I was stunned how poorly I was trained at University. I completed a Bachelor of Teaching at a major Melbourne university, but experience has shown that my degree was not worth more than a roll of toilet paper.
My training did not prepare me for how to teach and what to do in certain highly pressurised situations. This is because my course was high on theory and propaganda and low on practical teaching opportunities. It was those fleeting teaching round experiences at other schools that I was able to observe other teachers and begin to form my own teaching style.
In a recent article, Christopher Bantick blames poor training on our teacher’s lack of subject knowledge:
For a generation there has been a significant decline in scholarship in the nation’s classrooms. Education degrees do not prepare undergraduates adequately in subject knowledge. The result is that many teachers entering Australian classrooms clutching their bachelor of education scrolls simply do not have enough academic depth to teach with any scholastic authority.
I personally felt like I was drowning in “academic depth”. I wanted more practical experience … far more!
Topical Teaching 