New Educator Network 2024
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 127 No 5, 19 July 2024, page 8.
The QTU’s New Educator Network (NEN) program continues its decade-long success in supporting early career teachers’ development as Workplace Representatives.
Many of our NEN alumni represent the QTU on state and federal bodies and achieve career advancement as school leaders or Union officers.
Each year, QTU Organisers work with the Queensland Teacher Education Centre (QTEC) to invite new educators to participate in our NEN program. The program includes online and face-to-face training, with a focus on advocacy and campaigning with and for our QTU members.
If you are in your first five years of teaching, talk to your Organiser about how you can participate in our QTEC NEN program. You might be at a school where there are no QTU representative vacancies and so are not yet a Union Representative. That’s okay. Talk to your Organiser about working at your school, branch, regional or area council. All QTU members can visit www.qtu.asn.au/qtec-home to check out QTEC’s face-to-face and on-demand union training courses.
Here’s what some of our 2024 NEN members said about the program.
I was meant to be just going as an observer to my first State Council, but I quickly picked up a proxy position, much like many of the NENs on the day. There were nerves, but they were quickly eased when I spoke to the branch representatives who sat around me from the Sunshine Coast. The day was intriguing. I was moved to listen to the stories from Union members regarding their own journey with fertility and the leave entitlements to be gained out of that. Lunch was a great opportunity to speak to different educators from across the state, see their perspective on things, and gain a greater awareness for issues faced by all educators. Seeing the passion of different branches as they pushed for motions to be moved was exciting, encouraging, and inspiring. It really emphasises that united we are strong, and we are a stronger voice united.
Connor Wakeling, Metropolitan North Region
We learned about the QTU’s significant win with the announcement of the Commonwealth prac payment (CPP) for prac students and Permission to Teach (PTT) teachers from July next year. Schools that have PTT teachers will receive this payment in addition to the prac/PEx payment the QTU negotiated with the Queensland Government. This will be very beneficial to our school, as we have PTT teachers already working and prac students are always in our classrooms. Hopefully, this is one more step towards encouraging more people to become teachers!
Nicola Young, South East Region
One topic that is bound to come up in discussion when talking all things Union is its members. How to approach those who weren’t members, as well as how to handle those more sensitive conversations with those who were ex-members by choice and who carried negative experiences and perceptions of the Union. As a group, we discussed membership numbers at our own schools and any issues we were facing with recruitment and retention. The skills and advice given for how to approach these conversations was invaluable, and we all agreed on one thing: ‘You insure your house, and car, and belongings. So why not insure your job?’
Katina McGregor, Far North Queensland Region
We engaged in assertiveness and public speaking training with Brent Brown, which was a great experience. We had to share our personal teaching stories and discuss what brings us joy outside of teaching. This sharing session allowed us to better understand each other and ourselves. We drew attention to our thinking words, learning to be mindful of the language we use and its impact on our audience. A key takeaway from the training was the importance of knowing your audience. He emphasised that your speech is about them, not you. This training has already influenced how I approach my interactions both inside and outside the classroom.
Robert Ridgeway, Far North Queensland Region
Craig Wood
Research Officer
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 127 No 5, 19 July 2024, page 5.