For teachers- do your pupils learn something new every day?

[jasper]

I am asking this due to the thread about taking kids out of school outwith holidays, where some of you explained it disrupted the teaching programme.

My question is do you really teach your pupils something different every day? This is a genuine question, not intended to provoke or criticise. I admire anyone who chooses teaching as a profession and the friends I have who teach are , to a woman, remarkable and inspiring individuals.
It's just that my memory of school (particularly primary school ) was of weeks and weeks of repetition of the same things.

That was my biggest compliant about school - it was boring and repetitive and I felt I hardly ever learned anything.

We were taken out of school for a week or two most years and there was never any notion of having to catch up or missing anything. Have things changed or am I suffering from false memory syndrome ? Might I have gone on to acheive greatness if it hadn't been for those fortnights in Harrogate?

So to repeat my question,which was not intended to rehash the holidays issue, do you teach a different thing every single day?

I really would just like this thread to die. I think it's veering towards bringing out the worst in people.

hmm robin, well at least we both agree that all sorts of influences shape older children's behaviour.

I can see why you picked me up on my post about parents inciting violence. It would have been more accurate of me to say IMO violence is the result of many influences, not something brought on by bad teaching. Such a complex subject,though.

Now who is being patronising?

You still don't answer questions, not because they are juvenile, but because they show the gaping holes in your argument.

Your attitude to school and teachers is so negative it has blinded you to the fact that every one posting on this thread at the moment is disagreeing with you. Does that tell you anything about the quality of the argument you have put forward?

Re being judged and getting feedback from out pupils, what do you think homework and test results are all about, if not telling us how we are doing. Or how about the kids telling you that you gave a great lesson, or the kids who are asking you to carry on teaching them when they change class. All figments of my imagination?

This is all a waste of time, your views are so extreme and entrenched they will never be changed. I just hope that your dd avoids being predjudiced against school education by the extreme views of her mother.

have joined this late on in the day. I teach in a primary school (though I am a specialist ESL teacher rather than a fully trained primary teacher - but I AM trained to teach ESL). In answer to the original questions, yes the children I teach definitely learn something new every day.

I'm disgusted and hugely offended by some of the things that people have posted on this thread. I know that all of us at my school work damned bloody hard (most are in work by 7.15-7.30 and don't leave until after 5) to make sure that we give our best to the kids.

As well as all the weekly planning,monthly planning, long term planning, marking, assessment, day to day paperwork, reports, activities, meetings and lesson preparation we also have to actually teach the kids. Yes so we all chose to be teachers and no I'm not complaining - I love my job and I'm actually hoping to return to the UK to complete a PGCE in Sept.

RobinW I'm sorry but I think you are talking crap. Your head seems to be a bit too far up your @r$e. I don't have anything against HE - but I DO have something against almost everything that you have said about teachers. OK so your daughter has a bad time at school - so why the hell not take her out of there as others have said? maybe it's just more convenient for you sometimes. How dare you make such sweeping generalisations about teachers?

The teachers in my school are all fantastic and yes they DO all care a great deal about the kids. We all do 'over and above' what is expected from us - including all the work in the evenings plus extra time at weekends. Our school takes part in a region-wide sports competitions for international schools (I'm in SE Asia) and so at this time of year a lot of us give up extra time to coach the Y4-65 sports teams. Why? because we want to give the kids the best possible chances and opportunities that they can have.

OK so I admit that we don't have the discipline problems here or the large class sizes, but that doesn't mean we work any less.

As others have said, I'm sorry but teaching at Brownies cannot possibly compare with teaching in a school.......if you had ever tried it then you would know that. I'd like to see you try to do all the work that we do every day and yet still try to be an 'inspiration' for every single minute of every single lesson. Yes i inspire my students for 95% of my classes but for crying out loud I';m only human. No one can be a perfect teacher for every single minute of every single day - believe it or not I'm sure that most of us have 'off days' however hard we try not to let the kids see it.

But then again I don't know anything - after all, I'm only a teacher. Maybe i should be a Brownie leader then I would know more about this......

Go get her, girl

I agree with everything you have said.

I got into work at 7.35 this mornong and there were 10 cars in the car park ahead of me....must have been Brownie pack leaders, can't be the teachers, cos we are all shirkers!

I was going to ignore this thread.....

robin I know your dd had a bad time at her first school, but don't let it predjudice you against all teachers. DS1 had an appalling SALT initially- she is quite a unpleasant person. All the other's he has had since then have been nice people and good at their job.

A child who is attacking people at school, may or may not b heavily influenced by the school environment. Certainly in cases of autism if a child is violent at school- it can be to do almost solely with the school environment and the school should act. However in cases where there are no special needs- the violence is almost certainly going to be coming from home- in whichcase thier 0is little the school can do especially if the parents involved have no respect for the school.

Does your dd hear you talking about school and teachers in this way? If she does I would be careful - or she will expect to be bored at school, and will probably think she is somewhat above it iyswim. Yes there are some ropey teachers, but there are some very good ones out there. Same with schools. I think you have to accept that school will never provide 100% for your dd- tbh I think that is too much to expect- they can't provide 100% for every child in the class- no school can do that.

Here it is again!
Sarah - well put!
I think that we should let this thread rest in peace!
Both sides of the argument have been put forward, debated (to use the term loose!). From where I stand, the argument is very heavy on one side. Agree to disagree.......

Robinw, you obviously enjoy winding people up and your comments are, quite simply, not even worth responding to. Mumsnet teachers, maybe we should just rise above this in a manner worthy of our honourable and dignified profession!!!

Let's all go an have a nice big glass of wine! I haven't any marking tonight, just 2 sixthform lessons to plan, so lets party!!

And to Robinw, just because you are the only one left playing, it doesn't mean that you have won. The rest of us have left you to your delusions.

Oh I have had a good day today - had one of those 'occasional' peer observations done on me and had one yesterday too.......
The head has decided that he wants the LEA to see my lessons....
It MUST be because I am so terrible. I surely can't be for any other reason can it??

Me too, a great day. HOD told me that she has analysed my Y11 modular exams, and the kids have never done better! That must be because I am so crap as well. I know I'm bragging, but I am so pleased.

Lets have another glass shall we?!

well done girls!

You must be well chuffed, popsycal. If that happend to me I think that I would pass out!

Well done you two!!! And here's me still sat at home doing nothing - well, other than lots of marking and planning; not much else to do as DD was at nursery all day.

I had our school inspector really embarrass me last term. In our departmental feedback - with half of the senior management there too - he kept saying how great my planning and organisation was, and how well I had my room, etc. I wanted to shrivel up there and then. I then had to have the LEA inspectors come and see me too on their recommendation. Great - just what I want, more inspections.

WE have tons of inspections as the shcool is in'serious weaknesses' - from HMI, LEA, school consultant, senior management, middle management and other collaegues. Still can't get used to them.

Anyway - well done again the both of you. Glad you had fab days

Hula - my first reaction was thorough embarrassment too

I think maybe we don't get compliments enough!!!

This thread shows that

message withdrawn

stress - pls post on the thread 'early literacy support'
a similar mum wants reassurance

just thinking - i wonder if we have scared jasper away from the thread she so innocently began!
I suppose we have answered her question though...

Well done to your DS Stressyhead!

sorry stressy! well done to your little one!

Great news, you must be so proud of him!

still here popsycal
This has been a fantastic thread.
Seems the answer to my question is "yes".

My hair has been almost curling at some of the abuse heaped upon teachers and ridiculous generalisations about schools and teachers being banded about.

I am about to start another thread on schols - hope you will all join me there

Jasper - glad to see that you are still 'with us'!!!