Lithgow High School teacher Mike Morgan has been honoured to his commitment to education and advocacy, with life memberships to the Lithgow Teachers Federation and NSW Teachers Federation.
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Throughout a 30-year career, Mr Morgan has been an activist for teachers and students, helping former students studying teaching to gain prestigious Teachers Federation Scholarships.
Congratulations to Emma Guffogg on her recent Teachers Federation Scholarship Award. Emma is currently at CSU studying Bachelor of Education K-12 with a major in English.
Mr Morgan began his career at Ingham State High School in North Queensland in 1988. In his first year of teaching, he became involved in teacher unions, taking up a vacancy on the North Queensland Area Council.
Mr Morgan returned to his home state of NSW in 1991, taking up a permanent teaching placement at Baradine Central School. At his first Baradine Teachers Association meeting, he was elected President and later that year was appointed as the school’s Federation rep.
Mr Morgan’s connection to Lithgow started in 1994, when he took up a teaching position and was quickly involved in Federation activities. He worked with rep Gary Purcell as part of a team that went head-to–head with state and federal MPs and even education ministers and premiers about teachers’ salaries.
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Their encounter with Bob Carr’s country cabinet meeting in Lithgow in 1995 led to Mr Morgan being interviewed by a Channel 7 reporter, and he took the opportunity to speak about fair funding and fair pay rises for public school teachers, making a fashion statement in his Soviet-style fur ushanka hat.
In 2008, Gary Purcell decided to step down prior to retirement and Mr Morgan moved into the role of the Fed Rep, a position he held until 2017.
In the Lithgow Teachers Association, Mr Morgan has taken on many roles, including correspondence secretary, publicity officer and, from 2008 president. In the 2007 federal election, Mike was the Lithgow Teachers Association representative of the Lithgow Your Rights at Work Committee. In his capacity as Lithgow Teachers Association President, he addressed local school P&C meetings about the impact of decisions on local school communities. In 2018, Mr Morgan’s work was recognised when he was awarded life membership of Lithgow Teachers Association, which almost rendered him speechless (no mean feat if you know Mike).
When he arrived in Lithgow, the position of Lithgow Teachers association Councillor become vacant and Mike volunteered to fill the role. This was the beginning of his Federation activity beyond Lithgow. During his time as Councillor, he has always tried to bring the perspective of a country teacher to Federation Council.
As a science teacher, he has represented Federation on consultative committees for science syllabuses, helping to ensure the perspective of public school teachers and students is taken into account.
He has also made his mark on how the union operates as a member of the Rules and Structures Committee over 20 years, and with his five years on Federations Executive.
Mike has demonstrated that persistence is one of the keys to success and if you think you can make a difference, don’t give up.