Teachers' Strike!

[GrandOldTeam]

Well it's not the case with all teachers, cos they would've got grants as mature students after Uni.

For the vast majority of them, hence the 90%+ vote to strike.

At the end of the day they are still better off than a great many and have working conditions that a great many could only dream of

Completely irrelevant. What's that got to do with them? They've worked for it.

And working conditions? - Try standing at the front of a class room in Kirkby mate.

 

[GrandOldTeam]

A question I often ponder that maybe Clint or any other teachers on here might help out with is around the planning lessons thing. Lets say for instance you're teaching algebra to a year 10 class. I can understand that this would take some planning to begin with, but how much adjustment is then required from one year to the next? I mean would you have to start from scratch the next year and re-plan everything or would you use the same one as last year?

I was astonished how quickly it all changes.

I thought, 'get it all boxed off in year one and then it's easy street'. Then you see how the entire syllabus, and how performance is measured changes time and time again.

 

[Bungle]

I think that's the first serious post I've ever seen you make.

You mean you didn't see animals humping on those links? Oh FFS!

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Well yeah, parents can probably teach their own kids at a personal level teachers can't all of the time. Teaching at home is about supporting the teaching profession and doing what's best for the child. Not really undermining anything.

What do you think about the concept of flipping the classroom so that the 'lectures' are delivered at home via a video and the class time is then spent helping children work through things more one on one?

 

[GrandOldTeam]

spoke to a teacher about this, apparently they have to do plans for every lesson even if it is the same as last yea and their are no 'standard' plans or whatever! this is obviously crazy..

This is true.

They also need to evidence each one.

Insane.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

spoke to a teacher about this, apparently they have to do plans for every lesson even if it is the same as last yea and their are no 'standard' plans or whatever! this is obviously crazy..

Does seem a bit odd that. I mean you've got some maths lessons on the Khan Academy site that have been viewed over a million times. This one on equations for instance has had > 1.5 million views.

 

[Reidy's Bottle Of Grecian]

21k is buttons, but, stay there for 6 years and your on 31k. Still modest - including training, you're looking at 10+ years service for 31k a year?


*shakes head.


21k Buttons ?

I used to have to do 12 hour shifts, nights weekends etc to get 31k, with over 10 years experience & 5 years training (so not exactly a job that just anyone could do), now there would be ongoing training that I would have to do to keep up with technology and it was a case of learn it or not be able to work, it didn't get you any more pay either was more a case of if you weren't capable of learning it then you'd have to drop down to being unskilled on less money. If I was to go back into that job now it would take a great deal of catching up to be able to do it again, not just a case of refreshing myself to 'get up to speed.'

 

[neil999]

the 'general public' dont really understand the crazinesss of all this, unfortunatley striking is likely to harden public opinion against 'lazy teachers'

 

[bluemangroup]

What do you think about the concept of flipping the classroom so that the 'lectures' are delivered at home via a video and the class time is then spent helping children work through things more one on one?

Seems a bit too radical to me. Class time is quite important to pupils and having a peer group around you all doing the same sort of thing and learning at similar speed tends to motivate. You are also relying a lot on there being a stable household for a child to learn in. Schools tend to be a better working atmosphere for the most part.

 

[GrandOldTeam]

21k is buttons, but, stay there for 6 years and your on 31k. Still modest - including training, you're looking at 10+ years service for 31k a year?


*shakes head.


21k Buttons ?

UK average is 26.5k

So yes, buttons. Especially when you consider the 5 years of lost earnings for training, and the 30k debt.

Shocking in comparison to other professions requiring that level of training.

I used to have to do 12 hour shifts, nights weekends etc to get 31k, with over 10 years experience & 5 years training (so not exactly a job that just anyone could do),

So what? You've got a better life and working environment that someone on the dole.

See what I did there?

You reap what you sow.

 

[Jags..class]

Teachers Wages 2013

Michael Gove's letter to the Teaching Unions http://www.teachers.org.uk/files/michael-gove-letter-25-march.pdf

And their response http://www.teachers.org.uk/node/20986

Thanks mate, will give this a read

 

[bluemangroup]

UK average is 26.5k

So yes, buttons. Especially when you consider the 5 years of lost earnings for training, and the 30k debt.

Shocking in comparison to other professions requiring that level of training.

So much this. It's also one of the professions that seemingly needs reforming every two minutes.

 

[Jags..class]

There are a lot of myths and misconceptions about the teaching profession mate.

Its mainly over working conditions (55 hour week, compared to national average of 40). The myth is they work 9-3, and have tons of holidays. I have family and friends who work in teaching, none of them work that myth.

Also, as mentioned, when weighing up to train to be a teacher (not cheap, and many years of stress and time) you factor in the benefit. One benefit was guaranteed pay rises based on your experience as a teacher. The longer you remain in the profession, the more you're paid. That's a rug thats been recently pulled from under their feet as now it's performance based. Sounds fair when in the news article titles, but when your in the detail it's a bad con and performance is massively dependent on the school and area your in.

Figures wont be exact but the premise was, go to uni. 3 years. Achieve a 2:1, saddled with tons of debt. Get more debt and invest another 2 years to train to be a teacher. So thats 5 years of debt, stress, and lack of earning potential while studying. After that, you have a few years to secure a FT job as a teacher in a very difficult market - otherwise you need to retrain and go through the process again. Do all that, get a job and you're on 21k a year in year 1 as a teacher. 21k is buttons, but, stay there for 6 years and your on 31k. Still modest - including training, you're looking at 10+ years service for 31k a year? - That's now not even certain...

Then add in pensions - another area they've been conned, now paying more and getting less.

Add in the piss poor education direction - school academies and the like and the education system is on its knees. People should be pointing at Gove, not the teachers.

Sounds pretty grim, but I know people in other professions who also work at home at night all the time, and get no extra holidays off, I was in University for 5 years and in debt with over 36k and achieved a 2.1. I'm only on 20k a week. But you cant change anything if you don't fight for it so good luck to them.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Seems a bit too radical to me. Class time is quite important to pupils and having a peer group around you all doing the same sort of thing and learning at similar speed tends to motivate. You are also relying a lot on there being a stable household for a child to learn in. Schools tend to be a better working atmosphere for the most part.

Aye, it's an interesting one. I know there are some experiments on that kind of thing happening in the States but don't know of any results as yet. I think the Gates foundation are big into all that.

 

[bluemangroup]

Aye, it's an interesting one. I know there are some experiments on that kind of thing happening in the States but don't know of any results as yet. I think the Gates foundation are big into all that.

I'm all for working towards a more effective way of education, because who wouldn't be? But there is an awful lot of implementation of new thinking with regards to teaching as if there is some miraculous new way just discovered. Absolutely no problem with the Gates foundation trying though, as long as any changes it proposes are well founded.