Hands Up is a podcast from the Public Education Foundation about the complexities, challenges and unique advantages of Australia’s public school system. It’s for parents and carers, families, teachers and educators, and anyone with an interest in how we can best serve kids in our public schools.
Listen to Hands Up wherever you get your podcasts.
Episode 1 – The Future of Teaching
Did you know some teachers are too busy to eat lunch during a typical work day? Teachers’ wages haven’t increased in line with extensive new workload and requirements placed on them. So what does this mean for the future of teaching? Why are both experienced and new teachers leaving the profession in droves? In this episode on the Future of Teaching, we meet Alice Leung, a high school science teacher who takes us through a typical day and we speak to former principal and education expert Lila Mularcyzk. We also hear from former WA Premier and author of the Gallop inquiry into the State of Teaching, Geoff Gallop.
Episode 2 – Teach us consent
In this episode, we speak to the founder of the campaign, Chanel Contos, who collected thousands of signatures and testimonials from school students who had experienced sexual harassment or assault while at school. How has consent been taught at school and why is it so important to teach consent earlier and in a more comprehensive way. And what are students and young people calling for? We’ll also hear from former Dolly Doctor, Dr Melissa Kang, who has recently co-authored a book for children and parents called ‘Welcome to Consent’.
*Trigger warning: This episode talks about sexual assault and sexual violence and may not be suitable for younger listeners.
Episode 3 – Tackling disadvantage
Every child should have access to a high quality education but in Australia, many of our most vulnerable kids are missing out. Children who come from disadvantaged backgrounds are up to three years behind the most advantaged students. So how do we close this education gap? In this episode we meet students and their principal Denise Lofts from Ullladulla, a regional south coast NSW town. Despite its low socio-economic status, the school has above average education results. We also speak to Pasi Sahlberg, a world-renowned Finnish educator with big ideas about how to overcome disadvantage in schools.
Episode 4 – Pandemic!
The Covid19 Pandemic saw the greatest disruption to traditional schooling since world war two. How has this affected childrens’ learning? What about their social development and well being? And are teachers ok? In this episode we meet a mother of six who juggled working from home and learning from home during lockdown. We speak to Professor Jenny Gore from the University of Newcastle about her research on the surprising academic outcomes during Covid and we talk to Malcolm Elliot from the Australian Primary Principals Association about student well-being.
Episode 5 – Why parents and carers matter
Have you ever helped out a school sausage sizzle, bought a tray of lamingtons, or attended a P&C meeting? Whatever your involvement, research shows that strong family engagement with a child’s school can actually improve educational outcomes? As our guest Barbara Barker says, “Parents and families matter.” But how do we improve and strengthen these partnerships? In this episode we visit one school that has a unique “School as community centre” program that creates strong relationships with families well before their children start attending school. We speak to Di Giblin, the CEO of the Australian Council of State School Organisations and Barbara Barker, a researcher at ARACY into the benefits of increased family and community engagement.
This podcast was produced on the land of the Gadigal people, the first and original teachers and knowledge holders of this land.
Production credits:
Executive producers: Jennifer Macey and Olivia Rosenman
Research and production: Melanie Morrison
Audio editing: Holly Forrest and Emily Perkins
Sound engineer: Jason Nicholas
Thanks:
We’d like to acknowledge our former colleague Jannine Miguez Shaw, who was a source of inspiration for the podcast.
Thank you to the New South Wales Teachers Federation for their support and for allowing us to record in our excellent podcasting studio.
A big shout out to the students and staff in the Instrumental Music Program at Fort Street High School in Sydney for composing, performing and arranging our wonderful theme music.