Meet our new Education Advisory Panel members

Our Education Advisory Panel plays an integral part in informing the work we do to connect teachers and students with the work of Parliament. This year, we are pleased to welcome 3 new panel members: Alison, Amelia and Jack.

Alison brings a wealth of knowledge from her experiences at a brand new school, which has welcomed year 11 students for the first time this year. This has meant that much of Alison’s recent work has been focused on introducing new subjects, developing curriculum and creating a wide range of student support material.

Amelia and Jack are our student representatives. This is a new role on the Advisory Panel, and we are so fortunate to have partnered with the VicSRC to create the opportunity to hear from students directly. Both Amelia and Jack recently attended our first meeting for the year, and it's already clear how much we're all going to benefit from the insights they will bring.

Alison

My name is Alison and I am very excited to be new member of the Educational Advisory Panel. I am currently in my 5th year of teaching in a secondary school in Melbourne’s West, and have been teaching English and Humanities across a range of year levels during that time. I am also in my second year of teaching VCE Legal Studies.

I became interested in teaching Civics and Citizenship four years ago, in my first year at my current school. I really enjoy finding ways to make the content relevant to the students and designing hands on, practical activities for them to participate in to consolidate their knowledge. A colleague of mine has been a member of the Educational Advisory Panel for the past few years, and his involvement with this led to my interest in becoming a member. I am really looking forward to being a part of the team, learning from the experience of the other members and hopefully providing some insightful perspectives!

All my Humanities classrooms are lucky enough to have a furry companion, as I am also a puppy carer with Seeing Eye Dogs as part of Vision Australia. I am currently raising my second puppy, Dodger, after my first puppy graduated earlier this year. He cannot wait to join me on visits to Parliament House!

Jack

Hello, my name is Jack and I’m currently a Year 12 student who is attending Kyabram P-12 College in the Goulburn Valley. I have been fortunate enough to be elected by my peers to become their College Captain of Kyabram P-12 College for 2021. The main reason I wanted to become part of the Parliament of Victoria’s Education Advisory Panel for 2021, is because I have deep passion and love for civics and citizenship being taught in the Victorian curriculum to thousands and thousands of Victorian students. Being a panel member, I am very much looking forward to working alongside Amelia who is also a student representative and working in collaboration with VicSRC as well – to be a voice and a representative for Victorian students when it comes to them being taught about civics and citizenship in their classrooms and providing a perspective of being a student when discussing things the other panel members this year.

My main interest in civics and citizenship education in Victoria is about learning the three levels of government in Australia (local, state, and federal). How our laws are created and established in each level of government, how our elections are conducted and run across three levels of government, how our local members of parliament are elected into office to represent the views and interests of the people they serve. Also, how the freedoms and responsibilities of citizens are protected in our democracy. In the midst of coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, that has been a big burden on our lives for the past 12 months, I look forward to working with the Parliament of Victoria to strengthen how Victorian students are taught about the civics and citizenship education.

Amelia

I’m Amelia, I am in year 9. I have autism and anxiety and go by they/them pronouns. I wanted to become part of the Parliament’s Education Advisory Panel as I wanted to know more about what’s happening in government and with the education system. It’s a good opportunity to have and share.

I look forward to contributing as I am a LGBTQI+ student and a student with disability, to give a different perspective on things so they can be more accessible and inclusive. What interested me in civics and citizenship is that becasue my dad’s an immigrant, I was always obsessed with civics and that kind of stuff as I wanted, and still do want, to learn about citizenship.

I would like to see more people getting out there to chat and interact with students and debunk myths as I think that’s why the majority of my generation don't really get interested in civics and citizenship education.