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Original poster

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

380 replies

jasper · 02/01/2004 23:37

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?

OP posts:
codswallop · 15/01/2004 18:09

well odne hmb and hula

our head of education of hte county has just sent us a govenors a letter congratulating us on our 97% lessons being good or better in ds1s primary!

school only a year old.

Hulababy · 15/01/2004 20:13

That is a great record codswallop. You must be pleased to have him there.

codswallop · 15/01/2004 20:16

thanks

we are especially as a lot of people were sceptical of a new school. (its the skill of the governors!!)

we were commended on our example of outstanding practice - governor link visits

Hulababy · 15/01/2004 20:31

Sounds brilliant. Can I come and work there?!

School I am at is failing its OFSTED and is in serious weaknesses. Pupil behaviour is the key problem and some senior management issues. Honest though, my observations were all at least good

popsycal · 15/01/2004 20:33

Isn't this thread caaaaaaaaaallllm today!
Lovely
Sigh!

Hulababy · 15/01/2004 20:37

IT's lovely now

Or do you miss the debate Popsy?!

popsycal · 15/01/2004 20:38

i nearlt just started a controversial thread a moment ago
only realised how controversial it may have been as my mouse hovered over create conversations!

Jimjams · 15/01/2004 21:51

aww go on popsy. I am just about ready to wring the head of speech therapy's neck. I could do with a "debate" to get rid of all this aggression I can't think of anything controversial.

Festivefly · 15/01/2004 21:53

Shall i say something really rude and wind it back up again

popsycal · 15/01/2004 21:58

ff - don't you dare...
i was going to post a fun thread....but it could have easily been taken out of context and the wrong way
to do with reading books from chidhood

zebra · 15/01/2004 21:59

Let it die, Let it die, Let it die....

popsycal · 15/01/2004 22:01

we are, zebra....
i will stop now!

robinw · 16/01/2004 08:28

message withdrawn

Hulababy · 16/01/2004 08:34

robinw - we had decided and hoped that this thread would die now. It is offensive enough without further comments like this. WE are all adults - mud slinging isn't necessary. Please have the decency to let the thread lie now rather than rehashing the same comments.

popsycal · 16/01/2004 09:17

ditto what hulababy has said

Jimjams · 16/01/2004 15:07

robinw- I'm not going to comment on the teacher bit- but I don't understand your last sentence about the "least with which to compare it with". I'm hoping you don't mean what I suspect you might, but please clarify otherwise I'm going to be thinking bad thoughts, and I may well have misinterpreted.

tamum · 16/01/2004 15:10

God robinw, that is an unbelievably offensive post. I realise you are going out of your way to wind people up, but that was vile. Just vile.

hmb · 16/01/2004 16:29

I welcome constructive criticism from people that I consider to be capable of giving it. I take constructive criticism from other members of staff, parents and the children that I teach. The reason that I don't take it from you is that you know nothing about me, my style of teaching, my abilities as a teacher ot my understanding of my topic. Given that you know nothing about me AT ALL, why the hell should I take criticism from you? You post 'information' for teacher on this thread that WE ALREADY KNOW ABOUT. You might tihink that it is news, but trust me it is covered in the most basic lessons in teacher training. You are sadly lacking in information, so stop showing your obvious ignorance anout current teaching methods.

I'm going to type this slowly so that you might be able to understand it. You don't know me, and you have never seen me teach. You haven't see the results that I have helped children get. What could you possible tell me that would improve my day to day teaching?

On top of that you have been totaly negative trougout this thread, and no-one else seems to agree with you.

Hulababy · 16/01/2004 16:32

ditto hmb! Well put BTW.

zebra · 16/01/2004 16:33

Robin... I really hated the way people seemed to be picking on you.
Now I'm just wondering if you enjoy being slagged off.

hmb · 16/01/2004 16:51

I'll tell you what. I don't know you, I don't know how good a parent you are, I don't know how much effeort and time you put into parenting. Just like you don't know anything about how good I am as a teacher. Right?

I've met some amazingly bad parents in my time. You have met some (and I'll take your word in this) amazingly bad teachers. So far, so equal.

You have now posted saying 'The profession has a disproportionate number of people who are unable to deal with any criticism. Whether they are attracted to the profession because they can't relate to adults or whether working with children long term makes you more childlike I don't know. Possibly both. Faced with any disagreement they resort to abuse. Yet they all feel they are "good" teachers and are proud of the example they set our children. '

So am I to take from this that you are telling me that I am unable to deal with criticsm, I am childlike but that I think I am a good teacher?

Because if that is the case them I feel fully entitled to tell you that some parents are deadful because they have a totaly negative attitude to teacher an schools. And that the worst kids I teach are invariably the ones who's parents have filled them full of resentment and disrespect to teacher before they come into my classroom. And parents who do this are crap parents, and what do you know, some of them can't take criticsm.

And feel free to take this anyway you loke!

tigermoth · 16/01/2004 18:00

I'm not sure what you mean in your last sentence either, robin. I feel I am in some position to compare the teaching my son has had because he has been to three different primary schools. I certainly don't think all teachers and teaching is of an evenly excellent standard - and I don't think the teachers on here are saying that either. They are saying that they personally try very hard, that they have good results as do the other teachers they know. But they can't speak for every one of their colleagues.

I am pretty sure that for one year at least, my son had a below professional average teacher -(even if he was a nice man and my son liked him). I can say this because lots of other teachers have told me so, my son's performance has improved a lot since then, and that teacher is now, through disinclination, not teaching.

In my own small non-teacher way, I am in some position to compare schools and teaching. It has not always been plain sailing. But what family has no school problems? - look at all the education treads on mumsnet. They show that in parent's eyes anyway, not all teachers and teaching are perfect 100% of the time. IMO, as jimjams said in an earlier post, isn't that asking too much? But despite the faults I have seen, comparing the three schools my son went to, I am still happy with the education system by and large.

hmb · 16/01/2004 18:18

All the teachers on this thread agree that there are some teachers who are not good. And we have posted to that effect several times.

Looking at the last comment that robinw made it seems that she is now not satisfied with insulting all the teachers reading this thread but also all the parents as well. Her inference is that if you are satisfied with you child's education you must be ignorent.

So anyone who disagrees with her is wrong and ignorent?

kmg1 · 16/01/2004 18:46

Rise above it girls. She has burned her boats as far as I'm concerned; Not only am I no longer interested in responding to her provacative comments, I am no longer interested in reading her opinion on here on any subject.

popsycal · 16/01/2004 18:54

i second what kmg1 has just said!
I wholeheartedly thikn that robin has burned her bridges - with teachers and parents alike