I had never entered the National Lottery until around Christmas last year. I now regularly buy two “lucky dips” (the name is rather ironic to a mathematician who knows that the chances of winning are around 14 million to 1) and even watch the draw on a Saturday night, which although not stooping to the levels of X Factor or Britain’s Got Talent, is still a bottom feeder in the televisual stakes. There are only so many parts of the human body that can be crossed at any one time, but it hasn’t worked yet.
So why wait 17 years until finally buying a ticket? I have always known the odds of winning, and let’s be honest they aren’t great, but somebody’s got to win and it is just as likely to be me as anyone else. I have a mortgage that drains half my resources every month, but that’s Ok and I can budget for that with my wages. The problem is just that though: my wages. I’m not complaining that they are too low (although I wouldn’t gaze into the gift horse’s mouth if someone offered me more), and any teacher who does complain that they don’t get paid enough shouldn’t have joined the profession in the first place. The wages in teaching are very well advertised, so if you don’t like it, don’t do it.
The fact is that I don’t want to have to do the teaching bit anymore. I have been a teacher for over 10 years now and my enthusiasm for teaching itself is untainted, it’s just the other stuff that goes with it, stuff that barely existed when I embarked upon the career all those moons ago.
I have just read a book called “On The Edge” by Charlie Carroll (available on Amazon and worth a read) about a young teacher who decides to do supply in the most difficult areas of England in which to teach. I would suggest that every teacher who’s a bit down in the dumps read it, as you will quickly realise that it’s not that bad where you are (unless you are in one of the schools he taught in obviously, but then we all know that supply teachers suffer more from unruly students).
Carroll teaches in deprived areas to length and breadth of the country, including Pupil Referral Units, and some of the stories are truly horrifying. There are many situations which many teachers will recognise, like being threatened, feeling totally hopeless in front of 30+ screaming, seemingly out of control children and many others. The author suggests changes to teaching conditions that have been implemented by different governments of different coloured rosettes, most of which have been to the detriment of the educational system in the UK.
He points out that schools and teachers have little or no power to discipline children for poor behaviour for fear of litigation from parents or chastisement from Local Education Authorities/Ofsted. As a result children essentially do what they want, when they want without fear of rapprochement. He also points out that when schools do lay down strict discipline rules, the children appreciate it (everyone likes some kind of structure) and the school thrives, but it takes a brave Senior Management Team to do so. Although a visible SMT would be nice, as most headteachers are locked away in airtight offices pouring over Excel spreadsheets or attending “strategy” meetings rather than being seen in school but staff or students nowadays.
It’s this powerlessness in teaching that has ground me into the dirt professionally, with the actions of a few disruptive teenagers influencing the lives of so many of their peers so heavily and being able to do little about it. I was told to “F*** Off” by a student last year; their punishment: an hour’s detention, and my punishment: I was told off for goading them and since have not been backed up in any similar situations by certain members of SMT. I can only assume therefore that if told my headteacher to “F*** Off” I would just have to stay for an hour after school planning lessons as my punishment, rather than picking up my P45. Hang on, I do that anyway, without the P45 bit (so far!).
So fingers crossed every Saturday night as I watch those 6 balls, plus the bonus trickle out of Lancelot. The worrying thing is that I know that I’m not the only one who is doing it. My department has a syndicate that if it won the school would be down at least 5 teachers, if not more the following Monday morning. I would not miss the job, and would probably still do something related, as long as it didn’t involve trying to control 30ish kids who have few goals in life other than to ensure that no-one else in the class gets a chance to learn.
Teaching is no longer a desirable vocation, it’s become a necessity for many who are trying to make ends meet and pay the rent/mortgage. And that’s not a healthy situation for the teachers or young people of Britain.
No comments:
Post a Comment