There wouldn’t be a teacher in the state who hasn’t had an argument with a student about swearing.
A student utters a naughty word and the teacher ticks them off with a reminder that swearing isn’t OK, especially at school. The student retort is as predictable and clever as it is combative. “That’s not a swear word!”
Teachers no have a legal right to disconnect from work, but contact from parents may be the real problem.Credit: Istock
And now it’s on like Donkey Kong. It’s precisely what makes addressing swearing in the classroom so tricky. It’s so subjective. One house’s “bugger” is another teacher’s F-bomb.
This is what could make the federal government’s new right to disconnect laws unworkable in schools. The interpretation of one word is going to trigger a lot of conversation, if not heated debates, in principals’ offices around the country.
The worst-case scenario is that this word will require the Fair Work Commission to need a new queue in its claims department to handle the influx of claims from teachers, who around this country are struggling beneath the weight of demands.
That word is … reasonable.
It was the work of teachers that a Labor-chaired parliamentary enquiry spotlighted when making the recommendation that employees should be able to unplug from work responsibilities when they clock off for the day.
We have all become aware that the profession is bleeding members at such a rate that it has triggered a national teacher shortage crisis. But when exactly does a teacher clock off? And what’s reasonable for a teacher to either endure or want in terms of contact from their principal?
These are questions without definitive answers and some long respectful conversations will be needed if we’re to walk a path more productive than litigious.
Teachers now have the legal right to switch off, but will parents let them?
7
0
09.02.2024
There wouldn’t be a teacher in the state who hasn’t had an argument with a student about swearing.
A student utters a naughty word and the teacher ticks them off with a reminder that swearing isn’t OK, especially at school. The student retort is as predictable and clever as it is combative. “That’s not a swear word!”
Teachers no have a legal right to disconnect from work, but contact from parents may be the real problem.Credit:........
© The Sydney Morning Herald
visit website
login
who are we?
contact us
qosheapp
Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Belen Fernandez
Rami G Khouri
Mort Laitner
Donald Low
Ali Fathollah-Nejad
Nikkei Editorial
