From the VP: Campaign with your colleagues and get it done!
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 123 No 3, 13 April 2018, p9
Want to make a real difference to the future of school funding? Join the campaign for Fair Funding Now!
There’s something very special about campaigning alongside your colleagues for things you care about. During the Your Rights At Work and I Give a Gonski campaigns, many of us experienced the satisfaction that comes from not just worrying about our rights or complaining about a lack of resources, but actually taking action to do something about it. My fondest memories of those campaigns include early morning coffees by the roadside at visibility activities, handing out green apples and campaign information at the train station or bus stops as we took our message to morning commuters, the laughter, debriefs and conversations as we walked the streets with our door knocking partners, there was the laughter and friendship (and pizza dinners!) experienced as we worked together to do outbound calling to colleagues to talk about the issues that matter to teachers. There were lots of click likes, shares and the recognition of friends and family as we shared our activities online and ensured our voices were being heard in online debates.
The launch of the Fair Funding Now! campaign in Canberra in late March is exciting because we have a compelling story to tell regarding the difference we have been able to make in our schools with the additional funding delivered in the initial years of Gonski, and we believe that most parents and members of the community agree with us that state schools deserve a fair share of federal funding. When you have a positive story to tell and a great argument to prosecute, campaigning doesn’t feel like hard work at all!
Over the coming month (and also in this Journal) you will receive a lot of information about our renewed campaign for fair funding for state schools. Fair Funding Now! is a clear message to the community that our state schools need increased funding in line with that envisaged in the Gonski report.
The Turnbull government has not delivered the promised funds and in fact, far from meeting the Gonski recommendations, has cut funding to schools. Its new funding arrangements favour private schools and impose an unacceptable cap on federal funding for public education.
Being an active campaigner for school funding is something to be proud of. There is a place in the campaign for everyone, no matter how much time you can give, how remote your location is or whether your preference is to talk to people in person, over the phone or via digital means.
I’m looking forward to seeing you out and about as we put our green shirts on and once again take the fight for fair school funding onto the streets, into our communities, onto the phones and social media.
Australia is a better place and our democracy is stronger when public policy and government decision-making are shaped and influenced by the people who are affected by them. Let’s stand together to speak up for our students, our schools and our colleagues!
Sam Pidgeon
Vice-President