Enigmatic Eddie Woo weighs in on the ‘wicked problem’ afflicting NSW’s teaching workforce

A Sydney YouTube star has delivered some blunt advice to incoming NSW Premier Chris Minns on how the new government should tackle the state’s teacher crippling teacher shortage.

Eddie Woo, Sydney’s most famous maths teacher, says NSW’s new premier and education minister are facing a “wicked problem” with STEM staff shortages, calling on the new Labor government to support better training, easier job transition and more vertical career options for classroom teachers.

An educational leader who splits his time teaching maths at Cherrybrook Technology High School, writing books, running a popular YouTube channel, university lecturing and working on leadership programs for the Department of Education, Mr Woo said attracting science, mathematics and technology teachers has been a challenge since he himself first trained as a teacher 15 years ago.

As of January 30, there were approximately 1430 permanent teacher vacancies in NSW public schools. Meanwhile, enrolments in teaching degrees in NSW have fallen by 29 per cent in five years.

A parliamentary inquiry last year revealed 22.6 per cent of Year 7-10 maths classes are being taught by non-maths teachers, leaving incoming Education Minister Prue Car with a tough case to crack.

“It’s just objective fact that we need more qualified mathematics teachers in schools,” Mr Woo said.

YouTube-famous maths teacher Eddie Woo has taken up a new teaching gig as a Professor of Practice at the University of Sydney, in addition to his duty to the students of Cherrybrook Technology High School. Picture: Jonathan Ng

“This is the classical definition of a wicked problem. There’s a complex set of interrelated factors that even if you fix any one of them individually, it will not change the course of the overall problem.”

However, a lack of options for career progression within the classroom is one major reason why the state is struggling to attract and retain high quality teachers, he said.

Mr Woo believes the shortage of maths teachers is a “wicked problem” for the NSW public education system, but he has a few ideas to help fix it. Picture: Jonathan Ng

“I can name people who did not go into maths teaching because while the money starts off pretty okay … it plateaus really rapidly,” Mr Woo said.

“If you want to be a leader, but not necessarily an administrative leader (such as a principal), at the moment there aren’t that many directions to go in.”

The new government will also need to work with universities to make sure professionals with existing qualifications and experience in the areas of most need are encouraged to retrain as teachers, he said – and ensure there’s financial incentives to do so.

Mr Woo himself has taken on a new tertiary teaching role, unveiled as the University of Sydney’s newest Professor of Practice in mathematics education.

“Number one, we need to provide more support for people who want to study while continuing to work,” Mr Woo said.

Mr Woo pictured on his first day of teaching the next generation of maths teachers at USYD. Picture: Jonathan Ng

“How many people are willing or even able to just say, ‘yep, two years, I’m just going to stop working and just have no income’?

“Number two, (we need) better systems for recognition of people’s skills coming in. That takes flexibility in the pathway.”

Incoming Education Minister Prue Car confirmed the new government will look at solutions to the shortage as a priority.

“Teacher shortages have continued to grow over the past 12 years, including in STEM subjects, and it will be a priority of the new Minns Labor Government to address them,” she said.

When The Daily Telegraph sat down with Mr Woo, the enigmatic educator was riding high on day one of his new job in USYD’s School of Education. His popularity on campus is already tangible, with students stopping him to request selfies from the YouTube-famous teacher “quite a lot”.

But star power isn’t all Mr Woo has to offer – real and current classroom experience is what he’s back on campus to “pay forward” to the next generation of teachers, he said.

“School cultures and challenges move fast. If I had stopped teaching, say three years ago, I couldn’t have anything to share with my students about teaching through a global pandemic, which is kind of a big deal,” Mr Woo said.

“To have that very real and authentic experience I think is irreplaceable.”

His supervisor and fellow mathematics lecturer Dr Bronwyn Reid O’Connor agreed, describing the new professor as “the icing on the cake” of the uni’s teaching team.

“Recency of experience is super important to bring to life for the students what (teaching) actually looks like in schools. That’s the final missing piece that they need in their degrees to set them up for success,” Dr O’Connor said.

“We’re trying to prepare them to stay in their (careers), not just finish their degree.”