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Steven Kolber's avatar

I’d say I might come back to teaching if this freedom was a part of it. Also, I note that the ideologies of control assume a level of automaton-ness which can be easily bypassed by many with a critical frame of reference (see you, and others we know as examples)

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Tom Mahoney's avatar

Yes, it is always comforting to know that there are alternatives out there!

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Jennifer Strong's avatar

The concentration of disadvantaged groups and limited resources are far more pressing issues than mobile phone use. Urgent action is needed to restore equity in our school system as we have been advised and the government has been advised numerous times for decades. More teaching agency and an adoption of something similar to Scotland's 'Curriculum for Excellence' sounds exactly what is needed for our students. The four curriculum outcomes such as, the successful learner, the confident individual, the responsible citizen and the effective contributor would certainly be a good fit for Australia's current education environment. Think of students relief from excessive overtesting, mental health anxieties, grade obsessions, school-refusal, online gaming addictions etc if education was reframed to these qualities. What employer would not want to see these kinds of qualities in their employees?

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Tom Mahoney's avatar

Thanks for the comment Jennifer! You might appreciate reading the reference on teacher agency, as the authors critique the unfortunate turn back to more standardisation and check lists (which helps to appease teacher performativity) a few years after implementation. It's not perfect, but it certainly has a lot of value to give.

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