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The challenge of education in 2019
CRT Kickstarter Conference
30th January 2019
I am here at the invitation of the
AEU and IEU
As members of those unions I am your guest and I hope to honour your invitation with some thoughts that will
affirm you, challenge you but ultimately show respect your work.
Where were you on
this day in 2018?
Activity One
Turn to a person near you – introduce yourself and chat using the questions below as a prompt.
Online participants please share your story via the chat screen.
Where were you on this day in 2018?What were you doing there?
Why were you there?Was it typical or unusual for you to be there/doing
that?
Define the direction
The
Challenge
of
Education
in
2019
I am not going to talk about
a) managing the behaviour of children or
adolescentsb) improving literacy and numeracy skillsc) the relentless expansion of technology, testing and ATAR scores for teachers
Though I acknowledge these are also challenges for educators in 2019
I am going to talk abouta) the purpose of education and teaching
b) the challenges that we face as a local and global communityc) some solutions for teachers and specifically CRTs
This is an opportunity to be beyond the classroom and explore the reason why you walk into the classroom
Whose perspective on
education?
5th February 1967, Broken Hill
St Joseph’s High School Broken Hill, NSW 1987
The education experiences that have brought me to this role
That is a snapshot of the experiences that have brought me here to speak
with you today and it provides at least some background to the educator that I am and the views that I hold
about education.
Activity Two
First reflectWhat have been the formative influences that have brought you to be the educator that you
are today?
Then share With a person near you if you are comfortable,
in the text box for the online participants –otherwise keep writing and reflecting – if you are in the room keep your head down and everyone will work out not to disturb you!!)
Education is not preparation
for life, it is life itselfJohn Dewey
I am going to talk abouta) the purpose of education and teaching
b) the challenges that we face as a local and global communityc) some solutions for teachers and specifically CRTs
Gert Biesta
Professor of Public Education (0.4) at Maynooth University, IrelandNIVOZ Professor for Education (0.2) at the University of Humanistic Studies, The Netherlands
Visiting Professor (Professor II) NLA University College & University of Agder, Norway
Associate Editor Educational Theory
Co-Editor British Educational Research Journal
Also from an American teacher, Nel Noddings
An education worthy of its name will help its students to develop as
persons, to be thoughtful citizens, competent parents, faithful friends,
capable workers, generous neighbours and lifelong learners.
For me I might summarise the purpose of education as
Qualification
Socialisation
Coming into presence as a generous person
To which I would add
Finding belonging/ a sense of community
Activity Three
When you think about the purpose of education and teaching …
What is your response to the thoughts I have presented?
What if anything would you add or qualify?
When you think about your time as a teacher, where have you spent the
majority of your time?
In my role
Subjectification
(or coming into being)
is central.
How can I support teachers to build their agency as teachers and as
human beings?
I am going to talk abouta) the purpose of education and teaching
b) the challenges that we face as a local and global communityc) some solutions for teachers and specifically CRTs
The question
What are the challenges for teachers in 2019?
Challenges in education for teachers
Accountability vs Responsibility
Diminution of professional autonomy
Lack of job security
Intensity of work
Loss of creativity
We teach in a context of:
Exploitation of the natural environment
Dislocation and transitory populations
Denial of indigenous presence and values
Violence (from the home to the world stage)
Nationalism vs globalism
I might summarise the educational challenges and the global
challenges as
a) A shift toward individual interests to the exclusion of the common good
b) the centralisation of power in the hands of a few to the detriment of the agency of the many
Activity Four
If you were to describe the education and global challenges
what would you write…
I am going to talk abouta) the purpose of education and teaching
b) the challenges that we face as a local and global communityc) some solutions for teachers and specifically CRTs
Solutions
Event
Agency
Community
Event
The body of Aylan Kurdi being carried by a Turkish soldier. (ABC 2015 photographer unknown)
Peter DombrovskisMorning Mist, Rock Island Bend, Franklin River,Circa 1983
Event
Cave rescue divers Richard 'Harry' Harris and Craig Challen have both been named 2019 Australian of the Year for their heroic efforts in saving 12 boys from a flooded cave in Thailand.
Interview with Leigh Sales (ABC Monday 28/01/19)‘It was as if everything we had done on the medical field and in diving brought us to this one moment.’
Event
As teachers we don’t know what will be required of us – all we can do is
prepare as best we can for the event or the moment when we are
needed..
Event
As teachers we never know the influence we may have in a single moment in the life of a child or adolescent, but every
interaction could be an event for that child.
A teacher gives a class, or maybe just makes a comment in class, and a
student’s life is changed. The teacher does not know she did this, and at the time
neither does the student. That is the event. (Caputo, J 2016, p. 6)
Community
Find your communities, the places where you belong (family, school,
AEU, IEU …). It is from these communities that we draw our
purpose and the strength to meet challenges
Support students to find a sense of belonging and community
Agency
Build your agency through formal training(AEU, IEU, TLN, CRTPD.COM)
Build your agency through networking with others (CRT networks, VIT, CRT conferences)
Professional reading and research
Build the agency of those whom you teach
a democratic society maximises the likelihood for any individual to make adaptations in their environment ... a
democratic life rests on ‘faith in the capacity of human beings for intelligent judgement
and action if the proper conditions are furnished’ The pedagogy that a teacher
brings to the education encounter creates the proper conditions for the student to
come to intelligent judgement and action.
(Paraphrased from John Dewey)
To summariseTeaching is one of the most complex of human endeavours in any era. It is also one of, if not, the most valuable.
Teachers develop the people who are the society in which we live.
Our challenge is to be open expansive and inclusive (even if is just for one
lesson or one day or one term)
