Chalk Spring 2013

Cha k.

Official publication of the Australian Education Union Tasmanian Branch.

Spring 2013 | www.aeutas.org.au

W STHAT O ’S RE IN ?

GONSKI

A S F SS TI ER F O R B O CR PE u EM 0% A O . a M E 1 TE PR o r g o n i EU IV A IA s . t A E R N ta ma EC AY A eu or R D SM . a i n f T TA w e w r ES Y B TA it w mo S Vi s f o r

LL

ES

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[ in this issue …

[ from the editor …

Sleep apnoea — a nightmare for sufferers.

4

From the President…

5

Sexting your reputation is as easy as “snapchat”.

6

President Terry Polglase unwraps Gonski.

8

Getting in the right headspace to deal with youth suicide.

10

The AEU’s Ed Walker takes us on a trip down education lane.

12

‘Autonomy’ and ‘independence’ — not what it says on the box.

15

Catch me if you can — on the run with our new State Manager Roz Madsen.

16

Inaugural AEU Awards — we take you on the red carpet.

18

TAFE is in a fight for survival — where are you?

21

Touching the void — when is physical contact with a student appropriate?

22

The education environment goes cool.

28

Foreign factory safety hangs by a thread — APHEDA updates.

31

Keep left — a check list for educators organising road trips.

32

Hello, Welcome to your ‘politics free’ edition of Chalk. The truth is you had a narrow escape! We had planned for this Spring edition to be with you just before a 14 September election but were gazumped by Rudd calling an early poll. Alas, we hope you voted for Gonski and that the election result, unknown at the time of writing, was a positive one for public education.

This is the third edition of your magazine and the first time we have posted it to your home address so we are especially keen on your feedback about this relatively new publication.

Another first in this edition is the introduction of a new section called “journeys in education” where we share your experiences in education. Ed Walker, Executive member and now seconded union officer, kicks off the new column and writes about his education journey from the UK to Tasmania.

Malcolm Upston, one of our Industrial Support Officers, casts a light on the vexed issue of physical contact with students and dispels some myths along the way.

One of the most difficult events an educator or school community can face is a student suicide.

Chris Tanti, CEO of the youth mental health foun-

dation ‘headspace’, tells us about a Tasmanian first and the foundation’s support program for schools.

We meet Cool Australia, a dynamic and fairly new organisation that offers a wealth of resources to schools wanting to incorporate environmental and sustainability issues into their curriculum.

In-house, we hear from Roz Madsen, our new Branch State Manager, and chat to the winners of the inaugural Workplace Leader Awards.

Chris Lane, former State Manager and now Industrial Officer, gives advice on how to keep safe on the roads and communications consultant, Robert Hill, tells us how to keep kids safe online.

After an epic campaign and near decade-long struggle, Gonski (now called the Better Schools Plan) was legislated and Tasmania signed-up to the deal with the then Rudd Government. Our Branch President Terry Polglase explains how the plan will work and what it means for Tasmania.

And there’s much more; read on…

Cheers, Harriet e: harrietb@aeutas.org.au

[ contributors …

Chris Tanti Chris Tanti has had a long-held passion for youth welfare and started out as a social worker.

He became the inaugural CEO of the National Youth Mental Health Foundation ‘headspace’ in 2006. Chris has built the organisation to become Australia’s foremost youth mental health body, with 55 (soon to be 90) centres across the country.

It also has the nation’s only fully professionally-staffed online and telephone support service ‘eheadspace’.

Robert Hill Robert Hill is the Projects and Communications Officer for Aged and Community Services Tasmania. A former PR consultant with Hobart-based firm Font Public Relations, Rob has extensive experience in managing online and digital communications for organisations across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors.

In his spare time, Rob plays amateur football and cricket for the University of Tasmania and is studying a Masters degree in Marketing.

Jason Kimberley Jason Kimberley founded Cool Australia in 2008 after an expedition to Antarctica. He recognised the need to provide future generations with engaging information about our natural world. He believed the education system was the best way to connect with children and that teachers were the best ‘voice’ for Cool Australia.

In 2012, Jason was awarded Victorian Environmental Educator of the Year. He has plans to expand Cool Australia’s reach into more schools and build the organisation’s financial sustainability.

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h e a l t h

NO SWEET DREAMS

If you feel more tired in the morning than when you went to bed, it could be because you woke 600 times during the night! Chalk slips between the sheets with SNORE Australia to explain Obstructed Sleep Apnoea.

D

o you constantly wake tired, sometimes even worse than before you went to sleep? Do you spend the day wishing for a nap, have problems concentrating, count down the hours until you get home and can go to bed or ‘no’ off’ in front of the TV? You are not the only one — thousands of Australians suffer from excessive daytime tiredness every single day. There can be a number of causes but one of the most common is Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA).

OSA involves stopping breathing during sleep due to an airway blockage behind the tongue, and causes those with the condition to wake anywhere up to 600 times a night, mostly without any recollection of having woken at all.

While this may seem shocking, OSA is not rare, with approximately 20% of the population suffering with the condition; especially older individuals and persons carrying excess weight. The health implications of untreated OSA are serious — without proper treatment it can cause cardiovascular disease, depression, strokes, extreme daytime tiredness, driving accidents and a poor quality of life.

OSA sufferers often experience symptoms such as snoring, daytime sleepiness, witnessed apnoeas (where someone else has noticed you’ve stopped breathing), morning headaches and disrupted sleep. Other symptoms of OSA include fatigue, impaired memory and concentration, reduced cognitive function, male impotence and poor libido, depression, irritability, dry mouth or [4] Chalk Spring 2013

a sore throat upon wakening, nocturia and difficulty in achieving weight-loss. Few patients experience all of these symptoms however, and many patients with OSA do not recognise any.

As a teacher, you may find yourself wondering how your students have so much energy.

One reason is that they mostly enjoy restful sleep at night. If you have sleep apnoea, your sleep will be the opposite of restful.

Many people think that OSA occurs only in those who are obese, male and loud snorers; this is not the case. Women are being diagnosed every day with OSA, and about 10% of OSA sufferers are slim. Many people are too frightened to have their sleep investigated as they feel this will mean having to wear a large “Darth Vadar” style mask if they are diagnosed with OSA. This is not the case – with modern technology, there are a large number of different treatments available, tailored to suit individual symptoms, lifestyles and severity of disease.

Then, there are those of us who don’t have sleep apnoea but are kept up by our partner’s snoring, so that we suffer from insomnia, irritability and having to sleep separately. Extreme snoring has even been reported to cause industrial deafness! Not surprisingly, the divorce rate is twice as high in couples where one partner snores than in non-snorers.

The only way to be certain if you have a problem with your sleep is to have a “Level 1” sleep study (not a lower-standard screening study, also known as a “home study”). A sleep study essentially involves attending sleep labs, having some sensors applied to your body and head and going to sleep when you

are ready. A sleep technician is on hand to ensure that the highest quality data is collected to ensure an accurate and comprehensive diagnosis.

Do you snore? Stop breathing during the night? Tired throughout the day?

SNORE Australia, the largest provider of sleep studies in Australia, now operate a bulk-bill sleep disorder clinic in Burnie at the North West Private Hospital and Latrobe at the North West Regional Hospital.

Full ‘Level 1’ sleep studies (the highest quality sleep study in Australia) Local and video specialist-consultations available Short waiting-lists and your own private room We provide comprehensive diagnosis of sleep disorders and recommend personalised treatment pathways (we do not sell therapy equipment, so there is no financial conflict of interest) To book your sleep study, call us on 1800 076 673 or visit our website www.snoreaustralia.com.au

from the President …

Dear Colleagues, With Agreements for all sector employees being, or about to be, negotiated I extend my appreciation to the many of you who have completed surveys and attended member meetings in late Term 2 and early Term 3. Generalising, across the sectors, the key issues raised were: workload, support for students with special needs, salary, professional development and behaviour management. In our regular monthly meetings with the DoE and the Education Minister these issues (together with those raised

by Council and Executive members) are discussed and reports provided to the respective bodies.

In September, the AEU will be calling for nominations for Branch Council and Executive elections. Besides the opportunity to represent

not just your workplace, but your entire sector, involvement assists you to develop leadership skills. I always found that my union involvement, while working in schools, also decreased personal stress levels as my knowledge and understanding of the processes and reasoning behind departmental and union decision making grew.

At the June AEU Reps’ Conference in Hobart, delegates could not help but be moved by the reactions and responses from award recipients Warren McDonough, Stephen Deverell, Mandy Bowerman, Peter Harrison, Bella Mitchell and Julie Argent. [Interviews and report pg. 18] The common message in their responses was that you get far more out of giving than receiving. The AEU would achieve very little if it were not for such passionate members

Dreaming of getting away?

Dreaming of getting away?

who view social justice and workplace fairness as worth fighting for.

As nominations for Branch Council and Executive positions are being called, I urge you to talk to your regional organiser, a current councillor, an executive member or email/ring me and consider getting involved!

In the words of Mark Twain, “In twenty years from now you will be more disappointed with the things you didn’t do than the ones you did do.”

Enjoy this edition of Chalk.

Terry Polglase AEU Tasmanian Branch President e: terryp@aeutas.org.au | p: 6234 9500

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Chalk Spring 2013 [5]

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SEXTING YOUTH Is social media just a modern-day outlet for teenage sexual expression or the fasttrack to an irrevocably damaged reputation?

Robert Hill, former Font Public Relations’ communications consultant, explains the latest craze of Snapchat.

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f e a t u r e

I

t’s a sorry state of affairs when a 25 year-old man can justifiably begin a sentence with the quintessential old timers’ phrase: “I remember back in my day…”

As someone who progressed through adolescence during the early to mid-2000s, I am no stranger to the sexualisation of youth through society’s obsession with pop culture and new communication technologies.

During this era, text messaging was beginning to take over as the premier form of communication between teenagers.

Awkward schoolyard conversations between pubescent boys and girls were being phased out and replaced by short written messages, tapped out in seconds for the low price of just 25 cents (normally tacked on to Mum and Dad’s credit card bills).

The boom in mobile technology and social media in just the past few years, however, has made it increasingly difficult for teachers, parents and guardians to keep an eye on how youth are engaging with each other. It has prompted fears that the current generation of teenagers are becoming more comfortable communicating sexual content and images.

A growing trend is young girls and boys taking sexually provocative self-portraits, or “selfies”, on their mobile devices and either sending them to a boyfriend/girlfriend, or suitor, or posting them more widely in a competition with peers for more “likes”.

The latest photo-sharing and communication craze amongst youth is an App called “Snapchat” which enables users to take and send photos to friends, instantly. The difference between this and other photo-sharing applications is that with Snapchat photos disappear after five seconds, thereby ‘seem-

A growing trend is young girls and boys taking sexually provocative selfportraits, or “selfies”, on their mobile devices and either sending them to a boyfriend/girlfriend, ingly’ deleting any evidence of their or suitor, or posting existence.

The potential risks associated with them more widely in such a tool are significant. The instant a competition with deletion mechanism built into the App is the obvious attraction for young peers for more “likes”. boys and girls looking to express their sexuality. However, there is a loophole that allows the person receiving the message to take a screenshot of the image, thus saving it in their phone’s photo album.

The real danger here is that teenagers using Snapchat will be under the impression that the photos, especially explicit selfies, or videos, they are sending will cease to exist after the Mission Impossible-style five second self-destruction period.

A key point for young users to remember is that anything we do on social media remains, somewhere, in the ‘ether’. It mightn’t be as blatantly obvious as a picture posted on Facebook, but it’s there somewhere.

In early July 2013, four Victorian teenagers were arrested after a “disturbing explicit” photograph of a 16 year-old girl was passed around a Melbourne secondary school. After further investigation, police found more explicit images involving girls as young as 14. The three 17 year-old boys and the 16 year-old girl could potentially be charged with child pornography — a permanent and irreparable blemish on their reputation.

Currently in Tasmania, if a child or teenager was found guilty of ‘sexting’ — sending or distributing explicit content either by text or online — they could be placed on a community protection register, potentially affecting future applications to employers or educational institutions.

It is unrealistic to think that teachers and

parents can control or monitor everything that children post on social media. Nor should they — teenagers need an outlet, and social media provides this.

In the same way as a note passed around the classroom once created discussion and communicated messages of friendship and attraction, social media has become a way for adolescents to engage with each other and express themselves socially.

The difference is that anything posted on social media is effectively permanent and can be broadcast to the world in a second — unlike the classroom note.

Just as they have done for hundreds of years, teachers will find ways to adapt to this new form of communication between pupils.

It is important that this generation’s future is not unfairly affected by actions on social media during adolescent years.

The message to young people is to ‘rein in’ compulsiveness and not post or send anything, to anyone, that they wouldn’t want the world — including their parents, teachers and future employers — to see!

Let’s face it — if our employers knew exactly what we’d been up to during our teenage years, most of us would be out of a job!

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c a m p a i g n s

THE GONSKI EQUATION At the time of writing, the result of the federal election was unknown but Tasmania had already signed the Gonski reforms — rebadged the ‘Better Schools Plan’. Terry Polglase, AEU Tasmanian Branch President, explains how the Gillard/Rudd Government funding initiative will work and what it means for our schools.

I

n the last decade, enrolments in the government school sector have increased by 2.6%. In the Catholic and independent sectors they have risen by 12% and 32%, respectively, and 65% of students now attend government schools nationally (ABS March 2013).

Ideology aside, the overriding concern is that the proportion of low-income students in our government schools has increased from 1:1 to 2:1 over 25 years and the opposite is true for the non-government sector. If this continues, government schools will eventually become “the residual education system” for low-income families (The social make-up of schools, Barbara Preston, April 2013).

In the period since the Howard government’s SES school funding model was introduced in 2001, federal funding for government schools has increased by 153.4% but for non-government schools 170%. In the same period, Australia’s international ranking in literacy has dropped five places to seventh and in mathematics ten places to thirteenth (Review of Funding for Schooling 2011, page xiii).

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To reverse this trend, David Gonski was given the task of developing a new funding model that was transparent, fair, financially sustainable and effective for all students. The review found that the existing school funding system was inequitable and it called for a system of base funding for each student, topped up by loadings to target disadvantage.

The resulting “Better Schools Plan” funding package will see $15 billion distributed over six years with 83% going to government schools, 10% to Catholic schools and 7% to independent schools. The percentages vary across states.

In Queensland the distribution to the respective sectors, if an agreement is reached, will be 87%, 6.6% and 6.7%.

On 9 July 2013, the Tasmanian Government announced that it had reached agreement with its federal counterpart and an additional $382 million would be provided to support the state’s 181,000 students over the next six years.

We naturally expected that every effort was made to see the additional funding allocated and distributed according to Gonski principles.

Government schools will receive $233 million

(61.3%), Catholic schools $96 million (25.3%) and independent schools $51 million (13.4%) — although our state enrolment shares are 71%, 18% and 11% respectively (ABS 2012).

These enrolment percentages would suggest that, instead of receiving $233 million, our government schools should receive $384 million — four times the Catholic’s allocation, or $329 million — 6.4 times the independents’ allocation. The explanation for the funding arrangement can only be given by governments as it suggests that in Tasmania, at least, it was the non-government sector doing the bulk of the heavy lifting — an absurd proposition.

The Gonski model is based on individual student requirements and personal levels of disadvantage and not on which school or sector students attend. Overall, across the country and particularly in the larger states, the distribution model acknowledges this.

Tasmania’s government schools should not expect to see vast sums of money flowing to them in the first four years of implementation as just $2.8 billion (28.6%) of the $9.8 billion of the Commonwealth’s share will arrive. In the

c a m p a i g n s

“In the period since the Howard government’s SES school funding model was introduced in 2001, federal funding for government schools has increased by 153.4% but for nongovernment schools 170%. “ first four of the six-year Better Schools funding commitment only $880 million additional for the entire nation will be provided from the federal government.

Tasmania’s share, say 2%, of this $880 million would be $17.6 million over four years which equates to $4.4 million per year on average. More is provided each year. This is for all systems so, per Tasmanian school (250 of them say — there being 185 in our public sector), this equates to about an additional $17,600 per year.

The states must contribute one third of the total contribution so the average increases to $25,900 for each school, per year. It will not be until years five and six that the real gains become noticeable when two thirds of the total funding is allocated. The average school might then receive an expected additional $129,300 each, per year.

Every child will receive a base funding amount and for 2014 this will be $9,271 per primary student and $12,193 per high school student. They will also receive a disadvantage loading and the resulting Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) will be indexed at 3.6% per year. Of the total $14.5 billion package, 83%

will be provided to schools using the National Resource Standard (NRS) and the remaining 17% will be made up of loadings based on low: socio-economic status, low English proficiency, school size, school location, disability and indigeneity.

At state level, the money is provided to systems and it will be up to each state government to distribute the funding between schools, using a needs-based system. In return, the federal government is requiring that state governments be transparent with schools and communities about where the money is going.

Some Tasmanian schools, already benefiting from extra federal funding through National Partnerships, should keep that level of resourcing, but might not see their funding increase by as much as other schools which are ‘further away’ from a national resource standard.

In the next two years it will be important to manage expectations in schools, given the low amounts of additional funding. The risk for the reforms in the last two years is also high as the federal government has established the principle of the reforms being funded through

cuts to other programs.

The AEU Federal Branch is to be congratulated for pursuing this social justice issue for the past decade. Full credit must go to AEU President Angelo Gavrielatos and AEU members around the country who convinced the then Federal Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, and the Australian people, that the nation needed to alter course.

Michael Kirby, former High Court judge, in 2012 characterised the funding that governments provided to private schools as money stolen from their public counterparts. With the Australian Education Act (aka Gonski legislation) now enshrined in law, our hope is the same as that of David Gonski: “That for every child, differences in educational outcomes will not be the result of differences in wealth, income, power or possessions.”

Images from the Gonski Community Rally held in Hobart on 25 May 2013.

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Chris Tanti, CEO of youth mental health foundation ‘headspace’, says student suicide is one of the most challenging events a school will ever have to manage and it shouldn’t be done alone.

Tasmania is the first to have both its health and education departments partner with ‘headspace School Support’, a program offering practical strategies to help school communities cope in the wake of a suicide.

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IN THE RIGHT HEADSPACE Suicide continues to be the single largest cause of death among young Australians.

The latest statistics from the ABS show that in 2011, 321 young people aged 15 – 24 tragically died by suicide. That’s 321 preventable deaths of our young people.

Sadly, this figure understates the problem because, for a range of reasons, deaths by suicide are underreported.

I’ve been working in mental health for 20 years and leading the National Youth Mental Health Foundation, headspace, since 2006. During my career I’ve experienced first hand the trauma and impact of a suicide — it’s profound and far reaching.

For every young person who dies by suicide, significantly more are negatively affected. There’s the devastating impact on immediate and extended family and friends, but there are also enormous ramifications for the wider community that need to be considered and managed carefully.

The suicide of a student is one of the most challenging and complex things a school community will ever face. It’s often unexpected and it can be difficult for the school community to know how to respond and support students, staff, parents and guardians.

Shock, disbelief, confusion and hopelessness are commonly felt across the staff and student body. For the school’s leaders, there’s the need to help the staff and students cope but also a responsibility to the wider network of people and organisations outside of the school.

We know a young person’s social networks stretch far beyond the confines of the schoolyard. They might do ballet, play in a soccer team, be in a band, or hold a part-time job. On top of that, they’re connected with friends, acquaintances and people who live outside their local area through social media.

All of this needs to be dealt with appropriately because the evidence shows that exposure to the suicide of a young person can increase the risk of other vulnerable students acting on their own suicidal thoughts or ideas.

Preparation is critical to ensure the school community can be looked after in the aftermath of a suicide. An appropriate, safe, timely and evidence-based response to suicide crisis can support the recovery of the school community and help reduce the risk of further suicides or attempts.

But this is not something that schools

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One of the challenges faced by the headspace School Support program is the stigma still related to suicide, which is particularly high in some of the smaller communities in Tasmania.

“

should have to deal with alone.

Headspace School Support was launched in 2012 by the Commonwealth Government to help address these issues by supporting schools across the country to deal with a suicide crisis.

The service works with secondary government, private and independent schools, providing assistance and coordination for staff, students, families and the broader community in the short and longer term. It also helps prepare schools in the event they need to respond to a suicide-related crisis, delivering ongoing resources and facilitating training for school staff to identify students at risk.

We know that every school community is different, with unique circumstances and needs. So we’ve made sure the program is flexible and able to deliver the support needed in whatever configuration is appropriate.

One of the challenges faced by the headspace School Support program is the stigma still related to suicide; which is particularly high in some of the smaller communities in Tasmania.

We’ve had a number of schools and community members in the state report feelings of anxiety around raising the issue after a suicide, fearing that talking about suicide will lead to suicidal thoughts.

And while I understand that it can be hard to know how to talk about suicide with students and what to say, it’s actually a really important process.

Part of headspace School Support’s remit is to work with school staff to break down myths about suicide and provide practical strategies and suggestions about

how to appropriately talk about suicide with students.

Reducing suicide requires a broad response from all levels of the community and government. So as well as working directly with schools, we also work with state, territory and national bodies to address policy and strategic direction in order to improve the ways schools respond to suicide and how they work with at-risk students.

Recently we announced a commitment by Tasmania’s departments of education and health to work in collaboration with headspace School Support. Tasmania is the first state or territory to have both departments sign a formal agreement.

The partnership is a real step forward in breaking down the silos that can exist between the health and education sectors to ensure schools are best prepared to respond to a suicide related crisis. We look forward to announcing similar commitments with the other states and territories soon.

What we’re hoping to do with this program is actually get the systems to start working together and to support parents and teachers and young people at school so they really do get the help they need.

It’s time to work together to make sure no young person falls through the gaps.

In conjunction with our national network of 55 headspace centres and our eheadspace online and telephone counselling service, the headspace School Support program is an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to reducing the suicide rate in Tasmania and across the country. RE

Call 13 11 14

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J O U R N E Y S I N E D U C AT I O N

TO ELs AND BACK Ed Walker, AEU Executive member and teacher, is on secondment to the Tasmanian Branch. He takes time out from his busy Organiser role to share his journey from truant to teacher, and along the way reveals his passion for Essential Learnings (ELs).

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curriculum. It advantaged those who traditionally achieved in education and mirrored the class system with its emphasis on rote learning, teaching to tests, A to E reporting and streaming of classes according to ability.

So, when I embarked on a teacher training course some years later, I did so with a great amount of trepidation. I never envisaged a long career in teaching let alone have it become my life. However, I had moved to Tasmania by this time and I completed a teacher training course at UTAS. Once I had completed my Bachelor of Teaching, my first appointment was in a district high school in Tasmania at the time of the roll-out of the Essential Learnings (ELs) curriculum. I regarded this curriculum as revolutionary and an

Ed Walker, on secondment to the AEU Tasmanian Branch.

anathema to my own experience as a student.

ELs was better suited to addressing the principles of equity and inclusion and enabled those who did not achieve in traditional education to experience success. This was a time of real excitement for me and one in which it was a pleasure to be a new teacher learning his craft.

ELs was aimed at maximising student success and lifelong learning — both critical to the social progression and the economic success of a nation.

Teaching ‘thinking’ was the central tenet along with the core values of equity, connectedness, resilience, creativity and diversity. We were now teaching students not what to think but how to think. The belief that assessment should occur not only ‘in’ or ‘by’ learning but ‘as’ we were learning, also rang true. Students had to determine for themselves what was needed to move to the next stage of learning.

It encouraged a key metacognitive process for

“

ELs was also shrouded in controversy and created angst among some teachers who felt uncomfortable in this brave new world. It was met with disapproval by those who believed it failed to address ‘the basics’. Traditional subject areas of maths and English were no longer at the top of the subject hierarchy.

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s a boy growing up in the south of England, I had dropped out of school at fifteen. I had been disengaged and spent most of the time, when I was attending school, relocated or in the headmaster’s office — at other times I was a truant. I was known as a bright and capable student but one who asked awkward questions that challenged many of my teachers. This was a time in the UK when education was more about preparing kids for the workforce and when heavy industry, although in decline, was still dominant and required a sizeable, compliant and unthinking workforce. Because of my lack of engagement and poor attendance, I was automatically streamed into the less academic groupings in a school focused on teaching to tests. I spent countless classes rote learning what I thought was pointless information that required little in the way of understanding.

My parents were both English and aspirational working class and thankfully had realised early on that education was the key to success.

They also had taken advantage of the free educational opportunities that came in post-war Britain, with the introduction of the welfare state, having had little success in schools themselves. Work demands meant my father had to upskill early in his career and he retrained as an electrician. He went on to become an engineer at IBM. My mother in the meantime, who was a factory worker and was always considered bright, also went back to school. They had seen the advantages education offered and wanted my brother and me to have the best of what public education had to offer. It meant enrolling me in a school that they regarded as ‘the best’ and that was a school in a middleclass catchment area. I had to travel outside of my community into an environment where I felt estranged and couldn’t relate to my peers.

It was a school where a traditional curriculum was delivered, tailored to ensure it replicated model students with middle class values and aspirations. I spent most days wishing I was with my neighborhood friends talking about things I valued such as music, fashion and, on the odd occasion, politics.

The curriculum was elitist and preoccupied with the merits of the competitive academic

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i n

e d u c a t i o n

deepening and focusing understanding.

Learning Institute under the direction of Dr ELs was also shrouded in controversy and John Ewington. created angst among some teachers who The best thing about this program was felt uncomfortable in this brave new world. that it enabled me to have a brief moment It was met with disapproval by those who to reflect and re-evaluate what I was doing believed it failed to address ‘the basics’. Traprofessionally and what I aspired to do in the ditional subject areas of maths and English future. It enabled me to join the dots of my were no longer at the top of the subject hierpast employment experiences and my own archy. Others believed it to be radical and ill personal educational journey. It made me feel conceived and some resisted the collaborathat it was time to stand up for the things I had tive approach. Implementation was hambeen passionate about in a more visible way pered by lack of agreement on assessment and reporting, and the new terminology confused parents.

Lucius Annaeus Seneca ELs was eventually abandoned and the backlash resulted in a return and take a lead position on issues that were to what was familiar and safe rather than dear to my heart — the most important being what was necessary to promote equity and social justice issues. My commitment to social improve classroom practice. justice also meant that I had pursued an active The demise of ELs coincided with my role in the AEU. I had become a Rep early on in exploration of promotion options and I soon my career and had moved through the ranks became curriculum head and year group into AEU Council and Executive. coordinator at Sorell District School. This Education is a values based activity and lead to my enrolment in the Aspiring Leaders I see the values of being active in our union Program, delivered through the Professional as consistent with sound values in education.

Equity and fairness and access to opportunity, in my view, should be first and foremost the values of educational leadership.

There are ways in which you can teach to your core values even if there are structural constraints of curriculum. Teaching is never perfected — even over a lifetime.

All teachers have peaks and troughs, both personal and professional, throughout their careers. During the troughs, it may be that you focus on developing skills to improve other areas of your practice such as cognitive or behavioral outcomes. The range of areas in education and the never ending trialling of strategies make the profession so interesting and enable an area of focus when so many other things seem to impinge on your practice.

It is critical that, during these highs and lows, we are authentic and true to ourselves.

In developing a passion for teaching it is incumbent on us to take the time, every now and then, to reflect on our values and help arrive at a new beginning — which arrives as another beginning’s end.

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.

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[14] Chalk Spring 2013

THF-U-2013

OPINION

THE

AtoE

OF AUTONOMY

S

elling education ideology seems no different to selling laundry powder these days; it’s all about carefully crafted words and words given new meanings.

Take for example the word ‘independent’, when used with the term ‘public schools’. Independent Public Schools are not independent of policy, of rules, or a system of state education.

The term ‘independent’ is a marketing weasel word used to create an image, sell an ideology, rather than reflect the reality. It gives an illusion of great freedom.

‘Independent’ in practice usually means schools taking on tasks formerly done by central or regional offices. It is true that there are more options but there are even more tasks.

Here’s a reality check about independence.

Out of all the letters and thousands of words in the English language, how independent is a public school principal in choosing descriptions for student progress in reports? The principal/teacher can only choose five letters (A, B, C, D, E) and they have strict definitions.

Numbers, or other words or phrases, aren’t allowed. Those five set letters are all that’s able

Edd Black is a school principal from WA with a strong dislike of marketing driven ‘education speak’! He cuts through the spin to give his views on the real meaning of ‘autonomy’ and ‘independence’. to be used — so much for independence.

Let’s take the term ‘autonomy’ as another example. Once it simply meant the freedom to act independently. Recycled into ‘education speak’, it’s now about creating a variety of impressions or illusions targeting both principals and parents.

Public education systems naturally have restrictions and for politicians to suggest to principals that they will have more power (even hints of unlimited power) can be enticing. Similarly, for some parents the concept of autonomy appeals as it holds promise of powers to hire and fire teachers. The general public hears sound bites from politicians about autonomy that make it all sound very businesslike and therefore implicitly good.

I think autonomy has become a weasel word to justify the dismantling of support services to schools, staff and students. Think of the autonomy that the Kennett Government provided our colleagues in Victoria.

Did they get autonomy or simply more tasks, more accountability and greater compliance?

Did they get better outcomes for kids? One thing they did get was the lowest per capita spent on children by any state government.

The downsizing of educational regional

offices and support staff and the ongoing realignments of central office structures are often linked to the move to more autonomy for schools. In reality, it’s usually more to do with pressure from treasury to reduce spending.

There’s an autonomy test too, for any principal or teacher. All you have to do is make a reasonable, but differing, public statement about education and education policy and see how many hours it takes before you receive a call from your department with a ‘please explain’?

Flexibility is a term I like. Professional flexibility is the ability to have greater options for leadership and management in schools — including selection of staff. It improves the ability to respond to school council/boards and the school community, but it also means maintaining resources.

As a school leader I see real value in professional flexibility as a way to better meet the needs of local public schools, but without dismantling or diminishing support services.

Let’s replace ‘autonomy’, and all the spin attached to it, with ‘professional flexibility’ and use it in our conversations to describe what we need rather than what is being served up as reform.

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NEW STATE OF PLAY

Roz Madsen was appointed AEU Tasmanian Branch State Manager in July 2013. She gives us an insight into what makes her ‘run’ and the challenges and opportunities ahead for our union.

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p r o f i l e

I

t was with gratitude and excitement that I became AEU Tasmanian Branch State Manager, on 1 July, this year. I took over the role from Chris Lane who had just retired. I’m passionate about the important role unions play in our society and am especially proud to be working for a socially progressive education union.

I’ve worked at the AEU for the past 18 years and been involved with all sectors of the membership. The experience has given me a great insight and understanding of the range of issues faced by members in different workplaces. I have seen significant changes to the working lives of members — countless ideologically driven educational changes and some pretty poor change management practices. Equally, I have had the privilege of working with incredibly devoted educators and unionists whose sheer dedication and commitment to their students and colleagues continue to truly inspire.

I’m also President of Unions Tasmania (the umbrella group for all our state’s unions) which is an elected position that I’ve held for the past three years. This role has given me a broad understanding of the issues faced by Tasmanian workers in a variety of sectors and professions.

I’m passionate about breaking down gender barriers and stereotypes and for the past ten years I’ve been the convenor of the Unions Tasmania Women’s Committee and I’m a member of the ACTU Women’s Committee. I feel that there is much more work to be done to promote and encourage women’s activism in the union movement, especially at senior levels. I have met the impressive women who have benefited from the Anna Stewart Memorial Project, an annual work experience program aimed at increasing women’s active union involvement.

For the first time this year, we are running the Women In Leadership Development (WILD) initiative. This is a pilot program for AEU women who aspire to leadership positions within the union movement.

Beyond our borders, AEU Federal supports a number of education projects in developing countries. I have had the opportunity to work on a program that trained

workplace representatives in rural Vietnam, as well as with emerging education union leaders in Cambodia, Sri Lanka, India, Mongolia and Indonesia. This is very humbling work. Many of these unionists have been jailed because of their union activities. Others live, work and teach in very poor conditions and often don’t get paid for months but they are still willing to fight for justice for their colleagues and students.

In Vietnam, I met teacher unionists who had walked for days to the village of a bereaved colleague to bring food and donations collected from their workplace.

I find working as part of the international union movement keeps me grounded and reminds me what unionism is all about. It is

“I like to contribute and am inspired by the quote: “If you’re not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space.” the simple stuff like looking after each other and actually ‘giving a toss’ about the things that really matter.

I’ve long had an interest in industrial relations, human resources and law. I studied all these while at university as a postgraduate and I was always drawn to management.

I enjoy working with and leading others (some would say this is because I am a Leo!) and really value being part of a collective that makes real and lasting change. I like to contribute and am inspired by the quote: “If you’re not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space.”

Additionally, I am a director of Tasplan, which is a not-for-profit superannuation fund formed from a partnership between the union movement (Tasmanian Trades and Labour Council) and the business community (Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and

Industry), some 25 years ago. I’m a member and graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and I’m also part-way through my MBA which I really enjoy — except around exam time!

To keep sane, I play netball and do quite a bit of running. I have three ‘busy’ boys aged eight and six years, and a 19-month-old. I do a lot of running after them but I’m also training for the Melbourne half-marathon in October! My two eldest sons proudly attend our local government school. In fact, they are attending my old school which, would you believe, my mum also attended? Three generations at the same school feels very Tasmanian!

I do enjoy challenges and have a few ‘balls in the air’. My juggling act is only made possible because of a very supportive partner.

The next twelve months, in which there are state and federal elections, could not be busier for our union. The Gonski and StopTAFECuts campaigns will continue and we will have three streams of enterprise bargaining covering all sectors of our membership.

Additionally, there is significant change occurring in the union movement with increased regulation and higher governance standards. While increased transparency and accountability are most welcome, there are compliance costs which will require us to allocate significant additional resources.

Apart from ensuring we are fully compliant with all governance requirements, I see a number of other priorities which include building our union’s power and strength. We want to continue to ensure we are a successful union which works hard to achieve fair and decent outcomes for all our members.

I’m also keen to ensure we properly recognise and reward our members. As a first step, I’ve introduced awards to recognise the outstanding achievements of our hardworking workplace representatives and other members.

The inaugural awards were presented at the June Reps’ Conference in Hobart.

I look forward to meeting many of you in the year ahead as we work together on enterprise bargaining campaigns. I’m also always happy to hear any suggestions you may have about how we can continue to make our union even better.

Chalk Spring 2013 [17]

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a w a r d s

Pictured: Terry Polglase, Tasmanian Branch President, presents Mandy Bowerman, Teacher Assistant at New Norfolk Primary, with her Workplace Leader Award.

AEU WORKPLACE

LEADER AWARDS

The inaugural AEU Tasmanian Branch Workplace Leader Awards were presented at the June Reps’ Conference held in Hobart. The awards were introduced to recognise the dedication and achievement of AEU members and consist of a number of Workplace Leader Awards and the Chris Lane Award — named in honour of our state manager who retired in July 2013. Chalk chats to the winners…

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Stephen Deverell %Workplace Leader Award

Stephen is a teacher at TasTAFE Construction (formerly TSI) at Clarence and a AEU Branch Council Indigenous delegate. He has been a workplace Rep for five years and was recognised for his recruiting skills, activism and representation of members.

Stephen goes the extra mile to ensure members’ rights are upheld, including in forums dealing with industrial issues and work health and safety.

Stephen is also famous for being an allround good bloke!

He is a member of the union because he believes in fairness for all and in contributing his fair share.

“The union negotiates our wage agreement and it is member subscriptions that allow that to happen,” says Stephen.

“I therefore believe that it is only fair that I also contribute to those negotiations and not take advantage of pay increases at union members’ expense.”

“I’m also a member because the union is there when I need it.”

Stephen became a Rep after members of his construction team encouraged him to nominate, believing he had the drive and skills for the role.

“I am not afraid to tackle the issues that threaten our working conditions as well as negatively impact on our workload,” says Stephen.

Stephen strongly encourages others to join the union because collective action delivers results.

“I am always encouraging others to become members as there is strength in numbers and issues are more readily dealt with when you have others supporting you,” he says.

Stephen was almost speechless when announced winner of a Workplace Leader Award.

“I was quite surprised to say the least, to

the point where I became quite emotional and lost for words — very strange for me being a very vocal person!” he says.

“I consider it a great privilege and honour to have been considered for such an award, let alone to have won one.”

“I thank you for considering me worthy.”

Warren McDonough %Chris Lane Award

Warren is a teacher at Exeter High School and has been an active Rep for more than 30 years.

He is passionate about his union role and in recognition of his outstanding efforts was presented with the Chris Lane Award — the Gold Logie of AEU awards!

He is a member of the union, in part, because of the vital role it plays in protecting wages and conditions.

Warren says, “The power of one is ‘none’ but the collective bargaining power of us all is great!”

“Unions are the voice for public education and other social justice issues and serve all the community in protecting against narrow self-interest.”

Warren has held several positions in the Sub-branch, including Councillor, and became a Rep because he wanted to be a part of all that the AEU had to offer and help spread the word about membership benefits.

“I became a Rep because I am, like you are, the AEU,” he says.

“I am …you are… we are ‘Australian E.U’!”

“It gives me great satisfaction when the AEU is able to help a member with a small personal issue or a bigger profession-wide win.”

Warren was shocked to have received the top honour and believed he was just doing as any other member — with his union experience and training — would do.

“I accept the Award on behalf of all Reps for the fantastic work they all do in their own schools,” he says.

“I also accepted the great honour as Chris

a w a r d s

Lane has been such a fantastic servant to the AEU and every single member for so long and we all owe him so much.”

“So, thank you Chris!”

Julie Argent

%Workplace Leader Award

Julie is principal at Forth Primary School and was a winner of the Workplace Leader Award.

She trained as a Specialist Early Childhood Educator and started teaching in 1985, joining the union when it was the Tasmanian Teachers Federation (TTF).

Julie has been a Workplace Rep in many schools and has represented the North West Primary School sector as an AEU Branch Councillor.

Julie is very passionate about public education and acknowledges the exemplary teachers she has the privilege of working alongside.

She is a strong supporter of union activities and encourages staff to participate in events, enrol in training opportunities and actively promotes people joining the AEU. “I joined the union because I was inspired by the work ethic and passion of more experienced school colleagues,” says Julie.

“Staff were often engaged in spirited conversations about the latest union campaigns embraced by our then presidents such as Penny Cocker and Jean Walker.”

“It didn’t take long for me to jump at the opportunity to become a school Rep so I could ‘soak up’ the vast wisdom, wit and professional dialogue of Penny, and then Jean, as they modelled quality leadership of our unique profession!”

“Membership of AEU Branch Council has afforded me the honour of learning from a skilled orator like Peter Kearney and motivated me to strive to understand the full impact of contributing to a strong, united education union.”

Julie says her award (which was ‘present-

Chalk Spring 2013 [19]

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a w a r d s

ed’ to her over the phone at the Reps’ conference because she was unable to attend in person) was completely unexpected.

“As an educational leader, I feel humbled to be acknowledged for actively promoting public education and the significant roles played by all school staff in enabling each student to access an education worth having.”

over so many years you cannot help but wonder, ‘Why me?’” he says.

Peter Harrison

“I am glad to say that my feelings of fraudulence have diminished somewhat and been replaced with considerable pride,” he says.

Peter is a teacher at Goulburn Street Primary and has been a Rep at various schools for longer than he cares to remember — he thinks probably more than 25 years!

He boasts 100 per cent union membership at his workplace and it was said that he would have recruited the lollypop lady — had they had one!

He is also an active Branch Councillor and Branch Executive member.

Peter’s early working life as a painter, storeman, taxi driver and drinks waiter developed his belief in the importance of a unionised workplace.

He became a Rep in his first year of teaching at Glen Dhu Primary which furthered his belief that a strong union was important, not only to members, but to students and their families.

“A union Rep (whether support staff or teacher) is about making a difference and the slogan ‘What is good for teachers is good for our students’ is just so true. Attractive wages and conditions help attract the best candidates,” Peter says.

He encourages young educators and support staff to get involved in the AEU which he describes as a highly professional and incredibly dynamic organisation that gives its membership a genuine voice.

Peter was in shock and disbelief on discovering he had won an award and even felt a little fraudulent.

“Having worked with so many incredibly strong, hardworking, dedicated unionists

Bella Mitchell

%Workplace Leader Award

[20] Chalk Spring 2013

“I look around at the passion that members consistently display during Branch or Council meetings, and on our Executive, and it is fantastic — simply fantastic.”

%Workplace Leader Award

Bella has been a Rep for just over three years and is a Prep-One teacher at Lilydale District School.

She has an organised workplace and always ensures there’s a union presence.

Bella is a former participant in the Anna Stewart and Women in Leadership Development (WILD) programs and attended AEU Federal Women’s Conference. She also has a leadership role in our New Educator Network and is on Branch Council.

“I like to stay involved, keep learning about union matters and encourage other new educators and members to be active union members,” says Bella.

“I recommend becoming a Rep because you learn a lot about how unions work and have opportunities to take part in professional development and gain leadership skills,” she says.

Bella, like other winners, was emotional on hearing her named called for an award.

“I felt like the union has done more for me than I have done for the union,” she says.

“The union has given me the opportunity to benefit from a wide variety of professional development and leadership opportunities.”

“I look forward to assisting the Tasmanian Branch of the AEU to be a more active and powerful union in the future.”

Mandy Bowerman %Workplace Leader Award

Mandy is a Teacher Assistant at New Norfolk Primary School and has been a Rep for four years.

She is a strong and articulate campaigner on Support Staff issues and has organised successful New Norfolk cluster meetings and information sessions.

Mandy says being a member and attending union meetings allows her to keep up-todate on important issues in the workplace.

“I am a member of the union because I feel it is important for strength around issues that matter to me,” Mandy says.

Mandy became a Rep to have a voice and help create a more positive environment in her workplace, especially around issues affecting Teacher Assistants (TAs).

“The issues around Teacher Assistants are countless. Involvement in the union gives me knowledge and experience that better enable me to support TAs in their efforts to be recognised as paraprofessionals. It is time we were regarded as such and not just paid parent help,” she says.

Mandy recommends members taking the opportunity to become a Rep as it offers the chance to grow and learn.

“Becoming involved in the union is just the start of a journey that can take you into the unknown and along the way create a better workplace and a stronger more confident you!”

Mandy says she was amazed to receive a Workplace Leader Award.

“I felt so proud of my efforts and achievements that were made possible through the help of work colleagues as well as the support from senior staff,” she says.

“It is one thing to be a good Rep and receive an award but without support in a positive environment my role as a Rep would have been more challenging.”

“Receiving the award on behalf of Teacher Assistants, and what we stand for, was great!”

T A F E

m a t t e r s

YOUR TAFE NEEDS YOU! AEU members are riding high from recent Gonski campaign wins. Michelle Purdy, AEU Federal TAFE President, reminds us that the TAFE sector is in a battle for survival and calls on all campaigners to join StopTAFECuts.

Y

ou might think that if you don’t work in TAFE then the campaign to stop the cuts doesn’t have anything to do with you?

If that’s what you’ve been thinking, stop and think again. We have worked together on the Gonski campaign and now your TAFE colleagues need you!

Nationally, TAFE is in a dire situation and it has escalated to a point, particularly in the larger states of Victoria, NSW and Queensland, where there have been unprecedented cuts to TAFE budgets.

Across the country this has led to the closure of TAFE campuses, closure of hundreds of courses, huge hikes in course fees and thousands of job cuts.

In Tasmania, national VET reforms being introduced in 2014 will mean a significant change to how the newly formed TasTAFE operates. The impacts this will have on staff and students are unknown but do not doubt that there will be impacts.

Federal AEU TAFE Secretary, Pat Forward, recently said that “TAFE is at the crossroads — it makes no sense to cut TAFE funding, or to turn vocational education into a private, for‐profit business. TAFEs need to secure funding to continue their important role in training over one million Australians each year.”

If you agree with these sentiments there are plenty of ways you can help the campaign: • Sign up to the StopTAFECuts.com.au website. On this site you will also find resources, the National TAFE Day update and our exciting new blog.

• ‘Like’ the StopTAFECuts page on Facebook. Contribute your own comments

and upload photos of your students, colleagues or members of the general community holding the StopTAFECuts poster.

• If you’re on twitter, join the @TAFECampaign using the #stopTAFEcuts hashtag.

Also, encourage your friends to retweet.

You can also contribute to the campaign blog or the Australian TAFE Teacher magazine. We are seeking real life stories about the effect of government policy on staff, students and local communites. If you would be interested in writing between 250 and 500 words for the campaign blog, then we can send you a copy of the StopTAFECuts Blog guidelines. If you’re interested in writing for the blog, or a more substantial piece for the TAFE Teacher, contact Pat Forward, Federal TAFE Secretary, pforward@aeufederal.org.au or phone 0425 743 954.

The union needs all hands on deck to arrest the attacks undermining the future of TAFE. Take this opportunity to stand up for your TAFE colleagues and sign-up to the StopTAFECuts campaign now! RE Chalk Spring 2013 [21]

f e a t u r e

LOOK BUT DON’T TOUCH? Educators have legal defences covering physical interactions with students but the Department of Education’s response can be inconsistent, resulting in disciplinary action for the employee. Malcolm Upston, AEU Tasmanian Branch Industrial Support Officer, says ‘handling’ a student may be warranted and urges common sense and caution be applied at all times.

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W

hat is a teacher to do when faced with physical abuse by a student?

We have many incidents at schools that require direct physical intervention by a teacher. However, because they receive inconsistent messages, many are confused and often too scared to take any action when it is in fact perfectly right to do so.

It has been determined by the Tasmanian Industrial Commission that physically removing a child from class is sometimes reasonable to ensure that other children can learn unhindered by the extreme behaviour of others — even though that behaviour does not pose a significant risk to the student, or others.

One may envisage that the grasping of a child’s hand or arm in certain circumstances may result in a confrontation. The critical question is, should this be excused without the teacher being accused of committing an assault or being subject to unfair discipline by the of Education (DoE)? The short answer is “yes”.

Physical or corporal punishment, as distinct from correction or non-intrusive touching (discussed below), of children is likely to lead to prosecutions for assault, result in civil action against a teacher seeking compensation or damages, or involve the Teacher Registration Board in a consideration of fitness of the teacher to continue teaching.

The abolition of corporal punishment in schools is a reflection of the widespread recognition that such punishment is ineffective, counter-productive and that efforts should direct society away from using violence as a means of socialising children.

However, from time to time our members make enquiries about their liability in circumstances where they might comfort an injured child or where it has been necessary to restrain a student, or escort a student by force — this may be simply grasping a hand. This is not corporal punishment yet teachers remain concerned about this type of physical contact and it is a recurring dilemma for them — but it should not be.

Inquiries that we receive about the appropriateness of physical removal or restraint of a child include such scenarios as a child who (i) continues loud profanity or insolence, (ii) disrupts others with a tantrum (iii) obstructs and continues to obstruct the ingress or egress from buildings, (iv) is pinching, hitting, punching or by other means assaulting a teacher and/or student.

Twenty years ago I interviewed the then Branch State Manager of the AEU for a project I was studying at law school. We started speaking about the responsibilities of teachers. He told me that he advised teachers “not to touch students — don’t even brush from a child’s shoulder a bee or wasp”, or words to that effect. The hysteria and concern was that any touching of students would end badly for teachers — nothing much has changed.

Although we do suggest a “hands-off” approach when dealing with

“

Unfortunately the DoE seems to believe that our teachers are furnished with characteristics that depersonalise interactions with difficult students with some militarylike desensitised precision — they are not.

If that characteristic is required of our teachers then we must have the DoE recruit soldierlike individuals trained to respond and engage with our children as an automaton would.

“

We understand that there were more than 200 reported suspensions of students because of incidents involving the assault or harassment of teachers in Tasmania in 2012.

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students, it is not AEU policy and we take a common-sense approach. However, we do experience difficulties on occasions with the DoE’s interpretation of their own policies and relevant laws.

Department of Education advice to teachers The DoE Protective Practices for staff guide notes, in part, that: • At times, staff members will be required to give practical assistance to a student who is hurt or needs particular assistance or encouragement. Hence it is acceptable to help a child who has fallen, to comfort a student who is experiencing grief or loss and congratulate a student by shaking hands.

• Physical restraint of a child is not endorsed but may be reasonable in the circumstances if it prevents a student from doing, or continuing to do, any of the following: • causing personal injury to, or damage to the property of, any person, including students’ own property • engaging in any behaviour that threatens the maintenance of order and discipline at the school • attacking another student or staff member or posing an immediate danger to themselves or others, or where duty of care cannot be met without the restraint.

The DoE Protective Practices for staff guide notes that physical intervention can involve coming between children, blocking a child’s path, leading a child by the hand or arm, shepherding a child away by placing a hand in the centre of the upper back, and in extreme circumstances, using more forceful restraint.

It is justified to prevent students from doing, or continuing to do, any of the following: “… causing personal injury to any person …engaging in any behaviour that threatens the maintenance of order and discipline at the school, attacking another student or staff member or posing an immediate danger to others….Common law defences remain legitimate reasons for the use of physical contact.”

The legal picture There is judicial acceptance under Tasmanian Common Law and Criminal Code for

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“a person who is entitled to the control or management of any place and for any person assisting him or acting by his authority to use such force necessary to remove a person who conducts himself therein in a disorderly manner or prevents others from carrying out their lawful pursuit.”

The Tasmanian Law Reform institute has acknowledged that the ultimate sanction to enforce school discipline should be the removal of the child from school, by force if necessary, but by force used to remove a trespasser rather than as a chastisement.

The criminal code, and its equivalents in all states and territories, allows teachers to use reasonable force, proportionate to the circumstances, for the purpose of correction of a child in his or her care.

The difficulty that courts face is in determining what is “reasonable”.

It is clear that community norms, and the standards for what is an excusable act of correction, change over time and presumably also vary in different societies. Tasmanian decisions refer to the norms of the reasonable parent. Elsewhere, a parent or person in loco parentis, may exercise restraint over a child so long as such restraint remains within the bounds of reasonable parental discipline.

Arguably this doctrine originates more from the teacher’s authority under the Education Act to enforce discipline and maintain order in the school. In such case, and once more arguably, such authority cannot be withdrawn by the parent.

The Education Act in Tasmania Under the Education Act the Principal and his/her staff must perform a behaviour management role to ensure that students ... “behave in a manner acceptable to the principal.”

Behaviour which is not acceptable includes: • refusal to participate in the education programme • disobedience of instructions which regulate the conduct of students • [behaviour that] is likely to impede significantly the learning of the other students of that school • [behaviour that] is likely to be detrimental to the health, safety or welfare of the staff or other students of that school • causes or is likely to cause damage • is likely to bring that school into disrepute

In other states there are clearer common sense guidelines for teachers.

Western Australia In Western Australia the School Education Regulations instruct that staff of a government school may, in the performance of the person’s functions, take such action including physical contact with a student or a student’s property, as is reasonable to: (a) manage or care for a student (b) maintain or re-establish order (c) prevent or restrain a person from placing at risk: • the safety of any person • damaging of any property Common-sense approach The teaching profession could not and does not support a policy of “hands-off” at all times. Teachers can be expected to respond to events as would any other normal human being. It is hard enough to engage with students meaningfully without putting up more barriers and demonising normal reactions and social interaction. A pat on the shoulder as an encouraging gesture or a gentle hug of a distressed nine year-old child does not offend social mores. A comforting hug may be inappropriate if the child is 14 years old.

Decisions on what is appropriate is a matter of some common sense.

I received correspondence from a teacher relocated from a southern Tasmanian school last year because of his physical intervention with a student who would not allow him to egress through a door. He was relocated to a ‘better school’ so did not resist the move. I have much empathy with this teacher. At his new school he reports that: “… there have been a couple of incidents involving a particular student. He was behaving quite aggressively towards a female staff member who was trying to contact his parents to send him home. She was in the office next to our staffroom and I went to tell him to settle down, at which he fronted up to me (almost head butting me in the process!!) and told me to get back in my room or else. I did so at that point but as he continued to carry on I went back to the door and told him I would call the cops if he didn’t leave. He left after that and I had a follow up discussion with (the Principal) later that day regarding it which went OK. This was about 4 weeks into Term 1.

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CASE STUDY 1

A trainee teacher participating in a prac teaching session at a local school quickly attended to a Grade 2 girl who had fallen in the yard hurting herself and crying uncontrollably.

Kneeling down, the prac teacher comforted the child and gave her a gentle hug only to be chastised by a senior teacher who, perpetuating the myth that you should never touch a child, said: “That is not to be done in schools, you don’t touch children”. Quite rightly, the young aspiring teacher was taken aback and very worried that her act of compassion would be noted as a fault on her final report.

Today the same student, who is in my science class, punched another boy in the face three times in my class. After the first hit, I told him to get out and go to the AP, but he hit him another couple of times before leaving the class. At no stage did he threaten me, but it was obviously an extremely confronting situation.”

This teacher dared not intervene in this latter incident because of a previous experience with the Department of Education that led to an objectionable conclusion.

I consider that, arguably, he failed in his duty of care to the student assaulted because he did not physically restrain the perpetrator.

Non-restraint resulted in the student victim having more blows inflicted.

There is the common law doctrine of “abating a nuisance” and reasonable disci-

pline to respond to the bad behaviours of children when acting in loco parentis, as well as self-defence. However, these provisions which protect the teacher from criminal charges, seemingly, may not protect the teacher from disciplinary action by the Department of Education.

Case Study 2 (see following page) is an example of one of those assaults and a teacher disciplined because he did not react in accordance with Department of Education expectation.

The school, in this example, is furnished with surveillance cameras. There must be good reason for classrooms and hallways at a school to have installed surveillance cameras. Implicit in the use of such technology is the difficult nature of the students teachers are asked to control.

Department of Education (DoE) guidelines The DoE guide “Practical support for teachers managing students with challenging behav-

iours”, notes that schools “need to assess the behaviour of students who use challenging behaviours persistently” and strategies should be planned to prevent harm to others.

It suggests that a “functional behaviour assessment can be used to understand why a student is behaving in certain ways and what situations prompt this behaviour.” As far as we are aware the student in Case Study 2 did not have a functional behaviour assessment.

The teacher reacted, as one would expect, by escorting the student, albeit with some vigour, to the principal to be dealt with immediately and attended his doctor to assess the damage to his hearing.

It is our understanding that physically escorting students to the principal is a daily occurrence in schools around Tasmania.

There is no clear direction from the DoE when confronted with the defiant, the harassing and the dangerous. However, assaulting a teacher is an ‘extreme circumstance’ noted in the DoE guide and in our opinion prescribes physical intervention. The DoE did

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not, in Case Study 2, follow its own guide in addressing this situation but instead disciplined the teacher for escorting the student to the principal’s office.

There are no rules that dictate that everyone must, and should, react in the same way and there were a number of responses available to the teacher. What this student did was beyond the limit of any teacher’s tolerance and the teacher should not suffer the further indignity of a misconceived judgment by an out-of-touch Department of Education.

Teachers are no different from any other citizen in the community and simply being employed in a school does not automatically desensitise teachers, or furnish them with a Teflon coat.

The clinical psychologist whom we asked to assess the teacher in Case Study 2 concluded: “His response is likely to have included the immediate activation of his sympathetic nervous system, via a sympatho-adrenal response.

This is the human body’s natural response to perceived threat … essentially the body’s preparation for quick action in response to threat. His responses to (the student) were fast, physically authoritative, and goal directed. In this context, it is my opinion that (the teacher’s) actions are understandable, and his actions were reflective of the least restrictive physical restraint which maximised the physical protection of (the teacher, the student) and other students … “.

Unfortunately, the DoE seems to believe that our teachers are furnished with characteristics that depersonalise interactions with difficult students with some military-like desensitised precision — they are not. If that characteristic is required of our teachers then we must have the DoE recruit soldier-like individuals trained to respond and engage with our children as an automaton would.

We do not believe that higher standards of self-control can be reasonably expected of teachers, when compared with the general community. Teachers are not trained professionals in everything. There is no training offered that inoculates them from normal human reactions. There is no training provided to a teacher to manage their feelings of frustration and anger resulting from difficult interactions with students that have

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CASE STUDY 2

The unprovoked assault, caught on camera, consisted of a student bursting a balloon in the ear of the teacher who was unaware of the presence of the student prior to the start of class. The bursting of a balloon so close to one’s ear would alarm, frighten and distress most people. The teacher was affronted by the student not caring a damn about the potential damage he may have inflicted. This was an assault and it would have made no difference had the student clipped the teacher’s ear with the back of his hand or fist or used a stick. The potential for permanent damage to the teacher’s hearing was real. This incident occurred at the beginning of a lesson as students were strolling into the classroom, and the teacher was shuffling in with a computer. There was no instruction of the student, nothing from the teacher to excite anger or suggest student was responding to anything the teacher said or did. There was no opportunity for the teacher to deflect, diffuse, or defer the student’s behaviour, as seems to be the behaviour management strategies that might generally apply in the course of teaching.

The student had been enrolled in the school for a year and a half with a history of non-attendance and eight pages of diary entries noting behavioural and disciplinary problems. The student posed a risk to staff at the school and, on our assessment, there was a failure to ensure that the teacher would not be assaulted in the course of his work. led to the teacher being assaulted.

In the main, teachers are not equipped to deal with confrontation with students who are physically aggressive or out of control.

It is offensive to normal sensibilities for the DoE to have determined a breach of some duty of care by the teacher, owed to the student, when the catalyst for the circumstances giving rise to that ‘breach’ was its failure to ensure the teacher had a safe place of work, free from violence. Judicial authority supports the notion that the safety and welfare of teachers is of paramount consideration above all things.

No matter how dedicated to student welfare a teacher, teacher assistant or other employee might be, it is inconsistent with the requirements of the Education Act that the DoE permit them to be the subject of physical assault by students. Employment on such a basis is not permitted by the Work Health and Safety Act. We remain of the opinion that it was

understandable that the teacher (Case Study 2) escort a student with a history of defiance and violence, and who causes disruption to the school education program, to the Principal when that teacher has been assaulted by the student.

New educators arrive in schools excited and motivated, but are then confronted by classroom situations which they haven’t experienced and may not have considered when they decided to become professional educators. Simply surviving in the classroom becomes an issue for many graduate teachers.

The National Professional Standards for Teachers (“the Standards”) assert that “Teachers know their students well, including the diverse social, cultural, ethnic, religious and special learning needs that influence teaching and learning. Teachers know the characteristics of the physical, intellectual and emotional stages of development of students.”

Coupled with providing for the educational needs of students with physical and

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intellectual disabilities, and together with the increasing cohort of children diagnosed with behaviour disorders (together referred to as ‘special needs’), the expectations on teachers are rising exponentially. Once, children with significant learning difficulties, or those students with dangerous behaviour disorders, were relocated to special schools but that is no longer the case. There are also students who have no disorder and who are not disturbed, who behave in a violent manner towards others.

Dr Keith Tronc wrote in 1999: “Against a background of exotic and bizarre childhood behaviour … and in a context of critical scrutiny on the part of those independent learners, there is a new educational climate of youthful challenge to authority … . With economic demands often requiring both parents to work, with rising rates of divorce resulting in large numbers of one-parent families, and with new challenges by the young to traditional positional authority, schools and teachers are increasingly being

expected to mount salvage operations, rescuing children from a confused lack of control and correction in the home. Teachers are now being expected to perform what were once traditional family responsibilities.

Stress among teachers and students, and the readiness by many students to confront and oppose teacher control, has led to new emphases upon suspension, expulsion, and psychological counselling of misbehaving children, in the absence of the older and now legislatively prohibited corporal punishment methods. The result for many teachers has been frustration and confusion … . Students themselves, exposed to television violence, have been increasingly resorting to criminal attacks upon teachers, while bullying in some schools has become an endemic problem”.

The issues cannot be overstated, nor can their effect on a teacher’s ability to cope and provide meaningful education, and the legal implications are significant. At the end of the day, the demands of controlling a diverse classroom environment and maintaining

school rules drain the emotional strength of many teachers. The last thing they want is to be worried that touching a student will lead to disciplinary action or damaging intervention by teacher registration bodies. What they need in these situations is help, protection and guidance from principals and from the DoE. This issue is a core concern for many teachers and it is taken seriously by the AEU. There is little doubt that the responsibility of teachers and principals, including the duty to educate and to preserve safety, is underpinned by the more basic duty to maintain discipline.

There must be some compatibility with community expectations, the current law and the Department of Education approach.

We have asked that the Department of Education consider its position, policy and protocols in respect of the physical removal of students from classrooms.

Meaningful dialogue is underway … RE The author can be contacted at malcolmu@aeutas.org.au

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BEDROOM ENVIRONMENT

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W Cool Australia is a non-profit organisation offering teachers a wealth of resources linking environment to the curriculum. Jason Kimberley, founder and CEO, believes environmentalism begins at home — in the bedroom!

hen I’m invited to talk to students in schools, I try and make the environment relevant to kids.

I ask them if their parents ever talk to them about responsibility. The answer is usually ‘yes’ and it’s in relation to being told to tidy up their bedroom and look after things so they last.

I would tell them that we needed to start thinking about our whole planet as if it were our bedroom and to start looking after it! Cool Australia is about giving school children the information, inspiration and insights they need to connect with and care for their planet.

But the Cool Australia approach is far from grandiose. It is a grassroots sustainability initiative that aims to empower young people to ‘be the change’ by giving them the knowledge to take ownership of their actions. It is about breaking down barriers to action by providing young people with the opportunity to understand how lifestyle choices have a big impact on the world around them.

The Cool Australia mantra is ‘Positive Everyday Action Counts’ and it underpins the national campaign Enviroweek which encourages students to take on a green challenge and create good habits for life.

We are a non-profit organisation which achieves its vision by creating environmental educational content and activities for students and teachers, from Kindergarten to Year 10. The resources are online, free, aligned with the Australian curriculum and easy to use. They can be downloaded from the Cool Australia website and taken straight into the classroom. The website features about 1500 learning activities covering eight environmental topics.

Our curriculum-aligned and outcomefocussed approach enables educators to confidently and easily incorporate Cool Australia into their teaching. Our resources include teacher lesson plans, student worksheets, a digital toolbox and digital sharing capabilities.

The digital Toolbox is divided into Primary and Secondary levels and brings topics such as Antarctica and biodiversity to life by taking students on a visual and often emotional journey using video, documentaries, news stories and imagery. It lifts learning from the page into the imagination and the soul, engaging students in a very real and powerful way.

Cool Australia’s curriculum materials are designed to meet a wide range of educational needs and, importantly, student interests. They include early learning activities that ask children to ‘investigate’ a tree while blindfolded and an arts communication project for Year 10 students about energy efficiency. We encourage Year 3 students to explore home plumbing and water usage and ask Year 1 students to assist biodiversity by providing local wildlife with a safe place to drink water.

Our units enable students to apply their learning in the real world giving them greater motivation and opportunities to excel.

We have enlisted the help of a team of research graduates and curriculum advisers to develop the online learning activities and resources which are based on the core curriculum for each year group.

Our aim is to strip away the complexities, all the dry stuff often associated with sustainability, and get the message across in plain English.

Information about the environment has been integrated into all areas of learning such as maths, science, English, civics and citizenship. Rather than serving as an optional add-on for the lesson plan, the program features elements of the core curriculum, with a tinge of green, of course! It has to go well beyond only talking to sustainability or geography teachers.

With education, there is a captive audience that is forming opinions and understanding that will last a lifetime.

We believe that we cannot afford to have future generations of Australians ignorant about our environment. The fact that our natural world is indeed our life support system is

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unknown to most. School is usually the place where our outlook on life and understanding of how the world works is formed.

Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, argues that future environmentalists are formed from childhood experiences of play in nature. The American journalist and non-fiction author believes engaging these intrinsic values primes people to care and act on behalf of the environment. We believe in a similar ethos and our education resources encourage students to get their hands dirty and experience nature through activities such as climbing trees and planting seeds.

Climate change Climate change was famously described by Kevin Rudd, in his first incarnation as prime minister, as the greatest moral challenge of our time. The effects of global warming are already manifesting in our everyday life. Climate change is not just about polar bears but it’s about food security, loss of biodiversity, water resources, energy consumption and sustainability. The issue of climate change filters into all facets of our life — meaning it involves everyone.

Quality education is a key part of solving the issue of climate change.

Increasingly, we are bombarded with doom and gloom news outlining the effects of climate change such as extreme weather, rising sea levels, ocean acidification, climate refugees and loss of biodiversity. The feeling of impending doom can be incredibly overwhelming, especially for children.

Our role is to help educate in a way that empowers young people to tackle climate change in a positive way.

The pedagogical approach of our resources allows students to experience action-based learning — meaning they apply what they learn to their local communities.

Students experience real world problems and are supported to take action and help be part of the solution, rather than the problem.

We believe the world becomes what we teach, so we ensure that our lessons are scientifically accurate, apolitical, fun and engaging. Only then can we tackle climate change in a positive and meaningful way.

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Cool Australia history In 2005 I travelled to Antarctica on a photographic expedition with some mates. I was writing about our adventures and doing some research about Antarctica itself and about the environmental issues: how the southern ocean was going, how the penguin colonies and whales and albatrosses were travelling. The situation was a lot worse than I thought — it turns out that I really didn’t have much of a clue!

For example, large amounts of krill were being fished for use in pellets fed to beef cattle which were grazed on land that was cleared tracts of Amazon rainforest. The beef was for the hamburger market in the US — arguably a country that wasn’t in need of

federal government anti-smoking campaigns. We wouldn’t even think of smoking inside nowadays and children grow-up knowing it’s not good for their health. It’s the same with environmental issues; they need to be in the mainstream consciousness.

Tasmania is often called one of Australia’s hidden gems. Its isolation from the mainland has helped protect many rare plants, animals and birds. Its magnificent world heritage protected forests are to be celebrated.

Environment Tasmania’s report Nowhere Else on Earth: Tasmania’s Marine Natural Values found that the state’s marine environment had extraordinary natural values of global conservation significance.

There are many outstanding conserva-

“Climate change is not just about polar bears; it’s about food security, loss of biodiversity, water resources, energy consumption and sustainability. The issue of climate change filters into all facets of our life — meaning it involves everyone.” additional hamburgers!

As it turns out there are hundreds of actions like this that impact our natural world that many of us have little idea about.

This Arctic adventure invigorated and armed me with a renewed appreciation of the foibles of humankind and the responsibility we all have to ensure the preservation of our natural environment.

I recognised the need to provide future generations with relevant and engaging information about our natural world. I believed our education system was the most important and effective medium for connecting with kids. In August 2008, I founded Cool Australia.

We now reach more than 145,000 students and 6,000 teachers every year through our resources and aim to reach 500,000 students by 2016.

The ultimate goal is to achieve similar levels of awareness and behaviour change to

tion and education initiatives dedicated to the protection, conservation and rehabilitation of Tasmania’s natural environment. Cool Australia resources support these initiatives by bringing the learning into the classroom and turning facts into engaging, entertaining and informative activities.

Tasmanian teachers deeply value the opportunity to use curriculum resources that uphold conservation education and experiential learning. There are over 100 schools in Tasmania using our resources — but we would love this number to grow.

Tasmanians have so much to gain from their environment because their ‘bedroom’ is one of the most beautiful, delicate and unsullied in the world.

We look forward to the day that all Australians take positive everyday action to clean up the biggest and most important bedroom out there — their environment! RE

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THREADBARE SAFETY A century after the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York, garment workers are still being killed because of basic failures to maintain fundamental safe working conditions.

Chris Teasdale from Union Aid Abroad–APHEDA reports…

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n 24 April 2013, the eight floors of the Rana Plaza, a commercial building in Savar, Bangladesh, collapsed. Inside, more than 3,000 people had been working in factories producing cheap clothing for large multinational brands. The rescue effort was called off after three weeks with the death toll at 1,127 and many more workers suffering horrific injuries.

It is the deadliest garment-factory accident in history, but it was certainly not the first major industrial accident in Bangladesh. Just five months earlier, in November 2012, 117 garment workers were killed in a factory fire in the capital, Dhaka. Another month earlier in Pakistan, factory fires killed 315 people.

The Rana Plaza collapse captured the public’s attention and has raised into focus the responsibility of multinational corporations for their supply chains and, ultimately, whether consumers are willing to pay a fair price for goods.

The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, created by the IndustriALL and UNI global unions, has now created an enforceable standard for fire and building safety in Bangladesh. The Accord aims to create a garment industry in which “no worker

needs to fear fires, building collapses, or other accidents that could be prevented with reasonable health and safety measures”. More than 70 companies have signed on, including Australian retail giants Kmart, Target, Forever New and Cotton On. Other companies may simply choose to move their operations to a more ‘business-friendly’ location.

We were also forced to reflect on how the clothes we wear every day were made. A recent survey by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) revealed that half the world’s population think that prices of goods must reflect the cost of reasonable wages. Another study showed that 73% of Australians are willing to pay more for ethically made clothes.

However, higher wages — without the ability to organise collectively and address issues such as safe working conditions — are not enough.

In this regard, the outcomes are still far from satisfactory for Bangladeshi workers.

Recent amendments to Bangladesh’s Labour Act have been criticised as failing to protect workers’ rights of freedom of association and falling well short of international labour standards. ITUC General Secretary, Sharan Burrow, said, “Bangladesh’s workers and the international community had high expectations

that the government would finally legislate to protect the rights of workers. It appears that once again factory owners triumphed over their employees through backroom lobbying and their own political power as members of parliament.”

Sadly, an accident like the Rana Plaza collapse could happen again. The working conditions that contributed to this disaster are certainly not unique in the developing world.

Just weeks after the Bangladeshi disaster, a factory collapse killed workers in Cambodia.

Workers in Burma report that they experience the same appalling conditions as their Bangladeshi comrades — workers being locked into unsafe factories, forced overtime, physical ‘punishments’ and sackings for attempting to organise workmates.

Fortunately, for the workers of Burma there are some positive developments. Unions, which were banned in Burma until just last year, are now able to function legally. Workers have begun to organise. And effective unions are the best way to ensure that a Rana Plaza never happens again. RE www.apheda.org.au

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BEWARE! ROAD HAZARDS AHEAD

Educators managing excursions in private or contract vehicles and buses face potential hazards.

Chris Lane, Industrial Officer, explains the dos and don’ts of transporting students.

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ransporting students is usually by bus or car provided and driven by a contractor, or driven by a parent or educator. Educators have a duty of care to take reasonable steps to ensure that the mode of transport to and from schoolrelated activities is safe and reliable.

Buses In general if transport arrangements are made through a reputable contractor, an educator has exercised his or her duty of care. In the event of a traffic accident that causes death or injury to a student, or other passenger, the educator would not be negligent.

However, as with so many duties of care, nothing is black and white. Three key factors should be considered in making decisions about transport.

1. Fitness of the driver An educator can reasonably assume that a licensed bus driver is adequate and competent and therefore fit for the job of safely

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transporting students. However, if there is reasonable suspicion that the driver is impaired or unfit to drive in any way, such as in the case of being under the influence of alcohol, the educator must not allow students to travel with that driver.

If concerns about the driver’s fitness arise after the journey has begun, the educator in charge should order that the bus pull off the road and a replacement bus and driver be called and used to complete the journey.

2. Overloading of buses Educators must ensure that buses are not overloaded. The size of the students and length of the journey should be used to guide decisions. While it may be permissible to use a formula of 1.5 primary students per the “licensed adult load” for short trips, this would not be acceptable if: • the bus has seatbelts, in which case every child must have a seat and wear the belt; • students are above average size; • primary school students are on an extended journey.

If the bus has seatbelts then they must be used. All reasonable steps should be taken to ensure that no student is standing while the bus is moving.

3. Accompanying students Educators must accompany their students on bus trips to provide supervision even if the conditions (criteria 1&2 above) have been satisfied.

We have had cases where a teacher has driven behind a bus and attempted to ‘supervise’ students by tooting his car horn — this is not acceptable!

Supervision must be such that the behaviour of students does not distract the driver or increase the possibility of a student being injured resulting from an accident. This would mean not allowing students standing in aisles or hanging out of windows.

Cars driven by parents If an educator allows a student to travel in a vehicle driven by anyone but the student’s parent, the teacher retains the duty of care for that student.

Educators organising trips where parents are volunteer drivers and are being used to transport students other than their own children, have the responsibility for ensuring the competence of such drivers. A parent who offers to transport students and has convictions for speeding or drink driving should be refused. Similarly, a parent who appears intoxicated or under the influence of drugs must not be allowed to transport students.

If parents are to drive students, other than their own children, a teacher must ensure that:

a a a a

the driver has a current licence appropriate to the vehicle size/type the car or bus is not overloaded and that each student has a seatbelt the car or bus appears to be safe and in good condition A parent has given written consent for their child to be transported in a car driven by a volunteer driver, commonly another parent. It is also advisable that this written permission names the volunteer driver.

Cars or buses driven by educators Where educators drive a vehicle to transport students, it is generally accepted that if a student is injured because of a collision, then Compulsory Third Party Insurance will protect that teacher from financial loss.

However, if a student is injured because

of his or her actions, or that of another student, while travelling in a vehicle driven by an educator, then the educator’s liability may be the same as if that incident occurred in the classroom.

Consequently, where an educator is driving a bus with students, it is advisable to have another educator (free from driving) who can supervise students.

Educators must ensure that:

a a a

they have a current licence the vehicle is safe The vehicle is not overloaded which means seatbelts, where available, are worn and in a station wagon, no students are in the back area.

Educators should also check their insurance policies cover transporting students for work purposes. You may find you are not covered when using your vehicle for workrelated purposes. In such circumstances, you would be personally liable for the cost of repairs to your own car and that of any other vehicles involved in an accident.

It is inadvisable for an educator to transport a student in their car, alone. This might occur when a student is unwell and needs taking home. Teachers and Support Staff should ensure that another adult accompanies them on such occasions. An educator in a car alone with a student may be confronted, at a later time, with an accusation of improper behaviour.

Did this story answer all your questions? Drop a note to the editor harrietb@aeutas.org.au.

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EDUCATOR RESOURCES AND FURTHER READING

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IN THE RIGHT HEADSPACE

LOOK BUT DON’T TOUCH

BEDROOM ENVIRONMENT

Department of Education www.education.tas.gov.au headspace Hobart (03) 6231 2927 email headspace@thelink.org.au www.headspace.org.au

Tasmanian Industrial Commission www.tic.tas.gov.au

eheadspace eheadspace is a confidential, free and secure space where young people 12 – 25 or their family can chat, email or speak on the phone with a qualified youth mental health professional. www.eheadspace.org.au ph:1800 650 890

Tasmanian Legislation online www.thelaw.tas.gov.au/index.w3p

kids help line 1800 55 1800 www.kidshelpline.com.au

lifeline Australia 13 11 14 www.lifeline.org.au

Tasmanian Law Reform Institute www.utas.edu.au/law-reform

This website gives free public access to Tasmanian legislation. You can download the Tasmanian Education Act 1994 from the site.

Chalk magazine, Winter 2012, article “Letting you cop it is just a cop out” by Leanne Wright.

Read it online at www.aeutas.org.au follow the link from the ‘Publications’ menu.

21 YOUR TAFE NEEDS YOU! Stop TAFE cuts campaign website www.stoptafecuts.com.au

Cool Australia www.coolaustralia.org/ Email: info@coolaustralia.org Phone: 1300 853 810

31 THREADBARE SAFETY Union Aid Abroad – APHEDA Australian People for Health, Education and Development Abroad (APHEDA) was created in 1984 as the overseas aid agency of the Australian Council of Trade Unions.

Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA was established to contribute directly to countries and regions of the world where men and women workers are disadvantaged through poverty, a lack of workplace, denial of labour and human rights, civil conflict and war. www.apheda.org.au

Campaign facebook page www.facebook.com/ StopTAFECuts

TAFE Campaign on twitter using the #stopTAFEcuts hashtag.

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For advertising enquiries call Amanda on 6234 9500 or email amandaw@aeutas.org.au.

Environment Print Applied Technology recognises the importance of maintaining a continual focus on environmental responsibility.

Environmental Management within our production facilities is considered a critical aspect of our business and to this end a great deal of thought and investment has been made to ensure that we minimise any negative impact to the environment.

We have installed environmentally friendly pre-press technology enabling us to eliminate the photographic film process and associated chemicals required in making offset printing plates.

Our investment in a world-class solvent recycling system from Europe has enabled us to recycle all our solvent liquids for reuse instead of disposing of this material after a single use, which has been traditional industry practice.

Print Applied Technology uses vegetable based inks where possible on its presses reducing the detrimental impact that solvent-based inks have on the environment.

The management of paper waste is also a major consideration. Not only do we promote Green Office practices in both facilities, we have also installed a waste paper extraction system and compaction unit which captures and bundles waste paper generated during the production cycle. This is then collected for recycling, reducing landfill.

Chalk is published by the Australian Education Union Tasmanian Branch.

Registered Office: Australian Education Union Tasmanian Branch, Level 1, 32 Patrick Street, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia 7000 Telephone 6234 9500 | Facsimile 6234 3052 | www.aeutas.org.au Australia Post registered publication number TBF0510 ISSN1320-7431 President: Terry Polglase [e: terryp@aeutas.org.au] State Manager: Roz Madsen [e: rozm@aeutas.org.au] Editor: Harriet Binet [e: harrietb@aeutas.org.au] Graphic design: Wayne Thompson [e: waynet@aeutas.org.au] For advertising enquiries and to request a rate sheet please contact Amanda Walker at amandaw@aeutas.org.au or phone 6234 9500.

Installation of specialised disposal equipment, as well as continual monitoring and recording of waste volumes and waste type, contribute significantly towards continued improvement in environmental practices.

Printed for the Australian Education Union Tasmanian Branch by Mercury Walch, 33 Innovation Drive, Dowsing Point, Tasmania 7010. Mercury Walch uses vegetable-based inks where possible on its presses reducing the detrimental impact that solvent-based inks have on the environment.

Mercury Walch is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

Print Applied Technology is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. As a ‘chain of custody’ certificate holder we can now assure our valued customers that selected paper and wood fibre products sourced for our operations originate from responsibly managed forests. Our clients can also demonstrate their commitment to responsible forestry by printing the Forest Stewardship Council logo on their printed material.

Print Applied Technology subscribes to the Printing Industry Association of Australia’s ‘Sustainable Green Print Initiative’, and has achieved level two certification. PAT is committed to pursuing this program and achieving level three status,

we continue to operate an Environmental Management System which underpins the values of this model. Level Theand views opinions in Chalk are those of the contributors and are not necessarily three certificationand will illustrate that we exceed thoseexpressed principles and practices currently accepted under the international Environmental Management System ISO 14001. those of the Australian Education Union Tasmanian Branch. All rights reserved. Except under PAT promotes and usesAEU. FSC certified,© Recycled or Australian made carbon neutral papers wherever possible. Using papers certified as National Carbon Offset Standard (NCOS) supports the Tasmanian Government’s initiatives for action on change and, throughdescribed the use of the NCOS carbon logo below, provides the Tasmanian Government with and subsequent amendments, no part of this the anclimate conditions inneutral the Copyright Act 1968 opportunity to demonstrate that commitment to the community. publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any Complementing these initiatives is our commitment to also secure international Environmental Management System Accreditation ISO) 14001. means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Print Applied Technology will remain ever vigilant in reducing the impact of its operations on the environment delivering services to our customers and the community. the better-valued copyright owner.