Losing Teachers and Good Quality Education for our Children - GOVE!

[smellylittleorange]

I just want to rant - over the past few days I have been reading on various threads about Teaching staff who are walking away or considering leaving education all because of the negativity from the Government and Gove and it really upsets me. It upsets me because some of you are obviously so passionate about your work but feel you have nowhere to go/can't work with the system. I want my child to be taught by valued and inspired teachers - what will be the state of education in a few years time when this man has finished destroying it?

I NEED a link to a thread with Mrs. Gove on, can't believe I missed it...

ROCK «Gove» HARD PLACE

Just in case my "catchphrase" is not obvious, Gove seems to be stuck between the two. Fcuked if he does, fcuked if he doesn't.

I mean, people complain that he is interfering too much. They then complain about him going hands off by promoting the idea of academies. People complain about him not listening to outside opinions. When the poor guy changes his proposals/policies people then give him grief for doing a U Turn.

Its as if the poor guy has thousands of wives giving him grief for not using his initiative about some household matter for example and then giving him grief for not consulting the wife when he uses his own initiative

And no, I am not Mrs Gove.

rabbit, good point. Stressed sheep, calves jumping through hoops....not good.

Habba, I don't think the U-turns are as a result of listening to people.

Except the people advising him on his political future, possibly.

Habba Gove wouldn't need to do a u turn if he actually developed his proposals and implementation plans based on sound evidence and in consultation with professionals. The history curriculum changed out of all recognition after it had been developed with actual teachers who initially supported him, based it would seem on he and his cronies brainstorming their memories of "our island story" over a pint in the pub. As Head of DDs top 10 indie has commented it is a shame that an opportunity to develop an education strategy fit for purpose in the 21st century is being passed over in favour of a strategy based on prejudice , a nostalgic appraisement of past practise seen through rosé tinted specs and an emphasis on creating sound bites for the press. He is after all a journalist, not a education or management professional. All he needs to do is reach for a basic book on the management of change. He put himself under that rock.

What is wrong with Gove's academy proposals? (a honest question).

Various people, both here and in the Press, have argued that Gove interferes too much in the way HTs manage their respective schools. Yet a lot of people are quite verbal about Gove and his promotion of adcademies which, correct me if I am wrong, free HTs from LEA interference.

Once again it is the top down dogma. In this area the opting of some of our schools to become academies has been welcomed, they have heavy community involvement and the community does not have a great deal of faith in our LA based on it's track record , we have a really good free school proposal that originated in the community which will provide much needed school places which will hopefully get approval soon. However I can fully understand why communities that feel differently would object to the heavy handed imposition of academy status and a sponsor who may or may not have community support. We have one academy sponsor who is not responding to community needs but is imposing an experimental approach to education based on computer based learning, and fake grassy knolls instead of classrooms which is not popular with many parents , yet there are not enough secondary school places for that to be a matter of choice.

I should add that Op is focused on how the cumulative effect of all this mismanagement is leading teachers to quit the profession. I know that my peers who went into teaching and have had long and successful careers are now completely disillusioned, these aren't lefties and hippies but people who have worked hard to enable their pupils to fulfil their potential but now feel the goalposts are getting moved and the playing field being tilted without any sort of valid GPS and that is unfairly affecting their pupils.

Evidence on my point above about academy sponsors www.guardian.co.uk/education/2013/may/18/academy-pays-for-us-curriculum

What do you mean by "fake grassy knolls"? The only "grassy knolls" cultural reference that I am familiar with is to do with there being a second shooter in Dallas :)

The Academies Commission report makes the point that autonomy was granted to headteachers in schools 20 years ago under 'local management of schools'. And many sponsored academies have been judged 'inadequate' by Ofsted (nearly 50 secondary academies are rated inadequate of which 36 have a sponsor). That's not including those previously failing but not yet inspected under their new management.

Some academy chains give much less freedom than the schools would have had LAs. The Observer reported yesterday on a new chain, Aurora, established by a US for-profit firm Mosaica, that imposes its own curriculum and charges the school for this money which goes to the parent company:

www.guardian.co.uk/education/2013/may/18/academy-pays-for-us-curriculum

Sorry cross-posted same link copthall

Habba Had not thought that would come in handy in History lessons but "curriculum model prioritises independent and autonomous learning. To deliver this curriculum they wanted a space where students can choose where and how they work."

" Acoustic Pods, StepSeats, VerTable Interactive, banks of integrated ICT desks and a range of soft and upholstered seats support collaboration or individual study."

Acoustic pods etc sounds like a great idea to me What am I missing?

Human teachers?

inserts happy before 'human'

Habba They may be but in terms of the whole teaching approach I really don't know whether it is good or not, no one does, it hasn't been tried in this country before. Even the teachers who are teaching it are (secretly) sceptical

I can see why parents might prefer our traditional outstanding local comps that are united by sharing proven best practise in traditional classroom teaching and offer a full range of academic subjects over an experimental approach which puts all of the curriculum in modules and learning streams on a computer that each pupil has to work through on their own. Some people might choose it of course but fact is that around here you don't get to choose unless you live in certain roads or are religious.

The proposed international curriculum based on the development of empathy criticised by OFSED in the link mum and I provided is about as polar an opposite as you can imagine to Gove's proposed History curriculum. If they do go to a secondary that sticks with it (which of course most academy and indie history teachers ties are already saying they won't) the get to miss out on "the first half of British History" which according to Gove is essential to their education

"indie history teachers ties" (?), and the teachers themselves obviously.....

LOL! :-)

LOL! :-))

I have been teaching since 1997. I've been in my current school since 2004 and things have never felt as bad as this. We are small- about 40 teaching staff, and at the moment, 6 are off with long term stress. The Heads of all three core depts are leaving (one has already gone- left teaching completely mid-year) and the amount of work for those of us left behind is difficult to handle. We are an academy, and so when we're asked to do extra cover, don't really have an option. With the long-term sick leave, there is an average of 9-10 teachers off every day at the moment- that's a quarter of the staff.

"We are an academy"

So how is that whatever you are complaining about is Gove's fault then?

Do you honestly believe that academies are free to do what they want and able to tell Gove and his cronies where to go? HAHAHAHAHAAAAAA.

Actually that is exactly what I thought.

I mean, free to do what they want.