Teacher opens window to life beyond classroom in Mark Knight cartoon

It has been a challenging three years for school students, teachers and the education system since that little virus appeared on the scene.

Students and their teachers have had to adapt to a constantly changing world brought about by Covid.

The pivot* to homeschooling, or to use its more bleak descriptor, “remote learning”, was the first. Then there were periods of returning to school wearing face masks. Then we saw some independent schools closing due to tough economic times, and now the final hurdle is a shortage of teachers.

Schools cannot get enough qualified teachers. There are classes in high schools without teachers to run them. How is this happening?

There is a high absentee* rate due to teaching staff contracting colds and flu as well as Covid. Due to lockdowns and working from home, our immune systems are not what they used to be, so colds and flu are hitting workforces hard.

We are also yet to get our overseas workforce back after the coronavirus shut our international borders.

The other thing is that a lot of teachers are thinking twice about staying in their profession. Many say they work long hours, way beyond class hours, and are underpaid and overworked. They are burnt out. So they are getting out of teaching.

That mightn’t be so bad if new teaching recruits were coming through to fill the gap. But to make matters worse, statistics show that people are deciding not to complete their teaching degrees at university and are looking to other professions. That’s not good.

Teachers are a fundamentally important part of our society’s structure, educating our young and making them the leaders of tomorrow. Knowledge is power and without a good education system we are weakened as a nation.

In many countries teaching is a highly respected profession. Teachers are seen as mentors*. I used to look on many of mine this way when I was at school.

I thought I would draw a cartoon to draw attention to the topic of teachers leaving the education system and shortages of teaching staff.

Since Covid I have drawn cartoons on homeschooling, and how parents have discovered just how difficult it can be assisting their own child with their education. Parents, exhausted from home schooling, gained a new respect for teachers, and when the decision to return to classrooms was made, the collective cheer from parents was audible.

I thought my cartoon should look at why teachers are leaving the system. We have heard all the health department guidelines on living with Covid and one of the suggestions for schools and the return to classrooms is the improvement of ventilation*. Classrooms should have the windows open to allow fresh air in.

Winter in Victoria makes that a very challenging prospect indeed. But I had another thought on the problems caused by open windows in the classroom: it made it easier for teachers to escape!

That idea seemed flippant* at first, but when I looked at how many teachers were deciding to just walk away, I thought it might be a humorous way to draw attention to the issue and start a discussion.

So the cartoon shows a typical secondary school classroom with students at their desk with laptops open. There are notes on the whiteboard, and yes the windows are open for ventilation.

And quite calmly the teacher is taking advantage of the open window to use it as an exit from the education system. We see her astride* the window sill on her way out and the students in the lesson are incredulous* about what is happening.

Let’s hope our political leaders feel the same way and do something to raise the importance and welfare of our teachers and the education system in this country.

GLOSSARY

• pivot: turn
• absentee: someone who is not at work or at the place where they are supposed to be
• mentors: experienced and trusted advisers
• ventilation: the movement of fresh air into a building or room
• flippant: not serious or respectful
• astride: with a leg on each side of something
• incredulous: unwilling or unable to believe something

EXTRA READING

Back to the future for masked up school kids

Even premiers must follow the rules

QUICK QUIZ

1. What does Mark Knight say his behind the high absentee rate?
2. Why are teachers burnt out?
3. What are the two reasons Mark drew the open window?
4. How do the students react to the teacher escaping through the window?
5. What does Mark want our political leaders to do?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. What happens next?
Imagine this cartoon is part of a story that is made up of three cartoons. The three cartoons tell a complete story, and Mark’s cartoon is the start of the story. Think about what the story could be and draw the next two cartoons that tell the story.

Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Visual Arts, Visual Communication Design, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
Being able to draw is only one of the skills needed to be a great cartoonist. Write a list of all of the other skills that you think cartoonists like Mark need to do their job.

Next to each skill, write a sentence that explains why that skill is important or helps them to do a great job.

Time: allow at least 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and Social Capability, Media Arts, Visual Communication Design

VCOP ACTIVITY
Stretch your sentence
Find a “who” in the cartoon. Write them down.

Add three adjectives to describe them better.

Now add a verb to your list. What are they doing?

Add an adverb about how they are doing the action.

Using all the words listed, create one descriptive sentence.