Happy birthday to us!
Today is the day that marks 7 years from the first official collegial meeting of the Wodonga CRT Support Network. Over the years we have gone from 12 CRTs looking for a bit of contact with each other, through a system supported Collegial Network to about 160 CRTs all learning together through collegial discussions and PD workshops.
We started off in the old Wodonga South Primary School on Pearce street and were carried along to their new Southern Rise location in a wonderful new school. We've occupied their library and their rooms to hold some great meetings and PD workshops over the years. The staff have been wonderfully supportive and we thank the Wodonga South Primary School for it's support for local CRTs.
Of course we are a VIT CRT Network and we thank VIT for it's past involvement in the CRT workforce. We weren't left to fend for ourselves, Coordinators were brought together in Melbourne and given appropriate training to undertake the tasks we were asked to in a professional manner. Some of us they paid for our petrol, for outlying coordinators in remote areas they paid for air fares to bring them in. They had a dedication to all CRTs in Victoria which we thank them for.
In 2010 Network Coordinators also gained access to the then DEECD's CRT Professional Learning Support Initiative. The Wodonga South Primary School agreed to increase their level of involvement and take on the responsibility of being the DET assigned support school for the Wodonga and Shepparton CRT Support Networks. This allowed both Networks to work with the DET and provide quality PD relevant to the CRT role in education across the Hume region. We were able to to source some pretty big names in education, take advantage of the best local talent on offer as well as support talented network members to step into the role of providing PD workshops for their colleagues.
We would also like to take the opportunity to thank both Wodonga OfficeWorks and Henri's Wodonga Bakery for their support over the years. Through their corporate responsibility program, officeworks donated to the Wodonga CRT Support Network on two occasions. We received catering supplies, stationary, paper and printer cartridges pens, pencils, notepads, carry bags and a whole host of other things to help our meetings and workshops run smoothly. Henri's Wodonga Bakery have been doing a great job at keeping up with our catering needs, always willing to give us a great deal on the food we purchase.
A special mention also goes out to Signs by Knight. They offered us a great deal on signage but unfortunately things happened and we were not able to take them up on their offer. The fact that we couldn't take them up on it shouldn't take away from their desire to support their community.
We would also like to send out a thank you to the AEU Vic branch, in particular Marino D'Ortenzio. It has not been all smooth sailing for CRT Networks for the last few years and the AEU has been there to support CRTs on behalf of their CRT members, Networks and CRTs as a whole. They have supported us morally and also helped with negotiations between Networks and the DET/VIT to keep us as on the go in Victoria.
Over the years we, along with those listed above, have supplied hundreds of hours of Professional Development opportunities to support the local CRT community to remain registered with the Victorian Institute of Teaching and also to be excellent teachers for their students even if they are only there for the day.
We have also been active behind the scenes with VIT, the DET, the AEU
and the private sector to bring benefits to CRTs locally as well as
nation wide. We have given input based on my experiences as a
Coordinator and member feedback that has proved valuable for CRTs as a
whole. We have cheered on as Networks started up in other states so
that relief teachers are better supported in Australia.
We are proud to have been given the opportunity and necessary support to address the needs of local CRTs so
extensively for the last 7 years. This is of benefit of themselves, the schools they work in,
the teachers they replace and their students; it is an honour to be at the helm of something doing so much good in our educational community.
So here we are in 2015. Things have been slower than we would have liked since the end of 2013. Up until then we had been going from strength to strength, refining our processes, and we had supplied 72 hours of affordable and accessible PD for CRTs (and some full-timers!). With a new government, new budgets and new educational priorities things changed and support for CRT Networks wavered. Unfortunately a few Networks have not fared well but we held our ground and we are still here and raring to go.
We continued our collegial meetings and sourced some PD we could still afford to keep things alive. We worked with the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and ClassCover's Relief Teacher Association on mutually beneficial projects to help keep us going. It's been a hard slog but we've made it this far and have every intention of staying on target for the future.
Although I can't say much yet there are good things on the horizon. Again governments and priorities have changed and things are starting to swing back into a better position for us all. There are new things to learn and we're going to have to figure out how to do a few new things to our usual standard but challenge is what gives us the opportunity to rise to it.
We are proud to have been given the opportunity to support local CRTs so extensively for the benefit of themselves, the schools they work in, the teachers they replace and their students.
We are looking forward to our 8th year and invite you to look forward to it with us!
Regards,
Mel.
Friday, October 30, 2015
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
The guilt of wanting to be a CRT.
I have had a couple of quite worrying conversations of late. The topic I'm about to discuss has always been there but has remained veiled for the longest time. Now it's getting to the point where people are being quite direct about it:
Being made to feel guilty for wanting to be a CRT. Not actually being a CRT or needing to be a CRT because of other life commitments but wanting to be one.
In the past this has come from many classroom teachers in the form of "don't you want a classroom of your own" often meaning, of course, "don't you want to be a real teacher?" Yep, both bold and italic for that one. Dealing with this sort of passive aggressive attitude has always been a part of our job to some extent coming from the cultural view that CRTs are "lesser teachers" and we shuld all be striving to be something "better".
Lately there is a new trend in that it's coming in from other CRTs whether they really intend it or not.
Many people are just using CRT work as a holding pattern until they get a "classroom of their own" and this is effecting CRT culture. It is effecting attitudes, it is effecting ethics and it is effecting what is being discussed. I suppose the best way to describe the situation is my experience early this year at the AEU CRT KickStarter conference (a great experience for you new grads if you are in Victoria, I highly recommend it!).
We were sitting in front of a panel of prins that the AEU had brought in so that, rather than just listen to the speakers for the day and interact with them on those selected topics, the CRTs in attendance had an active arena where they could get answers to their own specific questions. The vast majority of these questions revolved around "how do I not be a CRT anymore"; predominantly answering Key Selection Criteria in applications for classroom positions. When talking to CRTs afterwards, some felt that asking the Prins about how to be a good CRT would actually be intruding.
Talking about how to become a good CRT is becoming rarer by the minute with those wanting to be a CRT, rather than have a classroom of their own, becoming a small minority. This brings with it a whole new kind of pressure. In perhaps one of the most ironic turns in recent education history in Australia, those who actually want to be CRTs are beginning to be pushed to the fringes and being made to feel like outsiders by those who aren't actually in the role by choice.
A bunch of CRTs are talking about KSC and interview strategies for classroom positions? The one who wants to stay a CRT is now an outsider...
So, I just thought I would take the time to say:
There is nothing wrong with you!
Wanting to be a CRT is not a sin and you have every reason in the world to enjoy what you do and respect yourself for wanting to doing it. Without people out there striving to be excellent CRTs.... Who will work while those guys in classroom roles need a sick day? Where will their release time come from for reports and student meetings? How is their school going to send them off to that PD or other training day if you're not there to step into their classroom? How could they take stress leave? Go to a friend's funeral?
Relief teachers are the reason students keep learning. We are the reason Teachers can keep learning. We are the reason schools function as smoothly as they do. What we do not only has an effect on the students while we teach but also afterwards when that stress leave has worked, a colleague can fully recover from accident or illness in peace or that PD they went to puts more valuable learning into their classroom for their students.
When you think about it... there's an awful lot riding on the role we willingly take on. What relief teachers do is valuable and important and those who want to do this job deserve a medal, not to feel guilty for wanting to do it!
Regards,
Mel.
Career CRT and proud of it!
Being made to feel guilty for wanting to be a CRT. Not actually being a CRT or needing to be a CRT because of other life commitments but wanting to be one.
In the past this has come from many classroom teachers in the form of "don't you want a classroom of your own" often meaning, of course, "don't you want to be a real teacher?" Yep, both bold and italic for that one. Dealing with this sort of passive aggressive attitude has always been a part of our job to some extent coming from the cultural view that CRTs are "lesser teachers" and we shuld all be striving to be something "better".
Lately there is a new trend in that it's coming in from other CRTs whether they really intend it or not.
Many people are just using CRT work as a holding pattern until they get a "classroom of their own" and this is effecting CRT culture. It is effecting attitudes, it is effecting ethics and it is effecting what is being discussed. I suppose the best way to describe the situation is my experience early this year at the AEU CRT KickStarter conference (a great experience for you new grads if you are in Victoria, I highly recommend it!).
We were sitting in front of a panel of prins that the AEU had brought in so that, rather than just listen to the speakers for the day and interact with them on those selected topics, the CRTs in attendance had an active arena where they could get answers to their own specific questions. The vast majority of these questions revolved around "how do I not be a CRT anymore"; predominantly answering Key Selection Criteria in applications for classroom positions. When talking to CRTs afterwards, some felt that asking the Prins about how to be a good CRT would actually be intruding.
Talking about how to become a good CRT is becoming rarer by the minute with those wanting to be a CRT, rather than have a classroom of their own, becoming a small minority. This brings with it a whole new kind of pressure. In perhaps one of the most ironic turns in recent education history in Australia, those who actually want to be CRTs are beginning to be pushed to the fringes and being made to feel like outsiders by those who aren't actually in the role by choice.
A bunch of CRTs are talking about KSC and interview strategies for classroom positions? The one who wants to stay a CRT is now an outsider...
So, I just thought I would take the time to say:
There is nothing wrong with you!
Wanting to be a CRT is not a sin and you have every reason in the world to enjoy what you do and respect yourself for wanting to doing it. Without people out there striving to be excellent CRTs.... Who will work while those guys in classroom roles need a sick day? Where will their release time come from for reports and student meetings? How is their school going to send them off to that PD or other training day if you're not there to step into their classroom? How could they take stress leave? Go to a friend's funeral?
Relief teachers are the reason students keep learning. We are the reason Teachers can keep learning. We are the reason schools function as smoothly as they do. What we do not only has an effect on the students while we teach but also afterwards when that stress leave has worked, a colleague can fully recover from accident or illness in peace or that PD they went to puts more valuable learning into their classroom for their students.
When you think about it... there's an awful lot riding on the role we willingly take on. What relief teachers do is valuable and important and those who want to do this job deserve a medal, not to feel guilty for wanting to do it!
Regards,
Mel.
Career CRT and proud of it!
Saturday, October 10, 2015
Official Announcement: An Introduction to Relief Teaching for Graduates is now online!
Hello everyone!
"An introduction to Relief Teaching for Graduate Teachers" is a free beginners course for relief teachers new to the profession in all types of schools. We've had a page up about this one for a while but there were some things going on in the background that made us hold back on posting about the release of this one for a while.
We did a LOT of research on this course over a number of years and sought input and feedback from many new sources when getting this one out became achievable.
Being a VIT CRT Network Coordinator since 2008, I have had a great deal of experience supporting new relief teachers to become desirable in the schools they work in. What we do as Relief Teachers can be challenging and supporting each other's classroom practice has been a very important part of what we have done since we began the Network.
While advice on our classroom practice is often frequently passed on and easy to find, training to become a desirable and effective relief teacher outside of our classrooms is not always easy to find leaving many struggling to find their footing in the greater educational community. This new course is a combination of professional, classroom and personal topics dealing with the specific differences Relief Teachers experience when compared to Classroom Teachers. It is intended to give new graduates important groundings in the professional aspects of Relief Teaching and answer many common questions that Relief Teachers have about our role in education.
Feedback on the course has been quite positive so we'll leave it up to a participant to show the effect this course can have for grads:
I am glad this course is also filling that role and providing my colleagues with a much-needed "pick me up".
You can find out more about this course here:
http://wodongacrtsupportnetworkpd.blogspot.com.au/p/online-pd.html
or go directly to the course on openlearning here:
https://www.openlearning.com/classcover/courses/introtocrteaching
Regards,
Mel.
"An introduction to Relief Teaching for Graduate Teachers" is a free beginners course for relief teachers new to the profession in all types of schools. We've had a page up about this one for a while but there were some things going on in the background that made us hold back on posting about the release of this one for a while.
We did a LOT of research on this course over a number of years and sought input and feedback from many new sources when getting this one out became achievable.
Being a VIT CRT Network Coordinator since 2008, I have had a great deal of experience supporting new relief teachers to become desirable in the schools they work in. What we do as Relief Teachers can be challenging and supporting each other's classroom practice has been a very important part of what we have done since we began the Network.
While advice on our classroom practice is often frequently passed on and easy to find, training to become a desirable and effective relief teacher outside of our classrooms is not always easy to find leaving many struggling to find their footing in the greater educational community. This new course is a combination of professional, classroom and personal topics dealing with the specific differences Relief Teachers experience when compared to Classroom Teachers. It is intended to give new graduates important groundings in the professional aspects of Relief Teaching and answer many common questions that Relief Teachers have about our role in education.
Feedback on the course has been quite positive so we'll leave it up to a participant to show the effect this course can have for grads:
"I think the most important point is I am on the right track in my relief teaching journey. I found the course engaging and it helped to cement and expand on my learning. I have been relief teaching for a year and I think if I had watched this video right at the beginning it would have helped me so much as my uni did not talk to us about relief teaching and I had to struggle through and hope I was doing everything right. I don't think there is anything else that needs to be added. I think it is a wonderful resource for new grads to look at and I will definitely be passing it on to others."An effect that we were also hoping for, though did not have the time in the course to build in specifically, is that Relief Teachers that have been out for a while would also find it useful in another way. An affirmation of their practices and their importance in education even if it doesn't seem that way or the stresses of the job are getting to them.
-name withheld.
"I enjoyed the course. I'm coming back into teaching after time away and am now much more willing to view my relief work as important to the school. The information was practical and interesting and helped me determine that I'm on the right track. Thanks"
-name withheld.
Relief teaching can sometimes be a thankless job and sometimes we need a bit of reaffirmation that what we do is vital to the ongoing education of students. Although we sometimes don't feel like we get enough time in a classroom to "make a difference", we make a difference every day simply through the role we fulfill.
"As someone who has been relieving for a couple of years, by choice, it has heightened my self esteem, renewed my desire to continue teaching and has provided me with some good new ideas. I think the information offered was helpful and relevant."
-name withheld.
I am glad this course is also filling that role and providing my colleagues with a much-needed "pick me up".
You can find out more about this course here:
http://wodongacrtsupportnetworkpd.blogspot.com.au/p/online-pd.html
or go directly to the course on openlearning here:
https://www.openlearning.com/classcover/courses/introtocrteaching
Regards,
Mel.
Sunday, October 4, 2015
October Meeting details
Hello everyone,
Term 4 is here (where did time go?) and our first meeting is happening in week 2!
Date: Wednesday 14 October 2015
Time: 4.00pm - 6.30pm
Venue: Wodonga South Primary School Library
Cost: gold coin (to help cover afternoon tea)
Topic: Using technology in the classroom as a CRT.
I would love to hear how you use technology in the classrooms you teach in. This could include the use of smartphones, tablets, laptops and Interactive Whiteboards. Bring your ideas, lessons and activities to share with others.
You can find full details here:
http://wodongacrtsupportnetwork.blogspot.com.au/p/hi-everyone-next-wodonga-crt-support.html
Please RSVP to Mel at wodongacrt@vit.vic.edu.au at least 2 days before.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
Regards,
Mel
Term 4 is here (where did time go?) and our first meeting is happening in week 2!
Date: Wednesday 14 October 2015
Time: 4.00pm - 6.30pm
Venue: Wodonga South Primary School Library
Cost: gold coin (to help cover afternoon tea)
Topic: Using technology in the classroom as a CRT.
I would love to hear how you use technology in the classrooms you teach in. This could include the use of smartphones, tablets, laptops and Interactive Whiteboards. Bring your ideas, lessons and activities to share with others.
You can find full details here:
http://wodongacrtsupportnetwork.blogspot.com.au/p/hi-everyone-next-wodonga-crt-support.html
Please RSVP to Mel at wodongacrt@vit.vic.edu.au at least 2 days before.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
Regards,
Mel
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