179: The Education System is Broken - Returning to Teaching After 9 years

Rosie (00:01)
Hello dear listener, this is another episode that was recorded live on TikTok. So if the audio is a bit different, the format's a bit different, don't stress. We were live on TikTok having the time of our lives. By the way, we'll be doing a lot more of that. So go follow us over on TikTok. And in the meantime, enjoy this episode.

Roula (00:34)
So tell me, Rosie, what do you have on your mind? What do I have on my mind? my God, do you want to know? Is this like a real question or just a polite, how are you doing question? a weird question. I don't ask you just a polite question. No, that's true. Since when are you polite? Well, resting bitch tongue, here we go.

So much on my mind. One of the big things at the moment is I'll be starting teaching again soon. I'm just waiting for my formal registration to come through. So there's lots of mixed feelings about it. Because when I last was a teacher in a school, public school, I hated it. My mental health was really bad and I was really depressed and anxious. So I left and I swore I would never go back.

And so let me, let me ask you a couple of questions because before you go further and I forgot what you said, why, why you hated it? What was it that you hated about it? The school culture, the priorities of the school system. It just, I don't think any of it had the students best interests at heart. I felt like I was part of the problem and I was still grieving.

the death of my dad. I wasn't actually in as good a place mentally as I thought I was. And so I got thrown into first full-time job, moved away from family and friends, didn't have anybody. You know, like...

2000 kilometers away kind of thing. So was just, it was isolating and confronting because what I thought was my passion wasn't. Teaching wasn't cracked up to be what I thought it was. But I think what's different this time is I'm older, I'm wiser, and I'll be doing relief teaching, which is very different. I can get away with going in and... ⁓

breaking the rules a little bit more because I'm not there every day, all year, dealing with the principle.

So what are you going to teach? Is it something specific or multiple things? anything. That's the scary bit. It could be anything. Just whoever needs me. It could be primary school, could be high school, math, science, English, religion, anything. Please Wow, I'm so impressed. This must be... I mean, to just jump in and teach. Wow. It's intimidating. I could never do this. You probably could.

You're very good at talking out of your ass. Took you a minute to process that one. Now I think you'd be great because you've got stories to share to help teach people and that's a great way to teach and learn. But I have difficulty accepting what their teach. OK, the sounds. not being rebellious and I don't know what.

I think we talked about this multiple times on the podcast is that our kids are much smarter than the teaching system. It's not moving forward with them and they're teaching them still the history of, you know, hundred years ago, while things have changed and the books of history didn't change. There is no update on anything they're teaching them. I do understand why

there are more and more, not in the Netherlands though, I think in Canada and the USA, there is more and more homeschooling. And I really thought homeschooling is like something only for Mormons. I didn't understand what homeschooling is until I started talking to someone who does homeschooling. And it sounded so interesting, so beautiful, very different than school systems.

And yes, there, is saying there isn't one size fits all, which is true. How many kids were given them pills for ADHD because the teacher wanted them to stay quiet in the class? ⁓ my God, is stereotype. You're full of shit. that's No, I'm not full of shit. I'm not full of shit. you that's happening?

I cannot say I believe in this or this is true, but I'm saying that teachers don't have patience with kids that are not quiet and calm, etc. And kids are all different. So there is always a reason why this child is not quiet. It's like we're not letting them be children. We have to demand from them. And I had this when I was at school. We used to be punished and beaten.

if we're not sitting quiet and calm. But now the beating and the quiet has changed in medication or in take them to someone to talk to change this child. They have a behavior. Let's just stop.

The medication piece in terms of that's how we're dealing with it, I don't agree. But I do agree we're not letting kids be kids. And why I don't agree with the medication thing is because to have be medicated, you need a formal diagnosis by a professional, not a teacher, a psychiatrist.

So I don't think that's a fact. I think even teaching degrees, like we are not trained in how, or not well enough on how to deal with different needs. And the schooling system came from the industrial revolution. We were pushing people through, training them, indoctrinating them, ready to work in factories and whatever else.

That just doesn't apply anymore. Like school needs to look different. And I agree. doesn't, you know, just because a kid's fidgeting, doesn't mean they have ADHD. Look, they're not, they're not giving medication to all children. But what I know is that teachers, whenever there's a child who's a little bit more active, they have a different way of thinking.

They go into conversation with parents to see how can we change that? How can we make this child be fit in the class? So they're demanding from the child to change so much to fit a system at school because there isn't enough money and resources to give these kids what they need. I think I'd do terribly at school now. Expected to sit still for six hours a day. ⁓ my God. This is what Barb is saying.

Yeah, it's just, it is nuts and you know there are teachers out there who are trying to buck the system and be creative and not follow these typical rules but you really are limited when you're a teacher because you have to follow the curriculum you have like which is set at a federal level like there's an Australian curriculum here you have to meet the things the principal has

prerogative and you got to meet their targets and it's very difficult to be the teacher you want to be that's one of the reasons I didn't like.

I agree with you. So many talented teachers feel stuck because they cannot bring this creativity. There is no openness for new ideas. When I see the teacher standing outside with the kids, with the small kids, I don't see, I mean, they're kind and nice, et cetera, but I don't feel like I'm looking at someone that could be an inspiration for my son. Now he do have good teachers.

Great, great teachers there and his teacher is very young. She's 25. And the funny thing, the first when the first school started, my son told me, I don't know if she has enough experience to keep the class under control because we have a lot of chaotic children. And then after two days, I asked him, said she has it. She is doing a great job. And I think the younger teachers are not being respected well enough by the

older teachers who've been in the system for very long. Yeah, there's a lot of teachers who are very jaded and they've been in the system so long and are so disenchanted with it that their way of coping is to whinge and complain and not make any change. And I can understand that it is exhausting, but if you were at that stage, I don't think you should be teaching anymore. It's job. My daughter

works. She's also a mentor and she helps teachers at school for difficult teenagers. So it's a middle school. Sometimes she comes home heartbroken because she tells me these kids need something that the teacher cannot give them. Not all of them. Some of the teachers cannot give these kids because they don't understand them and they don't care about them. And these kids that she looks after

They come from difficult backgrounds, poverty. They are difficult in learning. there are so many days that she comes home frustrated that the system is not looking after them. And she feels that she's there to have their back. But she's only one person.

That's just it. Yeah. It's, it's tough. So when I hear people saying they're going to study teaching, I'm like, Oh, don't be that jaded person, Rosie. It's like, Hey, enjoy it. But also, fuck you're in for a rough ride. All right. So you're going back to teaching.

to whenever they need you. That's great. Is Bob saying bye? Bye. I think she's saying bye. she's to Roscoe? okay. Roscoe. How do you pronounce his name? I don't know. Roscoe. Yeah.

that's definitely on my mind and just getting the van like finished. I've still got electrical stuff to do. So it's just, you know, typical life stuff. There's always, there's never just one thing.

what's on your mind Roula? Yeah. turn.

I think I had my share of talking today. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We have to also not over talk talk then it's insignificant. I save it for another time. And I don't want you to lose your voice. go and listen to our podcast. Please do. Yes. Go have a listen. The Rosie and Roula show.

We're on all the platforms and we have a fancy pants website, rosieandroula.com. Yes. This is our logo. So when you look for us, this is what you see and hope to hear from you. And one of the voice messages. Thank you so much for joining us today. we appreciate you guys.

Thanks, Rosie, for holding my hand. Bye. See ya.