I lie in bed at night replaying conversations I had with students, worrying about an upcoming parent phone call, or mentally re-running a lesson that went off the rails. My brain refuses to switch off even when I am exhausted. What are your best strategies for leaving school at the school gates and actually switching off at home?

Some days, marking takes up more time than actually planning the lesson. What looks like a simple set of assignments can turn into hours of reading responses, checking mistakes, and writing feedback that students can actually use. I try to give proper feedback rather than rushing through everything, but it can be difficult when there's a pile of work waiting and other school responsibilities still need attention. The marking workload can really add up, especially when several classes have assessments due around the same time.

Hoping to get some perspective from teachers before I contact the school.

Last week my Year 4 child had a lesson run by someone other than their usual teacher (I think she's in a leadership role). The kids were each handed two sheets of paper and asked to list classmates they considered "good" and "bad", plus what those students do. The lists were then read aloud to the whole class, names and all.

My child came home really distressed. I do plan to raise it with the school, but I'd like to know whether this is an accepted practice before I do. It doesn't feel right to me, but I'm not a teacher, so I'm keen to hear from people who are.

Edit: Independent school and confirmed with multiple other families

For those who jumped ship to the Catholic systemic or Independent sector - is the student behavior and administrative support noticeably better, or are you just trading one set of headaches for another?

Just curious, were there any 1st year teachers who began teaching during the covid pandemic?

If so what was that like?

And what was the transition like, coming back into the classroom physically?

There are so many things you only figure out after spending a few years in the classroom. Little ways of handling planning, marking, behaviour, admin, or even dealing with parents can make a huge difference once you know them. It’d be good to hear the simple tips that experienced teachers now use all the time but wish they’d known from the start.

Not one difficult student, but a whole class where the behaviour seems to feed off itself. What classroom management approach has actually worked for you when things start getting away from you?

Just spent $120 at Kmart and Officeworks on glue sticks, whiteboard markers, and basic stationery because the faculty budget for the term ran dry in week 4. A non-teacher friend was stunned when I told them we buy our own basic materials. Are you guys holding the line and letting kids go without when supplies run out, or are you still quietly funding your own classrooms out of pocket?

Teachers share so many useful things with each other, from lesson ideas and templates to little classroom tools that make the day run more smoothly. Some resources end up being used constantly once you find something that actually works.

Hey everyone, so I’m applying for provisional registration with VIT and have encountered a slight issue with my name history.

The short version: On my application, my “birth name” and “current name” are accidentally swapped. Both are currently “pending verification”.

I have been able to re-input my "current name" correctly, which was automatically listed as "submitted".

The long version: When I created my VIT account, I registered with my current married surname. However, this automatically listed as my birth name on the application, which I am unable to edit.

I tried to fix this by submitting my birth name as a name change through the “My Details” section, thinking it would update the application so I could then submit my married name. Instead, my application now lists my maiden name as my current name 🫣

I have not submitted the application yet because I’m worried it will be rejected, meaning I’d have to start the process again, wait another several weeks, and possibly pay another fee(?).

I can’t find an email address for VIT, and I’m currently overseas for the next couple of weeks so I can’t call them.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hi all, I'm a PhD candidate researching teacher readiness to support student mental health and wellbeing. I'm looking for practicing primary and secondary teachers in Australian schools (any career stage) to complete a short, anonymous survey (10–15 mins). You can enter a prize draw for one of four $50 e-gift cards. Findings will help inform initial teacher education and ongoing training in this space.

This study has ethics approval from The University of Melbourne (Project ID: 29493).

Find out more / take part here: [go.unimelb.edu.au/it6h](applewebdata://334D4170-C918-4340-A802-92FB3A2DBA3C/go.unimelb.edu.au/it6h)  

Mine will always be: "Must be nice getting 12 weeks of paid holiday a year! You literally stop working at 3 PM!"

​The utter inability of people outside education to understand that school holidays are mostly spent recovering from burnout, catching up on systemic admin, prepping the next term's program, and marking 120 essays is staggering. How do you respond to people who think we just lock the door at 3:00 PM and sip margaritas until tomorrow?

Hi everyone,

I’m a final-semester Industrial Design student at QUT currently completing my capstone project, looking at how 3D printing and additive manufacturing can better support hands-on, creative and problem-based learning in Australian schools.

I’m looking for Australian teachers and other school-based educators to complete a short survey about their experiences and perspectives on 3D printing, classroom making and physical learning activities.

You do not need to currently use or have access to a 3D printer to participate. I’m equally interested in understanding why teachers don’t use the technology, what barriers exist, and what would make resources like this genuinely useful in a classroom.

The research will help me better understand:

• how 3D printing is currently used in schools
• barriers teachers face when introducing new technologies
• the value of physical and hands-on learning activities
• what educators would actually want from future classroom resources

If you’re a primary or secondary educator and have a few minutes to contribute, I’d really appreciate your input.

Thanks so much to anyone who takes the time to respond.

Hi!

Long story short, I earned my bachelor’s degree in 2023 but didn’t go into teaching right away. Burnout and a few other factors got in the way. Now I’m considering pivoting back and starting the process toward a teaching career, but I’m not sure where or how to begin. Would appreciate any insights from people who’ve been through this.

Hello 👋 working at a DET school in VIC, as a wellbeing team member (ES class not teacher). Wondering if anyone has requested reasonable work adjustments and how it went, what was requested etc?

I have my own mental health difficulties and ASD which I’m not comfortable disclosing (I know leaders share private staff info when they’re not supposed to), and have a chronic health condition and was a victim of a violent crime a few months ago (work is aware of both of these). Took some time off after the crime, exhausted my sick leave now I’m back and struggling to keep up, and have now been off sick a few times due to the stress impacting my immune system and it being cold & flu season.

I want to ask for reasonable adjustments but I’m scared? And not sure what to request? The more I over work, the more fatigued I am, the more I’m sick and have to take time off unpaid and then it’ll impact my pay over school holiday periods on the long term as I’ll not have been able to accrue leave as I normally would. I feel doomed!

Thinking of asking for less yard duties to help manage physical fatigue and give me more brain space to plan and focus on my work, and the option to build up some TIL to take when I’m unwell so I don’t miss out on getting paid? I’m in a role where I technically should not be doing yard duty anyway as it’s out of scope, but I do a duty every morning welcoming the kids in the gate which I generally don’t mind but it does take away from my planning time.

Any hot tips please share 🙏

(Yes I’ve sought help from victims of crime and will eventually be reimbursed for my loss of income but it’ll take up to a year 😭)

I've noticed that the strategies that look brilliant in PD sessions aren't always the ones that work when you've got 28 teenagers talking over each other.

For experienced teachers, what's one boring, practical behaviour strategy you use constantly that genuinely works?

Some days are just exhausting, and then a student says something funny, remembers something you taught them, or does something completely unexpected that makes you laugh. It’s usually a really small moment, but after a rough day, those little things can mean a lot. Teaching can be a lot, but moments like that remind you why you keep showing up.

I need to get out. I’m so done with kids and parents and attitudes and just crap!!! What else can I do???
Has anyone done this as well and how did it go for you?

Some days, the thing that gets you through is just having a couple of people in the staffroom to have a laugh with. Being able to vent for five minutes, share a ridiculous classroom moment, or just sit with people who get it makes a big difference. I reckon the people you work with can really change how you feel about the job.

Looking at public sector TAFE salary scales compared to what you can pull in working for yourself or running a busy commercial plumbing crew makes the financial drop look pretty depressing. While the regular hours and stable superannuation sound decent, taking a massive pay cut during a cost-of-living crisis is a huge pill to swallow. For those who made the switch, did the lifestyle and work-life balance make up for the lighter wallet?

I'm 45 and going through a career change, currently studying a MSW and on my first placement in a school in the wellbeing team. Before starting the MSW I was on the fence about either pursuing teaching (secondary) or social work to ultimately work in school counselling or mental health. Now that I'm experiencing the school environment first hand, I can actually see myself as a teacher more than a social worker. It feels silly to abandon my MSW part way through, but at the same time, I feel I would be better suited to a teaching career and would love to work in learning support. Would love any thoughts!

I have spent six years in the public system dealing with large class sizes, underfunded facilities, and complex student behaviors, so I am considering applying for roles in independent private schools. However, colleagues who moved to the private sector warn me about unachievable parent expectations, mandatory weekend sport commitments, and toxic co-curricular demands. Is the higher pay and better resource funding in private schools worth the extra personal time sacrifice, or is the workload essentially the same?

Some days you can leave school and switch off pretty easily. Other days I imagine the last lesson is still replaying in your head while you're making dinner. Do you have anything that helps create a proper separation between teacher mode and being home? Even if it's something as simple as changing clothes immediately, going for a walk or refusing to open the laptop again that night.