[dpastern (Dave Pastern)]

Rom, I don't think all teachers are as impassioned as yourself. I also find that many people under the age of 30 have sub standard maths and english skills, including teachers in that age group. This effect seems to worsen the younger the person. Again, I base this on personal observations in the "field".

I understand that many teachers put in a LOT of UNPAID extra hours, outside of the usual school times, to create lesson plans etc. I have a friend in the UK who's just finished her degree in molecular biology and is branching out into teaching at primary school level. Teachers do not get sufficient time to develop lesson plans, or invest in 1:1 time with students. As a society, we need to devote more $$$ to our education system, much more $$$ imho. I'd personally like to compare data for funding to public schools from say, 1975, to say, 2017 (adjusted for inflation of course). I'm pretty damn confident that our schools are receiving far less money from the government than they did 30 or 40 years ago, when adjusted for inflation. I'm not sure if the ABS collates such data or not.

Teacher wages aren't great either imho. Teaching is a critical employment role imho, and competent teachers should be rewarded accordingly. I mean, getting rid of the F35 II fighters could pay a LOT more $$$ to competent teachers...just saying. It's a matter of our government getting its priorities right, and that #1 priority should be the education of our children. It is that, that will allow us to compete on a global market, not some trumped up unrequired military gear...