The Teachers Are Blowing Their Whistles!

Queensland Teachers' Union ( QTU ) Peninsula organiser Maureen Duffy says that QTU members are growing increasingly concerned about the poor condition of accommodation for teachers working in the remote areas of the state.

Teachers are concerned because -

Holes are kicked in the walls of their houses by vandals.

Their air-conditioners are stolen.

The electrical wiring in their accommodation may be unsafe.

Recent vandalism to teachers' accommodation in the Gulf region includes -

 * Children, who were unable to break in to a teacher's house because of the security protection, turned off the electricity supply to the teacher's house. The contents of the teacher's fridge went rotten. When the teacher returned after the holiday, the damage to the kitchen was so bad that it had to be re-painted.

 * Jewellery and clothes were stolen from a teacher's house and then worn around the town the next day.

 * A teacher's car was stolen, taken for a joy-ride around town and then set alight.

 * Termite damage in one teacher's house was so bad that children simply pushed through the walls of the house and stole the teacher's possessions.

Teachers flee Cape York town Aurukun in fear after spate of break-ins and torching of car, Carly Hennessy and Gavin King, The Sunday-Mail, 4 April 2010.

On 24 May 2010 tension had been building in Aurukun since a riot the previous week - "just fighting between families - nothing out of the ordinary here".

At about 3.15am three Aurukun men climbed a fence around an Education Queensland teachers' residence.

Two female teachers, both aged under 26, were sleeping in the house.

The three men allegedly tried to break into a side door and then the front door of the house.

They triggered the security lights and this woke the teachers.

The terrified female teachers yelled that they would call the poilce.

The three men then climbed back over the fence and ran away.

The teachers later found a roll of duct tape outside their home.

"There could have been a multiple rape or anything if they (the intruders) got in," Queensland Teachers' Union Peninsula Organiser Maureen Duffy said.

Unbeknown to the three intruders, when the teachers had tried to call the Aurukun police, their 000 call had been diverted to Cairns.

And when the Aurukun principal tried to call Aurukun police at about 8.30am that morning, his call was also diverted to Cairns.

Ms Duffy said that the two female teachers had been "rattled" by the incident and were now staying at the homes of other staff members.

Another female staff member at Western Cape College's Aurukun campus said someone had recently tried to break into her home.

Ms Duffy said that Aurukun teachers may ask for razor wire around their homes.

Union concerned for safety of isolated teachers, Kristy Sexton-McGrath, ABC News, 25 May 2010.

Fears for teacher safety, Stephanie Harrington, The Cairns Post, 25 May 2010.

Teachers involved in attempted break-in at Aurukun, Tanya Chilcott and Jorja Orreal, The Courier-Mail, 25 May 2010.

There were ten break-ins to Aurukun teacher accommodation during the Christmas 2009-2010 holidays.

Two teachers, who had been the victims of these break-ins, quit Aurukun school during the first term of 2010.

Security guards have been hired to protect Aurukun teacher accommodation during the 10-day Easter holiday.

Teacher's homes in Aurukun will soon get CrimSafe screens.

Teachers flee Cape York town Aurukun in fear after spate of break-ins and torching of car, Carly Hennessy and Gavin King, The Sunday Mail, 4 April 2010.

Binge drinking fuels an ongoing crime wave.

Tortured history of violence, Russell Skelton, The Age, 22 December 2007.

As the mother of one of the teachers who left Aurukun after finding his home broken into and his worldly possessions trashed, I am sickened by the toll it takes on teachers.

Young graduates are being sent to remote areas to fend for themselves and then left without support by Education Queensland, both whilst working there and also when they return to find their possessions desecrated.

After somehow managing to stay a whole year ( an achievement in these remote and difficult locations ), my son returned to Aurukun to find his clothes being openly worn around the area.

As far as we know, no responsibility taken. ...

What is the answer?

Yes, make the accommodation secure.

But also- don't send graduates to these remote areas to wear them down both emotionally and professionally, so that they elect to leave the profession before they have had an opportunity to "teach" in an environment that offers some professional growth and satisfaction.

Frustrated, Readers' Comment, Teachers flee Cape York town Aurukun in fear after spate of break-ins and torching of car, Carly Hennessy and Gavin King, The Sunday Mail, 4 April 2010.

Paula Shaw began teaching in Aurukun in 2003, when she was 26.

Paula has written a book about her experience - Seven Seasons at Aurukun.

For any student who is considering taking a job as a teacher in a remote community, this book is a must-read.

Paula successfully highlights the political and social issues surrounding the Aurukun community and, in particular, the hopelessness of teaching and education in general.

Paula's decision to leave Aurukun came from sheer exhaustion and her feelings of hopelessness and despair.

Mel Burke is a teacher at Cooktown State School in Far North Queensland.

Mel is worried about the security of her Queensland Department of Education accommodation.

... "We had an attempted break-in less than a month ago."

There are no security lights around her home.

She has reported the security concerns but nothing has been done.

The roof is leaking into the walls.

There is mould growing out of the floor.

Mel is very worried about the effect on her health of breathing in all of the mould, mildew and fungus.

And there is not enough accommodation for every teacher, so Queensland teachers working in remote areas have to share accommodation.

When you come home tired after a hard day at work and wanting to relax, you have to share your kitchen, bathroom and living room.

So there really isn't anywhere where you can ever relax.

And you simply have to endure it day by day until you are able to leave.

It is not much of a reward for all of those years spent studying at uni.

Why would anybody want to be a teacher if they knew the way that Queensland teachers have to live?

Mel says that teachers do not want to stay at Cooktown State School because of the poor standard of Education Queensland accommodation.

Paying the price for government indifference, p.10, Queensland Teachers' Journal, Volume 31, number 6 : 22 August, 2008.

CrimSafe screens were installed on teacher accommodation at Doomadgee but criminal offenders broke through the CrimSafe screens with a screwdriver.

Five teachers' residences were broken into over the Christmas holiday.

They defecated and urinated on the floors and wiped it over the walls and stole all of the teachers' personal property, which was found in numerous houses in Doomadgee.

The Magistrate presiding over the matter at the time was fantastic and was that disgusted that he gave serious jail time to the main offenders.

People do not realise what it is really like for Queensland Government workers in these remote areas.

The Queensland police, teachers and medical staff are heroes for working in these conditions.

JJ of Aus, Readers' Comment 21 of 24, Teachers flee Cape York town Aurukun in fear after spate of break-ins and torching of car, Carly Hennessy and Gavin King, The Sunday Mail, 4 April 2010.

Extra security patrols have been ordered for Kowanyama teacher accommodation during the 10-day Easter 2010 holiday.

Teachers flee Cape York town Aurukun in fear after spate of break-ins and torching of car, Carly Hennessy and Gavin King, The Sunday Mail, 4 April 2010.

According to this report by Bill Minnis, working conditions were good at Mornington Island State School in October 2009.

Mornington Island : remote but not off the education map, Bill Minnis, Education Today.

Extra security patrols have been ordered for Pormpuraaw teacher accommodation during the 10-day Easter 2010 holiday.

Teachers flee Cape York town Aurukun in fear after spate of break-ins and torching of car, Carly Hennessy and Gavin King, The Sunday Mail, 4 April 2010.

My son's friend graduated as a teacher.

At 21 years old, his first posting was to Saibai Island in the Torres Strait.

It is very close to PNG.

He was the only white male living on the island.

He repeatedly asked for a transfer.

He stuck it out for six months and then resigned because he could not stand the isolation.

• Posted by "Roscoe of CQ", 9:44 pm on January 26, 2009. Comment 26 of 27. Readers Comments, Teacher numbers don't add up, Saturday 24 January, 2009, The Courier-Mail : http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/comments/0,23836,24957439-3102,00.html

I lived on Thursday island for three years.

I travelled to each of the schools on the Torres Straits islands.

It was an experience that I will always value.

The greatest danger on Thursday island is falling in love with the place and never wanting to leave.

 Robina Cosser

The Queensland Department of Education requires all teachers who want full-time employment in a Queensland state school to spend a minimum of two years posted in a remote area.

Not all student teachers seem to realise that this is the case.

They spend four years at uni training to be a teacher and then find that they can only ever obtain contract work because they are not willing to "go remote".

Living in a remote community can be a very, very interesting and rewarding experience.

It could also be a good alternative to volunteer work overseas.

But the requirement to go remote may be quite a significant disincentive to young women teachers.

When I visited remote communities around the Cape I saw some young women teachers who seemed to be trapped in unpleasant situations.

The years from 22-26 are quite important years for a woman, because they are the years in which you are probably going to meet your future husband. It is to your advantage to meet as many people as possible.

Young women teachers in Queensland are sent off to live for two years in very remote towns. They meet local farmers, butchers and policemen.

So if you want to marry a farmer, a butcher or a policeman and live in a remote community for the rest of your life, teaching may suit you.

And it will suit the Department of Education to have a teacher married and living in a remote community, with her accommodation provided by her husband.

But if you dream of living a more sophisticated lifestyle, you may need to look for teaching work overseas, in England, for example.

Last month Paula Shaw published a novel, Seven Seasons in Aurukun, based on her experience of teaching at the primary school in Aurukun in Far North Queensland.

She began teaching at the school in 2003, when she was 26.

My own feeling is that the older you are when you go to a remote community, the better.

You have more to offer as a teacher and you have more experience of the world - you are aware of your options.

Paula Shaw enjoyed the small-town experience of walking down the street and being greeted by almost everybody that she passed.

She was made very welcome by the families of her students. She gained an insight into the local indigenous culture, values and beliefs.

She enjoyed going hunting, fishing and boating.

I will never forget my many boat trips around Thursday Island, Cape York and the Torres Straits Islands.

And the flights to schools on remote islands.

You have many really, really amazing opportunities in the remote areas.

Paula Shaw says that there were problems in Aurukun.

"When I was there it was not the nicest community ... Certainly after dark you didn't go walking. That was tavern time."

And when I myself went out to Aurukun for a few days in 1987, I was accommodated in what looked like a chicken hutch - a hut in the school grounds that was entirely covered in security wire and fastened with a huge padlock. The kitchen of the hut was a disaster area, so at night I had to walk quite a distance through the town to and from a teacher's house to have dinner. The grass around the chicken hutch was covered in broken glass and there were no lights. Walking through Aurukun at night was risky, to say the least. It was a really dangerous situation.

There was a lot of pressure on teachers not to complain about the dreadful living conditions.

The Northern Territory Government is offering free airfares from anywhere in Australia to teachers who are willing to try life in a NT remote community for at least one term. 

The Queensland government offer teachers in remote areas a small allowance.

The allowance pays for your airfares in and out of the community, the higher costs for food in remote areas, expensive phone calls to family and your hotel accommodation during school holidays or medical trips to cities.

The remote allowance for Queensland teachers is not very generous.

And if a Queensland teacher resigns before the two-year period is complete, all relocation costs must be refunded.

In some cases these costs total $20,000 or more.

So, if you are really unhappy in your remote Queensland posting, you may feel that you are being held prisoner.

But you can save money teaching in the remote areas.

I taught for three years on Thursday Island (TI) and I often had three pay cheques in my wallet because there was so little to spend your money on. We used to order most of our food from Cairns and have it sent up by boat. We had to pay the shipping costs, but it was much cheaper than actually going shopping because there was no opportunity to impulse-buy, and no opportunity to have coffee and cakes while you were shopping.

Families could buy an investment house and have it paid off by a tenant while they were living in Departmental accommodation. The rents charged for Departmental housing in remote areas were really low.

The housing on TI was of a poor standard - the flats were small and single teachers had to share them with a stranger. There were constant, horrible battles over accommodation. Some of the flats on TI were very run-down, poorly furnished and smelled of mould.

The first house I lived in on TI was a very romantic old wooden house overlooking the sea. But I had to share it with a young de-facto couple and so I spent most of my time sitting in my bedroom - a small partitioned section of the balcony.

Security was non-existant, but I never felt at any risk during my three years on TI.

The Queensland Department of Education find it difficult to staff the remote schools, so teachers working at remote schools often have very little teaching experience.

Laura O'Hare is a teacher at Mornington Island State School.

It is her first permanent position since graduating in primary education from Queensland University of Technology.

• Advantages of isolation, Katherine Hartmann, page 1, Weekend Professional,The Australian, May 2-3, 2009.

Why do so many Queensland teachers give up teaching?

Because they are sent to some miserable schools across the state and left to rot,

while watching favoured others transferred to pick spots at a moment's notice.

• Fred, a teacher with 30 years of classroom experience, quoted by Des Houghton in Teachers' view on the "missing" , p. 54, The Courier-Mail, May 30-31, 2009

The treatment of teaching professionals in remote areas needs addressing.

As a senior teacher, I recently volunteered to complete a remote area relieving transfer.

So I took leave from the comfort of my Brisbane job and lifestyle to commit some professional and personal time to the education of indigenous children.

I had to share sub-standard accommodation as well as hotel accommodation when doing professional development.

You can't tell me that educational bureaucrats suffer the same accommodation problems when they travel.

Are they limited to 2 or 3 star hotels and forced to share a bedroom with strangers?

Teachers put up with unfair treatment because they are dedicated professionals who always put the interests of the children first.

It is time that teachers started demanding equality with other professions who are accorded respect across their professional and private lives.

I agree with this comment.

Visiting the remote area schools is a really interesting experience.

For me the negatives far outweighed the positives for several years. 

You do have to stay in some very simple country pubs, but the country pubs are interesting places to spend time.

You get an insight into life in the remote areas.

Most of the time I was allowed to have a pub or motel room to myself.

But eventually I was asked, by one school administrator, to share a pub room for several days with two other women teachers who were visiting the remote school at the same time.

I had deliberately booked a room at a very cheap pub - it cost only $42 a night, well below our accommodation allowance, which was about $55 a night at that time.

But the administrator told me that his school had a policy of asking teachers to share pub rooms - so the cost of accommodation could be reduced to $14 per night per visiting teacher.

I was very concerned about sharing a bathroom.

Had either of the other teachers got a communicable infection such as TB or hepatitis?

I had a friend who was a carrier of hepatitis B, so I was very aware of the risks of infection.

Would the department accept responsiblity if I contracted a communicable disease from one of the other women?

And both of the other women were very heavy smokers.

Would they want to smoke in the bedroom?

When I was visiting this remote area school, I usually spent the evenings marking the workbooks of my students - it was my only chance to see their work.

Would I be able to mark workbooks, make notes on my visit and prepare my lessons for the next day properly if I was sharing a bedroom?

It was really important to me to "perform well" while I was at this remote school - there was not a lot of support for my work at the school and my visit was my opportunity to "drum up" enthusiasm for my work among the students and the staff.  

My visits were always quite stressful.

Would I be able to rest properly if I was sharing a room?

It had cost the Department about $350 to fly me out to the remote area, so it seemed ridiculous to me to economise on the cost of my accommodation.

Visiting teachers need to be provided with a reasonable standard of accommodation in order to be able to "perform" effectively.

Teacher of Brisbane, Reader's Comment 6 of 15, Teachers flee Cape York town Aurukun in fear after spate of break-ins and torching of car, Carly Hennessy and Gavin King, The Sunday Mail, 4 April 2010.