Teachers’ workloads creating a ‘pressure cooker’ environment
Primary school teachers do one of the most important jobs – often on very low salaries. We’re now hearing cries that they’ve had enough. Subjects like road safety, dog handling and healthy eating have crept into the curriculum, creating a dizzying workload for many teachers. The Australian Primary Principals Association held a forum in Sydney last month to hear a range of opinions about what should be done. National president Leonie Trimper today released a charter advising changes to the curriculum that will see more of a focus on Science, Maths, English and History. She talks about the massive workload teachers are facing. Two primary school teachers agree the extras are necessary to teach but are hard to squeeze in. UniSA’s Associate Professor of Education, Dr John Holmes, says young teachers of the future see their work piling up and out of control once they start full-time work.