Teachers and the MinEd

[rapid van cleef]

Quick question - which planet are you on?

Yeah I agree. Thats total bollocks. Think about this, as the queue gets bigger at the checkout does the line move quicker? Not really difficult to understand this basic principal. More 1 on 1 time spent with a student = improved grades, very simple.

[Jantar]

Yeah I agree. Thats total bollocks. Think about this, as the queue gets bigger at the checkout does the line move quicker? Not really difficult to understand this basic principal. More 1 on 1 time spent with a student = improved grades, very simple.

So you are saying there should be 1 teacher for every pupil? What planet are you living on?

The pupli: teacher ratio is currently 15:1 and believe the government are advocating for 17:1. That is still a long way from the 25:1 when I was a pupil and education standards were a lot higher than they are currently. Improved grades will come about when schools go back to streaming pupils and threatening to hold back those who just don't make it. Having a whole class working at a similar pace requires less teacher time than having one or two disruptive pupils that take up a disproportionate effort onthe part of the teacher.

Oh your checkout example is a fallacy as teachers don't teach in pupil in turn, they teach each class in turn.

[rapid van cleef]

So you are saying there should be 1 teacher for every pupil? What planet are you living on?

The pupli: teacher ratio is currently 15:1 and believe the government are advocating for 17:1. That is still a long way from the 25:1 when I was a pupil and education standards were a lot higher than they are currently. Improved grades will come about when schools go back to streaming pupils and threatening to hold back those who just don't make it. Having a whole class working at a similar pace requires less teacher time than having one or two disruptive pupils that take up a disproportionate effort onthe part of the teacher.

Oh your checkout example is a fallacy as teachers don't teach in pupil in turn, they teach each class in turn.

no that is not correct. you teach the the middle ground initially, then spend the remainder of the class circulating and working with individuals and small groups then back to whole class, then back to smaller groups and individuals. the days of effective teaching being a teacher standing at the front of the class for the whole lesson are long gone.

i did not think for a second that anyone would take my explanation meaning that there should be 1 - 1 tuition for everyone, but it should happen in every lesson on some level so that by the end of the week, you have sat with every student in the class for a few minutes.

[PrincessBandit]

no that is not correct. you teach the the middle ground initially, then spend the remainder of the class circulating and working with individuals and small groups then back to whole class, then back to smaller groups and individuals. the days of effective teaching being a teacher standing at the front of the class for the whole lesson are long gone.

i did not think for a second that anyone would take my explanation meaning that there should be 1 - 1 tuition for everyone, but it should happen in every lesson on some level so that by the end of the week, you have sat with every student in the class for a few minutes.

You are quite right - the one-size-fits-all style of teaching (with teacher up the front, often now referred to as a "chalk and talk" teacher) is long gone. Differentiation is what it's all about now, and teachers are expected to provide, basically, customised lessons which cater for every level of need in their classroom. Easier said that done when you see the vast spectrum of ability, aptitude and attitude all contained in one room... Oh, and on top of that, "boring" is not allowed! Everything has to be fun and interesting for maximum engagement

[Winston001]

Not really difficult to understand this basic principal. More 1 on 1 time spent with a student = improved grades, very simple.

Small class size is one of those commonsense answers to better education.


Or is it?

I've read research which indicates large classes can be just as effective in educating pupils. For example Asian schools have a very high pupil:teacher ratio yet also have achievement levels. Asian and Eurpean kids who come here think our schools are like a holiday camp. My daughter experienced the tough side of this with 3 weeks in France. Long long school days plus Saturday morning. She came home exhausted.

[Jantar]

I recall when I was still at school that we had 45 pupils as an average class size at primary school (no intermediate where I was), and when at high school that dropped to around 30 for most classes I felt it was as though we had a teacher to ourselves.

I also recall that my teacher managed to spend some time with each pupil every day while we were doing various text book exercises. And the standards achieved were much higher than today's standards.

At Teacher's College (when I was seriously considering becoming a teacher) we were taught that smaller class sizes made the teacher's job easier, but wasn't absolutely neccessary as long as pupils were grouped into similar levels of ability.

Incidentally, I enjoyed being in the classroom and teaching, it was the politics of education that persuaded me that teaching was never going to the proffession for me.

[merv]

You do understand that back when we were young kids grew up learning to behave in the home first before they went to school. They didn't have smart phones in their hands and they could sit still for more than 40 seconds before they scream out for personal attention. This is the me me me generation.

Poor teachers trying to cope with the modern crowd on outdated government funding models I say.

[Brian d marge]

You do understand that back when we were young kids grew up learning to behave in the home first before they went to school. They didn't have smart phones in their hands and they could sit still for more than 40 seconds before they scream out for personal attention. This is the me me me generation.

Poor teachers trying to cope with the modern crowd on outdated government funding models I say.

the world changed, August the 15th 1971

anything you knew was, and is, now null and void

what you have now is a direct result of 1971

Stephen

[Banditbandit]

Incidentally, I enjoyed being in the classroom and teaching, it was the politics of education that persuaded me that teaching was never going to the proffession for me.

What??? Too many non-teachers commenting on teachers' performance????

[Jantar]

What??? Too many non-teachers commenting on teachers' performance????

No. Too much PC bullshit.

[oldrider]

What??? Too many non-teachers commenting on teachers' performance????

Only teachers, students, parents and teacher employers should measure teachers performance as they are the stake holders!

Teachers regularly complain about their conditions of employment and from what they tell us, I agree with them and all of us have "some" experience on employment conditions!

There are different ways of tidying up employment conditions and it really should begin at the work face between the employer representative I.E. the teachers most immediate manager and the actual teacher themselves!

They should form a contract that clearly states what is expected and how it should be measured and how it should be rewarded.

The contract should be a living document and visited on a regular basis to maintain direction and to eliminate unwanted surprises and to track progress.

IMHO it is the same basic process that teacher pupil parent interviews take and if done with integrety and regularity, it should produce the required results.

It's called performance payment because that is what it measures in "every" direction, just like parent teacher meetings. Can't you just feel the !