Struan 1969 - Adm.monash.edu

When I look in a mirrorI pray to seeThe teacher I'm supposed to be~~~~Exit students now face their futures and mustcome out of their professional congealment. Nolonger protected in the hypothetical classroomsituations of the training schools, students willhave to face the concrete hardness of Victoria'santiquated education system.Students will soon find out whether or not theteacher training administered at this college willbe able to encompass their experiences in firsthandsituations. They will know if they are preparedor not for the task which lies ahead of themwhen on that primary occasion, in their ownclass rooms, they are faced by the raw materialthey are to work with.No longer will there exist the false situationwhere the trainee is handed a ready-made andfunctional class of pupils to work with. The newlyqualified teacher will be working with fresh clay,no longer can he stand back and admire thefinished article, suggesting changes that could bemade. He will have to use his own hands withthe material supplied to him and make the changesas he goes, learning by all the mistakes he willmake. Then at the end of his first year "out"with -the combined working class in front of him,he will be whisked away to start a new project.It is in this moulding and creating that theteacher must use his individual talents and personality.There will be no time to think. on pastexperiences in the "doll-house" classrooms of thetraining schools the teacher will have to makehis own rules and standards to fit his individualsituation.It is the ability to tum his talents, personalityand adaptability to ever arising situations thatmarks the true teacher and tests the foundationslaid at this institution, for it is not a matter ofwhether a teacher can reproduce, for this is hypocrisy,but rather of whether a teacher can teach!But a teacher's task does not finish with thechildren for there are other battles to be fought.It is so obvious to see the lack of administrativeforesight and the chaos that has resulted in dirty,over-crowded uncomfortable and badly equippedschools; shortages of trained and qualified teachingstaff and the need for an education system whichencourages flexibility of teaching methods.The new teacher faces not only the need for areappraisal of the education system as a whole,but also the needs for an investigation into therequirements of those who are members of theteaching profession. In a country where moremoney is spent on alcohol than on education weare faced with situations so opposed to the idealsof teaching that it is little wonder that the Departmentfinds itself re-calling retired teachers andallowing married women to continue in theirpositions.We find one teacher schools controlled byfemales, forced to do men's tasks; petty regulationsand stifling "red tape"; discrimination intraining schools; overcrowded and understaffedteacher colleges, ad infinitum. If the training wereceive at this institution does no more, we musthope that it enables us to withstand the departmentalfruit-salad we have to penetrate beforeeven catching one glimpse of the children we areto educate.I have a feeling that we are in for a rudeawakening, and can only hope we haven't beendormant too long.3