Cages have been rattled!
Firstly, as a teacher, I would like to say that most teachers are 'not in
for the money'. If we wanted to earn large amounts of cash we would have
entered other fields that were more financially rewarding, and probably
working less hours. I feel that teachers, educators, tutors, call them what
you will, join the profession because they enjoy the communication,
interaction, and challenge of the work.
Secondly, 10 months in a classroom is enough for any person, student or
teacher. In fact, the need for this rest is necessary to re-charge with new
ideas, improve on old ideas, and study new theories, which may assist in
improving the learning environment. Children themselves need the chance to
relax and lift the pressure they are under at school. (Hong Kong suffers a
distrubing amount of suicides around the examination periods.)
Lastly, Eric, you sound like the many concerned parents who come to see
teachers each year, probably like parents do all over the world. The
problems are not as simple as unified theories of human behaviour,
re-structuring timetables, or changing the union. The problems stem from
trying to make one size fit all. Cultural and social differences will always
cause variations. Knee-jerk reactions, or initiatives that try to make
education more accountable, e.g. G.W's master plan, usually stifle
creativity and real learning. What teachers really need is support from
parents, and a louder voice in the decision making process taken when
deciding how best to educate children.
We may not have all the answers, but we do have a lot of experience.
Brian
_________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Sun Apr 01 2001 - 01:01:16 PST