I read an article in today's Evening Standard which gave additional details on the teacher who was sacked for wearing trainers and tracksuit bottoms to work. Yet another article on the same topic can be found on the Telegraph's website.
There are several contrasting details across each of these reports on the same story, which makes it quite difficult to establish a concrete opinion on exactly what has happened. My strong comments in my previous post were based soley on the article that I read on the bbc news website.
Having read each of the articles several times, it seems to me that the teacher in question, Adrian Swain, had taught pe and maths for several years and was therefore entitled to wear the aforementioned tracksuit and trainers to work during this time, for clear and obvious reasons. HOWEVER: "Mr Swain... had taken up a new role teaching science and maths." I believe that after dropping his pe responsibilities, this guy simply decided to continue wearing the sports clothes to which he had become accustomed during his lengthy career. And the people at the top of the tree were justifiably against this. He refused to comply even after being given a verbal warning and therefore lost his job as a result. I think that he has been incredibly naive in assuming that wearing inappropriate clothing to work would be overlooked. I think that his comments regarding what students prefer - "Children would much rather have a good teacher who wore trainers than a bad one who was dressed like a businessman" - are rather immature. And I think that he will ultimately lose his appeal, meaning that his sacking will be upheld. He can have no complaints when this happens- particularly if he turns up to the hearing in jeans and a t-shirt!
Saturday, 3 January 2009
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8 comments:
Like you, I've seen several different versions of this story; at first, it was cited that he was a teacher of SEN, then PE.
Anyway, I find it hard to feel sympathy for someone who really should know better. I'm in my 40s but have only been teaching for 4 years; in every other job I've had, there's been a dress-code of some description, and I've never found it to be a problem. I'd never dream of turning up to school in jeans or trakkies, or otherwise than smartly dressed.
We're continually reminded that we need to make pupils aware of our expectations of them, and as one of those expectations is that they adhere to a dress-code, I think it perfectly reasonable that we should do the same.
From the articles I've read, I'm led to believe that Mr Swain was given the opportunity to comply with SMT requests/instructions to change his mode of dress and that he chose not to do so. In any other job, refusing management instructions is a serious matter which could lead to termination of employment - as has happened in this case.
I couldn't get most of my work done if I had to dress up with heels and all. I regularly wear jeans or sweats to work. I've got 30 desktop computers to maintain, and that involves a lot of crawling around on the floor. I do try to dress up 2 or 3 times a week, but can't do it daily!
BTW, I've got 2 other things on my mind today. First off, don't forget Sx3 tomorrow...it's a stitch! And I've got a pretty good chance of snagging a superior blog award...thanking you in advance for your support!
Hi Mr. Teacher! Thanks for the comment on my blog today. It's funny that this debate is around again eh?
For Canadian teachers it can be quite hard to understand the UK debates about so called "boring" teachers as we're just so desperate to teach at all due to the lack of jobs.
Many of my teachers who want to move to London complain about the older teachers in schools here who won't "make way" for the new ideas. The hands-on, interactive & visual approach, combined with group work is quite radical for us over here. It's predominately the younger teachers who want to apply these techniques, whereas the older teachers stick to pen & paper lecture style. Generalizations of course, but mostly true.
As for the trainer issue -- my goodness! Again, the difference between our 2 countries is very clear with this issue. Teachers are part of a union here (it's not a choice, but automatic) so a large part of the reason the younger teachers can't find work is that the older teachers are secure in their positions & virtually impossible to dismiss. So a teacher who wears trainers to school would have to be seriously weak in the classroom before they could be dismissed for their lack of appropriate footwear.
What I love about the UK is that this issue is actually discussed in the media at all. We rarely ever see any news about education in Canada. If we do, it's about teachers striking for wage increases & an increase in prep time. Occasionally we'll hear about someone being assaulted in a school & that hits the media like crazy. But that's about it.
Anyway, great to see you actively writing again! Hope you're enjoying the new year & new term. Cheers, Victoria
How does this opinion square with your previous one about the red ink and "successfully challenged" etc.. In both cases there is an authoritative rule... one which you apparently agree with and one with which you don't. Isn't that all it comes down to? Am I wrong to search for some consistency beyond your personal quirks here?
How does this opinion square with your previous one about the red ink and "successfully challenged" etc.? In both cases there is an administrative rule... one which you apparently agree with and one with which you don't. Isn't it just your personal opinion?
I guess it's your blog and you can pan and/or laud who and what you like. I just gathered from your tone that it would be based on some more consistent, unless I'm missing something.
Ed-
Firstly, thanks for taking the time to read and comment on my blog.
I have just re-read the posts on the scruffy teacher and the red ink. Although I can see your point that my opinions are lacking in some conistency because on one issue I am advocating that teachers ought to follow the rules and adhere to dress codes yet on the other issue I am perhaps suggesting the opposite, you are making a tenuous link between the two because topics in question are very far removed from one another. Banning red ink is a ridiculous idea, whereas expecting your staff to wear smart and appropriate clothing to work is common sense.
And yes, it is my blog where I voice MY OPINIONS - there is a big difference between opinions and quirks - on mostly education-related topics. I am always pleased when others choose to add their own opinions and comments but I do not expect all of us to agree all of the time.
Lastly, clearly you have had some trouble with consistency yourself otherwise you could have avoided posting two reasonably similar comments on the same topics within eight minutes of each other.
ps: My tone?
Oh Ed, I forgot to add that it is good to see that you have been voicing your own opinions and updating your own blog on a consistent basis.Well done you.
I find this discussion very interesting!
This is my first year of teaching and wondered what to do myself. Firstly I thought I could gain and maintain respect easier dressing up, but it only lead the students to believe I was more of a distant teacher. Being around 5 years older than them I have chosen to just be myself, wearing jeans and trainers most of the times. We have more dynamic discussions and they are willing to participate more often! Teaching is about getting to their little minds!If there was not a specific dress code for the teachers I simply do not understand why this happened.
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