Every year at Easter time the various Teachers Unions hold their annual conferences. The purpose of these meetings is to provide the Daily Newspapers with stories which convince their readers that teachers have completely lost the plot and should not be entrusted with the education of children.
A couple of posts back we looked at the ATL doing their bit to make us look like a bunch of clowns by suggesting that kids need to be taught 'different ways of walking'. This set a high standard for the NUT to follow but they rose to the challenge. Baljeet Ghale, the union’s president refused to be beaten and promptly declared that teaching pupils British values is racist.
The NASUWT were in serious danger of being left behind until their general secretary Chris Keates, scored the winner by declaring that the TV Series 'Life on Mars' was Public Enemy No. 1
In a joint effort, everybody condemned selection by academic ability, claimed that teachers were being constantly bullied by each other and fainted dead away at the idea of paying good teachers more than rubbish ones. The newpapers all sent letters of thanks to each Union for once again providing first class entertainment.
Meanwhile all the normal teachers stayed at home and enjoyed the unexpected sunshine.
3 comments:
I went to a teachers' conference just once in my life. But never again!! I soon realised that such conferences attract only the psychotic and the desperate, the loony and the lonely.
Why on Earth should I willingly spend a week, unpaid, in the company of 'colleagues' that I would run a mile from if I saw them coming down the street towards me?!
I'm curious, are there actual decisions made at these conferences that actually affect people?
Or to put it another way, bearing in mind the ability (or lack of it) of people to make decisions, is there actually the possibility some daft policy comes out of this?
Or is it just an excuse to gather all the dregs in one place and feed them salmonella sandwiches in the hope that something useful gets done in the following week of sickness?
I see you're in the Grauniad again, Frank :D
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