A quick Saturday morning giggle about O-U-G-H.

Watch this video on YouTube.

We all wait to be called for work but... how do we spend our downtime?

Here's something we can all relate to...

Sometimes the call comes in and sometimes it just doesn't.  We all know experience matters and getting out there and putting our knowledge into practice makes us better teachers.  But...  What do we do with our downtime?  Does it matter?  And if so, why?

To discuss an aspect of this one I thought I'd pull a passage out of the 2012 VAGO Report on CRT Arrangements:

"Many audited schools said that highly skilled and experienced CRTs do not stay as CRTs for long. High performers are often given fixed-term contracts and quickly become permanently employed.

Better performing CRTs are also likely to be on multiple lists held by government and non-government schools. As a result, schools in the same locality are competing against each other for high performing CRTs who can ‘cherry pick’ preferred schools and/or positions. This can make it more difficult for some schools to attract suitably skilled and experienced CRTs."

While the VAGO Report is a document from Victoria this is not an uncommon pattern for high performing relief teachers in Australia.  This is a very useful piece of information for us to be aware of because this is how schools are viewing their struggles in managing their CRT workforce. They are constantly looking for "high performing CRTs" and, in fact, fighting over them. This is something that gives us direction and purpose when the stereotypes are screaming at us that all we need to be good CRTs is X, Y and Z.

That above passage also says something very specific if we are paying attention. While there are plenty of CRTs to go around, there are not enough doing the job to the high performing standard that schools are wanting.  While that can seem like an attack on "under-performing CRTs" it most certainly isn't.  It gives us a look at something we can actively take advantage of.

There is always room for more of us to become high-performing CRTs.

While it is more difficult than it has been in the past to become a "desirable CRT" it is still not a lottery, skill matters.  It does us good to know that succeeding is going to take proactive effort, especially in an oversupply of teachers. The above passage is important as it shows us that CRT stereotypes are, to some extent, the lowest common denominator.  They are not "what schools want" from relief teachers, they are only "what schools expect" or "what schools will accept".  What schools actually want frequently slips through their fingers either through to more permanent work or because the relief teacher in question simply chooses to work elsewhere.

Waiting for the morning call is a necessary part of the way we work as CRTs but I encourage everyone to take any downtime and put it to a profitable use.  Don't "wait for work", be proactive and seek out the knowledge you need to formulate strategies you can use to capitalise on every opportunity set before you.  Schools will accept the average CRT but what they want are the so-called "high performing" CRTs.

Accepting the limitations placed on you by CRT stereotypes is something that stands between you and a successful career .  Of course "suitable experience" will only come with time but the stereotypes simply don't support us to gain the skills schools are seeking.  The simple truth is that the more skill we have the more work we are offered and the more opportunity we have to become "suitably experienced" too.

Many CRTs are out there cherry-picking their schools and positions.  CRTs are out there giving themselves a leg up into the classroom positions they are after.  If they can, so can you.  Break the mould that these stereotypes set for you and be all you can be.

Always. 

Regards,

Mel.

Victorian CRT Networks and the DET's CRT Professional Learning Initiative.

Today I'd just like to have a bit of a word about the CRT Professional Learning Initiative (CRT PLI) and how it fits in with CRT Networks and you.

The CRT Professional Learning Initiative offers Victorian CRTs an opportunity to attend accessible PD, tailored to the CRT context and local educational needs.  This funding allows local Network Coordinators to pay for presenters, venues and catering so you can get access to quality PD experiences. The important part of this is that the CRT PLI is intended to be available to YOU as a CRT working in Victoria to support better student outcomes.

I have made this point recently but its a good idea to make it again.  As CRTs we have this tendency to look at PD as a registration requirement.  The fact that we can struggle to afford 20 hours of PD a year colours our view and after a while we feel like we are chasing PD only for our registration.  When we feel like that often enough, and the 1 year registration cycle rams this home for many, its an ethic that starts to stick.

The CRT PLI is not "so you can maintain your registration".  A few ywers ago it was found that 10% to 12% of the average student's education was delivered by a CRT so teaching quality from CRTs REALLY matters.  This isn't saying that CRTs are "bad teachers", what it's saying is that better supports for CRTs are becoming more and more important as time goes on and the expectations placed on CRTs increase.

Simply put, the CRT PLI is intended to support better student outcomes through increased support for CRTs.   What this means is that even if you are a provisionally registered teacher then adequately supporting you is important too, even if you don't have to submit 20 hours of PD per year to the Victorian Institute of Teaching.  If you are a CRT working in Victorian schools this is for YOU regardless of your registration status.

The program has suffered some setbacks in the last couple of years meaning that the CRT PLI has been unable to provide PD for quite some time.  For some of you it's no longer a "habit" to keep yourself up to date with these local opportunities and for many of you this will be a very new experience.

By and large the primary contact strategy for CRT Networks is member lists.  You join the Network and when a PD is announced you get an email and then follow the provided instructions to book your seat.  This sort of means that if you don't belong to your local/closest Network you might not get access to this PD that the DET is providing on your behalf.

Note:  I need to make it clear that Networks are not required to hold collegial meetings (though I understand that most hold at least a couple a year when they're in fill swing).  The primary function of the CRT PLI is to provide formal PD that offers access to top class presenters that CRTs often miss out on because they don't get invited to school PD and can't afford reliable access to quality formal PD on a casual wage.

Unfortunately coverage of Victoria is far from complete through Networks and the CRT PLI.  Starting again after two years is going to take some time to get some traction,  If you are near a currently active Network however, if you want access to the PD being provided for the benefit of you and your students it is a VERY good idea to join your nearest Network as being on their member list is the most sure-fire way of making sure you are informed of the PD workshops/seminars on offer.

You can find the most current list of networks here:

http://www.vit.vic.edu.au/forms-and-publications/useful-links

This list has contact details for all currently active CRT Networks but unfortunately a couple are inactive.  The list is currently in the process of being updated and a list will also appear on the DET website in the future.

I hope you have a great time at the PD the CRT PLI provides.

Mel.

March Collegial Meeting Details

Hello everyone,

Our March collegial meeting is just around the corner.  Wednesday 16 March is the date set.

You can find full details about the meeting here:
http://wodongacrtsupportnetwork.blogspot.com.au/p/hi-everyone-next-wodonga-crt-support.html

We hope to see you there.

Regards,

Mel

Public Service Announcement: Special Needs PD for Victorian Institute of Teaching renewal of registration.

Hi Everyone,

All us Victorians received an email last week outlining the Special Needs PD requirements being attached to our renewal of registration in the 2016 and 2017 reporting periods.In our collegial meeting last week we had a some concerns raised regarding this requirement and a number of associated worries surrounding it.  Some found the email confusing, others are receiving conflicting reports from various sources of information and so on.    I have also received emails asking very similar questions.

We have contacted VIT on behalf of Wodonga CRT Support Network members to get some straight answers for the most commonly asked questions on those who are feeling out of their depth on this one.

Are there hours attached to this requirement?

• No.  There has been confusion over 'hours' regarding this requirement because people have been told there are hours but they cannot find how many hours they need on the VIT website. The reason there is no mention of hours on the VIT website is that there is no time component to this requirement. We are required ONLY to have 'some PD' related to special needs (APST descriptors 1.5, 1.6 and 4.1).

The second issue is that we are required to declare two years worth of this PD.

Will anyone get 'in trouble' if they did not do any Special Needs PD last year (2015 reporting period)?

• No. If we have done PD hours regarding special needs last year and this year we can satisfy this requirement this year (2016 reporting period) but we do not 'have to'. If we did not do any special needs PD last year (2015 reporting period) we can do some this year, some next year and successfully meet this requirement in 2017 without penalty.

Do we need to do "Extra PD" to satisfy this requirement?

• No. This PD is included in the standard 20 hours fully registered teachers submit every year.

Do provisionally registered teachers need to do this PD?

• No. If a teacher is not a fully registered teacher they do not have to supply the 20 hours of PD each year to maintain registration so none of this PD must be referenced to special needs.  As a provisionally registered teacher they will demonstrate it as part of the process of moving to (full) teacher registration or early childhood teacher registration IF they undertake the full registration process. If they are provisionally registered and do not undertake the full registration process they do not need to meet this requirement in any way.

The VIT webpage providing more information can be found here:

http://www.vit.vic.edu.au/registered-teacher/special-needs-plan

Don't ruin a great day by stressing about special needs PD requirements!  This is honestly very easy to comply with and there is no reason it should prove an issue for any one of us.

Regards,

Melinda Lichnovsky-Klock
Wodonga/Shepparton CRT Support Network Coordinator.