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!

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 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."
-name withheld.

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.

"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.

"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.

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.

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.

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

September Meeting Details

Hello everyone,

Our last meeting for this term is approaching quickly.

Date: Thursday 3 September
Time: 4.00pm - 6.30pm
Venue: Wodonga South Primary School Library
Cost: gold coin (to help cover afternoon tea)

Topic: Minimal resources, effective art activities.  Bring along your ideas to share with the group.  For those times when you have an hour spare and want to keep the students from climbing the walls!  :)

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

August Meeting details

Hi everyone,

It's been a busy start to the term and our second meeting for the term is coming up.

When: Wednesday 12 August 2015
Where: Wodonga South Primary School Library
Time: 4.00pm - 6.30pm
Cost: Gold coin

Topic: Inside activities for this cool, wintery weather to replace outside activities.  These might include sports games, classroom activities to keep students engaged and moving. 
Bring along activities and ideas to share with others.

Full details can be found here:  http://wodongacrtsupportnetwork.blogspot.com.au/p/hi-everyone-next-wodonga-crt-support.html

RSVP to Mel at Wodongacrt@vit.vic.edu.au

Hope to see you there!

Mel 

July Meeting details now avaliable!

Hi everyone,

Welcome to term 3.  I hope you have all had a wonderful and restful holiday break and are ready for a busy term.

Thursday 23 July is the date for Term 3's first meeting.

We have a guest speaker from North East Water joining us for the first hour to run us through some information and activities around water and sustainablity.

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

I hope to see you there!

Regards,

Mel

Production of a new online course is underway!

As some of you may know, I produce online courses for ClassCover's Relief Teacher Association.  Our next course is shaping up well and we thought it was time for a bit of a preview.

Let us know what you think!

Regards,

Mel.