Teachers' Strike!

[Tubey]

Well there's an awful lot of examples out there of people doing things for free, be that Wikipedia or Linux. Even Khan Academy was created for free.

It's an oldie and all, and I'm sure you've seen it already, but

[video=youtube;u6XAPnuFjJc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc[/video]

I note that bankers and financiers in London give up their time for fr- oh wait...

 

[Foot Long Hot Dog]

It's the same issue for obvious reasons - if kids struggle with the system throughout the educational experience, they won't take it further beyond the age of 16. Don't be facetious, it's obvious what the link is.

Literacy has seen synthetic phonics adopted and it's already paying off even with only a recent introduction:

Which obviously indicates that teaching isn't the issue, the method is, because if teaching were to blame then everything would decline.

So there you go - it's not delusional, it's fact. Nothing I've typed is "Tubey's mad theory of the world" here - I love how you think it's "my excuse"; I guess it's easier to claim it's me being mental and disregard a decade of academic study from hundreds of people just to fit your agenda!

Firstly, I didn't say there wasn't a link, I said they're different issues - which they are. So poke your facetious comment pal.

As for the rest of that, so an increase in the literacy score, somehow PROVES that teachers aren't responsible for the fall in numeracy standards? Are you actually trying to pass that off as somehow being fact? So all maths teachers are excluded from any examination of their performance because the English teachers have improved theirs? Brilliant stuff.

 

[Clint Planet]

Personally I feel that we place too much reliance on the education system for providing kids with a a basic education. Of course, it's important, but somewhere, pretty damn early, parenting comes into it too.

It cannot be a schools fault where kids leave school who can't do basic maths and, worse, think that it's ok to speak like a gangster demanding respect. These kids went to the same school, had the same basic opportunities as their peers, why didn't they get the most out of them? Somewhere along the line the parents need to look at themselves and take responsibility.

I think you're absolutely right. Parental support is a massive factor in how well a child does in school. Poverty too. I'm sure the Korean children are very pushed and supported and enriched compared to the 'average' kid in Huyton or Tottenham (and yeah, I know genralisations ill-serve individual cases). You see it with the Tamil and Pakistani children in my school. They're not cleverer than anyone else, and yet they generally do better, especially in maths. Why is that?

 

[Del]

Nobody forced anyone into the job they have

They knew the pay rates when they started studying to become a teacher

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I note that bankers and financiers in London give up their time for fr- oh wait...

Not the best role models for strong performers though are they?

 

[Clint Planet]

Well there's an awful lot of examples out there of people doing things for free, be that Wikipedia or Linux. Even Khan Academy was created for free.

Okay, mate. x

 

[evilwebby]

As it is, there's a great deal of research into motivation, which as an economics student I'm sure you're aware of, showing that salary is often little more than a hygiene factor, and the real motivation comes intrinsically. Teachers talk a lot about it being a vocation, yet only ever seem to go on strike over finances. It just seems very inconsistent.

They like to wheel out the vocation/responsibility/pillar-of-society argument to claim the moral high ground when it's convenient for them. But that's about par for the course in any public service dispute.

 

[Tubey]

Firstly, I didn't say there wasn't a link, I said they're different issues - which they are. So poke your facetious comment pal.

As for the rest of that, so an increase in the literacy score, somehow PROVES that teachers aren't responsible for the fall in numeracy standards? Are you actually trying to pass that off as somehow being fact? So all maths teachers are excluded from any examination of their performance because the English teachers have improved theirs? Brilliant stuff.

I'm not passing anything off - it's not my opinion, it's the findings of multiple studies. I've explained how synthetic phonics is responsible for the increase in literacy standards over the last decade, which proves that previous assertions that teachers were to blame is nonsense.

Numeracy is linked to poor academic frameworks that has developed a culture of failure in society.

The group, National Numeracy, says millions of people struggle to understand a payslip or a train timetable, or pay a household bill.

It wants to challenge a mindset which views poor numeracy as a "badge of honour".

It aims to emulate the success of the National Literacy Trust.

This has helped improve reading and writing standards since it was set up nearly 20 years ago.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-17224600

So an effective framework aimed to enhance literacy is in place and has worked. One isn't in place for numeracy, so it fails. The experts have identified this; nobody with a knowledge of what's going on identifies poor teaching as the root cause of anything in Britain.

It's as simple as that. I know everyone hates Tubey being right on here, but for once this isn't me being right, it's hundreds of experts and academics.

 

[Clint Planet]

I note that bankers and financiers in London give up their time for fr- oh wait...

I give up my time for free every week. I run a Spanish club after school. I don't have to do it. I don't get paid for it. I also run a Saturday Morning Picnic Club where we invite all parents once a half term to come with us to a museum or gallery ib central London then have a picnic afterwards. I give up my own time. It was my own idea. I am committed to the children in my school and yet I am ob strike today.

Lots of other teachers do similar to me. We run clubs every evening - about 20 of them. No teacher gets paid. We are committed to our community and our children. Today we are on strike.

Bruce would have you believe we're just in it for the money, though.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Okay, mate. x

It's true. This website you're on now is provided for you by people working for free. The software that this forum uses is powered by the voluntary contributions of thousands of developers. The server that this website is hosted on is powered by free software developed by the voluntary contributions of thousands more.

All the hobbies many of us engage in during our spare time. No one pays us to do them, yet we often devote hours of our week to them nonetheless.

Would seem rather peculiar if money was the only thing that motivates us wouldn't it?

None of this is exactly revolutionary thinking. As a teacher yourself I'm sure you must be aware of it.

 

[Tubey]

I think you're absolutely right. Parental support is a massive factor in how well a child does in school. Poverty too. I'm sure the Korean children are very pushed and supported and enriched compared to the 'average' kid in Huyton or Tottenham (and yeah, I know genralisations ill-serve individual cases). You see it with the Tamil and Pakistani children in my school. They're not cleverer than anyone else, and yet they generally do better, especially in maths. Why is that?

Early Intervention from the Allen Report details the massive role parents and caregivers have in framing the educational experience from the early years. Environment is a factor too, but I don't think socio-cultural influences are as influential on a child's development as attachment and nurturing from an effective role model.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I give up my time for free every week. I run a Spanish club after school. I don't have to do it. I don't get paid for it. I also run a Saturday Morning Picnic Club where we invite all parents once a half term to come with us to a museum or gallery ib central London then have a picnic afterwards. I give up my own time. It was my own idea. I am committed to the children in my school and yet I am ob strike today.

Lots of other teachers do similar to me. We run clubs every evening - about 20 of them. No teacher gets paid. We are committed to our community and our children. Today we are on strike.

Bruce would have you believe we're just in it for the money, though.

Why are you on strike if it isn't about money though?

 

[Allezfan]

I'm sorry when did bruce become a communist?

Is this opposite day?

 

[orchard]

Oh, of course. I really do think the best teachers are "born" to teach. But the fact remains, my last school, twelve or thirteen years ago, was recruiting South African NQTs over the phone because there was a shortage of people joining the profession. They weren't very good. When the last government improved pay and conditions, more people applied to be teachers and suddenly my school could afford to pick and choose again.

This is effecting the whole of society, and it's hardly worth while once quality, longevity, service, and other things are considered. Things like slightly cheaper foreign subcontractors laying cables backwards along the length of England happens.

Now,I'm on strike for far more complex reasons than that but, hey, that's what happened in my school. I usually only chuck that one out because Bruce is such a free market economist until it comes to talented people working for a pittance.

That oat-powered Bruce is a right menace mate.

 

[Foot Long Hot Dog]

So an effective framework aimed to enhance literacy is in place and has worked. One isn't in place for numeracy, so it fails. The experts have identified this; nobody with a knowledge of what's going on identifies poor teaching as the root cause of anything in Britain.

It's as simple as that. I know everyone hates Tubey being right on here, but for once this isn't me being right, it's hundreds of experts and academics.

Really? So there's nobody, who knows anything about the Education system who thinks that teacher standards improving would directly impact on improving standards? Not one?

Better tell these people then, oh font of all knowledge;

The researchers (Richard Murphy and Stephen Machin from the LSE and Eric Hanushek from Stanford) conclude: “Bringing the lowest-performing 10% of teachers in the UK up to the average would greatly boost attainment and lead to a sharp improvement in the UK’s international ranking. In five years the UK’s rank amongst OECD countries could improve from 21st in Reading to as high as 7th, and from 22nd in Maths to as high as 12th. Over 10 years (the period a child is in the school system before the PISA examinations) the UK would improve its position to as high as 3rd in Reading and 5th in Maths.”

Combining new findings with an international review of research, they found: “The effect of having a very effective teacher as opposed to an average teacher is the same as the effect of reducing class size by ten students in Year 5 (ages 9-10) and thirteen or more students in Year 6 (ages 10-11). One year with a very effective teacher adds 25-45% of an average school year to a pupil’s maths score performance. The effects of high quality teaching are especially large for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, who gain an extra year’s worth of learning under very effective teachers compared to poorly performing teachers.”

http://www.suttontrust.com/news/news/improving-poor-teachers-would-transform-englands-education/