We may speak the same language, but apparently the state of teaching in Australia is very different than in the U.S.
Australia's teacher crisis is that they have many new teachers, but older teachers aren't leaving spots for them. To encourage them to move on to other careers, according to the Courier Mail, a grant program was started--but it didn't have a full quota of applicants:"UP to $18 million in "career change" grants
will be paid out to nearly 360
older primary school teachers being
jettisoned by Education Queensland to make
way for new graduates.
The
figure falls short of an estimated
$25 million that would have been
paid out if the full quota, set at 500
teachers, had successfully applied
for what has been dubbed the 'burn-out
bonus'."
American teachers couldn't image this happening in US schools. In the US, school districts have special programs trying to recruit teachers from any field to fill slots, and people leave with no compensation to start over. I've had days where I would have left if someone offered me Haagen Daz and a plastic spoon! We need to study what is going on right in Australian schools.
