The Teachers Are Blowing Their Whistles!
Subtitle
This is an absurd expectation which has infested educational thinking.
Show me a teacher who claims to meet all the individual needs in a classroom and I'll show you a liar.
This is an absurd expectation that has infested educational thinking.
Student disruption and poor attitudes are of far greater significance in the stifling of learning in classrooms.
You just need to look at the non-select entry secondary schools populated by aspirational students with supportive parents and their results thrash the general population.
Schools where discipline is difficult, student population disinterested, parents unhelpful and aggressive, etc. and experts expect teachers to cater for the individual ... you gotta be kidding yourselves.
It's an unrealistic expectation which is setting teachers and schools up for failure.
Stuart, Reader's Comment, Teacher flaws stifle students, say principals, Stefanie Balogh, The Australian, 18 April 2017
.. Classrooms are overcrowded, filled with individuals with all sorts of needs both educational and social.
Teachers are told we must differentiate and cater to each individual.
Good teachers try desperately to do that but it is near impossible and we feel guilty that we are not doing enough to help the children in our care.
Those who promote a culture of differentiation no doubt have very good intentions and there are times when it is possible, but the harsh reality is that the average lesson in a high school classroom is a rush against the clock.
Teachers do their best with engaging lessons but they simply cannot cater to the needs of every student when they teach well over 100 students every day.
They are then told by sanctimonious administrators that they need to do better in their approaches to differentiation, which is extremely disheartening.
Throw in endless marking of drafts and some crazy parents and the profession a teacher loves becomes a hard slog.
People make numerous comments about lazy teachers and their endless holidays but the pressures are very real and very worrying.
I started teaching 30 years ago and didn't feel anywhere near the level of pressure that is being applied to teachers now.
I am glad Kathy Margolis has spoken up about what is going on in our schools, but it's a great shame she had to retire first and is a reflection of a too stringent Code of Conduct that abhors questioning or perceived dissent.
Hence my own anonymity.
The material on this webpage is largely already in the public domain.
If you feel that your point of view has not been properly represented, please contact robina@theteachersareblowingtheirwhistles.com
