TIM DOBSON

AEU ACT MEMBER

MURRUMBIDGEE

My name is Tim Dobson. I am a pre-service teacher working as a Learning Support Assistant, and a member of the AEU ACT, whose Executive I have been proud to serve on. I’m running as a Labor candidate for the seat of Murrumbidgee in the ACT election.

From very early in my life, I was aware of the power of education to inspire and empower. My father has been a mathematics teacher for over 40 years and my mother was an early childhood educator. I am a graduate of public schools in Wollongong, and I am proud to work in the public education system now in Canberra.

Our union is a great force to be a part of. I have seen first-hand the fierce advocacy of the AEU in support of its members. When progress is made in the public education system here, it’s because of a productive relationship between the union and the government, and I have no doubt that will continue to be the case into the future.

One of the major reasons that motivated my run was the need to continue to stand up for public education, and everyone who works in our schools. I am a fierce supporter of equity in education. Learning in schools should not be determined by family background or wealth levels or occupation. As teachers, there is only so much we can do to rectify that inequality in our broader society, but when teachers are supported and empowered, we can play a massive role in ensuring disadvantage is left at the school gate.

In the ACT we have the highest paid public educators in the country, but there is still more to do. The Education Minister has signalled her concerns around the flaws of NAPLAN and how its current approach gets in the way of teachers doing their job. With its COVID-19-related cancellation this year, we have an opportunity to reflect on its role.

While acknowledging the improvements that have been made, having been a victim of occupational violence myself, I want to work hard to make sure our schools are safe work-places for everyone.

All students come to school with existing knowledge, skills, personalities, preferences and ways of learning. There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach that works for all students. That must be reflected in the resources that are provided for students: differentiation is one of the most effective teaching methods. The crucial role of Learning Support Assistants in helping bring this about needs to be acknowledged and supported within schools. Part of this is to provide pathways for LSAs to use their educational knowledge and experience to become teachers if they desire.

Alongside equity is the power of representative school communities. Learning occurs best when there are positive relationships between schools, teachers and families. All families should feel empowered to be able to engage in the education process and to work with teachers to achieve the best results for students.

It's essential we acknowledge the social role that schools and their staff play in our community as well. Free breakfast programs, community school programs, music programs and, in a recent example I saw at Stromlo High School, turning an unused bit of land on its site into a BMX track; these programs get to be enjoyed by everyone in the area and foster a vital sense of community. I want to continue to work with schools and staff to maintain these programs.

Campaigning across the electorate, the support out in the community for our public school system is plain to me. Canberrans love public education and public educators. That is testament to everyone working in the system and the hard, relentless and sometimes unacknowledged work that occurs every day. We live in a city built on the idea that people’s lives are made better through public services - in the case of public education, setting children up to lead fulfilling lives. However, we know that schools and teachers do not act in a vacuum. Schools and teachers act within the constraints that are placed upon them by governments. This election provides a stark choice for everyone working in schools: do we continue to support the progress made by the Labor Government in the ACT, through its good relationship with the union? Or do we support an alternative that pays lip service to teachers, but totally fails to engage with them about what they want or need, and instead offers vague platitudes of ‘going back to basics’?

The ACT election provides the perfect opportunity for all of us who work in the public-school system to vote for representatives who will put public education first. As an educator and as a unionist, you can be assured that is what I will do every day if I am elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for Murrumbidgee.