There are few who would argue that teaching and learning are not the full purpose for having and running schools anywhere in the world. The basic functioning of education requires a building, a curriculum, one who teaches said curriculum, and one who learns it from the teacher and applies it to their own lives. Teaching and learning are at the apex of the educational system. Inevitably the intricacies and implementation of these two pillars changes from person to person and from government to government. Education reform is something that we see all of the time in different countries, people always trying to fix the system to make it more accessible or more equal or to produce better results. Yesterday the coalition government, and mainly the Education Minister Michael Gove, released a white paper outlining their proposals for overhauling the educational system here in the UK. Reading an article in print this morning I was amazed at how in depth they are going to hit every corner of the system in order to balance things out. Although I would like to write up my personal opinion about all areas of the white paper, for the purposes of this post I will keep my focus mainly on teachers and teaching in general.
The first change that many articles about this paper point out are the changes to teacher training. The government will no longer fund graduates who have less than a 2:2 (or second class) degree when becoming teachers and they are going to be encouraging and fast tracking people who want to make a job switch to teaching. Now, as many people who have recently gone into the world of teaching can attest, this occupation is highly competitive as it is. There are always people out looking for teaching jobs (many for full time) and it becomes difficult in the long run sometimes, especially as a new graduate. The fact that the government is going to provide incentives for people who want to switch into teaching and create less work for people who chose to dedicate their lives to it is a bit questionable. Even more so, these incentives include higher leadership positions in schools instead of “starting their careers from the bottom” as many new graduates do. There are people, wonderful people, who have been working in schools for years and have the knowledge of the students and the curriculum to effectively become Heads of subjects. To think that they could be replaced because a highly successful corporate businessperson who suddenly decides to become a teacher is worrisome. I read an article earlier in the week in which Michael Gove specifically states that teachers need to have a high emotional intelligence just as much as academic intelligence in order to effectively deliver lessons and engage youth. Gove is even quoted as saying that there are people who can be successful specialists in a range of subjects but be ineffective teachers and people who get lower degrees can still engage and level with students and make a classroom fun, inviting, and inclusive. His choice was clearly to side with the specialists and hope that their subject knowledge will be enough to keep them afloat. I beg to differ on that one.
Any teacher out there will tell you that it takes a lot more than knowledge of a subject area to be a good at their job. As was drilled into our heads in university; we as teachers act In Loco Parentis or “In Place of Parents”. We are caregivers, social workers, counselors, role models, police officers, organizers, motivational speakers, and so much more on top of our ultimate duties to teach the curriculum and provide students with knowledge. Yes, you need to know how to engage a class, but you also need to be able to gain their trust. You need to be able to show them respect and expect it from them as well. You need to build a relationship with students that foster a truly inclusive and spirited environment that allows students to flourish. Teachers, for eight hours a day and five days a week, are every aspect of a student’s life…and we take pride in that. We take this challenge and we ride head on into it because we want to see every one of those amazing faces staring back at us succeed and in turn face the world without fear. I’d like to see Mr. or Mrs. Corporate Businessperson jump into a school suddenly after years in business and try that.
On top of this, Mr. Gove is proposing an easing of standards allowing schools to terminate ineffective teachers. I don’t agree with this either. Although there are some people out there who may have chosen the educational route but clearly should not have, for the majority of us we are human. We have our own troubles year to year. Students change, atmospheres change, and I think that a higher commitment to professional development and ongoing teacher training should be more at the forefront when it comes to these teachers. Allow them the opportunity to rehabilitate and re-enter the classroom with fresh ideas and a new lease instead of just casting them aside when the going gets tough.
As a teacher I feel that there’s always an element of ongoing training. Every day I enter a classroom I am learning new things about not only my students or my lessons but about myself. I strive to constantly revise and tweak my own teaching practice in order to be as effective as I can for my students. I think that if the government here endorsed and provided elements of training for ongoing development more we would see better products in the schools. You want teachers to create better lesson plans, show them how! Don’t just say it and can the ones who you think don’t live up to the standards. If they expect us to be an example for our students, perhaps they should be an example to us.
Just my thoughts…how about you?
Thoughts: As much as it sucks, it's also good that our profession is highly competitive. A decade ago, when every teachers college grad got a job immediately, many people became teachers because it was the easiest way to get 3 months of holidays a year. Are these the people we want to be in charge of educating the masses?
ReplyDeleteAs for the emotional intelligence bit, I agree that that is absolutely necessary; it's like the bedside manner of the teaching profession. I'm confused about what your argument is. Did you not quote Gove as stating the importance of emotional competence in engaging a class and being an effective teacher?
In terms of second career-ers, there is something to be said for life experience, don't you think? Who says that new grads, who have spent every year of their life from the time they were 4 in a classroom studying, are suddenly capable of teaching kids about the realities of life? Yes, we need people to invest in us, and believe that we can develop the ability to be good teachers, but I think that people who have 10 years experience in another field should be given some points for those experiences.