KH of Perth, Reader's Comment 67 of 97 Special Report: Teachers reveal why they

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KH of Perth, Reader's Comment 67 of 97 Special Report: Teachers reveal why they walked, Yasmine Phillips, Education reporter, Perth Now, 19 February 2011: http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/special-report-teachers-reveal-why-they-walked/comments-e6frg13u-1226008656772 Historical link preserved from the original page.

Perth, Western Australia: pre-service student will struggle to pay bills, rent and buy food while prac teaching full-time.

I am a pre-service teacher entering my final year of study.

In a couple of months I will be teaching full-time in a school for zero pay (in fact, it will cost me $1200 for the experience) whilst struggling to pay bills, rent and buy groceries.

I will be taking a near full teaching load, and every single day I will struggle with the dilemma of how to teach the skills and content whilst managing behaviour issues.

In my previous teaching experience I have seen the craziest things.

On the day an assignment was due a student handed in a note from their parent stating that the student did not have to do the assignment as it was "dumb" and they were going to be a champion sports person who did not need any "dumb" education.

There were students who would retaliate with "Wait until I tell my parents" each time I asked them to work quietly or sit down.

I'm excited about my career as a teacher, but I'm smart enough to know that it is going to be tough.

Parents need to pick up their game, schools need to develop strong, clear behaviour management policies and the DET needs to stop screwing us over and start giving us stability and support.