Tough Young Teachers

Gosh that sounds grim. Teaching is such an important and challenging profession that I think trainees should gt all the support and encouragement that can be mustered.

I totally agree with you Mishap it is quite frightening to see first hand what a mess our Education system is.

DM & DMiL were both untrained teachers. Both were considered to be outstanding teachers by school inspectors, Head Teachers and in MiL's case, the local teachers training college, who always specified that trainee teachers in her school should spend some time with her.

I am not advocating a return to untrained teachers, but I think there is far too much emphasis on training making good teachers, it doesn't, it may make teachers better teachers, but I think all of us have had experience of teachers whose academic qualifications and knowledge are superb but whose teaching abilities, despite training are really poor.

That's something the courses should be picking up FlicketyB. My social work training course over 30 years ago had 50 students, two of that group were failed. Their academic work was good, they failed their practice placements. Some teachers/social workers have excellent academic skills, but lack what are sometimes called soft people skills. "Soft", says so much about our value systems doesn't it

I think that what the teacher trainees need help with is crowd control in the current climate. And strategies to encourage learning. One of the biggest eye-openers for these keen youngsters was that most of the children in the classes we were shown were not interested in learning anything.

www.theguardian.com/education/2014/may/05/maths-physics-teachers-george-osborne-school

Anyone else read this? Osborne's idea this time, not Gove's.

Unfortunately in-depth knowledge of a subject and high intelligence do not mean that you can teach well.

I have met this,but mainly at university. My law lecturer in my first year at Uni had every academic qualification, accreditation possible, he was recognised as pre-eminent in his field but by the time I knew him, the only exam course he still taught was in the Economics Department. After a major catastrophe in my year, when most of us failed because so many of the questions on the exam paper referred to topics that he had never managed to cover in his teaching, he was relegated to only teaching 'law for engineers' (a non-exam course).

I had a similar lecturer on another course some years later. Fortunately his subject formed only part of an exam paper so I just avoided his section.

Are these the same teachers who will now have holidays spread throughout the year so they do not get too tired!

I think the change in holidays is supposed to be for the benefit of the pupils. Anyone who knocks teachers should be made to spend a week in an inner city school imo.

In each news bulletin I have heard they have said that the changes will benefit teachers as they will be less tired and stressed. I do think there are some good teachers. I also feel for parents with children in two or three different schools trying to work and cover three sets of different holidays and no chance of holidays together unless they pay fines! The whole idea is ridiculous

Here in France the holidays are staggered and there are three lots of holiday dates - they are done by area and therefore all the children in a family should be on holiday a the same time.

Well said Tegan! I now wonder how many students that I taught over the years, had weapons concealed about them! I reflect back on several difficult encounters with teenage students and thank goodness that I have retired, I would not like to be starting out again. Those who face all sorts of daily challenges at the chalk face deserve respect. X