After my rant on the other thread I thought I may as well open another one with a shoe firmly on the other foot with a well aimed ammo boot right up the jacksi.
I expect teachers to prepare my children for the real world and to support the positive attitudes and informed decision making processes that I pass on as a parent.
It does not seem to work out that way because of opposing political and social idea's. Teachers no longer want to 'burden' children with excessive homework, they no longer want to have to make children to make hard and painful decisions, they seem prepared to accept that mediocrity is acceptable.
I don't buy this at all. I want children to be taught by people who have a real grasp on life. I want teachers to push children and to highlight high achievers to push on and achieve recognistion. I want teachers who care, teachers who actually give a damn and teachers who are as committed to the future well being of the youth of this country and who view complacency as a disease.
I don't think that people who have never left school and are now the custodians of Britains youth are doing a particularly good job in preparing kids for the real world - quite simply, cos they don't know about it themselves.
Discuss.....................
I think that teachers have a hard job getting kids to take on board the basic skills needed to be able to learn and academically achieve and (to generalise to keep the issue simple) putting a duty of care on them to teach morals and motivation as well as the basics is not necessarily unreasonable but given the current climate, perhaps a touch unrealistic.
The first lessons of life begin at home. Morales / right and wrong to start off with should already be within the childs life before they even realise it.
Education to a understanding of social behaviour is usualy learnt at school. School is there to try and teach the child to not only be forgiving but understand that life isn't roses and they must live by rules.
I agree that teachers have a hard time already teaching children that don;t have basic social skills and on top of that having to teach them about different ideas and ways of thinking because they might once in their lives think like that.
Personally I think religion shouldn't be taught at schools until they are aware of what it is (at least 15+). Political view points should be kept to generic and let the pupils make their own choices.
Do you really think it is easy to be a teacher? Have you ever really 'taught' a child something new that the child didn't want to know in the first place? That's an every day thing, some would call it an uphill struggle to begin with.
I didn't want to quote... cos you wrote a long post so, let me just say. You want all that from teachers?
you must be incredibly unlucky. I am getting (along with my input and the world's input) that from my son's teachers.
Infact I am up early to go and meet my son's form tutor at 8am to discuss his work this term. (not just this whole year) which is a termly event and arranged to fit in with MY working life.
That isn't all of it though. But I don't want to be late.
:shock: No time for a full response - but I will return to this later!
I carefully phrased NUT members as opposed to all teachers just avoid tarring everyone with the same brush.
There are good and bad in all walks of life - good and bad parents as well as good and bad teachers. By the same token there are are good and bad in the Armed Forces.
But if the NUT can make a broad statement about banning the army from schools then I feel justified to say that the NUT are a bunch of lardy arsed, yellow bellied, left wing, liberal PC panderers. Same generalisation in my view.
Remember, I only offered this topic for discussion and admit to being somewhat inflammatory because the NUT attitude has really wound me up - but hey - when I was at school a good debate was one that got heated and we went away appreciating the opposing views as opposed to getting defensive about our own.
Look, I am just sick of the unjustified bashing of our armed services - caused not by them, but caused as always by whichever feckless government happens to be in power at the time.
The teachers view about banning the armed forces from schools, is, in my opinion wrong. The armed forces represent an excellent career choice for all ranges of young people from the very, very bright all the way down to the 'not so bright.' The military offers sch0larships, university bursaries, trade and professional qualifications as well as (for a small number of people) the opportunity to get into a style of life that may help to resolve their own social problems.
There is travel, adventure, camaraderie, hard work and if you are a front line infantry soldier some risk of death - but that is not ALL of our armed services.
I want teachers to be focused on what they can do to prepare teenagers for the real world by educating them fully to read and write and to encourage excellence. I think it is a very, very dangerous precedent when the teaching profession start making ill informed and uneducated comments about military service because that attitude will ultimately filter down to kids. By the way I am not saying ill informed and uneducated just to wind the debate up - I am saying that the attitude of the teaching profession to the armed forces recruiting in schools is just plain wrong, it is not based on fact and it should be qualified that their comments refer only to front line infantry/cavalry units. They are tarring all of the armed forces with the same brush.
I am angry about teachers because of this and I don't think their attack on the armed forces should go unanswered.
Teachers are paid to educate our children in a wide range of subject, some academic, some life skills, some just pleasure. My 14 year old has just taken his options, and the range and scope of the subjects offered was astounding.
For instance Religious Education is no longer just all about Jesus and christianity as it was when I was at high school, it encompasses all religions too. Not only that it looks at birth, death, morals, society as a whole, crime, terrorism war and so on.
They also offer hairdressing and construction courses, astronomy, different types of ict courses depending on the chosen career path, food technology (encompassing cookery, product design, nutrition)
Childcare, languages, history, geography, physical education and sports...the list goes on and on.
Their hands are tied due to the PC brigade taking away rights from them and giving them all to the kids.
No punishments for wrongdoings, no detention, not to much homework, no shouting at them, no using red pen cos it has negetive conotations, no competetive spoets days in case someone gets upset at losing......I could go on
I think they do a fantastic job within the remit that they have.
All other education should start at home with the parents, its there, at home in the formative years of the child (0-3) that morals, the difference between right and wrong, manners, social skills, etc etc SHOULD be taught. These crucial years where the child is normanlly, mostly with the parent/s or carers, are where the most learning of life skills occurs.
This seems to me to be a teacher bashing thread, for the sake of it, when in fact it could have been a pro armed forces thread instead....it could have been a positive thread instead of the negative one it appears to be.
Teachers are there to facilitate the education that their employer, local authority or otherwise, deem to be appropriate and affordable.
Like any other group or individual teachers have the absolute right to comment on what they see going on around them.
I take my hat off to anyone who has the vocation to teach for a living. I wouldn't do it if you hung my arse with diamonds.
a la dirty dancing stylee
"nobody yawns at Cherrytree!!"
How rude!, manners maketh the MAN
nuff said!:gagged:
I thought it was to give them a standard level of education? 
if that's the case then you'll remember Thatcher's motto... each one to their own, you have to help yourself to get on in life - don't rely on OTHERS... that kind of thing. Thatcher was a libertarian and a believer in personal responsibility - therefore in my view that cannot be pinned on teachers alone.
:rotflmao: :rotflmao:
I have purposely not replied, in keeping with the spirit of being "nice" that we are aiming for at the moment - so thank you!
You're not appreciating the opposing views at all - your reaction is to yawn at them and get defensive about your own views, just because you object to the NUT stance on the Armed Forces. You've made some sweeping statements as to the politics of NUT members, which aren't accurate even using my school as an example. You're also being derogatory about some members ('saddo, left wing, liberal, lardy arsed, drivelly idea's; out of touch') which isn't necessary and just brings the debate down to another level.