Posts Tagged ‘School’

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Teacher Training Fails Us

November 25, 2010

It is my opinion, and I am certainly influenced by my own experience, that teachers are being let down by inadequate and highly pressured teacher training.  I believe that student teachers are not given enough exposure to practical teaching experiences and are left unprepared for the classroom upon entering the profession.

I remember how difficult it was for me to adjust to life as a teacher in the first year in particular.  On only a one-year contract, I felt I couldn’t approach colleagues for advice, because without their respect, I felt I wouldn’t earn a second contract.  Instead I had to work it out on my own, as quickly as possible, to restore the faith my school had in me when they employed me.

I found my University course high on pressure and theory, but low on substance and opportunities to observe teachers and teach classes.  I remember almost having to repeat a full year of the course because I failed an assignment for Sport.  I had to submit a series of lesson plans for Sport (not a discipline I have a passion for).  My lessons were very well-developed – except for one detail that awarded me an automatic fail.  In one of the lessons, I let the students pick the teams themselves.  Whilst I realise that I should have known better, I almost had to repeat the full year (regardless of how well I was doing in other subjects), because I failed that assignment.

That’s why I agree with the submission by Michael Grove in the UK, that plans to shift the focus of teacher training from universities to schools.

It says that “too little teacher training takes place on the job” and proposes the creation of a national network of “teaching schools” based on the model of teaching hospitals.

Mr Gove said that great teaching was a mix of academic and “emotional” intelligence, and working with children and exceptional teachers would enable trainees to grasp this fact.

So many teachers leave the profession because they found it too difficult in the early years.  Others quit during the training period because they are so worn out by assignments and hurdle requirements that have little resemblance to the realities of a classroom.

My advice to teachers in training is to hang tough, get back to the reason why you signed up for this wonderful profession and try to get through.

I feel a lot more confidant in the classroom now.  No thanks to my training though …

Tags:, , , , , ,
Posted in Teacher Training | 2 Comments »

We Are Losing the Fight Against Bullying

November 24, 2010

This is a point made very clear in a recent article entitled, Why we’re losing the fight against bullying.  The article suggests that school policies are flawed or just simply ineffective and bullying continues to be as rampant as ever.  Before I discuss my approach to the issue, I want to point out some interesting points made in the article:

“Some parents, I am sad to say, are not at all bothered if their child is a bully. In fact, they can be quite proud of it,” explains Ken Rigby, a bullying expert in Australia.

Schools can post warm and fuzzy messages about tolerance in the hallways, and hand out good-citizen awards at assemblies – both well-meaning, and necessary – but that strategy speaks loudest to students who wouldn’t bully in the first place, and many of those who do (between 10 and 20 per cent) don’t necessarily see their behaviour that way.

Schools can post warm and fuzzy messages about tolerance in the hallways, and hand out good-citizen awards at assemblies – both well-meaning, and necessary – but that strategy speaks loudest to students who wouldn’t bully in the first place, and many of those who do (between 10 and 20 per cent) don’t necessarily see their behaviour that way.

Zero-tolerance policies on fighting, as cases in Canada have shown, do not solve the problem either, often leading to punishment without investigation, and little follow-up.

I have very strong views on bullying and anti-bullying policy formulation.  It is my opinion that we have our emphasis wrong.  Bullying isn’t a priority – it is THE PRIORITY.  As a teacher, I am entrusted not with people’s money or belongings but with the most important and precious things they have – their children.  It is my responsibility to ensure that they are safe and secure.  Sure, I have to teach them and help them grow academically, but even more so, I have to do my best to make sure that the child they dropped off at my classroom is going to come back in as good if not better emotional shape than when they arrived.

When I speak to my class at the beginning of the year, I tell them there is a sure-fire way for them to have to repeat the year a second time.  It’s not if they find the work difficult or are struggling to pass assessments – it’s if they are not treating their classmates with respect.  Because if they are not ready to treat others with respect, they are not emotionally ready to go up a year level. 

I’m not joking.  I really do mean it.

There is a lot of talk about child centered learning vs teacher centered learning.  I prescribe to neither.  Instead, I believe in what I call “class centred learning”.  The main focus of my teaching is that everyone in the class must respect each other.  It is the fundamental rule for assessing my own performance.  They don’t have to like each other.  But they absolutely must respect each other.  And ultimately, it is my duty to empower the class and create an environment of closeness and mutual respect.

Does it mean that there is no bullying in my classroom?  Absolutely not.  I wish.  I’m only an average teacher.  What it means is, I take more interest in the welfare of my class than any other consideration.

So that means your actual “teaching” suffers?  Absolutely not.  In fact, if there is tension, poor self-esteem, bullying and disharmony in the classroom, there is no way a teacher is going to get the class to work at their potential.  Think about how hard it is for us adults to operate at work with colleagues that don’t respect us.

I think of it this way.  If my students go home still unsure about a maths problem, I can fix that up the following day.  But, if my students go home victimised by fellow classmates due to my inaction – then I may have caused potential damage.

Tags:, , , , , , ,
Posted in Bullying | 7 Comments »

What Are We Doing to Our Kids?

November 19, 2010

It’s unbelievable how political correctness has infiltrated our schools. The intentions may be noble, but the results are sure to be disastrous. Yesterday, I wrote of the incredibly stupid hugging ban at a Gold Coast primary school. Today, I was informed of another shocking school rule at Mt Martha’s Osbourne Primary School in Victoria.

The primary school principal of Osbourne has banned students from being in groups of more than three while at school in a radical plan to combat anti-social behaviour.

Principal Liz Klein said the ban was a short-term measure to tackle anti-social behaviour around the schoolyard.

But Ms Klein denied the school, with more than 600 students, had a bullying problem.

“This is not about bullying, it’s about silly, annoying behaviour at the hands of a select few,” Ms Klein said.

But that’s not all!  Two months ago a Queensland school principal was under pressure to perform a policy backflip after he banned students from doing cartwheels and hand stands in the playground.

This is just wrong!  School is tough enough as it is.  We should be investing more time and energy into making school a far more friendly and inviting place.  Draconian rules like these are so counter-productive.

What’s next?  Outlawing monkey bars?  Bunsen burners?  Sharp pencils?  Scissors?  Smiling?

Get a grip!  If you want to make schools safe, let go of political correctness and instead change your culture!

Tags:, , , , , , , , ,
Posted in School Rules | 2 Comments »

Political Correctness at School

November 18, 2010

I realise schools try to avoid controversy wherever possible, but what was William Duncan State School in Nerang doing?  Banning primary school aged kids from hugging?

Reports indicate that the children at the William Duncan State School are being punished with detention for hugging or touching their friend.

Parent Ross Kouimanis’s whose daughter Emily was given a warning for hugging her best friend calls it “Political correctness gone mad.”

”They are making something so innocent seem dirty or wrong. It’s just normal”, he said.

So what is the reason for this new policy?

Education Queensland South Coast Regional director Glen Hoppner said there was no EQ policy banning hugging in schools.

”William Duncan State School has determined that unwanted or unnecessary physical contact, which in some circumstances can include hugging, is inappropriate playground behaviour,” Mr Hoppner said.

”The school is mindful of protecting their right to not be touched in an unwanted or inappropriate way.”

Why are we making schools, which you could already mount an argument, isn’t the most natural surrounding for a child, into a cold and gloomy place?  Whilst teachers all around the world struggle to keep kids engaged, happy and motivated at school, bureacrats work hard at making school as difficult a proposition for our children as possible.

School should be as fun and exciting as possible.  We should focus our students to get on, co-operate, care for each other and thrive.

Less rules!  Less political correctness!

Tags:, , , , , , ,
Posted in School Rules | Leave a Comment »

Body Image and Our Youth

November 17, 2010

Young Australians are struggling with stress and school related challenges, but body image is by far their biggest concern.

The survey found stress levels had spiked this year. When asked to rank their personal concerns from a list of 15 issues, 27.3 per cent nominated “coping with stress”, putting it in the top three, compared with 18.7 per cent last year.

Anne Hampshire, from Mission Australia, said that body image issues created stress for both genders.

“What came through in the responses was that young people are worried both about their personal body image and about how the media continues to promote a level of physical perfection that is neither healthy nor achievable,” Ms Hampshire said.

Carmen Acosta, also from Mission Australia, says the results show there needs to be more emphasis on education and programs to tackle poor body image.

“The work needs to continue past adolescence and the information and the support to young people should be also included or extended to post-school environments such as tertiary institutions,” she said.

From my experience in the classroom, body image is a huge area of concern among upper-primary school aged kids as well.  The issue is a strong area of interest of mine, and an inspiration for my unpublished novel (which deals extensively with body image).

It is essential that we improve the way we deal with this very real concern.


Tags:, , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Body Image | 3 Comments »

Nurturing the Inquiring Mind

November 16, 2010

One of the most important contributions a teacher can make to their students is the ability to get them to think for themselves.  Essentially that involves giving them the tools to ask the important questions and make their own conclusions.  Just simply filling students up with facts is hardly good enough.  For our students to thrive we have to nurture their inquiring minds.

Academy-award-winning film producer Lord David Puttnam is now a member of the British House of Lords, whose policy focus is on improving education standards.  In a recent television interview, Lord Puttnam called for teachers to make inquiry in the classroom a priority.

“The most important thing I think teachers can do for young people is to make them inquiring, is to ensure that they know how to gather information, that they check information and they take their information from a multiplicity of sources.

If you can get a child to do that and then become interested in the whole process of information gathering, you’re halfway towards becoming a learner. And once you’re a learner, you’re a learner for life. That’s certainly been my experience.”

It’s certainly something to consider when reflecting about how well we are teaching our kids.

Tags:, , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

Girls and Maths

November 15, 2010

At a time when so much time and effort is exerted into getting better academic results from the boys, I wonder if we’re doing enough, if anything at all, to make maths more appealing to girls.

A study to be presented at an education conference in Melbourne this month shows girls performing poorly compared with boys in areas of high achievement and enrolment trends in year 12 maths subjects.

Its findings show a clear pattern of male dominance among the Victorian students who achieved the top 2 per cent of the study score results in each of the maths subjects between 2007 and 2009. //

Boys were heavily over-represented among the top scorers, relative to their enrolment proportions in each maths subject.

Sure, boys may be wired to excel in maths, but should that stop us from rethinking the way we teach it to girls?

I love teaching maths.  As a Grade 4 teacher, I teach all general subjects, yet maths is my favourite.  I find that there is so much scope for teaching the subject in a creative fashion rather than rote memory skills and algorithms, which can be boring and off-putting to many.  In class we become top-secret spies, prisoners, fashion designers and architects.  Sometimes the class don’t even realise it’s a maths lesson!

A creative approach to maths, especially in the early years, is just the tonic to make the subject more exciting and accessible – especially to girls.

Tags:, , , , , , , ,
Posted in Maths, Teaching Girls | Leave a Comment »

What is the Perfect Class Size?

November 15, 2010

A report came out recently by the Grattan Institute which claims that reducing class sizes does not necessarily improve schooling.

The study’s author, Dr Ben Jensen, says that while the drive to reduce class sizes is well intentioned, his research suggests that it has little impact on the quality of education for children. He says that more effective teachers would produce a better result.

But the Teachers Federation disagrees with his report, which is based on research carried out in the US state of Florida.

“Any parent given a choice between a large class or a smaller class will choose the smaller class because they know their child will get more teacher time and support,” federation vice president Joan Lemaire said in a statement.

Just because good teachers are a better indicator of success, doesn’t mean that our classrooms aren’t too crowded.  Whilst I appreciate that there is a big cost in cutting class sizes, you can not tell me for a second that a teacher is just as capable of teaching 27 as she/he is of teaching 17.  A good teacher will flourish in most environments and will rise to most pressures, but imagine how much more influential they would be in a smaller class.

I have 17 in class which would probably be the envy of many teachers.  I feel that 17 is a good number, and I wouldn’t ideally want to teach a class of 25 or more.

How many students do you have in your class and what do you think is the ideal (being realistic of course) amount?

Tags:, , , , , ,
Posted in Class Size | 1 Comment »

Lessons to be Learnt from the Sticky Tape Incident

November 14, 2010

I was disturbed to read of the alleged incident involving a teacher accused of sticky taping students’ mouths shut in dealing with unruly students.  Whilst I am horrified at the alleged incident, and the teacher involved, if found guilty, will get a justifiably serious penalty for her actions, I think there are other issues worth considering in relation to the case:

The report says that, “the school has been aware of previous occasions where the teacher has struggled to manage her students.” If that is the case, what was done to support this teacher?  If a teacher is struggling to deal with the management of their class, it is up to the school community to support the teacher.  When a teacher struggles to manage their class, it can have a very negative effect on their self-esteem and can make them impatient and irrational.  Whilst that in no way excuses unprofessional behaviour, it is a sign that the teacher requires some assistance and support.

Teachers, more often than not, join the profession to make a difference to the lives of their students.  They often have the best of intentions and a selfless approach to their job.  However, they soon realise that it can be a very difficult and under-valued profession.

Studies often show that teaching is among the most stressful of occupations, with difficult parents, students, school boards and staff members all factors in pushing teachers to the limit.  While I again stipulate that there is no excuse for acts of aggression against students, it is important to have structures in place that help teachers that are suffering from some of the difficulties that come with the job.

 

Tags:, , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Teachers Stress | Leave a Comment »

Finally, a Voice of Reason!

November 11, 2010

It is my vision that both private and public schools should be looked after and properly funded.  I am tired of the private vs public school debate over funding.  If our Government is really serious about education, they will invest in private education to ease the burden on the taxpayer whilst also ensuring that our public schools are appropriately funded and given every chance to thrive.

In steps a voice of reason.  Dr Kevin Donnelly, the Director of Education Standards Institute, makes the following points in defence of funding our private schools:

The facts are that non-government schools have been underfunded for years. While state school students, on average, get $12,639 in funding from state and federal governments, non-government students only receive $6,606. Schools and parents have to pay the rest.

The saving to governments is about $6,000 a year for each student, adding up to a saving of about $7 billion a year. It’s also true that the state school system would collapse if it had to enrol all those thousands of students currently in non-government schools.

Critics like the AEU argue that non-government schools are drowning in government funding. Wrong. Wealthier non-government schools like Scotch College and Melbourne Grammar only get 13.5 per cent of the cost to government of educating a state school student. Even less well off non-government schools only get 70 per cent of the state school cost.

Let’s put the non-government vs government school debate to bed, and focus our energy on making sure that all of our schools receive the appropriate amount of support.

Tags:, , , , ,
Posted in Government Funding | Leave a Comment »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »