No. Really. We need good teachers?

Sometimes research really irritates me. Why? Because it states the bloody obvious. I know, we need to prove things but at times you wonder why they waste so much effort and time to prove something that the majority of us mere mortals (as opposed to academics) already know and understand. Straight from ACER eNews is a report that Professor Dinham has told graduands last month that the most important thing we need to fix to ensure that every Australian school student receives a  top class education is high quality teachers and teaching. Wow! What an insight. The sad thing about his statement is that it is in his report which was released in 2008. I recommend you follow the links and at least skim through it. I can’t see that much has happened in line with his recommendations. The certification board is there but there is no incentive to join.

He has some good recommendations though, but I think there is one thing lacking. It’s not just about attracting the right people (they will come anyway), its not about paying them more (that would be nice), and its not just about how you recognise their abilities, it is about how your support their professional development in a meaningful way. At present ongoing professional development of teachers, trainers and educators is essentially a personal project where you must individually decide what to do and often pay for it yourself. Of course if you are really busy you don’t do it and often you can’t afford it or at least justify the expense. We need a network of free development opportunities which meet the real needs of all teachers, trainers and educators. What do you think? How would this operate? Who would provide this service?