Teacher shortage is getting worse, according to MPs

This is actually another good reason to stop this sort of behaviour. There are people, often single and bored, who have nothing better to do. There are people who would rather avoid their other halves and kids. Quite often, I'm sure they mean no harm, but it normalises a certain pattern of behaviour which doesn't work for most people with kids. And then again, I suppose some of them are scared or trying to compensate for lack of ability.

Terrible as it may be to say right now, perhaps this is a good time for teachers to say no. It would take a pretty self-destructive and petty tyrant to fire talented and irreplaceable teachers, one not long for the profession. If the unions really considered the power of collective action, not even anything as severe as work-to-rule, then I think change would come quickly.

But maybe I am just some commie dreamer.

 

There was me thinking a Graduate teaching assistant was someone that worked at a university with the lower wage bing offset by having the fees for a PhD b ing covered.

 

As a retired teacher with 30 plus years of teaching behind me, I can see, from what I read, hear and especially what you are all saying that things are not good in the teaching world. It used to be a most-respected profession and children were taught great respect towards their teachers. Of course the dreaded cane or ruler helped, backed by the fact that parents respected teachers too. Things were not good though when my daughter was at school. With no guidelines or curriculum, schools were left to their own devices and children of the same age were at all levels and were taught just what teachers wanted to teach. This meant that at 11 they were graded not on ability but on the level of education with which they entered secondary school, and this was determined by the school before. Now, though, things have all gone the other way. You press the button to start but nobody knows when to press it to stop, or even slow down.

 

I think you are wrong there - I know of one teacher who was placed on capability for not holding back a left-handed student from break times and at lunchtimes to copy out work neatly EVERY DAY. This difficulty was due to dyspraxia. The teacher considered that holding the child back as per policy would be torturing the child.

Saying "no" either for the sake of children's welling or a teacher's own, is impossible to do without it being viewed as insubordination and this "transgression" will be recorded on the employment file.

There are managers in education who aren't interested in an individual child's development, but view the child as part of a cohort. A child's results potential is measured in percentage points. They are reduced to numbers. The child becomes a commodity in terms of school league table placing.

Teachers then have to reduce them to numbers too - the draconian handwriting policy was due to the "concern" about whole school presentation in books and what this "cost" the school at Y6 Sats in terms of level 3/4/5 etc.

The misery of bad management isn't limited to teachers, it encompasses the children too.

 

When did you stop teaching?

The cane stopped and the NC started in the late 80s.

 

Yes, thank you, that was my point. https://community.tes.com/threads/were-more-teachers-than-ever-before-in-englands-schools.754114/

 

Right Mr Mc G, you're on! It's worth a press story, if anything. Stupid, crazy system. Wish we had the old comps, LEAS, and degree route or BEd training routes and that's your lot.

 

But some record levels are less recordable than others...

 

I won't continue the Orwell analogies! But yes, we are working too hard and by the end of my last stint I could have happily punched the el Keeno brigade doing hours and hours...for what? Headstone won't hold all the text!

 

I want to know where this so called shortage is... as a mature (at least in age!), male primary NQT, I was told that schools would be falling over themselves to hire me!

I have applied for -after having visited- the few jobs that have come up (within a reasonable driving distance of where I live) because the heads have said that they thought I would be a good fit to the team and they liked what I said during the visit, only to not even be called for interview!

I know my applications have been good (on paper) as I get them checked by a current head and two recently retired ones!

After having worked bloody hard to get my QTS and PGCE (via a SCITT) I am on the verge of saying sod it and going back to industry as I feel that I have been totally mislead by the unions and the establishment (plus I can't afford to be unemployed much longer!).

There is no national shortage, nor is there a demand for mature, male, primary NQTs with experience of life outside education - at least in the East Midlands!

Maybe it is the fact that I have that life experience that scares them? Who knows?

Sorry for the rant, but as you can tell I am a very disgruntled and disheartened NQT!

 

I remember that from when I applied for my first teaching position. The head has said I would be a 'good fit' and she told me about all the benefits of working at her school, and encouraged me to send in my application as soon as possible.
I didn't get an interview. But I learnt from that not to put my eggs in one basket (if you pardon the cliche).
I bet she said to a load of other candidates as well.

I found I did better with the schools I didn't visit. In fact, I don't think I got an interview for any of the schools which I took the time to visit.

 

Budicus, I'm really sorry that you haven't got a job yet - that's bad luck. We were talking about losing out at interviews/applications on the supply forum the other day. We've all had lots of refusals in the past. Peakster said that he had a run of 14 refusals and then 3 acceptances on the trot. Sometimes, it's just a case of your face not fitting - don't get paranoid about it. Your face will fit somewhere.

 

Clearly His Royal Lowness wants to split the teacher in half!

 

Mwah ha ha ha, I will keep you posted..!

 

Er...nope. Indie schools from prep to secondary are all at this. Shocking. Bring back the old PGCE.

 

Few schools want older teachers. Fewer schools want older NQTs, Even fewer schools want male, older NQTs.
Plenty of discussions on this topic in these forums.

 

This picture is a perfect summary

 

I'd swap the label for 'Students' and 'Government', personally. Otherwise I'm in agreement.

 

A few years ago in the state sector we started having to have several recruitment rounds to find a suitable headteacher. Now they have executive heads running several schools because they just can't recruit one headteacher per school and they have to have several reruitment rounds to (sometimes) find a suitable teacher. Good times.

 

"MPs want more active efforts to reduce the numbers quitting."