tough young teachers

[theladyrainy]

I watched this tonight on the i-player. Even my 12 year old was wincing.

6 weeks training and then send graduates into schools to take classes, including Y10/11 pupils who are studying for their GCSE's.

Not a channel 5 reality TV idea...this actually happens.

Poverty? His house looked far from poverty stricken and he had a diamond earring and ring on.

I thought the chess game was meant to be a detention if so it wasn't much of a sanction as both parties seemed to be enjoying it.

Is it a Teach First (or a general current) teaching strategy to write names up on the board for good/bad behaviour?

I only ask because they all seem to do it. I don't remember it being done at school after reception!

That's one thing that surprised me - the behaviour management was similar to primary. My friend who is a secondary teacher used to tell me that in the lower years of secondary the pupils still loved stickers, house points etc!

Names on the board is fairly standard across secondary. IME it's a crap strategy and I don't do it!

if a class doesn't behave for you as a student teacher when slt are in the room then that tells you all you need to know about that school.

This. I found the behaviour of the students in Meryls lesson when the head teacher was there quite shocking. I'm not in the slightest shocked that they behave like that (and worse) with a trainee teacher, but with the head in sight? Awful.

Meryl won't be able to learn if the SMT are incapable of supporting her to create a calmer environment. All those kids learnt in that lesson was that 'the head doesn't care if we treat Miss like shit'.

When I was a supply teacher (primary) it was always very interesting to observe how respectful the children were towards SLT and the Head or otherwise!

Retropear - sorry I made assumptions on the fact it is a TF qualifying school and hence a high percentage of pupils are from deprived backgrounds or living in poverty. Perhaps more 'relative' disadvantage would be a better way of looking at it.
At the end of the day though, we cannot judge. We don't know the circumstances surrounding it all. IMO though, when someone that age is so turned off education and with such low aspiration - something, somewhere along the line has failed him within Education.

I don't understand Caleb really. He was saying how lucky and happy he felt to get back into school in year ten, but then he doesn't act like it at all. I don't think it's just R.E. either (although I can understand him not liking a subject, and it unluckily being the one taught by a student teacher), they said they're having trouble with him in other lessons.

I can't believe they behaved like that with the head teacher in the room. Or the fact she didn't do anything, even a stare or a throat clear (like the teacher who went into the science teacher's class). I know she was observing, but surely when it's at that point you should step in?

Caleb doesn't have the maturity to make his good behaviour resolutions last.

He's been taught to say all that stuff about being lucky and fresh starts by the staff at the PRU and his behaviour is probably significantly better than a year or two ago when he was originally expelled.

He doesn't genuinely feel lucky though. I'd hazard a guess that he feels cornered, scared of failure, and hard done by. All that stuff about respect being earned and wanting to be equals with the teacher- he hasn't yet learnt respect for authority or to accept that he does not have all the freedoms of adulthood.

I could understand the HT not doing anything maybe the first time just to get the full picture but from then on as the other staff were meant to be support I really cannot see why they weren't actually supporting her. Also I think it's more shocking that the kids were prepared to behave like that with such senior staff, shows they have no presence and presumably little authority.

I don't think Caleb can be excluded from being in the deprived or poverty bracket because of a bit of CZ. Where I lived is a deprived area, nearly all the kids are wearing jewellery, nice trainers and carrying smartphones. However have they ever been on holiday or to the countryside, do they get to go on expensive school trips or to the theatre, do they have costly hobbies like horse riding or tutoring. I really do not agree that 2 or 3 material possessions and seeing 2 rooms of Caleb's home mean that we can say he isn't from a low income family.

I don't see his income as that relevant, his family situation is probably more important. He's clearly in the teenager phase of being half adult, half child. He needs help to help himself, even adults are guilty of self-sabotage or not making the right choice even when we know better. To see him crying like that makes me think he's frustrated, scared and conflicted, he obviously makes progress with the right handling. I understand that teachers can't spend all their time on one disruptive pupil but in my eyes it shows how challenging kids fall by the wayside.

Dalmation perhaps his parents have failed him.

Not being arsey but I think that is more likely and his school has been left to pick up the pieces(and take the blame).

Sasha I think we disagree re the definition of poverty.

Maybe, I don't know what your definition so I'll take your word for it.

I will say that before christmas I went to our local food bank to donate. None of the people I saw queuing to be given food looked or appeared poor, hungry or homeless but many of them must be.

I watched both episodes today and thought it was fascinating. I would have died if my first PGCE lessons had been filmed so in that sense I think they're all pretty brave.

Of the first years I think the Science, Maths and Business teachers have the most potential. They are the ones who seem to be taking on board the feedback they get and really looking for ways to improve. Both the English and RE teachers seem to have an attitude of 'the kids are too difficult' and aren't really looking at how they can change to improve that relationship.

It will be interesting to see how the series develops. I wonder if Teach First candidates go to Primary schools as well? It might have been just as interesting to see how they would have fared in that environment.

Campaspe they do, I mentored some (and DD is starting next year on TF Primary, see my earlier post) but they are usually broken in slightly more gently. They often have their own class, but a very active mentor who may team teach with them at first and then assess how much support they need exactly. Primary teacher's experience vary far more depending on the age group (imagine the difference between teaching Year 1 all the time and Year 6 all the time!) and school's philosophy or environment.
I wish they filmed primary too, although I think DD is glad they didn't as she is worried it may put her off the TF route!!

I'm glad I discovered this. I'm a bit shocked at the complete lack of experience and understanding - especially going in to GCSE classes.

The program is very educational for me: Harefield Academey is the school I would never want my child to attend. Leadership of that school is abysmally poor. This is clearly seen in their handling of Meryl whose genuine effort to become a good teacher is made difficult by the school head. The kids in Meryl's class clearly do not want to learn and are only bent on disturbing her teaching and what does the head do in response? He blames Meryl for it! What Harefield needs is entirely different leadership, one that recognises where the problem is. In contrast, the leadership of The Archbishop Lanfranc School has shown good judgment in supporting Charles in his effort to control Caleb. I would hope that Meryl is not discouraged and stay in the profession as there is shortage of good dedicated teachers like her.

I watched this and cringed - drinks, phones, headphones in the classroom - bit like a teenagers bedroom rather than a classroom. The lack of discipline and the way pupils have to be handled with kid gloves, and like they are primary pupils seems the norm. I attended a school in a deprived area of the East End but we would never have got away with half of what was shown.

Daughter of a friend did TF. She was teaching maths in a rough secondary school and found it hellish. She was mostly teaching the lower level groups who had no wish to do maths despite her best endeavours, and some of the behaviour was absolutely appalling, including boys making highly sexualised remarks to and about her and threatening sexual assaults. She had virtually no support. Given that she also had to attend weekend lectures and do coursework etc on the teacher training side in addition to all her lesson preparation and marking, she was generally getting around 4 hours' sleep at best and reached a point when she was regularly reduced to tears. What particularly bothered her was that there were some delightful pupils who wanted to learn and who really liked her as a teacher, but she felt she couldn't do them justice.

Ultimately she got to Christmas and found herself working right through Christmas and Boxing Day as well as the rest of the holiday. She still wasn't sleeping because she was waking up in a cold sweat thinking about the following term. Ultimately she realised that she was close to burnt out and a full breakdown and, with a heavy heart, decided she had no choice to give up.

It was an utter waste. She was capable of becoming an excellent teacher, and God knows we need good Maths teachers. I think if she had done a PGCE she would still be teaching now.

I only caught the last bit of the second programme, but the Business Studies teacher and Meryl both seemed a bit green round the gills - sweet, but naive.

nennypops I am sad to hear that, what an awful experience. From what I've heard (lots of involvement with schools who take on TF teachers - primary and secondary) her experience is not typical. Yes it is highly stressful and intense, but usually there is a good amount of support especially if you admit you need it.
It sometimes takes the teacher to admit they are struggling rather than putting on a brave face in order for them to get someone (be it their school mentor, TF mentor or Uni mentor) to sit down and look at what is going wrong that is meaning they are working far too much. I have had PGCE students in this position too, teaching is incredibly hard to start with.
The whole experience is so dependent on which school you are placed in, it seems she was unlucky. Such a shame and waste of what sounds like a potentially great teacher.

I have watched with my 12 yr old. We think the guy from Harrow is the best teacher. Was wincing though at Imperial graduation - they were sooo posh!

I am interested in Caleb (he reminds me of my ds1 in many ways - ds1 had managed to turn things around) -I think he is extremely bright and may have adhd possibly.

He is not pliable or suggestible and does have attitude and is difficult to handle for a young inexperienced teacher not matter how good their degree is.

I think that the current school system can fail really bright pupils - I would like to see a return to grammar schools - its the only bit of conservative policy I agree with.

I also thought the teacher pulling up the boy about the doodle was an overreaction.

Meryl is doing a live Q&A on twitter following tonight's episode @toughteachers