FIFTY years after it was first raised at the 1974 Isolated Children's Parents Association conference, a motion advocating for formal recognition of remote education tutors was moved at the 53rd state conference in Townsville last week.
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The conference approved a request to the Department of Education for $40,000 to be paid in $10,000 instalment per family
Impassioned conference members shared stories about working as full-time home educators and said that while governesses received pay for educating their children, they received no remuneration, despite their role as government mandated remote education tutors.
Far North Queensland advocate Melissa Cowe completed 17 years of home education three years ago, where she had taught her four children through Cairns School of Distance Education.
"I was able to go back out into the community and help my farm financially. In those three years, I've made a s*** load of money, which I didn't do in the 17 years previously teaching the kids," she said.
"It has helped my farm substantially. Through the 17 years of helping the kids, I wasn't able to help my husband on the farm. That came at a big cost to us. He didn't do well mentally.
"We've since lost him due to his mental stability...another farmer [taking their own life].
"I've got three kids living at home helping me on the farm now. We're doing okay financially now because we can all work together because nobody has to be in the school room for eight hours a day."
ICPA vice president and financial assistance portfolio leader Kate Bradshaw said as part of the Financial Assistance Report there was an advocacy for a home tutor allowance from the 1974 motion.
A $150 allowance was requested from the Department of Education to be paid as reimbursement for approved items for mothers where home education assistance or a governess could not be employed.
ICPA Queensland is seeking an annual $40,000 subsidy (calculated by using the current Queensland teacher-aide wage) to contribute to the cost of geographically-isolated student supervision.
The election commitment highlighted that State Distance Education Schools currently stipulate that a supervisor is required to support students in the delivery of distance education, as per enrolment conditions.
It is also a legal requirement for children under 12 to be supervised and rural families must front the cost of employing a supervisor or become one themselves.
"Sound familiar? (The remote education tutor remuneration motion was brought to the ICPA) 50 years ago and here we are today. We're asking for a payment to assist rural families in providing a supervisor to educate their children," Ms Bradshaw said.
"Data shows mothers [are] doing the bulk of the teaching...currently 80 per cent of supervisors are mothers. It's a large cohort of women not receiving any remuneration and families with large out-of-pocket expenses for an education that is supposedly free.
"After asking for 50 years, ICPA Queensland decided some changes were needed...as we are not getting anywhere with DETA (Distance Education Teaching Allowance). Going forward, the new name will be DESS - Distance Education Supervisor Subsidy. Previously this motion has been palmed off between the federal and state governments."
State and branch life member and former ICPA vice president Jan Gall proposed the first motion for remuneration in 1974 and said she was happy to see it back at the conference.
"They used to call us home supervisors. I didn't like that...we do more than supervise," she said.
"They tried to knock us down...they wouldn't take us seriously. I'm happy to see Department of Education members here...they're starting to take it seriously."
During her nine years on the ICPA council, Mrs Gall was involved in a broad range of issues including the Isolated Children's Special Education Unit.
In 1981, buoyed by her dedication to the needs of correspondence children, she helped introduce Distance Education Seminars which were spread to all education regions within a year.
The seminars, along with a presentation to the National Workshop on Distance Education in 1983, resulted in greater recognition of the roles of home tutors.
"The poor woman who lost her husband...There are a lot more stories similar to hers," Mrs Gall said.
Cloncurry branch president Tara Locke said her family had worked with ICPA about a teaching allowance for RETs.
"I was excited to be remunerated for my teaching efforts. That was nine years ago...I'm nearly done. I hope one day this gets through for the people behind me," she said.
"Two years ago I almost had a complete mental breakdown. I was managing kids and staff...[I was teaching] three little kids and [I was receiving no financial] help."
When her husband said he could not manage their property by himself any longer, Mrs Locke stepped out of the classroom, prompting the family to employ a governess to take over their children's education.
"Funnily enough, she had to get paid because she couldn't do it for love," she said.
University of Southern Queensland senior lecturer of curriculum and pedagogy Dr Karen Peel said over the last three years her research team had been looking at the work of home tutors and mothers who had no other option but to educate their children due to lack of access to qualified and suitable home tutors or not being able to afford help.
"They're definitely doing an educators role, no doubt about that," she said.
Dr Peel co-authored a study about the role of RETs, which highlighted the need for them to be remunerated and recognised, as RETs are not officially recognised as an occupation.
Recognition of RETs as formal educators could also help provide pathways into teaching roles post-home education.
Federal ICPA president Louise Martin said home tutors had been taken for granted for as long as they had been educating their children in their home classrooms.
"It's time for someone to take ownership of this and...legitimise our roles as home tutors or supervisors in the classrooms from here on," she said.
Department of Education assistant director-general Dr Grant Webb said the issue had been a topic of concern at both a national and state level for many years.
"We recognise the work home tutors do in classrooms," he said.
"We provide a number of subsidies such as ICT allowance subsidies but I recognise this is not what this motion is asking for. I know the motion is always about remuneration...it's also about acknowledging that experience and that work.
"[We're] looking at ways we can support in other ways and acknowledge that work through things like RPLs and making sure we're supporting you as home tutors to get a Certificate IIII or associate diplomas."
