Joan Lane

Joan is a person of vision. A ‘born’ teacher, her perspective includes strongly committed views on the nature of education and how it should benefit all students. In particular, she is a generous and tireless advocate and thinker on behalf of students with learning disabilities.

I first met Joan in 1978 when I was transferred to the Isolated Students’ Special education Unit. I realized from my first day that I was to participate in a significant educational story. How this story was to unfold, I had no idea but it seemed that Joan had a sure grasp of the major themes. This was confirmed as time went on and although the plot and details had to respond to innumerable challenges over the years from the unit’s inception in 1976, she always managed to accomplish this with thoughtful firmness and conviction. Joan was the leader but acknowledged that she was leader of a gifted team. The pronoun ‘we’ was consistently part of her vernacular.

Joan was responsible for creating a wonderfully dynamic ecology at the unit. To support its primary function as a teaching unit, she led the production of materials so that teachers who developed a strong interest in a particular methodology and were in the process of applying these methods to their teaching practice were encouraged to participate in the materials production process. She thus ensured that great ideas and inspiring methods were translated into ‘hands-on’ materials benefiting the collective knowledge of special education practice and the practice of individual learning support and special education teachers.

Many wonderful people were involved in the teaching and project teams, projects associated with the library and innovative technology so that with the daily comings and goings of staff and aligned professionals the unit frequently had the air of a very busy village. Joan encouraged this hum and hives of activity and somehow managed to keep in touch with and participate in their thinking and action.

I feel privileged to be a character in such a successful story written by Joan. Her gift for friendship and her ability to inspire has left a lasting legacy amongst those who have had the good fortune of coming in contact with her along her way.

Michael Boyle

When you retired you were Supervisor of the Isolated Children's Special Education Unit. You had been a remedial teacher. Why did you choose such a career?
In a way it happened by accident. My formal involvement in the teaching profession seems to be the stuff of two books with separate chapters in each. The first was as a regular classroom teacher with the last chapter an accidental three years at the Brisbane Spastic Centre but that is another story.

The second book opens in January 1972. My youngest daughter was then seven. I had decided a few years previously that I wanted to get back to work and as I had been very involved in reading and reviewing children's books I had thought that I would like to be a Children's librarian. So with the encouragement and support of my husband (the lectures were in the evenings) I began Library Studies at the old State Library. Fate intervened in the person of a boy who was best friend of one of my daughters and whose mother was my friend. He was about eight and loved books. His was a family where books and reading were activities as natural as creative play and learning about the natural world. He liked to discuss the book he was 'reading' and so it was with amazement that I one day discovered that he could not read any but a few basic words. He used context clues, especially pictures, so expertly that he had been covering up from teachers and parents. He was and is very intelligent. After a lot of special teaching and support extending over many years, (he was in Marie Hutchinson's L.D. class) he is now a restoration architect and is now leading a rich life. Difficulties still arise but he is able to cope through his understanding of his own learning.

John was a catalyst. I was challenged to understand what made him different and so I enrolled in the course in 'Diagnostic and Remedial Teaching' at the Schonell Centre. Within Queensland University. After trying to keep up with both courses, I had for the sake of my family to drop out of Library studies.

Do you have any regrets?
None for I don't think that I would have made a good librarian. My interest was in what was in the books rather than in the management of information. Later when I became the leader of a wonderful team, I was successful only because I had Marianne Bubb as my other half. She supplied the organisational skills that I lacked.

What did you do after graduation?
Somehow I was discovered by concerned mothers. I taught at home for a while and little boys filled my afternoons, to the disgruntlement of my own children.

What brought you back into schools?
I seem never to have made the decision to go back to teaching. It was made for me when Doreen Nicolson went on sabbatical leave with her husband and suggested to Margaret Outridge that I be asked to hold the fort for her at Taringa. At first I declined but succumbed to Margaret's emotional blackmail. She declared that the remedial centre would have to be closed unless I agreed. On the proviso that I would work only mornings I was appointed as supply teacher. However I soon realised that the children needed my full commitment and in 1975 I returned to the Department of Education. So began the first chapter in my second book.

What was your role?
We remedial teachers were the teaching arm of Research and Guidance services within the Division of Guidance and Special Education. It was a great place to be. The leaders were people of outstanding ability. There was a structure into which we fitted with a Director and senior guidance officer at head office and later senior remedial teachers and therapists; at the next level at each regional office the same structure applied and each remedial teacher was a part of that system. Our role was simple. We were there to teach and support individual children and to work with class teachers to try to achieve the best outcomes. In my case it was a bonus that I was not on the staff of the principal. Because he was not responsible for me he was able to treat me as a friend and colleague to whom he could talk freely.

Who determined what children would be referred to you?
In those days, teachers concerned about the children who were not learning to read despite their best efforts referred them for assessment by Guidance Officers. If the evidence pointed to a need for intervention, each child's name would be entered in a register at regional office with stars attached to indicate priority. Often the classes would include a number of children with four-star priority. These were usually boys and they usually presented with specific learning disabilities. When lower achievement was equated with lower academic ability those children were recommended for Special School placement. We remedial teachers seldom had to plan for curriculum changes. We did however have to plan for program and strategy changes to meet a great range of individual differences.

Surely there would not be so many L.D. children in one school.
Often the children would travel from nearby schools during their lunch hour and sometimes a teacher might travel to another school. However the remedial centre was a safe place and children liked to come to it and some even asked to be included. However there were class teachers who complained if children were taken from the classroom and if a child was thereby made to feel different he had a hard time.

Did you remain at Taringa School?
No. When Doreen returned I was transferred to Sherwood. And after some time there I was appointed as the first coordinator of remedial services for Brisbane West. I have met wonderful people throughout my work life and when Janice Swannell was sent to me for "Prac" during her training I did not know that all these years later I would still be counting her as a precious friend. Another valued friend is Leo Cuskelly who was the regional guidance officer When I left the region in 1976 Jan took my place as coordinator. Later she moved into the central office to support Marie Hutchinson as Senior Remedial teacher, working with her to support all remedial teachers and to develop the excellent ' Resources Bulletin'. Marie had already proved herself a caring highly professional and very intelligent leader and I have her to thank for continuing support and friendship.

What was it that occasioned your leaving?
I really loved my regional job. I was able to meet some of the best of teachers and to persuade some to become remedial teachers. In those days many of the people who were paid to do the inservice courses were carefully selected.

So when on one fateful day I received a call from Margaret Outridge asking me to take on a new job, I declined saying that I wanted to stay where I was. The Division had applied for funding under a Commonwealth Government Innovative Grants scheme to enhance the provision of special education facilities for educationally handicapped children in isolated areas. The aim was to augment and complement those special education support services which were being provided by guidance officers, visiting teachers from what were then Schools of the Air, and by some itinerant visiting teachers. Because of the demographic distribution in so vast a state, there was no possibility of providing face-to face support to all those in need.

I have always enjoyed and even needed challenges and after a night's thinking about the exciting possibilities, I rang to say that I would accept. I suspect that I may have Marie Hutchinson to thank for my nomination. So began one of the best periods of my life, not only because of what I was allowed to do but more because of being part of the wonderful team of people who made up the Isolated Children's Special Education Unit. I was to learn so much from them and from the very special women on remote properties who were teachers as well as mothers. Often they were also co- managers and workers. I was truly blessed. Sometimes the children were in small remote country schools. We worked with all those who were able to be in a child's educational team and worked continually towards bettering what had to be delivery of services by teams.

Is this the stuff of a chapter?
Yes, an important one. I have begun to record the story of The Unit as we called ourselves. I should have done it long ago when memories were still fresh and I will need the help of the colleagues who will always be my friends to check memory of detail.

The story should be told because it was a service that was able to evolve as needs was redefined. It started on Commonwealth funding and I have often wondered if it was ever recorded as having been established within the Department; for when I visited the history archives some years ago there was no record of its ever having existed.

You were awarded an Order of Australia Medal. When and how did that happen?
It was in 1993. I have never been one for such "honours"; there are so many unsung heroes. I knew of many who were much worthier than I. But then I realised that this came not from any political or departmental recommendation but from the mothers of the bush. I knew that the award, though in my name, was really for the whole team and the support that they gave with such commitment. I accepted it with gratitude and humility.

When on my sixty-fifth birthday I was retired, the Unit also began to be demolished. I was bewildered that there was no attempt to use the knowledge gained in those years. A new broom was sweeping clean.

However, there was a wonderful retirement party, and the friends remain. I don't stay in touch with some of them because our lives move down different paths. But there are some that are still there at the end of the phone or the e-mail or a meeting for coffee or lunch.

So the blessing continues.