Familiarity with Gabbie's experiences will strike a chord in the hearts of educators across Australia. Expect to reminisce about your childhood games of playing school, recall the influential teachers who inspired you to be the same and remember the feeling of being ill-prepared when graduating from teacher training.
Unfortunately, you will also understand the burden of trying to manage high-level student behaviours while keeping everyone else in your charge safe. You will relate to the anguish of knowing a child is in dire family circumstances, the helplessness of being able to do so little, and the frustration with authorities who should be able to do so much. Familiar too will be the feeling of being overwhelmed by the mental, emotional and workload demands of the job.
This isn't one woman's story. Tragically, this is replicated in classrooms and the lives of teachers across our country.
Mandatory reading for every educator, teacher-in-training and the HR teams who support them.
Worthy of a five-star rating (gold in colour, lick-and-stick from the tin on the teacher's desk) for shining a light on the current state of education in Australia.
'Teacher - One woman's struggle to keep the heart in teaching' by Gabbie Stroud
* Order as paperback from Amazon (now in Australia).
* Order as paperback from Booktopia.
Being all too aware of the mental health status of many teachers, it is essential to remind fellow educators if 'Teacher' raises issues for you, please speak to a counsellor through your Employee Assistance Program, call Lifeline or see your doctor.