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.

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.

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?

While their working demands increase and secrets threaten to be exposed, each staff member struggles to recall the things that matter most.

TEACHER

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.

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.

DEAR PARENTS

Letters from the Teacher-your children, their education, and how you can help

In this funny, heartfelt and passionate call to arms, Gabbie Stroud makes a plea to all parents to understand their roles as their children’s lifelong teachers and show how they can best help their kids’ teachers and schools achieve the best results for the next generation of leaders.

So many parents are buying the government line about standardised testing of students and programs like NAPLAN and MySchool, which somehow satisfy the ‘consumer’ in many people as they think they are getting results because of ranking and comparisons. But what these parents don’t seem to realise is what those new ways of assessing students’ skills are actually doing to their kids’ ability to learn the crucial life skills and appreciation for learning that has thus far been the primary aim of teaching.