I spent a year training to be a teacher in the late 1980s. Apart from a couple of months spent teaching in a school, the whole thing was an utter waste of time which I enjoyed immensely; as it was very easy and enabled me to be a student for another year, but with more money. Also, the girls were better looking than on my Degree Course.
To be honest, teaching is one of those jobs that you can either do or you can't. If the course had been three weeks long and simply involved following a few teachers and getting some useful tips, then I can't honestly say that I would have been any better or worse at the end than I was after the best part of a year sleeping through endless waffle on educational theory, didactic somethingorother, multicultural lesson plans etc. Oh and copying; sorry- writing a few essays, which of course simply regurgitated what our lecturers had said. (Actually, I could usually only speculate on what they might have said)
I recently spoke to someone who had just finished their PGCE Year enthusing about how beneficial it had been. After hearing a bit more, I realised that it sounded just like my course was 20 years ago but with new buzzwords!
Now the Government is proposing to cut the course down to 6 months and the Teaching Unions say that this is a Bad Thing.
12 comments:
Back in the 80s I was taught by several of the very worst kind of teachers - those who couldn't motivate a shark to eat fish. They'd had a whole year's training and umpteen years in schools and still couldn't teach their way out of a wet paper bag.
Maybe the Government ought to concentrate on ensuring that those admitted to teaching courses are actually capable of teaching rather than mucking around with the course.
With two daughters in the state system, I hear some right horror stories about newly qualified teachers, but conversely I've also met some probationers who's enthusiasm and natural ability for teaching set them far ahead of some 'older' staff.
I agree, you can either teach or you can't.
My teacher training course was pretty good and I had a fantastic mentor. Only problem was I trained to go into F.E and nobody told us that FE was about to go back to being a place where they mainly teach vocational and work based courses. Therefore, as I am an academic subject specialist I've been shit out of luck and unemployed for over 2 years now.
Don't be fooled by these adverts on Telly, there aren't loads of jobs for teachers, unless you want to teach Maths or Science.
I hope not. What's that, child porn disguised as 'educational satire'It's crude, tasteless and brutal and I certainly have no wish at all to read any more of it.
Whilst I'm well aware of the problems in schools and whilst I'm all for re-installing discipline,
I don't think it's anywhere near funny to suggest that the rape of a young person, however difficult they might be, could solve anything. This is one of the most disgusting things I've read in a long time. Chalk, BAN IT !!!!
Cheeky's blog may be "crude, tasteless and brutal"; unfortunately, so are all too many "students". (To me, you are a student if you go study. Those who are there because they have to be are pupils.)
It's meant to be the story of the worm that turned. Whilst it may be crude, it's still amusing.
Even Matthew Arnold used corporal punishment - he didn't like it, but he thought it necessary.
corporal punishment is on a different planet. What was described here ws rape.
I know how crude, rude and obnoxious pupils can be and now and then the idea of a clip around the ear really appeals. But what was decribed here was rape and that never appeals.
What Cheeky describes about the thug flicking his sperm at the girls and at a female teacher actually happened at my school, over 10 years ago. The headmaster tried to get him expelled but the local unit was full and no other school would take the little shit.
Such extreme and vile behaviour by pupils is now sadly common place in our schools. Me and several other teachers have spent many a lunchtime thinking of equally nasty ways that we would like to get our own back on the mindless thugs that infest our schools.
Personally, I thought it was well written and in my experience reflects the views and desires of several of my teaching friends. Also, at the end of the day this is a work of fiction and I very much doubt Cheeky would ever do something like that in real life. I think he is just using his imagination to express his frustration and disgust at how certain pupils can do almost anything, and us teachers are powerless. I take my hat off to him and hope he continues.
It is controversial, but amusing all the same
I agree Frank - ten years training or ten minutes, it'll still be blindingly obvious if you're cut out to teach after about three weeks on the job.
The DCFS would take a dim view of Cheeky Chappy's scribblings; they really are not the sort of thing you should be able to access from this site, and are more suited to the wall of a badly-maintained public convenience.
I should also point out to Cheeky Chappy that if he is currently working with children in any capacity, his writing could easily constitute grounds for dismissal.
Do yourself a favour, Mr Chalk, and use the Blue Pencil.
Spot on as usual, Frank. I switched careers after 10 years in 'industry' and the only useful parts of the PGCE were the placements.
The first 6 week TP in tough inner city schools sorted the wheat from the chaff - nearly 40% dropped out or were invited to leave by the University.
You can either do it or you can't - let the bankers come, we've just had a refugee from banking hand his notice in (3 years and out). Those who can hack it and are any good might last, if they can wade through the mire of admin and targets.
They made it easier to beocme a social worker a number of years ago and look what happened - all sorts of flotsam and jetsam who did not have the skills or understanding to follow through on complicated social and legal policies. Now they are talking about making it a Masters level profession. You may be able to tell who can be a good teacher after 3 weeks but longer training would mean that there is more time to sort the wheat from the chaff.
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