Dear
It is with deep regret and disappointment that I am writing
this letter to you. This is in response to the letter many parents received a
few days ago by AEU outside the school gate. Since it was signed from “the
staff” of Seabrook Primary School, I have no idea who else to reply to except
to the head of the school. Please convey my message to all the staff concerned.
Since my arrival in Victoria 4 and a half years ago, I have
only sent my children to public schools. I have had great respect for the
Australian teachers and readily appreciates their style of teaching as
different from what we had back home. However the recent dispute between the
teachers and our government has marred my impression. Their actions and now,
inactions, through their union AEU, have directly shown me what kind of “poor” attitude
and “lack of” work ethics they have.
During the last two strikes, full day or half, I had taken
it in my stride but this did not mean that I agreed with it and the way it was
done. You might think it did not have much impact on me since I am a
stay-at-home mom but what about many other mothers who had to scramble for
alternative childcare arrangements. The kids thought it good that they were
having a ‘free’ holiday but seriously, this kind of disruption, where they stay
at home being restless when they could have gained some enrichment at school
cannot be good for them. So the statement in the letter ‘None of these bans
affect the fundamental learning of the children at Seabrook and most do not
impact on students or families at all…” is a lie. Stop trying to justify your
actions!
Now the teachers are even going so far as to not give any
comments on the individual school reports. I’m sorry, isn’t this just another
example of how selfish and thoughtless the teachers can be in Victoria?
Teachers claimed they want to “develop an employment agreement…that will
provide for the continued quality education for all students in Victoria.” (as
stated in AEU’s letter) but is this how you are getting it? By “DISRUPTING the continuity”
and by a “NO QUALITY” report? By sacrificing the kids and sabotaging the welfare
of the students that they are supposed to educate? What kind of maturity and
example are they demonstrating to our children? We ask our kids to stop throwing
tantrums and threatening to get their way, can the teachers listen too?
I have no issues with the teachers getting a fairer pay but
from what I see, what the teachers want from the government is not exactly fair.
No introduction of
performance pay. Everyone that works for someone knows that they are being
measured by their performance, unless that someone is your father or mother. Why
should lousy and lazy teachers (don’t tell me there are none) be paid the same
as an excellent one? If that’s the case, what incentive is there to become a
good teacher? What incentive is there for good teachers to stay in a public
school? Perhaps some teachers are fearful that they will not be up to the mark
when tested and are hiding behind the cloak of “equality” but I believe
policies that encourage individual good performance will bring about a total
better performance as a whole.
Experiments have shown that in a class of students where
test scores were combined and averaged, the overall average score dropped over
time. The theory is simple, over time smarter kids realised there is no
incentive to work harder to get high scores since their marks will be ‘lowered’
anyway after averaging. And the weaker students will have no incentive to study
hard too since their marks will be “higher” anyway after averaging. The
teachers’ demand to have no performance discrimination can only be detrimental to public school standards.
Reduction in
face-to-face teaching hours. How can that be beneficial to our kids? Isn’t
face-to-face teaching the fundamental role of the teachers? Compared to many
other professions and occupations, teachers get their school holidays and many
other occasions of ‘student free’ days to get their relaxation, upgrading time
needed. If they honestly believe that their working time is too long, the door
is always open for them to find a better job.
So I’m sorry but I’m not in support of the teachers’
actions as I don’t see any benefits and only more harm to public schooling and all
our school children of Victoria. Already Australian education standards are
nothing to boast about. Please ask them to seek their redress and iron out
their conflict with their employer (the government) in a more reconciliatory and
reasonable way, without compromising the long term benefits and welfare of our
kids and in a way that better reflect the values and principles of the sacred
calling of their profession.
Thank you so much for your time.
Yours sincerely,
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