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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Vol. 37, No. 7. April, 17 1974

Staff not the enemy

Staff not the enemy

The focus of conflict in the university is not staff-student relationships. The idea that they are is a throwback to days at school, and memories of authoritative and apparently omnipotent teachers. The polarisation that this mistaken view leads to is a hindrance to staff-student unity and frustrates the creation of a learning atmosphere.

Staff themselves have their own set of pressures that tend to ensure the maintenance of the present system. For instance, the roles of teacher and administrator are closely tied and the possibility of personal advancement necessarily involves "toeing the line", and the desire is not to become a better teacher but to become a better administrator. Surely if a lecturer or tutor is to become fully involved in learning as well as teaching, then he should be free from promotional concerns and constricting administrative preoccupations.