To think a lot of children won't be going back to school?

[DearLiza]

Most people I know, with some exceptions, have been saying how much their primary-school aged children are enjoying being off. I gather they're doing a limited amount of academic work though. It got me thinking, if there is at least one SAHP in the household, maybe some people won't send their children back in when the time comes. What do you think?

That’s not true, they would need a degree in a National Curriculum subject for primary education pgce and that after a year of postgraduate study they would know much more about teaching and learning than at the beginning of the year.

The OP is looking at it in a very simplistic way. At the moment, schools are closed to most children, so parents have no option but to keep them home. Most schools as far as I can see are being hugely supportive, providing online teaching and resources. Meanwhile there is no obligation on the parents... they can do anything between getting their children doing a full school day of work, to nothing. There’s no come back on the parents of children don’t do anything during this period.

That’s all very different to making a positive decision to home school, where you’ll be expected to actually be educating your children and they won’t be on roll anywhere to get all the support from schools.

Also many people will be SAH because they’ve lost their jobs and are likely to need and want work as soon as possible. Unless you’re committing yourself to not working for years ahead, you’re unlikely to make the decision to start home schooling

I normally homeschool one of my children due to special needs and the others are at school. This is MUCH harder than normal homeschooling. We are having to follow work that someone else has set with no teaching to go with it. Normally we have time to work out which curriculum exceptional works for an individual child and for the parent teaching them. I have found an English curriculum which suits his style of the learning through trial and error. In contrast, at the moment I am printing off bitty worksheets, finding all sorts of random videos some of which the links don't work and trying to use the children about work which they think is boring. we are not able to work on, say an art project together because they have all been set separate work.

*enthuse (sorry using Google Voice)

@quartz2208 I have done the PGDE.

Teachers are not Gods.

I don't like the thinking of "you are a teacher" and I am not.

I have seen many struggling teachers, I have seen many teachers who do not want to be teachers and who took the job for he holidays, I have also seen good teachers.

Schools as a whole are also not well regulated for teacher behaviour. I worked in a fee paying private primary school once. I saw teachers shout and scream at the children, treat them awfully, call them brats. Then when parents came in on open days - all the teachers were lovely

Parents at home can be just as good teachers, as teachers at school.

I'm definitely thinking about it for my middle child (11).
He has been so much more relaxed since school finished and is working well at home. He has huge anxiety surrounding school.

AnnMarie and many of us have more than that - 4 year honours degree in education, teaching practice for at least a month each year, one day week for 4 years learning to teach different subjects; a committed background of experience to even get on the degree course ( I had a recognised play and learning qualification and playgroup leader experience to be successfully selected for the degree course). I now have a post grad qualification, a masters in education and years of teaching experience including lots of professional development to make sure I am up to date.

You are using 'a one year PGCE' to be a teacher, to compare us all to newly qualified teachers - the vast majority of the profession are not newly qualified and have a wealth of experience as well as higher level qualifications.

@Annamaria14 I dont believe you used to be a teacher with that attitude, and if you did a PGCE or the 3 year bachelors you would likely know that it gives you experience in schools, and informs you how to access and apply the national curriculum (amongst other things), and the intent is not to teach you everything ever about teaching; plus you are continuously learning and applying new knowledge with the support of the school setting. Again, nothing against home education, but let's not belittle a profession, there is a reason people can't just walk into teaching.

Why do you refer to the PGDE, it's PGCE?

I'm not a teacher by the way and I still knew that.

@goldenbear eh what? It is called differently depending on what part of the UK you are in.

It is PGCE in England
It is PGDE in Scotland

Your diction is problematic but you say you worked in a fee paying school- really?

@Bounceyflouncey I was a teacher for many years. I am not right now - I changed profession for a while. I might go back to teaching in the future. I have seen alot wrong with the job, like alot of teachers.

I have also been very much for equality, ao I never liked the teachers in my profession who thought that they were better than anyone else.

I stand by my opinion- I don't agree with the idea that teachers are better than anyone elae. The whole education system needs a huge overhaul.

And
Anyone can be a teacher

@Annamaria14 there are many teachers who shouldnt be teachers because they got into it because they thought it would be easy and they dont have the skillset

To be a truly good teacher you need an awful lot of skills.

Then you have the funding issue where a lot of children could benefit from proper one to one support but the money and training isnt there.

The failures of the education system are from the Government and people who think teaching is an easy job. Not those teachers who want to be there

Sadly this year for my two they both had truly amazing teachers - probably for the first time for both of them at the same time.

And I never said they were Gods - I merely said that as parents we have an emotional involvement and relationship with our children which can effect the relationship. It is far easier to teach children for whom your feelings are neutral towards. Poor teaching can occur if that balance is disrupted either way

@Goldenbear yes, really.

I'm full time wfh and homeschooling my 2 kids. I'd say it's homeschooling as I'm not relying on the bbc schedule and the school has sent very little work so I have been planning lessons based on the national curriculum. It's a bit messy at the moment as I've had to learn as I go along but things are falling into place. If I didn't have work to think about, I really think I'd like to homeschool long term but I do worry whether the kids not having the school experience would be a bad thing. I think the perfect balance would be part time school, say 3 days a week, then 2 days homeschooling but that's unlikely to happen.

@Annamaria14 I agree somewhat with you you are saying but no not everyone can be a teacher.

It is a vocation that some find natural and others dont. That is the real problem with your argument. Different people have different skillsets

I suspect the fact that you can do it makes you think that anyone can. They simply cant

@Quartz2208 That is an interesting post.

I agree Teachers arent better than anyone else - to be a truly good teacher needs a certain set of skills that I think as a vocation you know that you have. You need to love and want to do it.

Everyone has things they are good at, everyone has things they cant do and a particular mix of those makes you equipped to do a job. Being a teacher is no better or worse than any other vocational job. But you need to want to do it.

The whole educational system does need an overhaul successive governments and lack of funding really makes it close to not fit for purpose. That is a policy and funding issue (lack there of)

Do you find teaching easy? Because that doesnt make it so

I have worked in different schools. My job in the private Primary school - was the one that made me leave the profession. I couldn't bear how the children were treated.

I remember parenta coming in for open day, and showing other parents the music room, and saying "look, this school has a beautiful music room", and I thought, "if only you knew how your children are really being treated". And they were paying huge money for it too.

Many days I would have to ait and console children because one of their teachers was horrendous to them. She was really out of line, going into abusive behaviour. I, and other teachers complained about her, and nothing was done. I saw teachers laugh at children for being fat, calling them idiots, teachers complaining about being there because they hated children.

And this is not just in my generation. My father went to a boarding school, and he atill had nighmares in his forties, about the teachers abusing them.

I don't think that schools, as they exist today, are safe for many children.

Some one has said that my spelling is not great. I think that my spelling is great.

Typing fast on my small phone screen - is a skill that I can improve on, however

If the decision for the schools to reopen is purely down to getting the economy going rather than because it is totally safe for people to mix again then I will probably keep my kids home for longer. They are managing with their school work from home, and we are home anyway (we took early retirement). We're particularly paranoid because we have elderly relatives that we have to look after but really cannot risk being exposed to the virus.

I commented on your diction that is not the same thing.

@Goldenbear I don't really know what to say. How do I prove that I was teacher? If you don't want to believe me, then don't believe me. That is your choice. I know that I was