To want parents to stop blaming their child's teacher for everything?

[starlightexpress]

I'm just so sick of reading parents on here moaning about how crap their child's teacher is for one reason or another (not aimed at any particular thread this evening, btw).

In any given class of thirty-three, seventy percent of my time is spent dealing with about three kids who couldn't give a fuck. They don't want to learn, they don't want anyone else to learn. I'm not talking SEN, here, I'm talking just plain naughty.

As far as I'm concerned, the majority of the time when a parent is on here moaning about how shitty their child's teacher is, it falls into one of four categories.

Either your child is:

a)Badly brought up and you're making excuses for them.

b)So-called "SEN" which means they can behave when they want to, but misbehave most of the time using said SEN as an excuse. You allow them to do this because you prefer not to take any responsibility for their behaviour.

c)Genuinely suffering from an SEN, which I probably know very little about and am given little support (either in terms of training or TAs or resources)for.

d)Suffering from the fall out of "inclusion" which means that so much of my time is spent firefighting (see a, b and c) that I don't have the time to spend on your child that they deserve.

Of course there are crap teachers. There are also medicore teachers and there are good teachers who have crap days and make crap judgements sometimes. But mostly it is not your child's teacher's fault.

If you are a C or a D parent, then get thee to the Head, the governers, the local MP and kick up an almighty fuss. You're right to be upset, I don't blame you, I'm not happy about it either but what can I do? I'm doing my very very best but I can't fight the system on my own.

If you're an A or a B parent, do what the fuck you want - that's what you do anyway, and I'm not interested in your whining.

Before you ask, I teach in an inner city secondary school. Not the worst school in the whole world but not great either.

I'm a relatively experienced teacher with a decent results record. I don't have classroom management issues - last Ofsted (they actally watched some of my lesson) they said that this was a strength, fwiw. It's worth nothing actually, as Ofsted couldn't identify one end of a decent lesson from another, but I know their opinion matters to a lot of you.

Go on, flame me, I will have heard worse at parents evening, I can take it.

AIBU?

'Teachers have to take on more responsibility and enhance and make their lessons more creative ? don?t always throw the ball back into the court of the pupils by saying they don?t want to learn ? of course they do, they just don?t want to be bored to tears! And to quote Ken Robinson - not every successful person was good at school ? or let?s say not every pupil is an academic, but everyone of us has a creative side ? so let?s work more on that!'

Ken again - a wonderful man

\link{Robinson, who now earns his living as a speaker on creativity, does not blame the teachers. "It's the system - it's too linear," he says. Schools are obsessed with rigid timetables, for starters. "If you live in a world where every lesson is 40 minutes, you immediately interrupt the flow of creativity," he says. "We need to eliminate the existing hierarchy of subjects. Elevating some disciplines over others only reinforces outmoded assumptions of industrialism and offends the principle of diversity. The arts, sciences, humanities, physical education, languages and maths all have equal and central contributions to make to a student's education."\Ken does not blame the teacher though}

okay last one

Yeah, but you do.

"If my child is bored in class I blame the teacher!"

Blame the teacher, I mean.

Though you go on to say that Super Ken doesn't do so...

I do blame the teacher if my child is bored in class , but I also blame the education system for not allowing teachers to become creative.

It is a rare teacher who will be able to do this and hit the marks are set now.

i am a teacher and I know how hard it is, and I teach a subject that people WANT to do (for the most part)

Janeite my school is a good school but I dont think it is unusual. There are certainly of other schools that are similar to us locally and a few schools that are "better" although that depends on what you are lookng for.

I have taught as you know in a very dificult school and think that is far less average than the one I teach in now. But looking back now poor teaching and lack of staff motivation was a factor, as was huge deprivation. In the school I teach in now poor teachers stand out but in my old school the good teachers stood out. Of course it is not as simple as that and teaching in such a difficult environment makes it difficult to keep going. I know I couldn't keep it going for more than a few years.

Most of our teachers are satisfactory at least with some good and v good - and of course, satisfactory isn't good enough now!!

Yes I once got a satisfactory after I asked to be observed with the toughest class in school as I thought it was a way to get help with them. I was gutted and it was one of the first steps to me moving schools as the thought of being satisfactory filled me with horror.

I am now outstanding in every way it is amazing what a change in venue can do fro your career.

But I look back now at the teacher I wa sand the teacher I am now and there is a huge difference.I may not work harder, infact I work less but I do work smarter, I am more effective, my lessons are always well planned., I am rarely stressed and my work is all marked every week.

Some of that is because the kids are easier but even in classes where the kids are challenging I manage it better because I know my school will not tolerate any less. before the school was out of control and as long as you turned up and there was nor a riot too often it was fine.

I genuinely do not think that the system stops me from beiung creative, sometimes my lack of energy does or the fact that I sometimes have to stop work to talk to my family but not the system. But I am lucky in that I teach a subject not bound by the national curriculum. But even when I have taught history I have not felt that I could not be creative,

Get over to my fashion thread and talk shoes with me, oh fellow teacher! I am having a night off.

i will have a look and then have books to mark. I have bought new marking pens!

If my child is bored in class I blame the teacher.

Because you think the school (and indeed the world ) is a theme park there to entertain your child ?

Me too! Mine are purple - but I haven't used them yet .

Welcome back TSAP - good to 'see' you

If my child is bored in class I reserve judgment as to who is to blame. Ime boredom can mean all sorts of things, from 'this teacher is genuinely ignorant and can't put her facts across' to 'I can't be arsed to do the work she asks me to do to make it interesting'. It takes two to tango.

Agree with cory.

There are a multitude of reasons why a child might say they're bored.

Thanks quattro.

"What this child needs is a change of parents" LOL !
Sometimes I think some parents think teachers pick on their kids for no reason....

1. Teachers don't pick on kids at all... they correct them when they are doing something harmful, unsavoury or mean. 2)Some kids spend their lives looking for harmful, unsavoury or mean things to do because they are copying their parent's behaviour. I love it when they come in after they have been informed about some particularly rotten thing their offspring has done to point out that Harry/ Johnny/ Freda shouldn't be on young Freddy's table because they are a bad influence on their dear sweet child and said child wouldn't have considered rotten deed without outside influence. Next break you are peeling dear sweet child off another child's back while he calls him a f*ing c**t for daring to kick his football when it arrived at his feet. Of course, 'Freddy' learned that language at school!! Most of the kids in my class ARE dear and sweet I hasten to add... and their parents are lovely!!

Katiestar that is bollocks
I dont want my children entertained I want them taught in a creative fashion
I want them engaged in a subject
When I meet teachers and they tell me that a child says they find the subject boring, i usually spend 5 mins with that teacher and think - yes I understand why!

Fair enough B, when I have to teach a child with a minimum concentration span, poor manners, little understanding of social dynamics, no curiosity about the world and a very limited vocabulary, I tend to think
' Poor little bunny, what an uninteresting, uninterested home you must come from'

As one of my more difficult classes left the room one student turned to me and said
"Todays lesson was only half as boring as it usually is"

a compliment indeed
did you smile all the way home?