Deloitte’s economist Chris Richardson gave an interesting speech at the National Press Club on Wednesday which policy makers would do well to take heed of.
He said the government’s fixation on jobs and growth had had some positive outcomes – higher company profits combined with tax concessions mean investors have done well, and jobs growth has resulted in more people being employed – but the glaring hole is the forgotten middle who have not seen commensurate wage rises. This is placing a drag on the economy and financial stress on wage-earning households.
Richardson also pointed to the inadequacy of unemployment payments, pointing out that we are all in this together. If unemployed people are given adequate assistance, firstly to survive, and secondly to prepare for and find a job, we all benefit.
We all know these things to be true and that the government has no plan to address them.
But of even greater interest to me were Richardson’s comments about skilling and reskilling to better meet employment trends and employer requirements.
The rapid rise of technology is changing the job market and, by trying to hang on to the jobs of the past, we are ill-prepared for the jobs of the future.
“The new trend will increasingly be jobs that use our hearts, use our uniquely human skills – the stuff that computers aren’t good at – caring, creativity, design, leadership.”
As a teacher, this really struck the nail on the head for me.
Teachers have, for years, understood the value of fostering these skills but have been hamstrung by bureaucrats, conservative think tanks, politicians and parents who are fixated on Naplan results and who think we need more standardised testing, direct instruction, and a focus on the basics, especially phonics.
Of course the basics are important – you have to crawl before you can walk – but if we want our children to fly then we need to stimulate creativity, foster initiative, provide opportunity to work as a team, promote leadership and communication skills, encourage intellectual risk-taking, the confidence to try, and the resilience to try again.
We need to instil a love of learning, not a fear of exams. We need to encourage curiosity, not slavish regurgitation. We need to teach the skills and provide the environment for students to research rather than lecturing to them all the time.
We need to help children understand their place in the broader context of the world, not just in their small corner of it. That helps to promote both empathy and co-operation in problem-solving.
Acceptance of diversity brings a security that no amount of Bible-quoting or police raids can ever provide. The Respectful Relationships program was a great tool available to teachers and did not deserve the hysterical reaction it has received.
Teachers need the flexibility and resources to cater to the individual student’s needs. People learn in different ways. They express themselves in different ways. They have different emotional responses. They have different pressures and help outside of school.
This doesn’t mean one-on-one tutoring but moreso individual programming and support with the emphasis on personal improvement rather than comparison with peers.
We hear a lot about the academic quality of those accepted into teacher-training but they never mention the psychological suitability of candidates or graduates. That is perhaps even more important than test results. A student should not be limited by their teacher’s knowledge so much as enthused and supported by them to learn.
Richardson’s speech reinforced my view of this government.
They are stuck in the deep ideological rut of an oft-driven road – lower taxes, less regulation, smaller government, jobs and growth, national security. Trouble is, they have dug in so deep that they can no longer see the signposts of where we are going.
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