As I type these words, more than 500 million people are living in poverty. They do not have enough money for food and many are dying from hunger. The World Health Organisation estimates that this extremely high level of poverty means that 1/3 of the world's population is underfed and yet another 1/3 is starving.
If you would like to get involved and take action to solve this problem, please click on this link.
Tuesday, 28 April 2009
Friday, 17 April 2009
Behaviour Behaviour Behaviour
Sir Alan Steer, former successful headmaster and current government behaviour tsar, has been all over the television, newspapers and internet during the past week since the initial publication of his report entitled "Learning behaviour: Lessons learned", which is a review of behaviour standards and practices in our schools. Although the final report is not due to be published until November, his initial findings have prompted comments from various corners of the media, including the BBC news website and Mortarboard, the Guardian's education blog.
I did not read all 208 pages but I have read the vast majority of his findings and I certainly paid close attention to the 47 recommendations. Most people seem to have picked up on Steer's statement that behaviour in schools is very good and is improving. He has therefore been heavily criticised for being sorely out of touch with the realities faced by classroom teachers up and down the country. I cannot agree with his statement. Based on my current and previous experiences in several British schools, my opinion is that average student behaviour is in fact bad and getting worse. Also, I am annoyed and angered by the implication that disruptive behaviour is often the result of bad teaching. This myth has been wrongly fuelled for far too long and needs to be quashed, not encouraged.
However, I would like to say that I have respect for Steer's previous accomplishments as a highly successful headmaster and I do agree with and take heart from much of what he has written. Granted, some of his suggestions are rather obvious: All teachers must have seating plans; codes of conduct must be clearly displayed on walls; senior staff must be a visible and effective presence in corridors between and during lessons. These ideas are not exactly revolutionary, yet it needs to be said that even these simple things are far from commonplace in too many schools and classrooms. Such negligence fuels disruption, creates further, unnecessary problems, and is symptomatic of the rot at the core of the education system.
In addition to his finding that general behaviour is good, Steer does concede that "much remains to be done to raise standards" and that there is definite "scope for further improvement." This fills me with hope that he is not as out of touch with the current climate as others believe.
Three further comments that also fill me with hope are as follows: Steer suggests that "effective early intervention" is critical. I have long since been an advocate of dealing with potential troublemakers at the earliest opportunity rather than giving them too many opportunities to effect a change that is unlikely. In addition to this, he comments that "parents and teachers should work ...with mutual regard." This is certainly a crucial point as it has been my experience that links between schools and the wider community, particularly parents, are not as strong as they could be. Immediate, significant changes are needed in this regard. Lastly, Steer calls for widespread "recognition of well-behaved students and supportive parents." This is absolutely spot-on because far too much time and resources are regularly given over to dealing with the negatives and not enough credit is given to well-behaved students and to the parents who encourage them to learn and to behave well. More praise is needed.
Finally, I am greatly encouraged by Steer's conviction that "poor behaviour cannot be tolerated as it is the right of pupils to learn and teachers to teach." This will strike a chord with everyone who has a vested interest in teaching and learning and I hope that Sir Alan Steer's report will have the desired impact, namely that it acts as a much-needed wake-up call that brings about positive changes in education.
I did not read all 208 pages but I have read the vast majority of his findings and I certainly paid close attention to the 47 recommendations. Most people seem to have picked up on Steer's statement that behaviour in schools is very good and is improving. He has therefore been heavily criticised for being sorely out of touch with the realities faced by classroom teachers up and down the country. I cannot agree with his statement. Based on my current and previous experiences in several British schools, my opinion is that average student behaviour is in fact bad and getting worse. Also, I am annoyed and angered by the implication that disruptive behaviour is often the result of bad teaching. This myth has been wrongly fuelled for far too long and needs to be quashed, not encouraged.
However, I would like to say that I have respect for Steer's previous accomplishments as a highly successful headmaster and I do agree with and take heart from much of what he has written. Granted, some of his suggestions are rather obvious: All teachers must have seating plans; codes of conduct must be clearly displayed on walls; senior staff must be a visible and effective presence in corridors between and during lessons. These ideas are not exactly revolutionary, yet it needs to be said that even these simple things are far from commonplace in too many schools and classrooms. Such negligence fuels disruption, creates further, unnecessary problems, and is symptomatic of the rot at the core of the education system.
In addition to his finding that general behaviour is good, Steer does concede that "much remains to be done to raise standards" and that there is definite "scope for further improvement." This fills me with hope that he is not as out of touch with the current climate as others believe.
Three further comments that also fill me with hope are as follows: Steer suggests that "effective early intervention" is critical. I have long since been an advocate of dealing with potential troublemakers at the earliest opportunity rather than giving them too many opportunities to effect a change that is unlikely. In addition to this, he comments that "parents and teachers should work ...with mutual regard." This is certainly a crucial point as it has been my experience that links between schools and the wider community, particularly parents, are not as strong as they could be. Immediate, significant changes are needed in this regard. Lastly, Steer calls for widespread "recognition of well-behaved students and supportive parents." This is absolutely spot-on because far too much time and resources are regularly given over to dealing with the negatives and not enough credit is given to well-behaved students and to the parents who encourage them to learn and to behave well. More praise is needed.
Finally, I am greatly encouraged by Steer's conviction that "poor behaviour cannot be tolerated as it is the right of pupils to learn and teachers to teach." This will strike a chord with everyone who has a vested interest in teaching and learning and I hope that Sir Alan Steer's report will have the desired impact, namely that it acts as a much-needed wake-up call that brings about positive changes in education.
Thursday, 16 April 2009
Fair pay for teachers
Almost exactly one year ago I wrote a post about the imminent union strike and another post about the proposed pay increase at that time. The information and arguments I put forward then are still relevant today as the same debate has hit the headlines in various forms over the past week. For example, the BBC news website has reported that the leading teachers' union - the NUT - is demanding a 10% pay increase. This issue always sparks many different opinions and I am always angered by two things in particular: The deliberate lies and misinformation put forward by the government; and the ignorant reactions of people who fail to recognise the worth of a good teacher and who choose to focus instead on a teacher's holiday entitlement. Mortarboard, the Guardian newspaper's education blog, has an interesting post on the topic and the comments section is a perfect example of the many varying opinions that tend to be put forward when the issue of teachers' pay arises.
Last year, the former Schools Minister Jim Knight used his various television appearances and a badly written piece in the Times Educational Supplement to state that the salary of an average teacher was £34,000. That figure was inaccurate and deliberately misleading. One year on, the current Schools Minister for England, Sarah McCarthy-Fry, is saying that the salary of an average teacher is now £33,000. This new figure is also inaccurate and grossly, deliberately misleading. Traditionally, teachers have never enjoyed public sympathy and have never received substantial public backing. Claims such as those made by two consecutive Schools Ministers will serve only to further dent the fragile support that does exist. When the take-home pay of all teachers working in our schools is taken in to account, from head teachers through AST's down to NQT's and GTP's, the average salary may well calculate as £33,000 or even £34,000. However, this figure is a gross misrepresentation of the current wage structure of a classroom teacher on the main pay scale. The starting salary for a newly qualified teacher is just over £20,000 and it takes six years of classroom teaching to reach just over £30,000, which marks the limit of the main pay scale. These figures highlight the fact that the average salary being quoted simply cannot be true. It is not within an average teacher's pay scale and is therefore impossible.
I concur with those who put forth the view that many teachers currently working in our schools are incompetent and do not deserve any form of pay increase. I concur with this opinion because it is true- many of my former and current colleagues are bad professionals who do a bad job on a daily basis. Too many of them would struggle to keep their jobs if they were working in the private sector. Their lazy approach to work damages the reputation of the vast majority of teachers who do a wonderful job in increasingly difficult circumstances. It is unfair to tar the many with the flaws of the few, particularly when it is undeniable that every job in every industry has its damaging passengers. Those of us who work hard deserve a pay increase that is already overdue.
Teachers have been insulted by paltry, below inflation pay rises for a worrying number of consecutive years. A reasonable, satisfactory pay rise is necessary and absolutely deserved. The current financial climate - crudely being used as an argument against an increase - is, in my opinion, irrelevant. Teachers have been handed insufficient pay increases long before the term "credit crunch" became a part of common vocabulary. 10% is unrealistic and the NUT knows it. They are simply using that figure as a starting point. I will never see a 10% increase. All I want is a wage rise that is fair and that does not leave me, as a hard-working and dedicated professional, feeling cheated, insulted and worried about money.
Last year, the former Schools Minister Jim Knight used his various television appearances and a badly written piece in the Times Educational Supplement to state that the salary of an average teacher was £34,000. That figure was inaccurate and deliberately misleading. One year on, the current Schools Minister for England, Sarah McCarthy-Fry, is saying that the salary of an average teacher is now £33,000. This new figure is also inaccurate and grossly, deliberately misleading. Traditionally, teachers have never enjoyed public sympathy and have never received substantial public backing. Claims such as those made by two consecutive Schools Ministers will serve only to further dent the fragile support that does exist. When the take-home pay of all teachers working in our schools is taken in to account, from head teachers through AST's down to NQT's and GTP's, the average salary may well calculate as £33,000 or even £34,000. However, this figure is a gross misrepresentation of the current wage structure of a classroom teacher on the main pay scale. The starting salary for a newly qualified teacher is just over £20,000 and it takes six years of classroom teaching to reach just over £30,000, which marks the limit of the main pay scale. These figures highlight the fact that the average salary being quoted simply cannot be true. It is not within an average teacher's pay scale and is therefore impossible.
I concur with those who put forth the view that many teachers currently working in our schools are incompetent and do not deserve any form of pay increase. I concur with this opinion because it is true- many of my former and current colleagues are bad professionals who do a bad job on a daily basis. Too many of them would struggle to keep their jobs if they were working in the private sector. Their lazy approach to work damages the reputation of the vast majority of teachers who do a wonderful job in increasingly difficult circumstances. It is unfair to tar the many with the flaws of the few, particularly when it is undeniable that every job in every industry has its damaging passengers. Those of us who work hard deserve a pay increase that is already overdue.
Teachers have been insulted by paltry, below inflation pay rises for a worrying number of consecutive years. A reasonable, satisfactory pay rise is necessary and absolutely deserved. The current financial climate - crudely being used as an argument against an increase - is, in my opinion, irrelevant. Teachers have been handed insufficient pay increases long before the term "credit crunch" became a part of common vocabulary. 10% is unrealistic and the NUT knows it. They are simply using that figure as a starting point. I will never see a 10% increase. All I want is a wage rise that is fair and that does not leave me, as a hard-working and dedicated professional, feeling cheated, insulted and worried about money.
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