For the last few months, there have been a series of industrial actions by teachers in the state where I live. It has been many years since such a widespread strike has caught the attention of the media in this state at least. Education is complex. The issues that have triggered this strike are complex. But the media had distilled it down to one thing: money. If you read only headlines, you could be forgiven for thinking this whole performance is about remuneration. Most social media posts give a nod to classroom conditions, including physical and verbal abuse by students and parents, but other than acknowledging it happens and giving vocal support to teachers, nothing more is said.

Reading accounts from teachers about incidents in classrooms and treatment by school administrators, parents and students has made me feel grateful that my time in the trenches has been relatively safe. I am also grateful that I have the freedom to walk away. But as I watch the circus from the outside, I couldn’t help but make a few observations.

Firstly, it is very interesting to me that the whole time we had a union – backed Labour government in this state there was no commentary on the conditions experienced by state – employed teachers. The state teachers’ union has been quiet this whole time only to explode into spectacular action the minute their political party is out of power. The teacher shortage was evident in schools early as 2021, four years ago. But it has taken until now for the QTU to spring into action? It is also worth pointing out that, in line with the law in Australia, teachers who are engaging in strike action will not be paid by their employer for the days of the strike. Union representatives, however, will be. It seems the concept of solidarity is dead.

The second and biggest point I would like to make is that while the public discussion is about salary, there has been no conversation about the “conditions” or what that even means. Most people think they know about school because they went there. Most people think that their experience of being a student in a classroom gives them the authority to make judgements of teachers and how they work. Most people have no fucking idea of the reality of the education system in 2025. Sitting in a classroom twenty years ago as a self – absorbed teenager (Be real here, all teenagers throughout history have been like this) does not give any insight into what goes on behind the scenes.

The reality of the education system in 2025, in Australia at least, is that it is almost completely dysfunctional. Completing high school is like some kind of holy grail that parents seek at all costs for their children. Young People, forced to go through the motions of this quest on behalf of their parents, have become so adept at finding loopholes that they can graduate from high school without really being able to read or do basic math. There are success stories of students finishing high school and going on to great careers. But there are many more students who become the adults who teach their children that most of what is learned in school is a waste of time. Like clothing, “one size fits all” really means “not designed to fit anyone properly”.

Every time I tell people what my job is, they respond with, “I could never do your job”. Everyone acknowledges that working in a classroom is fucking hard work. Everyone acknowledges that teenagers today are broken and nightmarish in their presentation. Everyone acknowledges that the parents are the problem, but of course it isn’t them. It is other parents. Clearly, everyone hasn’t really done the math on how that attitude is just passing the buck. This situation, like many others in the world, is not going to be fixed by government policy or by a new curriculum or by a pay rise. I believe with my whole heart that most problems in the world will be made better by everyday people making small changes every day. By people taking responsibility for the things they can change themselves, no matter how small.

Teachers do deserve better working conditions. Students do deserve a better education. The world needs a generation of people who can solve problems and think outside the box. None of these things is possible with our current system. None of them will magically appear if we just pay teachers more. Money isn’t the solution. People, all the people are.

As always my words here are my opinion based on my own experiences.

Hypnosis and our Audio files are really the best way to adopt the strategies of this post. Our posts recommend the best product matches for this post below.

Logged In Users get better hypnosis recommendations.  Login or Register Here.

Being Registered and Logged In Also Gets Rid Of The Annoying Popups!