-Mail. Historical link preserved from the original page.
Armed youths invade school, Greg Stolz, The Courier-Mail. Historical link preserved from the original page.
Wednesday 23 July, 2008
Leah Upson topped her year at Edith Cowan University.
She was hailed by the department's then boss, Paul Albert, in 2005 after winning an industry award for her efforts at Tom Price Primary School.
She moved to Melville Primary School two years ago.
Leah Upson has been one of the faces of a WA campaign to lure teachers back into the profession.
As late as yesterday Leah featured on an internet page in which WA Education Minister Mark McGowan proclaims plans to attract and retain teachers.
But Leah Upson quit teaching this year.
She said that she had enjoyed the classroom but found her nights and weekends were filled with reporting and preparation requirements.
She had also been refused leave without pay.
Leah Upson is now an office administrator with a minerals exploration company.
She is working a lot fewer hours for more money.
Department fails to keep brighter faces of teaching, Inside Cover (page 2), The West Australian Historical link preserved from the original page.
Friday 11 July, 2008
Jessica Jackman of Bayswater had taught in schools all over Western Australia for ten years.
In the past three years she had worked her way up to a permanent, level three position in a Perth school.
In 12 months she would have been due for her long service.
But she has just handed in her resignation.
It was one of the hardest decisions that she had ever had to make, but she felt that it was her only option.
I have no energy left to fight a battle that is unwinnable.
Her peers have spent their twenties making extraordinary amounts of money, buying property and travelling the world.
She has spent her twenties being abused by parents, assaulted by students, treated with contempt by the Government and DET and forced to endure working conditions that no private employee would even consider.
There is a staffing crisis in WA schools.
Five other teachers from her school have resigned this term.
Why I had to abandon my teaching career, Jessica Jackman, Letter to the Editor, page 22, The West Australian, The PLATOWA website news. Historical link preserved from the original page.
Sunday July 6, 2008
A Canadian teacher who recently started work at Mandurah High School, WA, posted comments on a Yahoo7 message board.
He said he thought it was important for the public to know what is going on at the school.
I have only been at Mandurah High School for a short time but already I have experienced a number of very violent incidents, " he said.
It simply cannot continue and there are certain policies that must be changed to protect teachers and students.
"I cannot believe how bad it is here, " the teacher said.
I've been hit and punched, sworn at 20 times a day for trying to do my job - it's shocking.
Nothing can really be done. It's hard to expel a student and after a few days away, they're allowed to come back to the school to do it all over again.
The teacher also claimed that the level of illiteracy and maths ability was appalling.
The Mandurah High School Principal refused to make any comment in relation to the issue.
"I am more interested in raising the public profile of the school in a positive manner, " the Principal said.