Guidance officers… support, guide, inspire
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 128 No 8, 2 November 2023, page no. 17
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed individuals can change the world. In fact, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead.
2023 marks the 75th anniversary of guidance in Queensland. Throughout the year, a range of activities has been organised and delivered across the state. Two of the flagship events were 2023 Guidance Week (which is actually a fortnight) held in April and May, and the Australian Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools (APACS) National Conference, held in Brisbane in early September.
The advent of AI presents the opportunity for an article like this to potentially write itself. However, using a platform like ChatGPT cannot hope to capture those uniquely personal experiences which define the work of guidance, some of which for me have included the following.
- The young student diagnosed with Leukaemia during prep, who passed away the following year. His family chose to bury him wearing his school uniform to acknowledge the compassion and support provided by his school.
- Initial support given to staff at a special school while waiting for an ambulance to arrive after they resuscitated a student experiencing a significant medical episode during class, and then attending the student’s funeral with his teachers the following week after he passed away in hospital.
- Speaking with a high school deputy before the days of OneSchool to obtain feedback to complete a review for SCAN. At the end of the call, when asked if there was anything else to add, the deputy noted that every year the school arranged for a birthday cake for the student because he would not receive one from home.
- Receiving “that” phone call from a principal one Christmas holiday break with news that no SGO wants to hear. In the early hours of Boxing Day, a house fire claimed the lives of four family members and left a surviving parent with critical burns. Three students would not be returning to their primary school in late January. The local community looked to the school to be the focal point for support. Occurring in the background was the guidance response, quietly providing support for individuals, and then stepping up when required for those significant moments such as the first day of school, the whole school memorial service, and the funerals of the students.
In terms of industrial wins for guidance secured through the support of the QTU, two of the most significant in the past two decades have without a doubt been the “conversion” of the guidance officer position to a classified role, from what was effectively a “seconded teacher” arrangement (the official wording in the role description at the time being “Band 5 for salary purposes only”) to an officially recognised promotional position during 2008, and after 14 plus years of persistent campaigning, on 28 June 2022 the Senior Guidance Officer role was formally (and finally) transitioned from the Public Service Award into the Teachers’ Award – State.
The guidance role is not the right ‘fit’ for many, but for others it represents not only a fulfilling professional career but also a calling through which our students’ lives are shaped and futures inspired. And for this we should be grateful.