by Barry Barrison
Over the past few decades Australia has seen an increasing trend towards treating services as businesses. This has happened to public transport, roads as well as the ever increasing push for privatisation of the health system.
Education has also been targeted. Aside from disproportionate allocation of government funding for exclusive private schools, the public school system has come under pressure to behave like a business.
Prior to the business approach state schools were funded from a central source and teachers' wages were paid directly by the Education Department. Under the current business model schools are allocated a global budget that covers all expenses including wages and they are expected to work within the limitations of that funding.
The most significant problem with this situation is wages. As a teacher gains experience he or she becomes more effective in the classroom, but also draws a higher salary. The present funding system does not discriminate between beginner and experienced staff so schools that employ more experienced teachers are financially penalised. This has caused an increase in the number of positions reserved for graduate teachers, since they cost less to employ and so leave the school with more money to spend on other areas.
There has also been a rise in the number of contract positions available compared to permanent positions, another aspect of the business model approach to education. One of the few appealing aspects of being a school teacher is the job security. However with more contracts and less permanent positions, as well as a focus on inexperienced graduate teachers, it is easy to foresee a future where teachers are employed on contract for a few years and then discarded when they become too experienced / expensive.
Teaching is a highly skilled profession that takes many years to master. It is also continually challenging since it requires continual effective communication with over a hundred young people every day. Newly qualified teachers do not have the skills that only time can build. While they are usually enthusiastic, there is no substitute for skill built through experience. From this point of view making schools responsible for budgeting wages is bound to have a negative impact on that school's ability to deliver quality education.
The teaching profession tends to attract socially conscious people, people who want to make a positive contribution to society. The application of the business model to this service does not take this into account. It is not reasonable to treat a person as a business employee yet expect that person to contribute above and beyond their paid conditions, particularly if those paid conditions are not very good as is the case with teachers at present.
Education only works because teachers put in so much more than they are paid for. To take this goodwill and cover it with a business model that discounts their contributions and tries to squeeze even more out of them is simply pushing teachers too far. If goodwill is not taken into account by the Government, it is surely reasonable to expect that it will disappear over time.
Teaching is not a business, it is a service. It should be treated as such by the government and funded adequately without the expectation that a profit will be made or even that costs can be cut by forcing schools to remove experienced teachers. Until the government realises that budgets are not as important as children's' education, the system will continue to suffer.
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New Unique Article!
Title: The Business Of Education
Author: Barry Barrison
Email: roger@green-planet-solar-energy.com
Keywords: math,mathematics,education,academic success,home schooling,home schools,homeschooling,children,kids,homework,lessons,learning,refrence and education,family,home
Word Count: 574
Category: Homeschooling
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