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SCHOOLS have options to make new teachers permanent rather than offering them only short-term contracts, according to the head of a prominent secondary college.

"PRIME Minister Julia Gillard says she wants to eradicate the riff-raff from the teaching profession and entice the best and brightest to join. The challenge lies not in attracting smart, personable people to teaching, but in retaining them."

Good article that reflects on the conditions faced by many short-term contract teachers that we have in Victoria.

Reflections by a teacher caught in the sandpit of contract teaching in Victoria.

Creativity in designing schools. "When people talk about how hard it is to change our public schools, they're usually referring to curriculum reform or employment contracts. But there's another area where change is difficult: design. When a proposed school building doesn't look exactly like what folks think a school should look like, officials freeze. "

The roll-out will begin this year (2009) with all public high school teachers having a laptop by 2012. The roll-out to teachers complements the laptop program for the state's 197,000 senior high school students. It means that students and teachers will use the same type of laptop, giving teachers compatibility in planning and delivering lessons electronically. The Department of Education and Training is currently assessing tender submissions for the supply of laptops in NSW public high schools. It expects to award a contract by the end of February 2009. As part of the $44 million package, primary schools will receive 20,000 more computers over four years. This will provide students and teachers with access to the most up-to-date technology in the early school years.

"Integrity1 My daughters class flip chart list to describe Integrity. Can you name a few people around you, or in the public spotlight, that seemed to have missed that day in first grade? Promises Mrs. Dillon's first graders are well aware of the power of keeping promises. They know that promises are a contract between two people. One person expects things when that promise is made. Multiple kept promises, those smart kids know, helps build trust. They feel comfortable making friends with those they trust. In class they know it is much easier to finish things together if the other kids keep their promises. The really bright ones know that promises and promises kept are the deposits and withdrawals into and out of the account of collaboration, effort and success. Things get better when you manage that account- you know, positive change. Truthtelling Those little ones know early on what it means to not lie, to lie and to be dishonest. What Giordan's class has figured out is that being aware of the truth and revealing it, even if you know the result might be hard to deal with, is a good thing. The one who added this to the list might have done something wrong, separate from a lie, felt bad and fessed up. Smart he/she was to know that those consequences were much less severe than the ones that follow silence. Mistakes These kids are 7. I will let you figure out who, in the public limelight in those years, might have made mistakes and never admitted them- despite resounding evidence to the contrary. They have some negative role models. On their own level they know there is lots to be learned from having to explain a mistake, from gathering the courage to do so and from the connection that gives you to better future decision making. altruism First grader, kids in general, have a knack for the real kind of black and white. The kind where you know if someone might get hurt, you know if you might get hurt and you just feel what is right or wrong. They al

"The Victorian Department of Education recognises the importance of flexible work options and family friendly work practices in maintaining a diverse, adaptive and high performing workforce able to meet current  and future needs."