Parents becoming teachers? Is it me or has Gove totally lost it?

[sogrownup]

How do you feel about going into school to cover for a teacher who is on strike? Is there anyone out there who believes that this is a sound idea.... I think it's madness!!

Hah! So teachers think that politicians should stay out of education. I wish that a certain educationalist had stayed out of politics (Gordon Brown, in case you hadn't worked it out). I work in finance, too, and know that he and his theorising made a right pig's ear of the economy.

It is utter rubbish to spout that only teachers know about education and others should keep their noses out. What do you think politicians are there for: to pat everyone on the head, tell us that we are all doing a fantastic job, carry on and the Government won't interfere? The whole point of a politician is to implement policy!
If education is as important as teachers would like to believe, then it would be a dereliction of duty if politicians didn't get involved.

pmsl @ Irksome

Purits, honestly I'm really not trying to be some big uniony type going on about how hard it is for teachers! If you read my first post you'll see I'm not trying to push that agenda. Nor am I saying politicians should stay out of education. But surely you must see how it must annoy people when someone who has no knowledge of education comes up with glib statements that aren't going to practically work?

It sure annoys me when I get some of the shitty comments from some of my DH's teacher friends about how I get all my massive payrises, bonuses, benefits etc because I am lucky enough to work in the private sector - luckily I don't get them from the very top too.

Of course politicians should get involved, of course they're needed - what aren't needed are daft statements about how parents could go in and help on Thursday - that is just ill thought out and shows how little he appreciates what goes on and the day to day tedium of e.g. having to get disclosure forms for everyone that comes into school just incase they are a potential paedophile.

Absolutely agree. I suggest we send Michael Gove to his local sink comp to face 30-odd marauding disaffected teenagers for the day.

this "how hard can it be" stance is reminding me of two things

1. the upper classes pretending to do 'work' to break the general strike

1. wasn't it Kenneth Baker who wanted to have a so-called Mum's Army, to circumvent usual qualifications needed to teach?- because after all, if you can bring up a child, you'll be well able to control and teach 30

OK. I'll give you that, grubbalo, but it is weird how this thread is so personal about Gove. There have been some strange ad hominem attcks. Do you think that he personally wrote that memo or do you think that it was someone in that huge organisation that is the DfES? He may be a here-today-gone-tomorrow politician but he has an army of permanent civil servants behind him who do know about education and who probably have a better oversight than many teachers.

I remember when teachers were looked up to and respected for the job they do. That respect has been continually eroded down the years until we get to the point where the Government thinks that parents can just 'step in for a day'.

I think it's sad that the Gov has so little respect for teachers and that they're encouraging parents to break strikes as a two-fingers up to the teaching profession.

I have a relative who is a lawyer. She is was told with zero warning that she was going down to a four-day week, salaries down to 4/5. It was horrible but no-one made a fuss. They were bright enough to realise there just wasn't enough money in the pot and it was this or redundancies.

Plenty of tough stuff goes on at the moment, and a lot of it considerably worse than 3% reductions.

I reckon we should volunteer for Goves job. I mean, how hard can it be....

See I agree with you completely there, and I was saying exactly the same thing to my DH last night. There must be loads of well informed people in the DFES that know exactly what is going on, and I was saying that people do need to have a bit of faith that things have been thought out a bit better than they first appear. It's just a shame that today's politics means everything is so media driven, meaning politicians need to come out with soundbites in order to get noticed - Michael Gove doesn't want to be education secretary forever!

It's the same way that I hope people who aren't involved with education realise that not all teachers have such a militant stance as some of the more vocal and extremely partisan Union members. As I said earlier, most teachers I know are very realistic that things are going to have to change with their pensions, know that the pension as it stands is a massive perk etc. What they think is rubbish is the way that such big increases in pension contributions are coming in at a the same time major changes are going on with the form of the pension, at the same time as pay freezes etc, and are so badly communicated - bloody Danny Alexander standing up and telling them they'd better accept it as it was going to be the best offer for some time. That is something I know wouldn't be communicated in that way in the private sector.

But coffeeaddict, the difference is that I bet not everyone she works with was happy about it, but it would have been possible (and I am certainly not saying it would have been easy), for someone who worked for that firm of lawyers to apply for other jobs or look elsewhere without retraining. If you are in the public sector, what way can you demonstrate your dissatisfaction? I completely agree that most people have been badly hit by the downturn, but it just isn't quite the same situation when you can't just walk or see what a competitor would offer you.

(And yes of course I realise teachers could always leave the profession, and I suspect some will. I just think it's a shame that someone like my DH who is bloody good at his job would even think about that - we should be trying to encourage the best people to stay in the profession).

Why do you think that everyone in the private sector earns enough to have a property portfolio? Average wage applies to those in private and public. Most people in London and surrounds are not earning big bucks.

In private sector actually sweeping changes are made. Usually involving redundancies. Yes contractual changes occur and yes to our pensions too. they occur all the time but do not make the papers because its business. Its not a story. We usually get a month or a quarters notice. Except that we don't get the offer of these fantastic deals in the first place for simply doing the job we are paid to do.

My pay has been frozen for 3yrs. Inflation hits me too. I've been made redundant also during this time and had to search for another job. Stop whining about how bad you have things and you might garner more public support.

This is not 1965 any longer. The past is not the present. The public sector needs to rethink its strategy for the long term or it will be phased out by any government from any background. Or at least, rebranded (Labour likes a rebrand)

I also believe in education for all but my 'all' is firmly rooted in 2011.

I would help out my local school. I'd be happy to for many reasons but I will not do that because someone else is behaving worse than the children they are supposed educate.

For the record some of my best memories are of the school process and of teachers that have shaped my life. I have respect for them. Its about time they respected everyone else as well.

@Riven, fantastic idea to volunteer to take over Gove's job! Absolutely, all we have to do is pull stupid faces all day, insult teachers and wave paper around. Sorted.

It all sounds a bit like the BA strikes to me... maybe Gove has been meeting up with Willy Walsh.

I'm really not sure I'd have faith that the government has thought everything out carefully, though - the sole focus seems to be on cost cutting, with no clear thought on improving standards in education. What a fantastic recipe for disaster.

Its a bit 1926 general strike. I have a lot in common with Michael Gove (background-wise) and I thought I understood where he was coming from, but I think he must have picked up this sort of idea hanging around Tory HQ too long!

Or is it his way of signalling that he is ready for a long fight?

all we have to do is pull stupid faces all day, insult teachers and wave paper around. Sorted.

...and lose your chin

absolutely rabbit. he's also trying to stir up Daily Mail/tabloid style 'us and them' thinking re. teachers as exemplified by LaCiccolina. 'behaving worse than the children they are supposed to educate' my arse. I should think private sector employees might well make a big fuss if someone unilaterally changed their contract of employment. Friends of mine have sued for constructive dismissal over issues like that and won vast amounts of money. But if a whole class of employees is treated like shit in the name of 'saving state funds', suddenly it's fine. Bollocks.

ermmm, LaCiccolina, if that was aimed at me - I work in the private sector - I am well aware that I don't earn enough to have a property portfolio

On the otherhand, I am in a good position of seeing how people at the top of the private sector handle things vs people at the top of the public sector - do you?

@allegraheller unilateral changes to my contract of employment happened to me and my colleagues at several firms I worked for and no one went on strike (though there were various complaints and stormy meetings when the changes were severe - like closing the final salary scheme). Then when the working time directive came in, we all got briefing notes from HR on how to work around tits restrictions and everyone just accepted it and started filling out the extra paperwork.

Right so I go in to a school with CRB, references, degree each week to help and can't be alone with kids without a teacher there, yet random parents can pop in for a strike?

Okaaaaay

these digs at his physical appearance are a bit playground

Peachy - is that how it works at your school? At mine CRB = ok to be alone with kids

Dear Potential teachers of my grandchildren, vital to the ongoing developmengt of the UK as a knowledge-based economy, and needing to kee up with new competion from the BRIC countries if we are to stand a hope in hell of surviving.

Teaching is a great job, your employers the government value your trainiing, qualifications and expertise, and trust you to use your unique insight and personal understanding to work with your students to their best ability - you will in no way find yourself interfered with at every turn and forced to undertake mountains of burocratic paperwork or plough through unimaginative prescribed curriculum areas. You will be able to pass on the subject you love.

Your pension will accrue steadily - no way will you suddenly find that in the second year of a 2-year pay-freeze your compulsory pension contribution will increase from 6% to 9% of your salary (for half the benefits), and that if you have responsibility fro Head of year or head of a Subject you will lose your CB during your pay freeze / inc pension year. Quite serious if you have 3 children, so lucky you don't have to worry ab out that.

Parents love you...your job will never be dismissed as something an untrained ill-experienced person could do, and the government will never try and recruit people from all sorts of incompatible fields believeing that anyone could do a better job.

Sounds great, doesn't it?

So, sign up and be responsible for the education of the next generation.

best wishes,

Blu