I am grateful that my son, just turned 18 is soon to leave school. We live in an area of our county where the schools while ok are nothing special, we have never been able to pay for education and what is more at 11 he was no high fligher. Now though he is doing well. A combination of good teachers and serious commitment since GCSEs mean that he is in sight of a very good University place. The school though will not be so lucky, it will be the victim of over provision despite the fact its results are better than those near by that will survive. This year, when my son has left, there will be no year 7 intake. I wonder how long before the teachers start to look elsewhere? I wonder before changes in local residents mean that it is decided a mistake has been made?
If your school is not the best then you cannot always command the best teachers, this has definitely been the case in certain subjects at certain times. What then if you could attract out of work professionals during a recession and between now and the new school year in September allow them to become teachers? A Post Graduate Certificate in Education, the basic qualification for teaching following first level degree takes a year, but apparently if you have been made redundant from the city and wish to teach maths or science you might soon complete this in 6 months. Today’s teenagers are wise, they are demanding, they are confrontational and that is only the ones who actually see the point in learning. Can you learn how to manage classrooms and their occupants, even with the knowledge of life in 6 months?
Whats next? Qualified nurses after a year, a doctor after 2?
I have never been more glad that I have an 18 year old son and not an 11 year old. I don’t need my child’s education mucked about with on the whim of government ministers trying to sort out the country’s mess.
This blog post comes from a Labour supporter and the granddaughter of a lifelone Labour supporter from the working class north east of England. Give me strength, I am starting to sound like Doctors Crippen and Jobbing!!
Welcome to our world!
JD.
Say wot?
There are few jobs in teaching around here. My friend graduated a year an a half a go and the only job she could get was 60% of full time in PHYSICS after a year of supported placement like training (forget the real term).
A Nurse in 2 years? Oh please no. 3 years isn’t enough never mind 2!
Nobody wants to be teachers anyway! I am a student at one of the top universities in London and every year £300,000 is spent on encouraging us to become teachers!! In the summer we can get £750 for 15 days in a local comprehensive as teaching assistants. During the year they offer £60 a day to go to various schools and do interactive workshops with the kids. All tax-free of course. Everyone benefits, the actual teachers, the school kids (coz they actually stop bickering and listen to us) and the uni students, and it also creates jobs for people to manage all these programmes but I just wonder where the money is coming from.
Also out of the 240 students who take this up every year there will probably be 1 or 2 new teachers. And having talked to the kids, they are all going to apply for science stuff at university anyway, so all this “promoting STEM” doesn’t do anything either.
Wardbunny, I did my initial EN training in 18months, it prepared me for all aspects of ward work. I was hands on, I was able to give out drugs and I was able to take charge of a ward so please get that nonsense out of your head.
From what I hear from a member of my family (who is head of a maths department) there are no vacancies for teachers anyway so this is a none starter.
We could have some of those bankers in social work – after all, we are all at the bottom of the feeding pool in the end (or that’s how it feels – go on, who do you all hate more, bankers or social workers? Tough call.. )
Jobbing Doctor – Never thought it would happen but it seems I live close to your world.
Ward Bunny and Grumpy – I must say I am not up to date with teaching vacancies but there have been recent recruitment drives, plus pay seems reasonable. A NQT gets more money than a newly qualified nurse. An 18 month trained EN should never really have been in charge of the ward, but there are usually other staff around to mitigate the effect of inexperience. Usually theres one teacher in the class isn’t there? Mind you your average child isn’t likely to suffer some medical emergency.
CB – Yes, I wonder why the govt ministers haven’t suggested bankers become social workers. At least after the recession if / when they returned to finance they might be a bit more caring and perhaps might take into account peoples ability to pay back what they are borrowing!!
Being a nurse or a doctor is far different from being a teacher and the more they train the safer we will be in their hands. I’m not dismissing the importance teachers have on our lives, but their training is merely academic. Good teachers are not determined by their training but by their whole life experience. I think its good that the government recognise this and wants to help potentially good teachers into education by fast tracking them. How likely is it for a poor teachers to get through a crash course? I think this question is also redundant, because we already have many poor teachers and that is a result of the current system. What do we have to lose?
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