Teacher concerns?

[Hoppinggreen]

Without any previous concerns about the school in general or the teacher would you be worried if you heard your sons experienced, mature teacher say the following (within the same 10 minutes) to her Y6 class?
They speak Spanish in Brazil
Hitler wanted to reunite Germany because it was divided by the Berlin Wall

Quite jolly. Ideally I'd go further in secondary and say the person assessing should be a qualified teacher and a subject specialist/someone in a related area, or the main observer should be accompanied by a subject specialist.

LolaSmiles

Agreed. And in primary, the observer should be a primary specialist in the Key Stage.

I would agree with that jolly.
It's important to know the area of teaching if someone is to assess competence. I remember having to observe a KS5 Science lesson once. What a waste of everyone's time.

Yet somehow in teaching every Tom, Dick and Harry, from parents to education consultants peddlkng snake oil, to politicians, academics who've never taught, and journalists all seem to think they have enough knowledge and experience to asses the competency of staff in any area of teaching they happen to have an opinion on.

Yet somehow in teaching every Tom, Dick and Harry, from parents to education consultants peddlkng snake oil, to politicians, academics who've never taught, and journalists all seem to think they have enough knowledge and experience to asses the competency of staff in any area of teaching they happen to have an opinion on.

But that the one group of people who aren’t qualified to assess it is...other teachers! 😂 You couldn’t make it up.

An academic philosopher is someone who teaches philosophy in HE rather than, for example, secondary education. We offer summer or short courses in philosophy for everyone and diplomas/degrees as part of CPE. I can not recommend them enough for both of you.

Booboostwo

Thanks. It’s interesting how you assume that others lack/require an education in your subject area. As it happens, I don’t. But I also don’t feel the need to spray-gun information about my qualifications in order to make my points. They speak for themselves.

I fail to see the link between believing qualified specialists should be the ones to assess professional competency according to the professional framework
and the snide suggestion of your courses, unless of course you are still under the belief that your personal opinions = the required threshold to establish someone's competency in a profession you don't work in.

Then again, you've also gone to great lengths to try to argue that someone's professional comeptency should be brought into question over two general knowledge errors and have repeatedly tried to dismiss people in the profession discussing subject knowledge and competency as trying to invoke authority, only to amusingly end up at a place of "I am an academic philosopher and you'd all benefit from doing my courses".

"But I didn’t say fell. I said came down. And it didn’t come down until 1990, like I said." It didn't come down in 1990 as it's still standing and can be visited throughout Berlin

Norestformrz

And I have visited it. The remains of the wall following the demolition beginning in 1990 of the vast majority of the structure are very interesting. Your attempts to score points aren’t helping to you to look more educated than me, just a bit daft and increasingly tangential to the argument.

1988 or 1989 or 1990 is a detail of recollection or semantic quibbling. 1930s or 1940s is a fundamental misunderstanding of the chronology.

thirdfiddle

I agree that the difference between demolition and “falling” is actually semantic. The point being, I wasn’t the one who pulled someone up on that difference (wrongly!).

On the other hand, the difference between saying Hitler did or didn’t want to reunify Germany isn’t semantic.

I also agree that the difference between the Wall being up in the 1940s and it being up in the 1960s isn’t semantic. The teacher got it wrong. I just don’t think it is indicative of her being incompetent, any more than I think someone not knowing that Hitler desired (in his mind) German reunification makes them stupid.

Point scoring or getting your facts right jollyroger

Norestformrz

My facts are right.

No they aren't

It is amazing that someone, anyone was ignorant enough to not know whenabouts the Berlin Wall went up. WW2 has been taught in primary schools for years and years and so it's not a new subject.

I think this should be mentioned and also the language thing.

I think I would speak confidentially to the Year head.

Norestformrz

They are absolutely correct. The Wall created to be a manned barrier between East and West Germany in 1989 but it came down in the physical sense in 1990. That is indisputable fact.

It is amazing that someone, anyone was ignorant enough to not know whenabouts the Berlin Wall went up. WW2 has been taught in primary schools for years and years and so it's not a new subject.

Again, this is nonsensical. People being taught WW2 at primary would not be taught that the Wall went up in 1961, because that is 16 years after that period. Let alone the basic silliness of judging people and their competency on what they remember being taught twenty years ago. I know loads of adults who know f-all about the Berlin Wall.

*ceased not created

It ceased to be a manned barrier on the 9th of November 1989 and has still not been demolished in the physical sense

"but to my mind if you don’t know about something you keep quiet rather than try and get it completely wrong."

People don't know what they don't know until it becomes clear that they don't know it. Until then, they are confident in their 'knowledge'.

Primary teachers are amazing in the way they can engage children to learn about multiple subjects every day, all in the same classroom, with the same person. They have to know 'enough' about everything and seem passionate about it, even if it is their least favourite subject.

The teacher probably just got swept along with the subject and made a (mistaken) link in her brain. We've all done it.

Norestformrz

The vast majority has been demolished (from 1990) and there are some sections surviving. You are being pedantic. Just give it up. You know exactly what I meant.

From 1989

Norestformrz

No, from 1990, as I have said.

No from 1989 as history says

Norestformrz

History doesn’t “say” things. Facts say things. I have shown you the fact that the wall came down from 1990. You can continue to be obtuse if you like.