Teachers in Gulf and North West doing "extraordinary things"

In teaching it is not uncommon to see ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
On a recent visit to the state's North West and Gulf with President Kevin Bates and Peninsula and North West Organiser Maureen Duffy, ordinary people doing extraordinary things in very complex situations was much in evidence.

Whether it was through the focus on improving student attendance and data walls, the targeted approach to individual students, the sense of purpose and drive to make a difference in the lives of the students and the communities in which they live, the real professionalism and commitment of teachers and school leaders in Mount Isa, Doomadgee, Normanton, Burketown and Mornington Island was clearly evident.

While there are a range of complexities in these communities which are a challenge, teachers find much to enjoy: collegiality and friendship, camping, fishing, sport, and in Mount Isa, a local opera (one of the local QTU activists had to attend to her duties as choirmaster immediately following the branch meeting).

For many teachers going to the more isolated areas of Queensland, there is much to be excited about.

There was a real interest in professional development and in the new Annual Teacher Performance Review process among the teachers we met.

These are, of course, issues which remain to be addressed:

• a Remote Area Incentives Scheme which, apart from one 10 per cent increase (as a result of QTU industrial action) has seen its value continue to decline in real terms
• teacher housing, which varies widely in accessibility, quality and the need for maintenance
• secure storage, which is lacking in a number of residences.

Of particular interest to members in these schools, as in many rural and remote areas, is the need for the maintenance of a statewide transfer and relocation system.

When they took up duties in these centres, it was in the knowledge that when they had done their regional service they would be transferred to a centre of preference. It is incumbent upon their employer to ensure that this commitment is honoured.

It was indeed a privilege to meet so many committed professionals, more than worth the nervous flutters I experienced getting aboard those “really small” planes for our flights between schools.

Teachers and school leaders in the North West and Gulf – thank you for what you do for the children you teach and the communities from which they come.

Barry Welch
Deputy General Secretary

Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 119 No 7, 3 October 2014, p16