VICTORIAN teachers will soon spend more time teaching in classrooms and less behind desks completing administrative tasks under a major State Government announcement made earlier in the month. But for a long-serving teacher in the Mitchell Shire, the announcement is just the beginning of a much-needed conversation.
On June 2, Minister for Education Ben Carroll announced the State Government would be implementing several recommendations of the Independent Review into Teacher Administration from term one, 2026.
Meanwhile, commencing shortly is a trial for an Operational Teaching Assistant to help teachers with admin tasks like collecting notes and payments, collating learning materials and entering data.
After 40 years in the classroom, a local teacher said she welcomed the initiative but believed the issues ran far deeper.
“Anything is better than nothing, but we’ve got a long way to go,” she said, speaking anonymously.
“We’re not just teaching anymore. We’re counselling, reporting, assessing and collecting data all while managing increasingly complex student needs.
“It’s a start, but unless society also changes, we’re not going to see real improvements anytime soon.”
Increased data collection, a crowded curriculum and dwindling classroom autonomy were just some of the concerns she made.
“We’re pushing students through so quickly. In years one and two, we’re expecting them to write in every genre, when some haven’t even mastered vocabulary or sentence structure yet,” she said.
“Some kids take off and thrive, but many don’t. We’re not giving them the time or space to catch up, we just move on.”
While the government’s latest announcement is aiming to reduce pressure, she pointed to broader issues influencing the classroom, particularly the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and the growing influence of digital devices.
The teacher also cited growing mental health issues, including anxiety and ADHD, as another challenge educators are dealing with, often with limited support.
“Kids spent years only interacting with siblings. Now they’re struggling with turn-taking, social cues and basic empathy,” she said.
“The rise of screen time is changing how kids behave and learn. You can’t fix that with just more classroom time or fewer emails.
Despite the obstacles, she said her long service leave has given her new energy to return to teaching, and to advocate for more unstructured play and social learning.
“I’ll be bringing back brain breaks, free play and letting kids learn by doing. Not everything needs to be measured by a test or a data set,” she said.
“That’s what teachers need and that’s what the kids need.”
