The administrators sit around in their buildings, judging and approving, more often declining access to their institutions. Students study for years, obtaining excellent grades in deep content areas, rejected for a spelling error. The administrators write the letter of rejection. An email, containing three spelling errors and missing punctuation, arrives in the student's inbox.
Ding!
"We ragret to inform you that your aplication for teaching approval has been rejected. You may reapply in six months, aproval will be granted following successful completion of the LLNT..."
I may be exaggerating. But you can see what I am saying. You understand my point.
People constantly blather on about the importance of listening. Only, they don't listen. They continue to talk, as though what they are saying is essential, as though they would be doing society a disservice if they didn't share their ideas, knowledge and thoughts.
"Oh, yeah! Nah! Nancy did that. She really needed to think more. It was a waste. She's so much better than that. Do you think she'll be coming out this weekend?" These girls had been talking for about three hours. Their conversation revolved around consuming alcohol, picking up men in clubs and their 'stupid' bosses. But, they note that Nancy needed to think more. It is questionable. Perhaps it is not the quantity of thought, but rather the quality of thought, or the focus of thought that matters. Perhaps we can think less and be more effective if we focus our thought on a few critical concepts, as opposed to thinking about whether a particular dress is too revealing or if gel nails are 'better' than acrylic nails.
The administrators rejected my application for employment. I was not qualified, they said. I looked around at the employed staff, some of whom I knew. I knew that they had a degree in their area of employment. I also knew that they did the absolute bare minimum in terms of ongoing professional development. They were not excellent at what they did. There was no love of their role and they gave poor service to those they addressed each day in the course of their employment.
I looked down at the folder in my hands. The content had been carefully selected from a much larger range of evidence, tailored to this specific application. I had been keen to apply. I wanted to find a place that I could be heard, valued, and contribute in a meaningful manner.
The administrator on the panel had looked at the first document. BSB80615. They wanted TAE80210. The administrator dismissed my first qualification and moved on, recording a cross on her checklist. She was matching numbers, unaware that BSB80615 was the updated, current qualification in that area. The checklist did not request experiential evidence and therefore did not consider actual employment in areas as a qualification. There was no scope to recognise alternative employment in similar roles or systems.
"Thank you for coming in today. Please refer to the qualifications checklist when preparing for future opportunities. As you can see, you need an approved qualification in the area you are applying for to be considered for the position."
I looked at her and was about to thank her for her time when she pushed on with her monologue.
"Hopefully we will see you again for future application consideration. Thank you for stopping by." She turned on her heel and strode back to the interview room.
I was still standing there when I heard her comment derisively to the other panellists that she thought it was ridiculous that agencies send mute candidates to apply for these roles. I am not mute. They had spoken at me. They had judged me. They had dismissed me. But, they had also neglected to ask me a single interview question. I had waited and listened and was prepared to respond when my turn came. However, it didn't. There had been no opportunity to contribute to the conversation between the three panellists. They had welcomed me, rushing on to introduce each other and move into their process. I had responded with body language and with facial expressions. There was no room for anything more from me in their process.
