DC’s teacher didn’t go to university.

Being popular and liked as a person/teacher is very separate to whether you are competent. I have known a number of colleagues who are fun to be around, but good doctors they are not.

@greengreyblue
I may be unreasonable to find this hilarious!! Paying all that mo ey and you end up shocked that your money doesn’t buy a degree educated teachersyyn

A pp has written ‘All of our teachers have degrees in my school, but we often have to teach outside of our specialisms to plug gaps in timetables.’

What’s the difference between a teacher without a degree and a teacher teaching a subject they’re not qualified in?

I don't know if it is different for sciences, but DD's PhD qualified English teachers (two of them so far) definitely seemed to be giving much more interesting and deep dive content than you would normally expect. Come to think of it one of her physics teachers also did so, so perhaps it depends on the person. He was so obviously passionate about his subject that it really contributed to the enthusiasm of the children. I would always rather be taught by someone who really loves their subject and I do think it's noticeable.

Having said all that, when I initially commented I didn't know that this particular teacher was only teaching up to GCSE and although I'd still prefer someone with a degree by a long long way, I do think most GCSE English content is probably teachable to an adequate standard by someone with no degree but a reasonable level of intelligence since the spec requires very little independent though, though I think at least some of the children would benefit from someone with deeper knowledge since hopefully it's not just about teaching to the test. I don't think someone without at least a closely related subject degree would be able to provide adequate support in science or maths subjects, not even for GCSE.

PhDs are optional and obviously don't confer teaching ability - but personal experience via my own schooling and DD leads me to believe that these teachers can be very inspiring when they are both highly knowledgable and also good at teaching.

Friend has recently had safeguarding issues at her daughters school, and discovered that several of the new male teachers haven’t had either background checks or have DBS.

@Shaketherombooga which school is this?

Justification will be that most people know that private school teachers do not need a degree 🤷

So actual nursing is beneath nurses these days - which accounts for a lot.

A friend who was a nurse (equivalent to a Matron in charge of 3 or 4 wards) didn’t have a degree and was devastated when under the last labour government was made redundant
She found in the year leading up to her redundancy that she was given degree educated nurses who thought it wasn’t their job to empty bed pans or do sponge baths or make tea.

They had a degree so that was beneath them

But what happens if your child or children have no need for a qualified teacher who is going to insist they sit in a classroom for the next 7 years learning things they will never use again in their lives.

I have a PhD in solid state physics, I can say with complete confidence; it would help me not at all to teach GCSE science and probably not A levels either. All it would do is contribute to the school’s bragging rights.

No it doesn’t. There are always exceptions to the rule, but in most cases those who do well ‘on the job’ also do well in the more academic modules. Nursing is no longer about sponge baths and making tea. Nursing is a highly technical role which requires thorough understanding of legislation, medical technology, medicines, and physiology/anatomy. They need to be able to communicate effectively with multidisciplinary care teams orally and in writing. If a nursing student can’t master those then they’re in the wrong job. This is particularly important if you want nurses to be able to progress and specialise, and to train new recruits.

Nursing is often denigrated and low paid because it has traditionally been seen as ‘women’s’ work but if it was a male dominated profession there would be a lot less sneering and much higher pay.

You didn't "discover it by chance", you asked her! It's clearly not a secret.

She's a good teacher. Private schools do what they like. Send your kids to a state school if that's not up to your standards.

This.

He may be ace but he isn't a qualified teacher. This is just diluting expertise in my opinion. At 21 he will have little life experience or skill in dealing with parents probably twice his age. Not his fault but it's an issue.

Teaching doesn’t require you to have a degree in the subject you teach. It just requires you to have a degree

Why would it be a waste of money? Because you could send them to a state school and get a qualified teacher for nothing

It's like paying to go private for medical treatment and ending up with an unqualified doctor

Not if you want a teacher who has any expertise in their subject.

Why would it be a waste of money?

I sent dd to a private school purely because I knew she would struggle academically in a state school and wanted a school that was more suited to her needs

Which calls in question the whole need for a nursing degree, I think?

You are definitely being unreasonable, OP.

DD went to a private school and from what she’s told me the recruitment process to become a teacher at the school seemed quite extensive, with several rounds of interviews and many supervised teaching sessions. If the school hired her, they would’ve believed she was most suitable for the role out of all candidates and whether or not she has a degree is irrelevant to that. Funny enough DD’s GCSE physics teacher was a great teacher but didn’t have a degree, yet she still came out with a grade 9 - don’t sweat it!

If the teacher is good at her job, then she’s good at her job - end of story.

We had a small private school near us that even had some celebrity offspring among the pupils. One of our teachers went for an interview and the head asked her if she was a qualified teacher. Obviously she was quite taken aback as she had assumed it was a pre requisite of a teaching job. Then the head told her that if she got the job to keep quiet about her status as she'd be getting paid more that the others.

MiL was bragging about how the other grandchildren were going to be going to this school along with the celebrity kids.

I thought "Yep, crack on and waste your money"

Well educated has nothing to do with having a degree.

I work with a lot of university students and have been asked things or told things that make me wonder how they managed to get to university in the first place, let alone survive.

I certainly understand now why my ds wasn’t learning anything at his state school where all the teachers were degree educated

I would rather a teacher without a GCSE who knew everything about their subject and could teach it in a way that all the students could relate and learn.
Rather than the one size fits all style of teaching that comes with a degree and a qualification to teach.
When faced with a child who couldn’t read, the response was that it wasn’t an excuse to not do the reading and writing homework. Even went on to say ds was stubborn for not picking up his pen and completing the homework when kept in every break time

I think there should be an exam in common sense before letting people into university.
Just basic common sense seems severely lacking. I think it would save lives in the long run as some of the stuff they think is normal could kill them

Electrical equipment being put in the dishwasher then they wonder why it doesn’t work the next time they get it out to make something

You and the OP have no idea if her performance is good. Pupils and parents liking a teacher does not mean they are necessarily doing a good job of teaching.

Well .....yes.....but...academies and free schools are State schools without many if the restrictions of State schools. They are allowed to do things no LEA school is allowed to do and I disapprove of their freedoms.

You sound quite pretentious to be honest. It seems everybody is happy with her performance, she obviously does her job well, but because you are spending a small fortune you feel let down and would like to inform other parents? How about you save your fortune and put your kids into a state school where a degree is required?
l really wouldn’t want to know you in person 🙄