End of a journey

Nearly two years ago I started a scholarship to become a primary school teacher

The Nexus program is an employment-based, accelerated teacher training pathway, primarily run by La Trobe University in partnership with the Victorian and NSW Departments of Education. 

It allows career-changers and education support staff to earn a teaching qualification while working in schools with teacher shortages.

There were a number of hurdles to get accepted and I was grateful that a staff member kept in contact after a series of emails saying that I was unsuccessful.

When I started working at a public school in Narrandera the principal seemed to be almost as in the dark about steps as I was, although a mentor assigned to me seemed to have answers to many questions.

Full-time study and part-time work took a toll, but it wasn't until the second placement in a public school in Yanco that the wheels really began to wobble.

The first day was characterised by miscommunication, as the principal there I had heard that I taught ukulele and asked me to run classes.

Being eager to appear agreeable, I explained that they wouldn't be the lessons expected of me by the university but that I could introduce students to the basics of tuning and strumming one-finger chords.

It was a surprise during the first lesson that the supervising teacher asked for a lesson plan, since it wasn't something required previously.

When the principal returned she was furious with me for not following directions, cancelled the ukulele classes and abruptly changed the arrangement we had to move from stage one classes to stage two -- where I had been planning to teach a sequence of classes.

This added a level of stress, which combined with a university subject that I couldn't see how I would pass.

In the end I left my placement early, found the school cancelled it and attempted to explain the circumstances to the course coordinator and dean at the uni.

They were unsympathetic and I failed the unit.

This year I attempted the unit again, again failed the assignment and was told I'd need to undertake another assessment while undertaking a full-time placement and working on the next assignment.

I wrote to the lecturer, who was again unsympathetic to my circumstances and this led me to decide that teaching was not for me.

One of the key moments in making the decision was a comment from a friend who, as a mature-aged student like me, had completed a teaching degree and quit the profession within a few years:

My experience of the primary teaching profession once I got there was that it was matriarchal, bullying, political and sycophantic rather than meritocratic... 

Someone will write a Phd on teacher culture some day, and it will speak to toxicity and an endless procession of burnt out former educators with good intentions.

It put into perspective some of the experiences I'd had and made me realise the journey to teaching would likely take a toll.

There are many wonderful teachers I have met and I admire their work and grace in challenging circumstances.

Schools are currently struggling with kids not prepared for classrooms, as well as screen-based activities that appear to be impacting on the attentiveness of students.

The university course was a mess of subjects that were attempting to combine units for the fast-tracked path to graduation, which was occasionally acknowledged by lecturers.

Having previously worked in tertiary education, I am aware how high the attrition rate is for online learning, as well as the number of students who never finish a teaching degree.

I just wish I'd thought more realistically before leaving permanent employment and taking on thousands of dollars of HECS debt.

Meanwhile, I am telling anyone who cares to avoid La Trobe Uni.

Farrer election result

The result of the Farrer by-election shows a massive swing that must be understood as a protest vote

It wasn't a popular candidate, but a representative of a party in tune with disenfranchised voters.

Water is the big issue in Farrer and the major parties are all blamed for the impacts from buying water out of the catchment.

One thing that isn't being acknowledged is the dissatisfaction from Covid responses, which I think has solidified as a form of opposition -- because on the surface the mess of ideologies doesn't make any sense.

Another aspect is growing unpopularity of Labor in NSW and my guess is that the party didn't run a candidate because they knew it would attract all of the criticism toward the Minns government, particularly in response to gun legislation.

The decline in informal voting is interesting and I think shows the number of disgruntled voters has increased.

A key issue in the Riverina is the desire for changes to how water is managed in our country.

The NSW agencies badly treating a wetland has been in the news and it's worth remembering that the management of these resources was the trigger for the creation of the Murray-Darling management plan.

This region, the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, delivers a significant contribution to the state's GDP and, if you look into some of the ABC's remarkable investigations on Four Corners, there are surprising examples of how investments in industrial agriculture here should be gaining more scrutiny.

For a local it is significant to see the local independent candidate reflecting the longtime aim of the independent state member, Helen Dalton, to see a royal commission into the water market.

You might remember that she was courted by One Nation for this election.

It seems surprising to me that you don't need to look far to start connecting dots, given how some of the same names that have been discoloured in the rort of privatising water were out campaigning in this region.

If you're a student of history then you know the Riverina has been exploited by politicians for literally centuries and it takes a royal commission for the facts to be brought to light and justice to be served.

After FriendlyJordies' attempt at connecting the dots in the region, I guess I can understand why some journalists might hesitate but I wish more would look further into this area!

Robo kettle

Serve the public trust by offering a cuppa

Given those that saw Robocop in the cinemas are approaching an age that should be entitled to a pension, this meme hits closer to home than the satire of the original!

Capcha culture

As I logged into Facebook I pondered how the fire hydrants shown here look nothing like those in my part of the world

If I didn't watch TV shows from North America, would I know how to answer this question?

Magpie stencil

Keen to see how this one goes

Beginning to think I should cut a series of songbird stencils.

I cut a second stencil and painted a couple of birds onto a guitar body after giving it a wash with diluted paint leftover after doing the sides.

Anyway, a day later I didn't like the top bird and decided to cut another stencil.

I also bought a cheap secondhand electric sander and now the guitar looks like this.

Outsiders

Watching ABC's Insiders this week and their panel discussed the local Farrer by-election

Retiring Liberal Sussan Ley was one of the few remaining moderates within her party and clearly made a statement by leaving when she lost the leadership to Angus Taylor, particularly by forgoing any form of speech to Parliament.

Ley gained the seat after the retirement of Nationals' leader Tim Fischer, another considered a moderate within his party.

So it was surprising that a collection of esteemed political commentators from the city all agreed that Taylor's recent proposals to limit migration were aimed at the Farrer electorate.

When you consider that a city like Griffith has the most culturally and linguistically diverse population west of Western Sydney, you realise how little metropolitan journalists understand regional Australia.

Given how little faith I have in polling results, it's disheartening to see journalists with such limited understanding of an issue important to me.

 

Bigger Fish

Jo observed that within a few guitars I moved from solid colour to painting a scene this week

I call this one Bigger Fish.

After writing a list of possible subject matter I remembered the murray cod exhibition drafts were among the pile of laminated rubbish I've been cutting into stencils, so I worked with those images.

Started painting the edge of the guitar body with the diluted paint from washing brushes and am now marvelling at the marble-like result.

It's also wonderful to observe how the paint layers blend when the oil soaks into the wood.

The guitar bodies are cheap from China and, although described as maple or sycamore, commentators described it as paulownia.

This wood is very light and, while not traditional material for telecasters, is resonant when playing unplugged.

 

 

 

Share a cuppa!

After sketching, making a stencil must be one of the easiest ways for an inexperienced artist realise an idea

In comparison you can see that writing a song requires one to first build the guitar!

A season of cool

A new exhibition in Griffith explores creativity as it moves between mediums and around the world

It's the latest event from the group who developed community art in Griffith like 2024's Night At The Museum and Action Day Photography Competition, as well as the landmark Ngurambang exhibtion in 2023.

The Stay Cool project encompasses writing workshops, Japanese-style short-form poetry and contemporary music composition, as well as photography.

This collaboration between the Riverina's Red Earth Ecology and Italian record label Naviar builds on previous exhibitions, particularly the 'Crossing Streams' exhibition in Narrandera during 2017.

Curator Jason Richardson has been a contributor to Naviar Records' weekly haiku challenges for over a decade and recorded nearly 300 compositions as a result, while also writing his own haiku and publishing the book Earthwords in 2019.

"Ekphrasis is a Greek term for art inspired by other mediums and it describes a process of synthesis that's at the heart of realising new ideas," said Mr Richardson.

"Some say necessity is the mother of invention, but I am inspired by the idea that art builds empathy as it offers the opportunity to see the world through the eyes of others.

"It's the way each of us can not help but bring our own experiences to an activity that infuses creativity with meaning and spirit, which is what Jennifer Yane identifies in their wonderful observation that 'Art is spirituality in drag.'"

The Stay Cool exhibition at the Artspace in the Griffith Regional Theatre includes six poems that were distributed with the Naviar Records community of musicians, where each inspired dozens of pieces of music linked via QR code, as well as sharing over a dozen other haiku contributed by writers attending the online workshops supported by Western Riverina Arts earlier this year.

"This collection of words, pictures and music brings together many creative people from around the world, so many that it might be the biggest group exhibition you'll see this year," said Mr Richardson.

"I encourage everyone to see how a picture and a few lines of text can lead to so many wonderful things, and feel what it's like to hear those observations interpreted as movements of air."

Stay Cool will exhibit from 25 April to 31 May at Artspace at the Griffith Regional Theatre

This project has been supported by Griffith Regional Art Gallery, as well as financial assistance from the NSW Government through Western Riverina Arts and Create NSW.