Classroom teachers, the most vital of all educators when it comes to interfacing with students, feel the weight of expectation because it all comes down to them.

In 2024, the teaching profession was under more pressure than ever to deliver for students.Expectations have been building for years but have never been more pronounced than now. Classroom teachers, the most vital of all educators when it comes to interfacing with students, feel the weight of expectation because it all comes down to them. They carry the prime responsibility (outside the home) for teaching and developing children.

Appreciation is well-hidden

Double-edged expectations are held for teachers and classroom support staff. The system and school leaders anticipate that those working with students will do an outstanding job, reflected in NAPLAN outcomes, PISA results, TER scores, TAFE/VET achievement and a host of other measurable objectives for primary children and secondary students. 

On the other hand, parents and the community expect that teachers will teach in a way th

at results in students achieving quality outcomes, regardless of social and environmental pressures. The constant observation and scrutiny under which educators are placed adds to their burden of accountability. The expectation is front and centre, with appreciation for their actions rarely expressed.

While teachers are celebrated on World Teachers Day each year, this positive recognition is a brief pause in the heavy load of accountability placed squarely on their shoulders. The profession is heavily weighted with expectations, and bouquets are few.

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.

A criticism heaped on teachers, support staff, and school leadership teams is that teaching is an easy job, generating far too many rewards. I have heard people say that teachers should go and get themselves a ‘real job’. Letters to newspapers regularly decry teachers as being too well rewarded for the tasks they undertake.

There are some, of course, who appreciate the in-depth nature of teaching and education: sadly, the view that teaching is superficial appears to be held by many people.

Many students and parents appreciate ‘their’ teacher. However, in media releases and public statements about schools and teachers, there are far more brickbats than bouquets. Criticism is often harsh and strident, with acclamation of teaching positives being restricted to acknowledgement on World Teachers’ Day.

What is entailed

Teaching is far more than what is visible to the public. In fact, ‘teaching’ is a small part of the educational equation. Detailed planning, preparation and programming, taking many hours, precede classroom teaching and direct engagement with students.

Beyond teaching, there is the recording of outcomes (testing, measurement and assessment), review and then the considerations of revision and extension. These educational elements go well beyond teacher and pupil interaction in the classroom.

After-hours commitment

weekends and during holidays, will reveal a growing number of parked teachers’ cars. Staff members are inside working on many tasks that embrace the teaching profession. Salary recognises teachers for around 37 hours per week. In real terms, many work upwards of 60 hours during the same period.

Teachers are among the few professional groups not eligible for overtime payments to recognise extra hours at work. Police, firefighters, and nursing staff work to fixed rosters and are reimbursed if extra hours or shifts are worked. This does not happen for teachers in schools. The only person entitled to compensation for extra work may be the school janitor, and only if a pre-agreement has been arranged.

These days, there are more and more meetings in which teachers and staff members are required to participate. Staff and unit meetings, moderation meetings, performance management meetings and many other gatherings have proliferated. Most are held outside the scope of the typical working day and week. 

Teachers organise extended excursions. They coach and manage teams and groups involved in sporting and cultural exchanges of several days’ duration. Preparation for their regular classes before going is part of the deal. They are part of fundraising activities, school council committees and school improvement planning groups. The list goes on.

N Unlike many professionals, educators do not always feel 

they an leave school at work. Program- ming and preparation, marking and updating data onto electronic files, which transfer back to school records, are tasks that move classrooms to lounge rooms at home.

A ‘giving’ profession

Teachers and school staff members should not be knocked. They are selfless, giving and caring. Most teachers are there for others, and without the work they do, our society would be poorer. I believe teaching is the most vital of all professions. It is one of society’s linchpin professions, and those who work within it deserve to be valued and appreciated.

A Rejoicing Profession

I hope that school-based educators will come to feel good about themselves. A distinct worry is that our teachers under-sell and under-appreciate themselves. It is almost as if they expect to be put upon and criticised, accepting this as normative behaviour. That should not be the case. There needs to be a place for joy and rejoicing in the hearts of our teachers, who contribute so much to so many.

At the end of each day, teachers should reflect on their successes and plan for what lies ahead. Reflective, ‘feel good’ times are essential and help build confidence. That can help alleviate the stresses and anxieties that too often build up within the mindset of teachers who feel they have no right to rejoice.

I hope that teachers become more valued and appreciated by the community, by their employment systems and by politicians who set educational agendas. Equally, I hope that educators working in our schools feel professional joy from within.

  One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is a vital element for the growing plant and the child’s soul.

Carl Jung

Appreciation is the highest form of prayer, for it acknowledges the presence of good wherever you shine the light.