The frustration is palpable. The stress is unfathomable, and the result will be demoralised teachers who keep on keeping on for the kids at the expense of their mental and physical health.
The situation is unsustainable and if nothing significant changes it will worsen in winter.
Expert tradespeople were employed across Tasmania to jimmy windows that were screwed shut due to chilly air in the depths of winter.
Yeah, nah ...
Read MoreThere is a level of frustration and passion bordering on anger that inevitably bubbles to the surface when I read that families are threatening educators at schools across Tasmania in record numbers.
Verbal and physical aggression often born of frustration are not responses appropriate to environments determined to model and build community. In fact, they are not appropriate in most environments.
Fight for your kids, but do not fight those desperate to make a difference - our teachers and support staff.
You are not UFC legend Conor McGregor; you are your child's partner in education and along with love this partnership is the most important role you will ever play.
Read MoreIn Tasmania, our public schools will not reach 100 per cent of the SRS under the bilateral agreement signed by state and federal Liberal governments until 2027.
Every independent and Catholic school across Tasmania is already at that standard.
More than 70 per cent of Tasmanian students attend public schools, yet these schools attract 10 per cent less funding than their private counterparts.
Can you even begin to imagine if private hospitals received 10 per cent more funding year on year than the public system?
Read MoreWhen considering the historical and cultural issues associated with apparent retention of full-time students to year 12, the latest Productivity Commission report tells us that catholic and independent schools (63.8 per cent), despite significant federal and state government funding on top of weighty fees, are unable to retain students at the same rate as their public counterparts (80.4 per cent).
Conceivably it is the diversity of public college offerings and the critical mass of students that drives retention success. And when you add part-time students to the equation with Tasmania having a higher proportion due to caring and work responsibilities, apparent public college retention has hovered around the 80 per cent mark for a decade.
Read MoreAs we waited for Catherine Freeman to adorn our screens last Sunday evening in an ABC documentary celebrating her triumph at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, I took a screenshot of a tweet from local contributor @sallyjgill who posted at 1.45pm.
Simply put Ms Gill shared a photo of road signs 15 kilometres from yingina / Great Lake festooned with red spray paint covering the dual name with a racist tag penned by a bogan showcasing all the traits that should make us cringe.
Read MoreAustralia has an uncomfortable past. It is simple to acknowledge but difficult to repair.
I did not hear nor recognise blatant racism until 16 years of age. I was left feeling shocked and my father demanded to know who made the offensive comment. He understood the impact of intolerance, not racism.
In viewing the harrowing footage that led to the rise of the Black Lives Matter protests, and the unacceptable looting and rioting, it is unsurprising that the issues have also found a home in our country.
Read MoreIt is important to reassure substitute teachers that you are not going to harm your children's life chances. This crisis is like nothing most of us have ever seen. It has interrupted every aspect of our being with many critically ill and thousands of people dying across the world. Therefore, simply spending time with your children, whenever you can, is non-negotiable.
Read MoreThe chairs were assembled long before the meeting was scheduled to begin. The Chairperson, the son of a dour no-nonsense Scotsman and a gentle English lady, sat waiting for other members to arrive. It was a Sunday in March and he felt unaccustomed being in a school setting even though he astutely guides the Scotch Oakburn College Board.
Read MoreSchools are complex.
The very nature of providing education to young people who don’t always make great decisions builds in a layer of complexity that can’t simply be explained.
Read MoreThe conviction of Cardinal George Pell and the lifting of suppression orders, the Lawyer X scandal destroying the credibility of the criminal justice system in Victoria, and bushfires raging across another state, has made explanations to children who consume news with enthusiasm challenging.
Read More“As school leaders, we have to be our very best every single day, we can't let them down," the leader concludes.
"In the bright and cheerful office, a moment of clarity has blissfully interrupted a hectic day.
Read More
