Written by Gabbie Stroud, author of the national bestseller Teacher, Dear Parents is a passionate call to arms for all parents to understand their role as their children's lifelong teachers, showing how they can help their kids' educators and schools achieve the best outcomes for the next generation. So many Australian parents are buying the government line about standardised testing of students through programs like NAPLAN and My School, which make them think they are getting results because of rankings and comparisons. But they don't seem to realise that these new forms of assessment are actually negatively affecting our kids' ability to gain the crucial life skills and appreciation for learning that have been, and should be, the main aim of teaching. In Dear Parents, a funny, heartfelt and impassioned series of letters to the mothers, fathers and caregivers of Australia, Gabbie Stroud makes a plea to all parents to understand the fundamental changes to the way their children are being taught, and the results of this process on the development of future generations. She wants parents to recognise their responsibility as their children's primary educators and to appreciate the lifelong benefits that committed and dedicated school teachers can bring to their kids. 'A moving and inspiring journey through teaching and learning and all they can be. If you have a young person in your life, or know somebody who does, please read this book.' - Morris Gleitzman, Australian Children's Laureate 'Gabbie Stroud's Dear Parents is a crucial bridge between two important pillars in education - parents and teachers - but most importantly, it holds at its passionate heart the best interests of children. If you want to understand the way your children are being educated in these challenging times, and whether the system is fit for purpose, you must read this funny, informative, and eye-opening book.' - Lucy Clark, author of the critically acclaimed Beautiful Failures
A powerful and moving debut novel about a school community in crisis from the bestselling author of Teacher. 'Gabbie Stroud is a teacher whose classroom has expanded to embrace an entire nation. First in non fiction and now in moving, powerful fiction, Stroud educates us all about the tender, excruciating burden on the hearts of teachers today.' - Annabel Crabb 'Lionel Merrick stumbled into my heart like a kid late for class, then the whole book swept in after him ... gut-wrenching and important.' - Trent Dalton, bestselling author of Boy Swallows Universe The staff of St Margaret's Primary School are hanging by a thread. There's serious litigation pending, the school is due for registration, and a powerful parent named Janet Bellevue has a lot to say about everything. As teachers they're trying to remain professional, as people they're unravelling fast. There's Tyson, first year out of uni and nervous as hell, Derek the Assistant Principal who's dropped the ball on administration, Bev from the office who's confronting a serious diagnosis, and Sally-Ann who's desperate for a child of her own. Thank goodness for kids like Lionel Merrick. Lionel is the student who steals your heart and makes the whole teaching gig worthwhile: he's cheerful, likeable, helpful - and devoted to his little sister Lacey. But Lionel has a secret of his own. As his future slides from vulnerable to dangerous, will someone from St Margaret's realise before it's too late? As secrets threaten to be exposed and working demands increase, each staff member struggles to recall the things that matter most. A moving and compelling novel about teachers and their students by the acclaimed author of the bestselling books Teacher and Dear Parents. 'A real page-turner and heartbreaker, it will leave you aching with appreciation for the work good teachers do.' - Alice Pung, author of One Hundred Days and Laurinda 'Gabbie Stroud has written a powerful novel that captures the raw, the real, the heart wrenching and the absolute beauty of teaching in a community ... I couldn't put it down. Stroud captures the raw and real truth of the life changing challenges of teaching in today's test focused, document driven, schooling system.' - Maggie Dent, author, educator and parenting & resilience specialist 'In this emotionally charged debut, Gabbie Stroud gives us characters we care about, instantly drawing us into the school community of a tough farming town. We feel the pain of these characters as they each face their own challenges and they're unable to focus on what matters most. This heart-wrenching story made me laugh and it made me cry. Poignant and compelling. A riveting, thought-provoking debut.' - Petronella McGovern, author of Six Minutes and The Liars 'A bittersweet love song to those who educate and care for our children, The Things That Matter Most is a profoundly moving novel. Brimming with love and heartache and anger and hope, this is a raw and passionate work, its characters so vividly and tenderly drawn, I keep wondering how they are and hoping that life is good to them.' - Suzanne Leal, author of The Teacher's Secret 'A rollicking ride through the gamut of emotions - laughter, sorrow, rage, outrage, joy. The Things that Matter Most lifts the lid on social injustice and the unreasonable demands we make of teachers while we abdicate responsibility ourselves.' - Joanna Jenkins, author of How to Kill a Client 'An unflinching and deeply moving account of the complex tapestry of human lives woven into and around a school community.' - Brendan James Murray, author of The School
A powerful and moving memoir about how the current system is letting down children and parents, and breaking dedicated teachers. Devastating, heart-breaking, enraging. 'Gabbie's story needs to be shouted from the rooftops. She very eloquently shows us why and how education needs to change... Teacher made me laugh and cry. I loved it!' - Kathy Margolis, former teacher and activist. Watching children learn is a beautiful and extraordinary experience. Their bodies transform, reflecting inner changes. Teeth fall out. Knees scab. Freckles multiply. Throughout the year they grow in endless ways and I can almost see their self-esteem rising, their confidence soaring, their small bodies now empowered. Given wings. They fall in love with learning. It is a kind of magic, a kind of loving, a kind of art. It is teaching. Just teaching. Just what I do. What I did. Past tense. In 2014, Gabrielle Stroud was a very dedicated teacher with over a decade of experience. Months later, she resigned in frustration and despair when she realised that the Naplan-test education model was stopping her from doing the very thing she was best at: teaching individual children according to their needs and talents. Her ground-breaking essay 'Teaching Australia' in the Feb 2016 Griffith Review outlined her experiences and provoked a huge response from former and current teachers around the world. That essay lifted the lid on a scandal that is yet to properly break - that our education system is unfair to our children and destroying their teachers. In a powerful memoir inspired by her original essay, Gabrielle tells the full story: how she came to teaching, what makes a great teacher, what our kids need from their teachers, and what it was that finally broke her. A brilliant and heart-breaking memoir that cuts to the heart of a vital matter of national importance.
Written by Gabbie Stroud, author of the national bestseller Teacher, Dear Parents is a passionate call to arms for all parents to understand their role as their children's lifelong teachers, showing how they can help their kids' educators and schools achieve the best outcomes for the next generation. So many Australian parents are buying the government line about standardised testing of students through programs like NAPLAN and My School, which make them think they are getting results because of rankings and comparisons. But they don't seem to realise that these new forms of assessment are actually negatively affecting our kids' ability to gain the crucial life skills and appreciation for learning that have been, and should be, the main aim of teaching. In Dear Parents, a funny, heartfelt and impassioned series of letters to the mothers, fathers and caregivers of Australia, Gabbie Stroud makes a plea to all parents to understand the fundamental changes to the way their children are being taught, and the results of this process on the development of future generations. She wants parents to recognise their responsibility as their children's primary educators and to appreciate the lifelong benefits that committed and dedicated school teachers can bring to their kids. 'A moving and inspiring journey through teaching and learning and all they can be. If you have a young person in your life, or know somebody who does, please read this book.' - Morris Gleitzman, Australian Children's Laureate 'Gabbie Stroud's Dear Parents is a crucial bridge between two important pillars in education - parents and teachers - but most importantly, it holds at its passionate heart the best interests of children. If you want to understand the way your children are being educated in these challenging times, and whether the system is fit for purpose, you must read this funny, informative, and eye-opening book.' - Lucy Clark, author of the critically acclaimed Beautiful Failures
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