Chris Woodhead - have read the article in the Sunday Times

[stillenacht]

Of course i do feel very sorry for having such an awful diagnosis as MND. Its just dreadful. However, I have just read how his educational opinions have been formulated over the years and they seem to be very grammar school led and based entirely on his own educational experience. Surely in the position of power that he had at OFSTED he had to be a little more boradminded than that. (I started my teaching career when Chris Woodhead tool over as Chief Inspector)....i just felt a little uncomfortable reading his views.

luckily, the man generates little interest these days if this thread is anything to go by.

i have mixed views on him, but have to agree that i wish it was easier to get rid of incompetent teachers.

i worked in a school where the leadership did nothing about staff who were late to class, didn't do reports, had ridiculously high absence for minor illnesses & also provided no admin back up or training for staff on admin, but then expected us just to do things for them, like produce figures etc.

my life would have been so much easier if i hadn't had to deal with bumbling, incompetant leadership and staff who were wither lazy or just in the wrong job. it was hugely demoralizing & i don't see the justification for keeping on teachers who don't do a good job - the kids they teach won't have another chance.

I think all good teachers agree with you there kickass.

I just think most good teachers would prefer a better educationalist that Woodhead to have been in the position of responsibility he had.

I don't think anyone would disagree with you on that point, angel.

i agree with you there kickassangel

I'd rather the knobber drove his wheelcahir off a different cliff, we have enough problems in Cornwall without asinine comments from him.

It's just a shame we the teachers could get rid of incompetant Ofsted inspecters like him.

so, how many 'incompetant' people are there in each profession/job sector?

i mean, ideal though it would be, there must be a certain % in any industry who are either in the wrong job, or just lazy/immature/unsettled, and therefore doing a bad job.

what is acceptable (in realitsic terms), and what would there be in teaching. i would hope that the jobs requiring greater skill & accuracy (surgeons, pilots etc) would have a very low number of peopl, but those with less skill more. so where does that leave teaching? in a staff of 100, how many can fall below the mark before they impact on everyone else too significantly?

the sneering comments about the 'bearded social workers' sum him up very succinctly IMO.

he comes across as an arrogant twat

whatever is the current trend he would disagree with it

donnie - i agree...i really didn't like that at all.

pearls - but what is a crap teacher? I know some teachers where i work who would be eaten alive in an inner city comp as they don't have the behaviour management skills but are passionate and knowledgeable about their subjects and like wise i have met teachers whose subject knowledge isn't exactly top class (some have been my PGCE students) but yet are amazing with low ability kids and can inspire and motivate them to produce fantastic results...what makes a good teacher really? All this talk of 15000 below par teachers - are they only below par because they are in the wrong environment for their talents. I am not saying that all teachers who are Oxbridge educated will be good in top academic schools as this isn't true either and vice versa for those teaching in traditionally 'harder' behaviour management areas. All skills are important - is it not the work setting which is wrong for a teacher and not perhaps the teacher him/herself. Sure out of that 15000 perhaps there is a much smaller minority who really shouldn't have gone into teaching in the first place.

bump - anyone else?

.

I met him (as a parent) and found him surprisingly (to me) sensible.

Are you a teacher too saintly?

Many years ago, but not in state schools (in crammer colleges- A level retakes - which is very different from standard teaching).

It explains why he was on crutches though. Poor man, wouldn't wish MND on anyone.

no, definitely not

stillenacht - I completely agree with your point about 'crap' being a subjective definition. I am a good teacher for the school I teach in. My behaviour management is not great (though I have only been teaching since September - I am improving all the time!). It's not a problem in my current school, but there are schools where I would not be able to cope, not yet at least.

Stille I agree that it is hard to define what is a poor teacher which is why I said they should be given a fresh start elsewhere.
I teach in a relatively easy school now and I know many of my very well repected colleagues just could not work there successfully. They have worked at finding a school that is right for them. Schools need tto be much quicker at telling teachers they are not up to scratch, putting in support and then moving them on if needed.

I know there are types of schools that I am more effective in, I am good at disipline but find it hard to maintain as I have other health issues. I lasted for 3 or 4 years in a "sink" school but had the grace to say to everyone this is working now but it is not going to work for much longer so I moved on.

many of my well respected colleages just could not teach in my previous school.

yes and they would have been branded 'poor' by the likes of Woodhead

But while they are in the wrong school they are poor and children are receiving a poor education. Part of being a good teacher is knowing your strengths and working to them and knowing your weaknesses and ensuring the affect as few children as possible.

As soon as I realised I was not the kind of teacher I wanted to be I moved on to find a school where I could be an excellent teacher. It is not doing anyone any favours by having teachers in schools where they cannot cope, the teachers included.

As you say it is not just about discipline, I can think of teachers at my "sink" school who for a variety of reasons would not last two minutes at my new school. I also know that at a much earlier stage procedures would be put in place to support them and then move them on.

but being in the wrong school doesn't mean they are poor teachers and should get sacked as Woodhead desired. I am shocked at his narrow mindedness with regard to education - he really seemed to favour a system which says 25% can do well and bugger the rest.

They should not be sacked from the profession but should not ( after support has been given ) be allowed to continue failing students. Schools don't exist to keep teachers in work they exist to educate children. In any other job if I could not do what I was employed to do I would be sacked, Teaching is not just another job it is one of the most important jobs in society and therefore we need to expect high standards.

I don;t support a system that only educates 25% of the population however, but do support the right type of education for the child. In some cases this is Woodhead's model.