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2019 (2) 11 Feb ruary


ET News Digest
Your Weekly Education Newsletter
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What new teachers need
Many new teachers aren’t ‘new’ at all. Whilst about half of graduate teachers are entering the workforce as first career people, for about 20% this is a second career, for another 20% it is a third career and further, about 10% are fourth career people. Read more

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Stressed out teachers need help from parents and pupils
Teachers need love too and no one knows that better than those at the psychological coalface with a corporate psychology organisation reporting a 36% increase in the number of educators seeking support from its counsellors over the past five years, most commonly for help with workplace stress (18%) and anxiety (34%).
   There are many more pressures on today’s teachers including the impact of new technology and social media. Read more

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Involved parents make for better students
There’s no substitute for an involved parent if you want the best performance from students with a study out of Israel highlighting that by examining kids who have one deceased or absent parent. They found that the educational attainment of the surviving or custodial parent had more impact than the educational level of the parent who died or left. Read more

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Ascham School kits out dedicated print room
There is a lot of printing needed in schools despite our digital world and Ascham School in Sydney has all but eliminated the waiting and frustration that a slow printer can cause with a dedicated, fully staffed print room.
  It was essential that a complete solution which was cost effective and dependable was realised as printing is central to the school’s function. Ascham aimed to take the pressure off teaching staff, allowing them to teach.  Read more

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Performance targets a path to misery
Performance targets, increased workload, curriculum changes and other bureaucratic changes are eroding teachers' happiness, professional identity and mental health.
   Thirty-nine teachers who had experienced long term absence from work due to mental health problems, and six head, deputy and assistant head teachers who had dealt with mental health problems among staff were interviewed, finding that workloads and compliance weighed heavily on them. Read more

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National van tour for public school funding
You’ve got to hand it to the AEU, they’re never backward in coming forward; a fleet of bright green Fair Funding Now! vans will visit public schools in marginal electorates across Australia to highlight the $14 billion which has been cut from public-school budgets by the Morrison government.
   The fleet of ten vans is the next stage of the Australian Education Union’s Fair Funding Now! campaign.
Read more

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Social media junkies are just that, junkies 
It’s the drug of choice of a generation and the addictive nature of social media makes heavy users behave like drug addicts, they get antsy when they’re cut off and will do almost anything get access to their accounts.
   Research led by Michigan State University, in collaboration with Monash University and McGill University, shows the risky decision-making behaviours of social media overusers is comparable to people battling substance addiction. Read more

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Online resource for stronger and healthier students
RSL Queensland has launched a free online program which teachers can use to help students build resilience, empathy and improve their physical and mental health. It is available for any school to incorporate into its curriculum, at RSL Education.
   RSL Queensland State President Tony Ferris said the module, which is aligned with the Queensland Health and PE curriculum, draws on RSL Queensland’s extensive experience in mental and physical health. Read more