There are many things about teaching as a profession that are misunderstood by the public at large. Neither are these elements considered by the Departments of Education and those within systems that set teacher expectations. The long term confirms this, and the current differentiation of ‘them’ and ‘us’ describes the connection between school-based staff and system administrators. The hardly respectful term ‘carpet-land’ is used by many teachers to express the lack of proximity they feel to those developing curriculum priorities and setting teaching agendas. Departments set school curriculum agendas to meet government whim and societal pressures without considering how this will impact teachers and students.

What they see is the iceberg tip

The work of teachers (and school leaders) reminds me of an iceberg. Only 10% of an iceberg’s mass is visible. The other 90% is hidden beneath the ocean, seen only by marine creatures. In the same way, the work done by teachers and support staff is 10% observable and 90% unseen.

Many believe that classroom teachers work six hours daily, five days a week. This 30-hour working week, reduced by public holidays, is complemented by 12 weeks ‘holiday’ each year. Regarding occupational comparison, our teachers are considered people on ‘Easy Street’. Letters to newspapers and callers to radio talkback programs frequently slate teachers for lack of commitment and care for students. How wrong they are.

To be continued