After what has been a challenging few months, the IEU wants to personally thank every member for their extraordinary contribution and dedication to maintaining quality education throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
The challenges members have faced have been unprecedented but have been met with determination and a collective resolve to provide our students with the best learning outcomes possible.
Throughout this time, the IEU and its branches have continued to advocate for members – whether in relation to protecting vulnerable workers, ensuring schools meet critical health and safety provisions or representing members in the midst of unjustified stand downs by their employers.
Collectively we have faced a great challenge and it is our solidarity that will continue to take us forward as we tackle the ongoing issues COVID-19 will present for our school communities.
As we move back into a more “normal” way of working, we present to you a monumental edition of Independent Education that focuses on what makes our union strong – you.
We start with the launch of ‘inFocus’ Neselinda Meta – a section dedicated to highlighting outstanding members of our education and union communities. Neselinda Meta has been strongly tied to the IEU for many years as she’s progressed through union leadership positions, now the President of the Council of Pacific Unions (COPE).
We feature contributions from IEU members and officers in ‘Learning Curve’ and ‘Maslow before Bloom’ .
We put a spotlight on the achievements of IEU members in ‘Lab technicians enliven science’, ‘Strong Women: Our professional and industrial history’ and ‘Carmen makes outstanding contribution as teacher and leader’ .
‘An environment of solidarity’ gives a comprehensive account of the union movement, climate change and environmental degradation, as we mourn the passing of staunch union leader and environmental activist Jack Mundey.
I also commend the work of our IE journalists who have explored professional issues with industry experts in 'The tech effect' , 'Where have the male teachers gone' , 'Mobile phone ban in schools' and 'An environment of solidarity'
Terry Burke
iemagazine@ieu.asn.au