Is it fair to say teachers need to be more committed?

[Ladytremain]

www.independent.co.uk/news/education/covid-schools-reopening-ofsted-teachers-b1807935.html

Seems a tad harsh I think

@mnahmnah

I’m confused what he thinks we have been doing since last March and what he thinks we will be doing from March 8th.

And this.

@TheLuckiest

Teacher here. Wilshaw is a prick. He's like the Katie Hopkins of education. HTH. 😁

And this too.

Found it (in the interests of accuracy) "If anyone says to you that staff morale is at an all-time low, you know you are doing something right"

When he was in charge of Ofsted!

@Lemons1571

Whoever this guy is, he should be prepared to show you all how it’s done. In a small unventilated room of 30 16 year olds. Unless he leads the way his opinion counts for nothing.

You honestly don't know who Michael Wilshaw is? I'm guessing you're not involved in education then?

OP - it's The entirely misnamed Independent , it's an absolute rag, what did you expect?

I think saying to ‘sacrifice their lives’ is going too far however it is no different to the many times I’ve come across people with no sympathy whatsoever for police officers/ prison officers etc who have been assaulted because it is expected that they ‘signed up’ to that when they took the job.

Teachers being in absolute outcry at the thought of going into a class of 30 kids and refusing to attend work on health and safety grounds need to get some perspective. Especially those with no factors making them particularly vulnerable. Covid is a mild illness for the majority, going into a classroom of kids (especially in primary) is hardly the biggest risk in the world, especially compared with many occupations who have worked throughout the pandemic in close contact with people- not just doctors/ nurses but police/ security staff/ prison officers etc. They don’t have the luxury of being told by their unions to refuse to work because it’s unsafe- can you imagine if they did!? The country would grind to a halt! Prison officers aren’t even allowed to strike and have been working in extremely unsafe conditions for decades with no attention paid to unions pointing this out and staff suffering life changing injuries from assault. They are also dropping like flies currently with covid and you don’t see them refusing to work or only working from home do you!?

@NovemberR

I think it's utterly disgraceful to suggest teachers should be prepared to die because of unsafe conditions in schools.

It's a damn job.

What about their families and their own children? He should not be allowed to have anything to do with education ever again.

Perfectly put.

Apparently, if you count both teachers under 64 and teachers over 64, 570 staff have died

www.tes.com/news/covid-teacher-deaths-double-when-over-64s-are-added

Who knew?

Apparently the government figures only count the ones under 64.

Doesn't say how many of the over 64's are retired. I think this cut off is used for all occupations.

@Pomegranatespompom

Doesn't say how many of the over 64's are retired. I think this cut off is used for all occupations.

But retirement age is currently 67, no? What a convenient bit of bollocks.

Yes but for all professions, not just education.

NhS staff didn't sacrifice their lives. They died. They didn't want to die, they died because they didn't really have a choice and the government failed to protect them and failed to invest in the NHS for years. This is the problem with 'NHS heros', there wasn't really an option to say no.

Teaching is just a job, no child's education is worth the life of their teacher, especially when we have a vaccine ready and available.

I have been in school everyday through the last two lockdowns.
I caught covid from school which meant my own family had to isolate and miss school / work.
Not sure how much more I could have done tbh and am absolutely sick of reading comments like this.
Wonder if he is going to volunteer and lead by example

@DIshedUp

NhS staff didn't sacrifice their lives. They died. They didn't want to die, they died because they didn't really have a choice and the government failed to protect them and failed to invest in the NHS for years. This is the problem with 'NHS heros', there wasn't really an option to say no.

Teaching is just a job, no child's education is worth the life of their teacher, especially when we have a vaccine ready and available.

Absolutely.

That any NHS staff died during this pandemic through a lack of PPE was a complete travesty and should never have had to happen. It’s certainly not something that anyone should be trying to emulate.

@TheLuckiest

Teacher here. Wilshaw is a prick. He's like the Katie Hopkins of education. HTH. 😁

Yes this

Teachers being in absolute outcry at the thought of going into a class of 30 kids and refusing to attend work on health and safety grounds need to get some perspective.

Well, seeing as all teachers will still be ‘going in’ to those classrooms of 32+ children anyway, shows that they do indeed have ‘perspective’ and yet they still have every right to speak how they feel if they wish.

@Incogweeto

Teacher shortages before this were dire. After this they're going to be absolutely devastating. (I don't suppose people will care as their kids will be 'in school' which seems to be the only measure people use for whether their child is being educated or not!)

Applications for training places were way up last year

schoolsweek.co.uk/covid-recruitment-boost-sees-government-meet-trainee-teacher-target-for-first-time-in-8-years/

I think teaching does well out of recessions because it’s seen as a steady job. How long any of those new recruits will stay is another question.

He’s an arse. And anyone who agrees with him is an idiot.

Training recruitment was not up in every subject Kitty1234567
For some that had a slight increase, that did not necessarily make up for the shortfall in those leaving.

There is also the issue of saturation in some subjects leaving many trainees unable to find a job at the end of their training year or those quitting the course.

It doesn’t matter a jot if governments meet their training target if they then don’t meet their targets of those actually getting jobs in teaching and staying there.

Of course teachers could close the gap...you would just need to have a lot more teachers and resources, and support staff and probably more flexibility to adjust the curriculum to fit... government don't seem to want to pay for it though.

You need to keep your experienced teachers.

@Heyha

Found it (in the interests of accuracy) "If anyone says to you that staff morale is at an all-time low, you know you are doing something right"

When he was in charge of Ofsted!

I picked him up on this during a MN webchat a few years ago. He said he had been deliberately misinterpreted and of course morale was important to school improvement.

Except here he is again telling teachers they're shit.

I think obviously it is wrong for teachers to die like this because
It helps noone anyway and in fact is harmful to all if covid spreads
There are h&s laws to protect people at work and that ought to include distancing and or masks
People havent signed up for the army or police (or even as a hcp who migt expect to catch rare diseases.
It was never deemed appropriate to out women front line until recently because they might have kids etc,
To be telling people they are not allowed to wear masks in the classroom is/was wrong.
Even with vax it may not work on variants so masks until we know.

Tbh it is similar with parents we should not be being threatened and ordered back to school or else fines. That would only be appropriate after adults and children are vaxxed.

It’s a huge and unfair ask to expect teachers to die “in the line of duty”. They are not such a well respected profession in U.K. like they are elsewhere in the world ( in comparison to legal, medical, law enforcement, army etc) Why would anyone put other peoples’ children above their own for a job in which they never expected to have to put their lives on the line when they signed on. Just a step too far.

wilshaw has totally lost the plot!

He has shown that he has no understanding of what it is like to be a the coal face of teaching as a class teacher on a full timetable.

He is desperate to stay as a recognised expert

Wilshaw is a snake in the grass

I was a very committed teacher. Unpaid residentials, before and after school clubs, extra revision sessions, after school interventions, directing plays, organising visitors

They can sod that now. I'll do my job but no more extras from now on. I am less committed now than I was because that's what happens when you treat people like shit.