Children interviewing teachers - ridiculous?

[wedlocked]

Here www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/apr/03/children-job-interviews-questions

A socialist miner, mind

Most of us are! I think we should let socialist miners run education it would sort out a lot of problems

wastwinsetandpearls I hoped you were a fan of that oracle of wisdom, Chris Woodhead

I actually don't get the hatred of Chris Woodhead tbh. I agree with much he had to say, although he is not someone who occupies my thoughts. I am sure someone will now drag up a statement of his that I disagree with.

Now I know you're trying to wind us all up- you were extolling his virtues on another thread last night.

Once is an accident, but twice? One would almost think you meant it, claig

I would rather have a student's feedback than Chris Woodhead's. A student's feedback stands at least an outside chance of being relevant.

kids interviewing teachers is nothing new. i recall kids being part of the interview process more than a decade ago.

Why don't many teachers like Woodhead tether? It all seems to have passed me by.

As far as I'm aware it is true, I posted about it at the time as was quite shocked. HT interviewed all 3.

The class definetly voted, the one with the most votes definetly got the job. Now whetehr the HT took votes into account, whether they had the final choice or whether it was just coincidence that it was that candidate that got the job I don't know.

I am sure it was a coindidence or at most a small factor.

tethersend just refuses to see reason on this matter. wastwinsetandpearls nobody will be able to find a statement of his that you will disagree with, because it is all eminently sensible

I'm not sure, but I think it's because he's a massive cunt, wastwinset.

sounds like the head was shirking their responsibilities. It is a common management tactic to allow the workers to choose, then when chaos ensues, it is all the workers' fault.

tethersend,

I know he made the statement about 15,000 incompetant teachers but I bet that isn't even one teacher per school. Every school has at least one naff teacher.

He was rumoured to have had that affair, but people hated him before that.

My son helped interview his y5 teacher and is convinced he was key in deciding to appoint her! If so he made an excellent choice, I must say.

I'm not a teacher, but do work in a school (librarian), and have been 'interviewed' by pupils for 2 of my jobs. I'm sure it was instrumental in my getting my first job in a school. I know that the adult panel were concerned that I had no experience in a school (although I was an experienced librarian), and the interaction with pupils reassured them, as I was able to show that I could relate to them in an appropriate way. There is no way that the pupils' opinions actually mattered - it was all about how I was seen to react to them and their questions (which were very sensible). It also gave me a very good impression of the school as the pupils were so lovely and sensible ( I wish I had been given the chance to talk to pupils in the job I had after that...)

This being discussed on Radio 2 this afternoon.

I was interviewed by a student panel 4 years ago and it was very definitely not a new thing then.

I was asked about behaviour mangement by an astute 12 year old in my interview which I think was perfectly fair enough and not frivolous at all. Questions about behaviour management should not leave you "speechless"!

Student Voice is perfectly reasonable when it's done sensibly; I'm sure there is a small minority of schools that are going OTT but mine - and I'm sure most others - has got a decent balance I think.

I looked at the 2020 Vision document the other day and I think the proposals in that are a bit much; I don't want to have kids doing formal lesson observations and I don't think they are best placed to comment on our schemes of work. I do think student coucils and the suchlike can make a valuable contribution to some aspects of running a school though. For example ours is working with SLT and the governers on our new school uniform and how money should be spent to improve the school grounds.

And whether or not he did fuck a sixth-former, Woodhead describing teacher-pupil sex as "experiential and educative on both sides" marks him out as a massive wanker in my book.

And my dad worked with him and said he was a massive wanker too. So it must be true.

are student voice and 2020 vision things that aimed only at state schools, or are private schools doing similar things?

It's DCSF stuff so I guess the private sector would be exempt? I don't really know much about private schools, aren't they just allowed to do whatever they want? Don't the customers parents just dictate everything anyway?

thanks, is DCSF stuff mandatory or are they just guidlines, do OFSTED check for student voice etc.?

I just wonder if student voice etc. will drive more parents out of the state system and into the private system

I have had a student panel for all my job interviews, and I have been teaching for 10 years. I think it does allow the interviewers to see how the candidates interact with the students and how they react to the candidate, as long as they are not given too mch say. I can't believe that story the NASUWT quoted about a teacher not getting a job because the pupil said he looked like humpty dumpty. You have to be able to disregard ridiculous comments that some kids make. Having said all that, my students were on the student panel for my maternity cover and begged me to recommend one candidate, (who was taken on, not just for that reason) and I'm still having to put up with their moaning about how terrible he was a year after I came back! Proves anyone can put on a show!
By the way, you have to have at least a 2:2 to be a teacher, and have done for a long time. People seem to have the impression that anyone can just rock up to school and decide to teach- it's not true!

Well, I teach a subject in which I have no qualifications, although I have good degrees in other (related) subjects. And what do the tories say about unqualified teachers?