Journal-No07_2010
1/11/10
11:33 AM
Page 17
WOMEN’S FOCUS
1 (from left) Olivia O’Neill, Niki Vincent and Anne Crawford.
1 Francine Smith.
3 the project began on 14 October with a half day forum held at the AEU. The forum featured keynote speaker, SA Unions’ Janet Giles and a panel of women in leadership with AEU Vice President Anne Crawford, Brighton Secondary School Principal Olivia O’Neill and CEO of the Leaders Institute of South Australia, Niki Vincent. Students also took part in an educational activity run by Francine Smith from the Global Education Centre. This was an extremely enjoyable session where students gained a great deal of information and ideas. As a follow up to this forum, the students are now working on individual school-based activities to “spread the word” to their peers. Students from each
1 Mitcham Girls High student, 1 Students applying their skills in the Ellie Thomas with Janet Giles. group activity.
of the five schools taking part are being supported and encouraged by their support teacher to develop a creative activity or action back in their school to inform other students about the need to take leadership seriously and understand that they can all play a part in Australia’s future. On 11 November, the students will return to the AEU for a presentation evening where they will have the opportunity to share their individual projects with their families, friends, teachers and AEU and department officials, before receiving participation certificates. Teachers wanting to know more about this project can contact Helen Hewitt at Brighton Secondary School. Q
For further information on the annual Rosemary Richards Scholarship please contact Tish Champion on: T: 8272 1399
CHANGES TO THE PAID MATERNITY LEAVE POLICY
Pregnant? Permanent? On Leave? Twelve months continuous service ‘IMMEDIATELY’ prior to the birth
is no longer required! You may be eligible for Paid Maternity Leave. For further info please contact Tish Champion on: T: 8272 1399 E: tchampion@aeusa.asn.au
Saint Mary – the education activist AEU Federal Industrial Officer Rob Durbridge says support for Gillard’s bonus payments plan is unlikely to come from above.
Seems that the young Mary McKillop was teaching at Portland Common School 510 in 1865 when a school inspector visited to inspect the teachers’ performance. At the time, teachers relied on a good assessment by an inspector to gain an annual salary bonus.
According to The Age (15 October 2010) another teacher, John Cusack, evidently “did the dirty” on Mary by forging the rolls so the best students were found on paper to be in his classes. This earned him the bonus by boosting his students’ 1865 equivalent of the NAPLAN score. But just to make sure, Cusack wrote answers to the inspectors’ questions on a slate, and held them up behind his back so the students could boost their marks. Young Mary, born of a fiery Scots family, protested the injustice. Father Riordan, her parish priest, tried to hush the scandal up but Mary reported it to her father who created such a furore that Cusack was sacked and driven out of town. But other members of the parish blamed Mary, who was also
forced to resign a few months later. Unfortunately at the time there was no teacher union to whom she could turn for assistance, but she persisted in her teaching career with miraculous results in Penola. Bonus pay was eliminated in Victoria in the 1890s when it was discovered that due to cheating, the results of Victorian students did not match their real abilities. Those of the salaried teachers in NSW were superior. A courageous 2010 election policy Reward Payments for Great Teachers, saw the Gillard Government promise to re-introduce annual test-linked bonus pay and mandatory annual inspection of 300,000 teachers in every Australian school. The angels are definitely not on the side of this proposal, and the prognosis for it is no better than it was in 1865. Teachers (who vote) will vehemently oppose it and perhaps even light a candle to pray for help from St Mary! Q 17