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Philip Mead talks to Interpretations - the Journal by the English Teachers Association of Western Australia (ETAWA)

The latest issue, Vol 43, of Interpretations features a detailed interview with Philip Mead by Jo Jones, Interpretations editor , about his new role as Chair of Australian Literature. Philip Mead is a highly regarded and widely published poet and an enthusiastic supporter of English teachers, in their varied roles and locations.

In this interview Philip provides insight into recent developments in teaching and, even more importantly, to the day-to-day needs of teachers as they cope with increased expectations placed on them by administrative and bureaucratic processes, as well as the ever-present needs of students and parents.

One of Philip’s main aims as Chair of Australian Literature is to foster contact between the tertiary and secondary sectors – get important conversations happening – and build the relationship into something that is enriching and mutually supportive.

For the full text of the interview, please visit Interpretations https://www.etawa.org.au/resources or the ETAWA https://www.etawa.org.au/index.php

Extract from the interview:

Jo Jones: 'I think many WA teachers would applaud your emphasis on bringing the secondary and tertiary teaching communities closer together, although there is another existing view that these two professions are very different and exist almost at opposite ends of the teaching world – teachers deal with the realities of teaching teenagers, while ‘academics’ deal with very different teaching and professional realities. How can the two worlds be brought together'?

Philip Mead: 'The dialogue between the tertiary and the secondary sectors is vital. I’ve been a secondary school teacher myself, a long time ago now, and I have been in and out of the teaching profession at various levels my entire career. I see it as very important to have that kind of connection. Sometimes, in some states, there are entrenched historical reasons for the lack of dialogue between tertiary and secondary sectors. But, it looks like there are good possibilities here in WA in all sorts of ways'.

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Contact: Megan O'Connor