Rather than being straightforward, education these days has become a kaleidoscope of confusion. Many graduate teachers are quickly disappointed by the realities of a teaching profession that fails to meet their preconceptions.

Rather than finding that teaching is about “teaching,” they discover a significant emphasis on testing, measurement, assessment, and evaluation, often of areas outside their teaching fields. It seems the children are forever being monitored and confronted by batteries of tests.

It quickly becomes evident to teachers that data are driving education. Data requirements dictate teaching and teaching methods.

Academic competence is essential. However, holistic education (the social, emotional and moral/spiritual elements) seems to be given scant attention. Graduate teachers have a strong desire to work as developers of children. Many are quickly disillusioned because education appears to be about a relatively narrow band of academic outcomes.

For many graduate teachers, the gloss of teaching soon wears off. They cannot cope with the ‘teaching for test’ dimension that now underpins education. The brief years they spend in classrooms are disillusioning. In turn, they may share their perceptions of the teaching profession with others, negatively influencing their thoughts and opinions.

Classroom practitioners find it difficult to accept that their observations are discounted. Unless verified by formal testing, teacher evaluations are considered invalid.

Preoccupation with the formalities of testing and examination are not always priorities generated by schools. Instead, requirements are set by departmental administrators, and schools have to comply with them. In turn, these priorities are not necessarily what administrators want but are a compulsory response to the demands of politicians.

Sadly, Australian education is deeply rooted in comparing results at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels with those achieved by students in overseas systems. Those students are often from countries totally unlike Australia, but that is not considered. The fact that educational objectives are dictated by comparison to overseas systems is an undoing of Australian education.

Education should be about the needs of children and not influenced by the desire of political leaders and top educationists to brag about how good Australian education is compared to other systems. Many graduate teachers are caught up as players in this approach, quickly wise up, and quit the profession. Our students are the losers, and their perceptions of education are sadly discoloured.