I’m the principal of a local high school and who is trying so hard to get some extra funding. As times have evolved, our school has stayed the same. We’re still using blackboards. I honestly think we’re the only school in this country that is still using blackboards. Most are on whiteboards, some even rely mainly on projectors. The desks are old, the chairs are all cracked, and the paint is peeling off the walls. I’d just love to bring in a commercial painter. Near Melbourne, the schools seem to get all the funding but as soon as you’re a smaller school in more of a remote area, the handouts are nowhere to be seen.
My other teacher friends all teach in schools where students get laptops. In this school, a student is lucky to share a desktop for an hour with three other students. It’s just a shame. The kids seem to not mind or even realise what they’re missing out on. To some these aesthetic problems seem like no issue but to me it’s a huge part of it. Our school doesn’t look respectable or modern. It looks like a prison facility for children. I firmly believe that you are a product of your environment. If your school is well-presented and professional, the teachers will behave in that manner, and the children will value their education more. Sadly, there are a few teachers here that just don’t care whether or not the kids receive a proper education. Then when the kids see their teachers not caring and the facilities looking unkempt, it shows them that no one cares. To a teenager this just screams ‘well if no one cares, why should I care’.
My other concern is that these walls need plaster restoration. Surely something like that is considered a safety precaution? What if one day a student was sitting and wall fragments suddenly collapsed? I’ve already seen random bits crumble off the wall. I’m going to put in another request for funding and say it’s a safety matter. Hope then someone will listen.