The Christians in Teaching Project

Transcription

1 ANGLICAN EDUCATION COMMISSION The Christians in Teaching Project recruiting Christians into teaching 2012 WWW. A E C. E D U. AU

2 Anglican Education Commission PO Box A287 Sydney South

3 The supply of teachers who are both academically competent and active Christians is essential for the maintenance of Anglican schools and also important for the health of Government schools. We have been blessed by God with thousands of such teachers over the past century. But as the baby-boomers retire from the profession, the need for well qualified Christian teachers is becoming more urgent by the month. It is estimated that up to 4,000 replacements will be needed in Anglican, other Christian and Government schools over the next four years. Thankfully, in 2004 the Diocese created the Christians in Teaching Project which is now part of the Anglican Education Commission. Since 2005 its Director, Ian Keast, has addressed thousands of young people in schools, universities, camps and conventions about the strategic value of teaching. About 500 of these have taken up positions in schools. Despite the magnitude of the challenge, no other Christian organisation, diocese or denomination in Australia has taken up this cause. The Commission is doing all it can with its limited resources. The opportunity to reach more potential teachers, especially highly trained career changers, is enormous. Please pray for us and if you can help financially, please contact us. Bishop Glenn Davies Chairman Anglican Education Commission Diocese of Sydney 3

4 THE DIRECTOR, IAN KEAST Ian Keast has been Director of the Christians in Teaching Project since its inception in July He is a graduate in Arts and Education from Sydney University and has a Diploma in Biblical Studies from Moore Theological College. Prior to commencing the Christians in Teaching Project, he taught for 32 years in Tertiary and Secondary Education. His subject field was English and he was Head of English in three schools, including 15 years at Barker College, Hornsby. As Director of the Christians in Teaching Project, he visits Anglican and other schools and works with the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (AFES) groups in the Sydney-area universities. His frequent contact with students has earned him the title of the teacher man. He is also in contact with those who are considering a career-change to teaching. Ian is a published poet and often combines his school visits for the Christians in Teaching Project with helping English Departments think through Christian approaches to teaching English. He also enjoys opportunities as a guest teacher in literature and writing. He is married to Ann, a teacher-librarian, and they have four adult children and six grandchildren. Who will teach our grandchildren? This question personalises the vital need to have well qualified, Christian teachers in our schools. The Teacher Man 4

5 : The Beginnings of a Project A group of fourteen concerned educators met for two years to wrestle with ways in which the supply of Christian teachers could be increased in Sydney. After many meetings and prayer they concluded that the Diocese should establish a Christians in Teaching Project and that its aims should be: to promote teaching as a worthy and valuable profession, and to encourage Christians to become teachers as teaching provides unique opportunities to make an impact on people s lives, especially to pass on the good news about the Lordship of Christ and to nurture the God-given gifts, humanness and creativity of students. The July 2004 edition of Southern Cross reported: Anglican educators want more Christians to become teachers and have appointed a specialist recruiter to motivate them. The appointment of Ian Keast as the inaugural Director of the Christians in Teaching Project in July 2004 marked the beginning of a pioneering venture by the Diocese of Sydney. THE STRATEGY The Project was developed around the notion that there were three main pathways into teaching: Pathway A School* University * (teaching degree) Teaching Pathway B School * University * (other degree, then a change to a teaching degree) Teaching Pathway C School * University */TAFE > work * career-change * teaching qualifications/training Teaching *where the Christians in Teaching Project would operate The Project was designed to interact with students in schools, students in universities and those seeking a career change, possibly into teaching. The connection points are represented above by asterisks. 5

6 LINKED TO EXISTING NETWORKS The other feature of the strategy was to link the Project with existing networks and organisations who shared the same outlook in respect to ministry. These groups are listed below: Heads of Schools Chaplains Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (AFES) Crusaders (HSC Study Conferences, Leadership Conferences) Scripture Union/ISCF Youthworks (Year 13, HSC Study Conferences, Leadership Conferences) Katoomba Christian Convention (Men s Convention, Next Gen) Other Regional Men s Conventions and Conferences Ministry Training Strategy (MTS) Theological Colleges Moore, SMBC, Youthworks College, Wesley Institute Clergy, youth workers, youth group leaders A teacher affects eternity: he or she can never tell where the influence stops. Henry Brooks Adams ( ) 6

7 Building the Project: BUILDING: THE CHRISTIANS IN TEACHING PROJECT Seed-Planting in Schools In our schools, a program of visits was introduced to highlight the challenge of teaching. The focus is on senior students: in Chapel; Year assemblies; Crusader (CRU) groups; exhibiting at Careers events; speaking to selected interest groups; to Christian Studies classes; at Senior Study Camps and so on. The Project serves as an outside voice, drawing the attention of students to the important role (often overlooked and often taken for granted!) that teachers have each day in their contact with them. An important part of contact with Year 12 students is by attending the HSC Study Conferences, organised by both Crusaders and Youthworks, in the Autumn, Winter and Spring vacations. Each year over a thousand Year 12 students and hundreds of the leaders (mainly university students) hear about the significance of Christians in teaching. An encouraging comment from a student at a Conference last year, When you started talking about teaching, I thought, No, I m thinking of doing something else. But when you mentioned the role of teachers in shaping a new generation, then I started to think again about what I might do. Each year, the Christians in Teaching Project, has contact with Year 12 students from over 130 Anglican, other Christian and Government High Schools in the Sydney area. Flowering in the Universities If contact in schools is often seed-planting, then the flowering occurs at university. Courses are often changed and distance from school helps to put the school years and especially the influence of teachers in perspective. Tertiary students are open to the challenge of teaching: the Christians in Teaching Project contact is strategic. A second year student at Macquarie University commented, You came and spoke at our CRU group in Year 12. I was more interested in studying commerce at that stage. But that course did not interest me much as I really wanted to work with people, so I changed to Primary Education. Contact with Christian students has been through the AFES groups. This has involved holding seminars on teaching as part of campus activities; presenting at the various Mid Year Conferences and attendance as an exhibitor at the National Training Event ( NTE ) held in Canberra in early December each year. Over 1,300 students gather at the NTE and this is a strategic place to be. 7

8 The University of Sydney is the largest of the teacher training institutions in New South Wales. The AEC has a partnership with the Faculty of Education and Social Work in the University. Part of this partnership involves the Christians in Teaching Project presenting Teaching in Anglican Schools, at the recruiting days for the Final-Year Education students. All Anglican schools benefit from this exposure. The Project is able to reinforce this, by working with the AFES group at the University, the Evangelical Union, through its Annual Conference, other campus-based activities and the ongoing work to assist in the transition of Education students to teaching. The Career Changers The third area of the Christians in Teaching Project defined in 2004 has been the contact with those seeking a career-change. This is a valuable and increasing part of recruitment and career-changers bring maturity, work and life experience to teaching. In this area, for example, the Project has organised Conversations on Teaching at different churches throughout Sydney, has been visible as an exhibitor and on the platform at the Katoomba Men s Convention, the Wollongong Men s Conference, Western Region Men s Conference, and associated with a series of Information Days about teaching held with the Wesley Institute with accompanying media publicity. Those seeking a career-change are often referred to the Project by a Parish minister: this year to date there have been advice sessions to 14 enquiries. A comment from a recent enquirer, It was very helpful to talk over the idea of a careerchange and especially what this would involve in re-training. This was time well-spent. Thank you. THE CHRISTIANS IN TEACHING PROJECT: OVERVIEW (YTD) speaking engagements (YTD) total audience 8

9 (YTD) contact with those in teacher training (YTD) new recruits to teaching BY GOD S GRACIOUS PROVISION Since its inception, Ian Keast has had the opportunity to speak formally on over 900 occasions in schools, universities, conventions, conferences, study camps, careers events and churches. The total audience has been approximately 92,000. He has made personal contact with some 1,100 university students in teacher training. Almost 500 new recruits to teaching credit the Christians in Teaching Project as encouraging contributed in a significant way to their decision. 9

10 The Next Five Years: As the Project has gained momentum, more and more Anglican and Christian schools are inviting Ian to speak at school assemblies, to gatherings of senior students, in chapels and at Crusader Group meetings. Schools are asking for more than one visit per year. Many schools have voluntarily committed themselves to having at least 10% of their graduating Christian students taking up teaching when they leave school. Opportunities to speak with students in the major Universities keep increasing. A particular opportunity to work closely with the AFES at Sydney University is emerging for 2012 which will have spin-offs for all the other campuses in Sydney. Meetings with career changers are becoming a valuable and fertile soil in which to sow seeds with mature-aged entrants to teaching. We desperately need to develop several professional quality DVDs as well as material for YouTube. This will enable us to reach many more audiences including churches. There are no short cuts in this business. There are optimum times in which to interact with each cohort. The need for an additional recruiter from 2013 and in due course for a successor to Ian will be critical in 2013 and beyond. The next five years are crucial. Employers are already expressing concern about a diminished supply line of teachers to staff schools. The challenge to put before the Christian community the strategic place of teaching is acute. There are several ways in which you, your school or your church, can assist us 1. You can pray with and for us [send us your address and we can keep you informed]. 2. You can personally encourage students and others who you know to consider teaching and suggest they make contact with Ian Keast (ian.keast@tpg.com.au). 3. You can donate to the Christians in Teaching Project. Our goal for 2012 is to raise $60,000 to enable us to address the challenges described on this page. If you would like to support this work with a donation, please contact the AEC office for assistance or info@aec.edu.au. 10

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