Panorama: Bad Teachers

[KS10]

Fair enough, but experienced ones like me are too expensive!
(We won't mention my recent disastrous interview ... )

A couple of points

• There is also the issue of the behaviour of pupils within certain schools. An incompetent teacher in such a school may very well be a good teacher in a well-run school with a discipline policy that is enforced.
  Sometimes the Senior Leadership Team will promote poor teachers simply because they are yes-men.

(I hate these half-hour programmes - you never get a balanced viewpoint although I guess this wasn't the intention).

Finally, I bet parents whose children attend Indies are thrilled to discover that teachers deemed unfit to teach in the state sector are allowed to teach in private schools.

[sherry_d]

Finally, I bet parents whose children attend Indies are thrilled to discover that teachers deemed unfit to teach in the state sector are allowed to teach in private schools.

But they will be much easier to fire

I actually agree with the program, civil servants are notoriously difficult to fire and really why should we have incompetent teachers in schools. There are some who are untotally fit for the profession and I know one

Its OK to have so so teachers who coast along but there are some who just shouldnt be near the school. I wont bore you with my experience of one but it destroys a child, their confidence and will take a loooooooong way to ever get them back up. I HATE unions and I find them creepy and just there to self serve their interest ( I mean those at the top on these union earning mega bucks through subscriptions). I did belong to one dare I say the largest and they really serve no purpose IMHO.

[T12ACY]

I agree with sherry_d am afraid.... We have had 3 siblings through the same primary with outstanding teachers, they do a marvelous job and produced some well rounded young people. However (you knew there would be one!) DS3 in Y5 had the worst teacher ever who knocked all the students confidence and undermarked their work significantly. Was so bad we considered changing schools but stuck it out and am glad we did because in to Y6 and what a difference. A child who has improved 5 sub levels, who would have thought it possible?

So yes there should be a way of identifying and removing incompetence from teaching staff, that may be training and close monitoring or ultimately striking them off to avoid farming them out to other schools who get lumbered with the 'problem'.

Should like to reiterate in our opinion the teaching staff overall have been super duper, but 1 in about 100 are bound to be not as good and that 1 probably just needed a bit of guidance

Good work teachers, keep it up!

[Snowdrops]

It wasn't until DD moved to grammar school and started enjoying art lessons - actually, strike that. She LOVES art lessons now, that I found out how bad her last art teacher was. On the surface of it he was a nice smiling bloke, always had time to chat to the parents and the school as a whole was doing well. I never had any problems with any of the teachers and dd came away with a good education. What astounded me when dd explained why she hated art in primary school was because the teacher (who just so happened to be the head!!) used to shout at them for not doing it exactly as he wanted it done! He also taught dd maths, which she didn't like either, and does it grudingly which is a great shame as she's rather good at it - all because of one teacher!!

[mike1880]

In a small school (i.e. one class intake), a bad teacher can cripple the whole school and undermine the education of every child there, a really bad teacher can also do untold harm to the children. Our son had such a teacher for one term in Y2 before we moved our children to a new school at Christmas, it took at least 4 years for the psychological damage she managed to inflict on him in that brief time to wear off.

The Ofsted report the following April that identified it as a failing school pinned the blame very firmly on the damage that was done in Y2, but 5 years down the line that woman is still teaching at the same school and in all probability will be there for another 20 or 30 years. IMHO she should not even be allowed contact with children, never mind being in charge of a class of 30 of them for a whole generation.

That was, I hope, an extreme case - I haven't come across anyone quite that bad since.

Mike

[wonderwoman]

Finally, I bet parents whose children attend Indies are thrilled to discover that teachers deemed unfit to teach in the state sector are allowed to teach in private schools.

But they will be much easier to fire

I agree it is very difficult to sack a teacher or infact anyone - they have to have warnings, help etc etc.

There are some shocking teachers and they should be sacked, but TBH most of them resign and never set foot in a classroom again.

I once followed up an advert for a job at an indie, salary based on experience - didn't even bother to apply. When I told them my current salary their reply was that they couldn't possibly offer anything anywhere near that.
Not surprisingly some of their staff are now doing supply in state sector because they can earn far more for fewer days. I have also known of one teacher who couldn't get any supply work in state schools because, to be blunt she was rubbish, get a full time job at an indie.

[lacey]

My daughter had a really terrible teacher in year 5. Which I swear to this day that is why she failed her 11plus (not by much I will add). I wasn't the only one who wasn't happy with the teacher. Many parents were complaining about her to the head teacher. She could not connect with her class and they all looked very unhappy and the class above could hear the noise coming from her class. When she wrote the school reports they were all exactly the same. Many parents complained. At the end of year evening I took the report and showed the teacher that it didn't make sense. She would put that they were good at a subject and at the closing statement she said differently. She told me thats what she thought. I was so glad she left the school but wished she hadn't taken my daughter in year 5. So sorry for Spain right now I heard she went there to teach.

[KS10]

DS has had 3 fabulous teachers in Middle School (couldn't have asked for better) and I am gutted that DD is getting something different. She has had 3 young teachers for the past 3 years and I wanted her to have someone much older. That hasn't happened. I am dying to find out who the other 2 teachers are. If they are old and grey I won't be a happy bunny!

[Sassie'sDad]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/78 ... froom.html

and more of the same old twaddle that has been around for ever:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/ed ... ldren.html

[Snowdrops]

Yes, I read the report in today's Telegraph. I find it quite shocking that so called professionals would stoop to this level. The arrogance of some of them (note, I said SOME of them - not ALL, we know there are teachers out there, good and bad, who wouldn't bring their profession into disrepute with some of the comments made) can be seen in their response today: http://community.tes.co.uk/forums/p/423 ... px#5744453

As for how hard spelling is - what, it's suddenly changed over the past few years? No-one else has had to learn to spell the same words? I'm shocked at how hard it's become for people to spell, it was soooo much easier in my day!! Yes, sarcasm, but hey, I'm getting sick to death of some of the stupendous claims, I really am.