Although the student spends a lage amount of time at school, the home life plays a major role in creating the child. This is where I would like to explore the idea of ‘habitus’. Bourdeieu defines habitus as “a system of structure and structured dispositions, which denote a process of being, a habitual state”. This habitus is produced by socialisation that is acquired in early childhood. Thus, habitus amplifies the parent’s role in childhood. This is because (within the child) the parents provide social formations that can produce and reproduce lasting, useful relationships. Therefore each family has raised their child to have a unique habitus.
Throughout my undergraduate degree the term used throughout its duration was ‘world view’. Worldview is the way in which an individual perceives the world and their place within it. It can be based on a belief of values that may derive from a series of influences. From this it is evident that worldview and habitus play a vital role in the teacher being able to fully understand their students. Habitus alludes to the security and social interactions that the student places within themself. Worldview is the students belief system and this can have high spiritual and moral motives. It can be seen by this, that habitus and worldview are intertwined and in some instances may appear as one. However, the individuals major development of their habitus occurs early in life what about during their school years? Well, the student continues to further develop their habitus in school and as they start to form their own opinions, develop their own worldview. Thus the teacher is a major stakeholder in this development. And yes, they to have their own habitus and worldview.
Within any educational institution there are many aspects that make it a school. Sense of place, community, culture, spirituality (this is not just in religious based schools) are all aspects that develop a schools worldview and habitus. It must be remembered that the school is much more than a building it is the people within the school, its stakeholders and the wider community, which go into establishing the cultural identity of a school.
It becomes apparent when talking to parents how the habitus of the parent, school and yourself may be different and sometimes oppose each other. Low lets explore talking to parents. In my short carrier as a teacher I (sometimes) still find talking to parents a daunting task. The following are some notes (that have helped me in this situation) taken from a series of lectures given by Professor Allan Coman.
The point to remember is that when organising and interview with a parent, it is usually over a negative aspect (the general parent teacher interview will be discussed later). First of all on the phone be polite and straight to the point. Have written down what you want to say to the parents on the phone. Do not discuss the main crux of the issue on the phone but rather present the issue that is to be discussed during the interview. Before the interview takes place find a suitable interview room and arrange for a college to be present as a witness (this could be a coordinator r a teacher involved with the issue). Ensure you have detailed notes on what you want to cover and have all interview and incident reports on hand. Remember to be organised and go into the interview with an open, honest and understanding frame of mind.
At the beginning of the interview do not invite the student into the interview room. This is where the most negative aspects of the interview takes place, the student does not need to hear this. At this time listen to what the parents want to say. Prompt the parents to comment on their child to obtain what they perceive to be the habitus of the child and their home. After this you can invite the student into the room to take place in the interview. Points to note here are
• By the time the student enters the room all the volatility of the negative aspects should be covered.
• The habitus of the parent/child has been established.
When the child enters the room do not revisit or dwell on the event/s, as this would have been done in the initial interview process. Rather assess what both the parent and the student perceived the habitus of the school is and notify them of any differences in what they perceive the school’s habitus is and the habitus the school is trying to convey. At this point express the differences I expectations and indicate areas change needs to occur. If the community is strong both the parent and student will want to stay and will affect change to do so. To relate parental habitus to pop culture, is Bart Simpson all that different to Homer (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdhcToHjCQ )? Is Homers attitude to work all that different t Mr Burns’? Although the creator of The Simpsons (Matt Groening) does this to get a laugh it is a laugh, it is a perfect example of how habitus, worldview and culture can affect those around you.
During the general parent teacher interview the one thing to remember is that the student is someone’s little bundle of joy. This means if the student deserves praise, give it to them. If there are negative aspects of the students engagement in the classroom address it promptly without vindicating the student. Be open with the parent and never appear to be on the defensive. Believe in yourself that you are a strong teacher who is a master of their craft and show it. Finally invite the parent to play an active role in the in their child’s learning and into the culture of the school.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Writing a CV
When applying for a job a good, precise CV is of the utmost importance. Essentially a CV is a marketing tool than has components of the following
• Your Life History
• Your Job History
• Your Achievements
• Your Skills
This is the point at which you promote yourself. Imagine the CV as being a brochure that will list the benefits of a particular service. The service being your time and skills! When writing a CV look at it from your employers point of view. By this you have to be creative because it is your CV that needs to find its way to the interview process.
Networking and interviewing are essential for your job hunt and your CV is just the first step in the job search. However a CV will be your first contact with potential employers and will open the door. If you are invited for an interview you would then be in a position to explain and expand on what is in your CV.
A CV is an essential tool in your job search. When applying for a vacancy you generally first have to send your CV to present yourself to the prospective employer. (http://www.cvtips.com/)
A common aspect in teaching is that teachers often have gap years where they have done study or gone travelling. If this is visible in the CV, 'What happened in the gap period?' the employer will ask. As stated above, people leave their jobs to pursue higher studies. If that is the case, do let your employer know. In this context the gap will be seen as a benefit. If this is not the case, and you have just been in between jobs for a gap of more than one year, you might say that you have helped your father, uncle, bother, friend, etc to set up their business (be sure you have the details ready as you will be asked for it); you may also say that you have volunteered to work for some cause that your family, community, or friends created (again be ready to give details); you can say you wanted to be with your family for sometime before you started working again (be sure you have plausible reasons - like grandmother sick or wife/husband having a too demanding career which neglected the children who were young at the time) (http://www.cvtips.com/gap_history_CV.html).
The following websites are a reference point where you can obtain information on CV’s including samples.
http://www.cv-service.org/
http://www.free-resume-tips.com/resumetips/curriclm.html
http://jobsearch.about.com/od/cvsamples/a/cvsample.htm
Interactive CV
With the growing concentration on technology, why not use technology to create an interactive CV. Using music (such as crescendos to emphasise important points) and use pictures to make your CV highly visual and personalised. Remember yours is the CV that needs to stand out so this way you can place in picture of people who have influenced your and your passion.
• Your Life History
• Your Job History
• Your Achievements
• Your Skills
This is the point at which you promote yourself. Imagine the CV as being a brochure that will list the benefits of a particular service. The service being your time and skills! When writing a CV look at it from your employers point of view. By this you have to be creative because it is your CV that needs to find its way to the interview process.
Networking and interviewing are essential for your job hunt and your CV is just the first step in the job search. However a CV will be your first contact with potential employers and will open the door. If you are invited for an interview you would then be in a position to explain and expand on what is in your CV.
A CV is an essential tool in your job search. When applying for a vacancy you generally first have to send your CV to present yourself to the prospective employer. (http://www.cvtips.com/)
A common aspect in teaching is that teachers often have gap years where they have done study or gone travelling. If this is visible in the CV, 'What happened in the gap period?' the employer will ask. As stated above, people leave their jobs to pursue higher studies. If that is the case, do let your employer know. In this context the gap will be seen as a benefit. If this is not the case, and you have just been in between jobs for a gap of more than one year, you might say that you have helped your father, uncle, bother, friend, etc to set up their business (be sure you have the details ready as you will be asked for it); you may also say that you have volunteered to work for some cause that your family, community, or friends created (again be ready to give details); you can say you wanted to be with your family for sometime before you started working again (be sure you have plausible reasons - like grandmother sick or wife/husband having a too demanding career which neglected the children who were young at the time) (http://www.cvtips.com/gap_history_CV.html).
The following websites are a reference point where you can obtain information on CV’s including samples.
http://www.cv-service.org/
http://www.free-resume-tips.com/resumetips/curriclm.html
http://jobsearch.about.com/od/cvsamples/a/cvsample.htm
Interactive CV
With the growing concentration on technology, why not use technology to create an interactive CV. Using music (such as crescendos to emphasise important points) and use pictures to make your CV highly visual and personalised. Remember yours is the CV that needs to stand out so this way you can place in picture of people who have influenced your and your passion.
Aspects of legality
Beyond the aspects of compliance there are many legal implications that must be considered when teaching. As I said above we will briefly concentrate on professional negligence and the somewhat new term educational negligence.
As educators we have to understand that we live in an era of legal ramification where any type of litigation might be placed upon us. One reason for this is that students and/or parents may feel that teachers have failed in teaching the basic concept and ideas to their students. Through some initial research it appears that this is a relatively new thing to come up. One interesting point I found was that in all the reading the term Negligence is used instead of malpractice.
The following are some definitions of the two words;
Negligence: noun [U]when you do not give enough care or attention to someone or something
Malpractice: noun [U] SPECIALIZEDfailure to act correctly or legally when doing your job, often causing injury or loss
(http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=48409&dict=CALD)
Well one answer eludes to the fact that teachers are classed as pubic servants. However for new scheme teachers it is a good idea to learn both definitions and use them as gospel. Essentially they are one in the same.
A teacher can be found negligent for a variety of reasons. However, some of the most common reasons why a teacher is found negligent relates to duty of care.
Hicksons lawyers presented a paper that is a must read for new scheme teachers to help understand what a teachers responsibilities are http://www.nswtf.org.au/campaigns/files/Impact_Civil_Liability_Act.pdf is the website of this report. I relation to injury, Helen Newnham writes “Negligence is part of tort law and deals with grievances between individuals where one party has suffered as a result of something the other party did or did not do. The purpose of negligence is to receive compensation for the injuries sustained.” (http://ajte.education.ecu.edu.au/ISSUES/PDF/251/Newnham.pdf ). One thing that must be acknowledged is that there are differing levels of risk. On e area where negligence might be found is if a teacher was to take a practical class without the formal training. In PDHPE risk might be low however in Industrial arts it would be high. This means if you are asked to teach practical classes without training you may be found negligent.
One other area is in regard to ethics. As a teacher the student is your number one focus. Therefore engaging in a personal relationship with a student or taking advantage of a student is also an issue. All be it legal and ethical.
In relation to educational negligence, One would think that if teachers are going to be sued because of issues in regard to their teaching, then teachers have a legal obligation (within this context) to ensure the correct educational requirements are met. Surely then, in the context of teaching students, any type of negligence should be classed as ‘Educational Malpractice’. Overall this is a relatively new idea. Teacher Tube has no videos on the topic and finding any information within Australia is nearly impossible. However it is an issue that is beginning to gain momentum and I am sure that within the next 5 -10 years we will see more documentation on the topic. Below is an article on educational negligence case in England.
Phelps V Hillingdon London Borough Council
Pamela Phelps was severely dyslexic. She attended a mainstream senior school. She was assessed by an educational psychologist who noted Pamela's difficulties with reading and writing but failed to diagnose dyslexia. When Pamela left school 5 years later her reading age was that of an eight-year-old. She was employed for a short period but lost her job because of her literacy problems and was unable to find a new job.
Pamela sued her Local Educational Authority (LEA) claiming they were responsible for the educational psychologist. She claimed the educational psychologist was negligent for failing to diagnose her dyslexia. The judge who heard the case agreed with Pamela and awarded her £45,000 as compensation for her past and future loss of earnings.
The LEA appealed to the Court of Appeal who reversed the decision. They stated that the educational psychologist did not owe a duty of care to pupils, as this was too onerous a burden. Even if Pamela's dyslexia had been diagnosed it was too difficult to say that a different teaching approach would have made a measurable difference and improved Pamela's literacy.
That decision effectively barred the majority of educational negligence claims in this country. However, on 27th July 2000, the House of Lords overturned that decision and similar decisions in 3 other cases.
The House of Lords stated that teachers and educational psychologists are professionals and therefore as professionals they have a duty to the pupils they teach to act with reasonable skill and care. This is similar to the duty owed by a doctor to his patients. If that professional acts are negligent then the LEA, as their employer, is responsible for their acts.
It is now possible to claim compensation if a teacher or other education professional acts negligently. This duty of care does not just apply to children with special needs such as dyslexia but to all pupils. If a teacher carelessly teaches the wrong syllabus he may be negligent and his pupils may be able to claim compensation.
Educational negligence will still be difficult to prove. Negligence claims can only succeed if the teacher acted in a way no other reasonable teacher would have done. It is not sufficient to show a poor standard of teaching, for example. In addition, a pupil must show that the negligence caused some measurable harm to the pupil before he can be awarded compensation.
http://alexanderharris.co.uk/article/EDUCATIONAL_NEGLIGENCE_108.asp
Most malpractice cases I found had to do with universities having to pay back fees as students felt that their educational needs were not met or the methods being taught were outdated and held no practical use for them. Imagine a lifetimes worth of school fees being returned to a parent after the HSC if negligence was found!
As educators we have to understand that we live in an era of legal ramification where any type of litigation might be placed upon us. One reason for this is that students and/or parents may feel that teachers have failed in teaching the basic concept and ideas to their students. Through some initial research it appears that this is a relatively new thing to come up. One interesting point I found was that in all the reading the term Negligence is used instead of malpractice.
The following are some definitions of the two words;
Negligence: noun [U]when you do not give enough care or attention to someone or something
Malpractice: noun [U] SPECIALIZEDfailure to act correctly or legally when doing your job, often causing injury or loss
(http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=48409&dict=CALD)
Well one answer eludes to the fact that teachers are classed as pubic servants. However for new scheme teachers it is a good idea to learn both definitions and use them as gospel. Essentially they are one in the same.
A teacher can be found negligent for a variety of reasons. However, some of the most common reasons why a teacher is found negligent relates to duty of care.
Hicksons lawyers presented a paper that is a must read for new scheme teachers to help understand what a teachers responsibilities are http://www.nswtf.org.au/campaigns/files/Impact_Civil_Liability_Act.pdf is the website of this report. I relation to injury, Helen Newnham writes “Negligence is part of tort law and deals with grievances between individuals where one party has suffered as a result of something the other party did or did not do. The purpose of negligence is to receive compensation for the injuries sustained.” (http://ajte.education.ecu.edu.au/ISSUES/PDF/251/Newnham.pdf ). One thing that must be acknowledged is that there are differing levels of risk. On e area where negligence might be found is if a teacher was to take a practical class without the formal training. In PDHPE risk might be low however in Industrial arts it would be high. This means if you are asked to teach practical classes without training you may be found negligent.
One other area is in regard to ethics. As a teacher the student is your number one focus. Therefore engaging in a personal relationship with a student or taking advantage of a student is also an issue. All be it legal and ethical.
In relation to educational negligence, One would think that if teachers are going to be sued because of issues in regard to their teaching, then teachers have a legal obligation (within this context) to ensure the correct educational requirements are met. Surely then, in the context of teaching students, any type of negligence should be classed as ‘Educational Malpractice’. Overall this is a relatively new idea. Teacher Tube has no videos on the topic and finding any information within Australia is nearly impossible. However it is an issue that is beginning to gain momentum and I am sure that within the next 5 -10 years we will see more documentation on the topic. Below is an article on educational negligence case in England.
Phelps V Hillingdon London Borough Council
Pamela Phelps was severely dyslexic. She attended a mainstream senior school. She was assessed by an educational psychologist who noted Pamela's difficulties with reading and writing but failed to diagnose dyslexia. When Pamela left school 5 years later her reading age was that of an eight-year-old. She was employed for a short period but lost her job because of her literacy problems and was unable to find a new job.
Pamela sued her Local Educational Authority (LEA) claiming they were responsible for the educational psychologist. She claimed the educational psychologist was negligent for failing to diagnose her dyslexia. The judge who heard the case agreed with Pamela and awarded her £45,000 as compensation for her past and future loss of earnings.
The LEA appealed to the Court of Appeal who reversed the decision. They stated that the educational psychologist did not owe a duty of care to pupils, as this was too onerous a burden. Even if Pamela's dyslexia had been diagnosed it was too difficult to say that a different teaching approach would have made a measurable difference and improved Pamela's literacy.
That decision effectively barred the majority of educational negligence claims in this country. However, on 27th July 2000, the House of Lords overturned that decision and similar decisions in 3 other cases.
The House of Lords stated that teachers and educational psychologists are professionals and therefore as professionals they have a duty to the pupils they teach to act with reasonable skill and care. This is similar to the duty owed by a doctor to his patients. If that professional acts are negligent then the LEA, as their employer, is responsible for their acts.
It is now possible to claim compensation if a teacher or other education professional acts negligently. This duty of care does not just apply to children with special needs such as dyslexia but to all pupils. If a teacher carelessly teaches the wrong syllabus he may be negligent and his pupils may be able to claim compensation.
Educational negligence will still be difficult to prove. Negligence claims can only succeed if the teacher acted in a way no other reasonable teacher would have done. It is not sufficient to show a poor standard of teaching, for example. In addition, a pupil must show that the negligence caused some measurable harm to the pupil before he can be awarded compensation.
http://alexanderharris.co.uk/article/EDUCATIONAL_NEGLIGENCE_108.asp
Most malpractice cases I found had to do with universities having to pay back fees as students felt that their educational needs were not met or the methods being taught were outdated and held no practical use for them. Imagine a lifetimes worth of school fees being returned to a parent after the HSC if negligence was found!
Institute of Teachers
The NSW Institute of Teachers supports quality teaching in all NSW schools. Its charter is to advance the status and standing of the teaching profession. The Institute oversees a system of accreditation and recognition of teachers’ professional capacity against professional standards. It also provides a process for the profession to influence the quality of teacher training and continuing professional development. (https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/employment/recruit/beginteach/implementation.htm)
There are regulatory and legal acts that are connected with the institute of teachers. Therefore it is a legal requirement for new scheme teachers to ensure that they are compliant with these regulations.
One question that I pose to the institute is ‘do they exist to ensure the quality of the teacher and the content that they teach or does the current framework of the institute promote a Tick-a-box mentality whare aspects such as professional development exists only as a means to ensure that they are compliant?’
In today’s world compliance is a far too common word found in the workplace and is becoming a common aspect of people’s lives. Take the audit process in New South Wales schools. The compliance process is now a paper gathering exercise where the only reflection given to the auditors on the quality of teaching taking place is evidence of programs, children work samples and printed test scores. What next if I give every student an A grade will I get a pay rise because I am a supreme teacher? I think (well I hope) not! The question is does all this paint a true reflection of the quality of a teacher? Well back to the institute. The following is taken from the DET website verbatim for you to get a handle on;
Teaching Standards recognise and celebrate the value of teachers’ work. The Professional Teaching Standards provides a credible way to describe, acknowledge and assure the quality of teaching that exists in schools. It provides a guide for your development throughout your career and also forms the basis of the process for accrediting teachers.
* Graduate Teacher (mandatory level)
* Professional Competence (mandatory level)
* Professional Accomplishment
* Professional Leadership.
Within each level, the standards describe the nature of teachers’ work within the three domains of professional knowledge, professional practice and professional commitment.
Accreditation at Mandatory Level
Graduate Teacher – Provisional/Conditional Accreditation
Teachers who are first employed during or after term four 2004, or who are returning to teaching during or after term four 2004 after a break of five years or more, are considered new scheme teachers under the Institute of Teachers Act 2004.
In order to be employed as a teacher in NSW, new scheme teachers will need to meet NSW Institute of Teachers accreditation requirements.
On employment, accreditation involves:
an assessment of your qualifications
payment of a fee (the Institute of Teachers will invoice teachers directly).
New scheme teachers need to be provisionally or conditionally accredited in order to be employed in NSW schools. This accreditation will be provided by the Director, Staffing Services and all new scheme teachers will be informed of their status. New scheme teachers must achieve Professional Competence, as established by the Institute of Teachers' Professional Teaching Standards, within the timeframe specified under the Act (Division 3 - Mandatory accreditation of new scheme teachers Institute of Teachers Act 2004).
Provisional Accreditation applies to new scheme teachers who have completed a pre-service teacher education course that has been approved by the Institute.
Conditional Accreditation applies to new scheme teachers who do not meet the requirements of the Professional Teaching Standards for provisional accreditation or who have not completed an approved course.
Professional Competence
he Institute requires all teachers entering the profession to achieve the standard of Professional Competence. This will represent a minimum standard that you are required to demonstrate. You will need to:
be well prepared in terms of your knowledge of subject content
know how to teach that content to a diverse range of students
have a high level of practical experience before you can function as an independent professional.
For accreditation at Professional Competence level, the decision will be based on:
* evidence presented by you
* observation of your teaching
* a report signed by the principal and endorsed by the School Education Director and advice from an external assessor.
You will have to attain the level of Professional Competence within the statutory period of either three years for those with provisional accreditation or four years for those with conditional accreditation. Part-time teachers will have to attain the level of Professional Competence within the period determined by the Institute or within either five years for those with provisional accreditation or six years for those with conditional accreditation.
New scheme teachers must first attain the level of Professional Competence. Once you have gained the level of Professional Competence you may apply for accreditation at Professional Accomplishment and Professional Leadership levels. Accreditation at the levels of Professional Accomplishment and Professional Leadership is voluntary.
Accreditation Process
Your progress towards accreditation is a partnership between you and your school. The process will include supervision by an experienced teacher and targeted professional development where needed.
Your school will support you in gaining accreditation at the level of Professional Competence. An experienced teacher will be assigned to you, to assist and support you in meeting the standards. This support will take the form of
classroom observations in a variety of contexts and over a period of time.
meetings with you to review and analyse relevant documentation such as teaching programs and student learning outcomes.
Your responsibility as a new scheme teacher involves:
collecting samples of your work as evidence for accreditation. This written documentation should include lesson plans and programs
seeking professional engagement with colleagues within and outside of the school to improve your teaching practice
ensuring that you have a copy and understand the Professional Teaching Standards
ensuring that you understand the process of accreditation.
Teachers who are unsuccessful in gaining accreditation at their first attempt may try again. However, teachers employed full time must succeed in reaching Professional Competence within the statutory three years for provisionally accredited teachers and four years for conditionally accredited teachers.
Professional Development
Professional Teaching Standards provide a framework for mapping professional learning across a teacher’s career. This includes continuing professional development that supports teachers in gaining and maintaining accreditation. Continuing professional development must clearly address the professional requirements of teachers. Many professional development courses supporting the standards will be registered by the Institute. This process will ensure the outcomes of a professional development course or programs are consistent with the Professional Teaching Standards.
The Professional Teaching Standards will support your professional development by:
establishing clear purposes and content for professional development programs
providing clear career development signposts
allowing teachers to determine their professional learning objectives
identifying areas of support in achievement of standards
allowing teachers to judge the usefulness of specific courses
providing a basis for recognising a teacher’s development.
Internal Appeals Process
New scheme teachers who do not attain accreditation after assessment by the Teacher Accreditation Authority may appeal to the General Manager, Industrial Relations and Employment Services or nominee, on the basis that the accreditation process was irregular or improper.
Note that you have to provide evidence as being a good teacher. I feel that for the institute to work the state government needs to give it full funding and compliance has to start with educating the leadership teams within schools. If this does not take place this is where any confusion will begin. Also the institute needs to provide a fully supportive role with new scheme teachers to take the confusion out of being compliant. At the present moment this is not happening. Another area that they should educate new scheme teachers is in the area of negligence both professional and educational.
There are regulatory and legal acts that are connected with the institute of teachers. Therefore it is a legal requirement for new scheme teachers to ensure that they are compliant with these regulations.
One question that I pose to the institute is ‘do they exist to ensure the quality of the teacher and the content that they teach or does the current framework of the institute promote a Tick-a-box mentality whare aspects such as professional development exists only as a means to ensure that they are compliant?’
In today’s world compliance is a far too common word found in the workplace and is becoming a common aspect of people’s lives. Take the audit process in New South Wales schools. The compliance process is now a paper gathering exercise where the only reflection given to the auditors on the quality of teaching taking place is evidence of programs, children work samples and printed test scores. What next if I give every student an A grade will I get a pay rise because I am a supreme teacher? I think (well I hope) not! The question is does all this paint a true reflection of the quality of a teacher? Well back to the institute. The following is taken from the DET website verbatim for you to get a handle on;
Teaching Standards recognise and celebrate the value of teachers’ work. The Professional Teaching Standards provides a credible way to describe, acknowledge and assure the quality of teaching that exists in schools. It provides a guide for your development throughout your career and also forms the basis of the process for accrediting teachers.
* Graduate Teacher (mandatory level)
* Professional Competence (mandatory level)
* Professional Accomplishment
* Professional Leadership.
Within each level, the standards describe the nature of teachers’ work within the three domains of professional knowledge, professional practice and professional commitment.
Accreditation at Mandatory Level
Graduate Teacher – Provisional/Conditional Accreditation
Teachers who are first employed during or after term four 2004, or who are returning to teaching during or after term four 2004 after a break of five years or more, are considered new scheme teachers under the Institute of Teachers Act 2004.
In order to be employed as a teacher in NSW, new scheme teachers will need to meet NSW Institute of Teachers accreditation requirements.
On employment, accreditation involves:
an assessment of your qualifications
payment of a fee (the Institute of Teachers will invoice teachers directly).
New scheme teachers need to be provisionally or conditionally accredited in order to be employed in NSW schools. This accreditation will be provided by the Director, Staffing Services and all new scheme teachers will be informed of their status. New scheme teachers must achieve Professional Competence, as established by the Institute of Teachers' Professional Teaching Standards, within the timeframe specified under the Act (Division 3 - Mandatory accreditation of new scheme teachers Institute of Teachers Act 2004).
Provisional Accreditation applies to new scheme teachers who have completed a pre-service teacher education course that has been approved by the Institute.
Conditional Accreditation applies to new scheme teachers who do not meet the requirements of the Professional Teaching Standards for provisional accreditation or who have not completed an approved course.
Professional Competence
he Institute requires all teachers entering the profession to achieve the standard of Professional Competence. This will represent a minimum standard that you are required to demonstrate. You will need to:
be well prepared in terms of your knowledge of subject content
know how to teach that content to a diverse range of students
have a high level of practical experience before you can function as an independent professional.
For accreditation at Professional Competence level, the decision will be based on:
* evidence presented by you
* observation of your teaching
* a report signed by the principal and endorsed by the School Education Director and advice from an external assessor.
You will have to attain the level of Professional Competence within the statutory period of either three years for those with provisional accreditation or four years for those with conditional accreditation. Part-time teachers will have to attain the level of Professional Competence within the period determined by the Institute or within either five years for those with provisional accreditation or six years for those with conditional accreditation.
New scheme teachers must first attain the level of Professional Competence. Once you have gained the level of Professional Competence you may apply for accreditation at Professional Accomplishment and Professional Leadership levels. Accreditation at the levels of Professional Accomplishment and Professional Leadership is voluntary.
Accreditation Process
Your progress towards accreditation is a partnership between you and your school. The process will include supervision by an experienced teacher and targeted professional development where needed.
Your school will support you in gaining accreditation at the level of Professional Competence. An experienced teacher will be assigned to you, to assist and support you in meeting the standards. This support will take the form of
classroom observations in a variety of contexts and over a period of time.
meetings with you to review and analyse relevant documentation such as teaching programs and student learning outcomes.
Your responsibility as a new scheme teacher involves:
collecting samples of your work as evidence for accreditation. This written documentation should include lesson plans and programs
seeking professional engagement with colleagues within and outside of the school to improve your teaching practice
ensuring that you have a copy and understand the Professional Teaching Standards
ensuring that you understand the process of accreditation.
Teachers who are unsuccessful in gaining accreditation at their first attempt may try again. However, teachers employed full time must succeed in reaching Professional Competence within the statutory three years for provisionally accredited teachers and four years for conditionally accredited teachers.
Professional Development
Professional Teaching Standards provide a framework for mapping professional learning across a teacher’s career. This includes continuing professional development that supports teachers in gaining and maintaining accreditation. Continuing professional development must clearly address the professional requirements of teachers. Many professional development courses supporting the standards will be registered by the Institute. This process will ensure the outcomes of a professional development course or programs are consistent with the Professional Teaching Standards.
The Professional Teaching Standards will support your professional development by:
establishing clear purposes and content for professional development programs
providing clear career development signposts
allowing teachers to determine their professional learning objectives
identifying areas of support in achievement of standards
allowing teachers to judge the usefulness of specific courses
providing a basis for recognising a teacher’s development.
Internal Appeals Process
New scheme teachers who do not attain accreditation after assessment by the Teacher Accreditation Authority may appeal to the General Manager, Industrial Relations and Employment Services or nominee, on the basis that the accreditation process was irregular or improper.
Note that you have to provide evidence as being a good teacher. I feel that for the institute to work the state government needs to give it full funding and compliance has to start with educating the leadership teams within schools. If this does not take place this is where any confusion will begin. Also the institute needs to provide a fully supportive role with new scheme teachers to take the confusion out of being compliant. At the present moment this is not happening. Another area that they should educate new scheme teachers is in the area of negligence both professional and educational.
What is it to be a teacher?
It is just over the past six months that I have begun to journal my thoughts as a teacher. As a teacher, I believe, a supreme teacher is someone who is able to contribute to the cultural, personal/emotional and spiritual capital of the student. This is done in ways in which the student is actively participating in the growth of this capital. Covey relates to this as ‘sharpening the saw’ I his book seven habits of highly effective people. I feel that it is a highly effective teacher who allows their students to be autonomous. This means that that teacher also has to sharpen their saw. The growth of the student is based upon the teacher being a role model for students to aspire to. This also means as a teacher differentiating between being a professional and being a friend of the student. Being a professional means that you just have the students best interest in mind, being a ‘friend’ means that you only have your best interest in mind. For this reason you must never confuse compassion and understanding with engaging in personal friendships with students. Also teaching purely to gain the students’ favour, is a negative way to approach your teaching because again this is for your own benefit.
An analogy that I like to use is that the student can be seen as a bank account. Their autonomy can be seen as the rate of interest. Placing deposits into the student’s bank accounts means adding to the cultural, educational, personal, emotional and spiritual capital of the student. Through autonomy, they can increase their need for knowledge (interest rate) and the capital grows. This knowledge and their approach to autonomy can only grow through the direction of the teacher. However, you can also withdraw from the student. This is done through poor, unprepared lessons that do not have the student’s learning in mind. Once a student has become bankrupt, there is nothing left to give (this is where acknowledging the emotional bank account is important) this is where resentment and an unwillingness to learn becomes a part of the student’s nature. By doing this you are adding to the student’s pain and could be creating new pain within the student. Thus you must ensure that you are constantly adding capital to the student. This can only be done if the teacher also adds to their bank account and ensure their ‘interest’ is high. The only way you can assess yourself is through reflection.
A common theme that is emerging in education is a teachers yearning for the ‘good old days’. Usually when a person indicates this they long for a time that was much simpler. Aspects such as
greater responsibility especially regarding paper work
* Reduction in respect for teachers
* Parents playing less of an authorative role in their child’s life.
* Children having to ‘hold the fort’ at home
* Greater need for counselling for teachers
* Professionalism of sport playing a larger role in the student’s life
To make a comment on some of those points relating to the student. Some students have had a fairly hectic day well before period one. The responsibilities at home, training since 5:30 in the morning all add to the student’s frame of mind when they arrive at school. To comment on the other points, when you place constant negativity upon yourself, this emanates on to your students. This could also have a detrimental effect on the way that you think about them. Ultimately you have to find what is valuable within each student. Each student has their own talents and when you explore and find this, I believe, you are teaching from the perspective of the student.
Introduction
The aim behind this blog is to give beginning teachers a place to come and read about situations that they may face in their beginning years as teachers. this narrative is a reflection of my experiences and resourced material from the internet. The method behind the blog is that the internet has little for beginning teachers told by people who were there not that long ago. So sit back enjoy the read and remember what does not kill you can only make you stronger.
Take care and welcome to a noble profession!
Take care and welcome to a noble profession!
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