Prospective teachers must show their passion!

[HanibalII]

At present, there are quite a few heated discussions raging in Australia regarding the treatment and conditions of teachers in the public education sector. Generally we have reasonable conditions, however that isn't always the case.

Over the past 5-10 years, we've begun to have a reduced flow of teachers entering the service, up until a couple of years ago, when it saw a larger influx. Older teachers were beginning to retire (either forced or co-operatively), making way for new teachers. Which begs the question of why certain stringent methods are being discussed, with the very likelihood of being implemented?

Prospective teachers will have to prove their passion for the job, as well as pass new literacy and numeracy tests, before winning a place in university.

Now as some teachers in Australia may know, we go through quite a lot of training, much of which strongly tests our 'passion' for teaching. You can't go into a school in your second year, be told to run the class for three weeks straight by yourself, and not have a passion for the profession.


Consider this a bit of a rant, but please feel free to have a discussion about it.



Link to full story
Passion of would-be teachers put to the test - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

 

[Tdol]

It's one of those things that sounds good, but how do you get proving passion into a tick-box format? Years ago I had an interview where I knew they were going to ask me to prove my commitment to and active engagement in Health and Safety. I was a bit stuck here so I asked the Caretaker, who told me to say that I checked foam-lined chairs for holes and moved any out of the room as a fire risk. I thanked him and dutifully parroted this and got plaudits for my in-depth knowledge of fire hazards.

I am not unpassionate about teaching- in addition to work, I have worked on this site almost every day for over a decade. Chances are that I might end up having to prove my passion by parroting things in interviews. I'm not against Health and Safety either, but these processes can end up as dead, leaden bureaucratic messes that do the opposite of what they set out to achieve.