IT'S human nature that when difficult things happen to us, we often seek others to blame. And when things go bad with the ones we love, we're even more likely to look for others to take responsibility.
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Nowhere else has the blame culture been more prevalent than in education.
Teachers, for the last several years, we have been led to believe, are the sole reason and cause for the nation's attainment woes.
Particularly when it comes to the country's historic downward trend in NAPLAN testing results.
However, this year's NAPLAN results appear to have put pause on the teacher blame game for now.
Many touted the move to online and digital learning would spell catastrophe for student attainment, but in fact, it shows quite the opposite.
Some have in fact flourished. And instead, many are praising teachers, parents and kids for their resilience and adaptability during these challenging times. And quite rightly so.
But as an educator, I can't help but reflect on the fact that for the longest time, the finger was pointed squarely at teachers for apparently not doing enough to address.
Take parents, for example. No parent wants to admit their child is failing in class, or that their "golden" boy or girl is disruptive or a nuisance.
Partly because they want their child to do well.
But equally because some believe that their children's behaviour reflects badly on their ability as a parent.
As such, teachers have typically ended up in the firing line when a student hasn't performed well in a test.
Before the pandemic, most parents didn't comprehend or have an appreciation for just how hard and complicated being an educator is.
However, ask any parent supervising their child in these recent lockdowns and they will attest that helping their child with their studies is no mean feat.
Teaching is a learned skill and expertise that takes hours of study and practice to master.
Teaching someone to read and write, for example, is bloody difficult. It's important to consider this shared perspective throughout school terms as well as the testing season.
Then we have government. Many MPs and policymakers continue to deflect blame away from the institutional issues that are negatively affecting learning outcomes such as equity of access, and load it on teachers.
This earns them favour with the voting public, many of whom are parents, and perpetuates the blame culture.
Rather than helping teachers with soaring workloads and the mounting administrative pressures, institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution. It's also important to consider the media's role in perpetuating the blame cycle.
According to new research reported by The Conservation, eight out of 10 teachers think education news is demoralising and negative, and reveals that many passionate and highly qualified teachers are leaving the profession as a result.
For many teachers, news coverage of education seems to be unrelentingly negative.
And despite the overall gains in NAPLAN results this year, some headlines still focus on the areas that have dipped, rather than those that have improved.
While it's certainly not the role of the media to give teachers a free pass, it does need to recognise the power and responsibility it has to offer a more balanced view of education.
The prevailing view, in both the media and in other groups, is that teachers matter most when it comes to academic achievement. I would in fact argue that they are vital.
And for many of us, they have had a profound impact on our lives, for better or worse.
But research suggests that individual differences in how students develop are equally based on environmental influences outside the class as well as what happens within the school walls.
The pandemic has shown us that even different mediums of learning, such as remote and online, can impact students differently.
Some have flourished with this novel approach. Others have struggled.
But placing the lionshare of the responsibility onto the shoulders of the teachers, as has traditionally been the case, fails to recognise the inherent complexity of education and dilutes the debate.
In order to address the educational challenges of this country, we need to take a more holistic view.
Put simply, there is no silver bullet or catch all solution.
The responsibility doesn't lie with just one group in the equation.
We need to consider all the factors and recognise the role we all play in the professional and social development of our kids: teachers, parents, government and media included.
Some solutions do already exist. Technology is increasingly being explored as a vehicle to help meet the evolving learning and teaching preferences of an increasingly digitally-savvy society.
Tools such as WriQ, helps reduce the administrative burden faced by many teachers and provides real-time feedback to students to encourage continuous improvement, rather than squarely focus on a summative test like NAPLAN, which is a blunt instrument that relies on a students performance at a specific moment in time.
Ultimately, the blame game goes far beyond harming teachers. It actually jeopardises the futures of our younger generations.
As an educator, a dad, someone who has worked in education policy and now in education technology, I understand we all want the best for our kids.
But berating and blaming our teachers will only ever do us more harm than good.
Greg O'Connor is head of eEducation at Texthelp, Asia Pacific.
