Terry Young (Longman, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the motion of the member for Reid relating to the teacher shortage. I speak to this motion because I believe that, apart from parenting, teaching is the most important role that has the greatest impact on our country's future. We all know the majority of a person's thinking and behaviours are developed in their formative years, and the older we get the more difficult it is to change our thinking and behaviour—except for you, of course, Deputy Speaker Sharkie. This is why the value of parents and educators should never be underestimated. I've never been an educator; however, my mum was the primary school teacher her entire working life, some 50 years, in the Queensland state school system. I have close friends who are either teachers, principals or deputy principals, and my wife is a teacher's aide, so, fortunately, I was able to have great conversations with them when preparing this speech. I also have a great relationship with the schools in my electorate of Longman and have been privileged to obtain the views of some of those educators this month.

The Commonwealth provides around $760 million per annum in university funding for teacher education, which is a significant investment and rightly so—what price on a child's future? So why are fewer and fewer people taking up this vital vocation? For many years, teachers were held in very high esteem and were considered pillars of communities. Some of the feedback I've received from people at the coalface on why people are leaving the profession of teaching or are not taking it up at all suggests that many new teachers have come from stable family backgrounds and struggle to deal with students who are from unstable family backgrounds and who have behavioural issues unfamiliar to them. Those who have been in the profession for some time comment on the fact that disrespectful antisocial and/or violent behaviour has risen dramatically over the past couple of decades. One teacher told a story of asking a student to join the class, as they going to a swimming lesson, and she was told to 'go away' and that she was a 'stupid' teacher. The teacher expressed she was thankful that it was this mild, as previously she had been sworn at and even physically struck. Another long-term teacher said that academic outcomes would be greater if teachers didn't have to focus on teaching students life skills that parents used to teach their children, such as manners, personal hygiene, sex education and respect. Every moment our teachers are educating our children on these matters is a moment they are not teaching them reading, writing, history, science and the like.

One of the biggest deterrents amongst most teachers I spoke to was the often long and arduous process when a complaint was made against a teacher by a student, colleague or parent. There have been instances where cases were drawn out for as long as two years, and often the defending teacher was not even notified for months after they'd been exonerated of the complaint. There was also comment made about the lack of consequences for those students, parents and colleagues where allegations and were proven to be false.

A report in the Australian Financial Review today reported that 50 per cent of principals had been physically threatened—simply outrageous. After the feedback, what are the solutions? Where do we go from here? Some suggestions I have heard from educators include: more investment in parenting courses and education on how to be a parent—if parents taught their children what parents are supposed teach, then teachers could focus and spend more time teaching what they are meant to teach; a more streamlined process for complaints and allegations against teachers, with time line limits on decisions to reduce stress on those who are eventually found innocent; real consequences for those who are found to have made false allegations; and a more diverse range of education delivery.

Once principal shared that our current education method suits just 30 per cent of students. That means 70 per cent of students are bored, disengaged or simply not understanding the information being taught to them. I have two of these alternative schools in my electorate of Longman, Horizons College and Alta-1, which both provide excellent alternative education for those students who are disengaged with the traditional school system. We need more focus and investment in more alternative types of education so that we can provide quality education to a broader range of students.

Many behavioural issues are created in our schools due to students feeling inadequate or even stupid because of how we measure competency or because they are bored or switched off as their education system doesn't suit their learning style. I sincerely thank our teachers for all you do under extremely frustrating circumstances. I promise you that I will do all I can to ensure that you have the working environment you and our children deserve.

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