Professor Martin Mills on why teachers need more respect – from their bosses as well as students

Modern educators face threats of violence, endless administrative tasks and relentless parent demands – but this professor has some bold ideas to fix our chronic teacher shortage.

When teachers are asked about reasons why they might leave the profession, respect – or more accurately a lack of respect – comes up regularly.

I was a government high school teacher in Queensland in the early 1990s, and am in a family of teachers. While it is always dangerous to look back on previous times as golden ages (they never were), as a teacher I had a significant say over the curriculum and activities I conducted in my classroom.

I did not have anyone constantly looking at data coming out of my classes.

Once I went home at the end of the day I could focus on marking or preparing for future lessons. I was not being interrupted by student or parent inquiries. I felt my professionalism was respected.

There seems to be much less respect for teachers today.

Professor Martin Mills from QUT wants to bring respect back into teaching.

Respect is raised in relation to student behaviours. Concerns about poor behaviour cannot be ignored. Some behaviours are related to class sizes, to curriculums which do not engage young people’s backgrounds and interests, and to schools’ lack of resources to support the learning needs of all students.

With appropriate funding and curriculum design, these can be easily fixed with the right political will. However, some behaviours are not so easily addressed.

Schools, like all workplaces, should be free from violence and threats of violence. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

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In our work, and in the work of others, we hear stories of teachers being exposed to threats grounded in misogyny, homophobia, racism and transphobia.

We also hear about instances of violence. In one instance we were told about a deputy principal who left the profession after a student hit them over the head with a tree branch.

It is not only students who are a problem. One principal described an incident “where parents came in and belted up some kids at lunchtime”. This was seen as a significant event that had impacted on students’ and staff’s sense of safety at the school.

We need serious conversations about how to make schools safe places for all, which will entail broader considerations about what constitutes a respectful society.

Workload is also raised by teachers as a major concern. Teachers speak of the increased administrative tasks they are compelled to undertake, heightened demands around data collection, the tyranny of email (some students and parents expect teachers to be on call 24 hours a day) and reform fatigue.

This workload is seen as impacting on home life and wellbeing. It is not uncommon for teachers to cry in interviews when describing the stresses they feel under at work and what it is doing to their relationships at home.

This excessive workload which primarily relates to the control of teachers or takes them away from tasks which benefit the young people in their care is very much grounded in a lack of respect for teacher professionalism.

It is perhaps no wonder then that some teachers feel like they are unable to stay in the profession.

A disrespect for teacher professionalism is also evident when teachers feel that their autonomy to exercise professional judgment in relation to their own classes is disregarded.

When asked what it is they like about teaching, it is the relationships they build with colleagues and students, opportunities to design curriculums that excite and engage their students, and seeing the excitement on their students’ faces when they grasp a new concept, solve a difficult problem, or learn something new about themselves or their world.

Too many teachers aren’t trusted to develop their own curriculum to suit their teaching style and the needs of their students, Professor Mills argues.

If we want to address the teacher shortage, we need to create an environment where all teachers are able to have such experiences. This means trusting them with curriculum design, with determining appropriate strategies to employ with their particular cohorts of students, and involving teachers in any reform that affects them.

Creating such respectful environments may not make teaching easier, but it will make it rewarding, as indicated by these words from a young teacher who felt such respect.

“I was so exhausted that first year of teaching and my head, my brain, was fried and I had a lot of frustrations. But driving home I’d always feel the smile muscles (laughs) had been active all day! So I’d go ‘yep this is really it’! I was in a place that I really wanted to be in.”

Professor Martin Mills has been an activist, a marathon runner, a teacher, an academic and a shaper of policy. He is now a research professor in the QUT School of Education.

Do you agree with Professor Mills’ perspective? Leave a comment or email [e-mail]

Originally published as Professor Martin Mills on why teachers need more respect – from their bosses as well as students