Australia needs to radically rethink how our schools are organised,how the teacher workforce is developed and supported,and how the learning challenges students face are confronted quickly and effectively.
Australia’s best teachers are under-utilised,and efforts to identify,encourage and reward them do not go far enough.
Simply saying that teaching is valued,without demonstrating that teaching is a profession where deep levels of expertise are both necessary and rewarded,is unlikely to fool anyone.
If we want our children to succeed at school,we need to support our teachers to succeed in their jobs.
The government is right to make getting children back to school a top priority. But keeping schools open won’t be easy.
Closing learning gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged students must remain the top priority for Australian educators. There are three things we should focus on.