We believe we need to revolutionise the education system to include more practical and vocational learning. In today's job market it's skills that count. Tell us how you would improve the way young people learn and what they learn.
Posted by: Iain beg Macandrew | 10.02.2010 07:55pm
The perennial problem with teachers is that as children they go to school. As young adults they leave and go to college (primary school teachers)or they go to university then to college then they go back to school to teach. They have absolutely no experience of life, industry, commerce, or business! How can that possibly prepare people to teach? Where do guidance teachers get their information with which to assist struggling young people trough and guide them towards a career? I am a retired Electrical Engineer; my son is a Computer Consultant; my daughter trained and worked briefly as a teacher, worked in the community then studied again retrained as an Educational Psychologist so I do have a little knowledge of the topic! Let's have a programme between college and teaching in schools where aspiring teachers are required to spend time outwith an academic environment (not just a few weeks but at least one and preferably two years) to equip them better for their chosen career.
Life Expereince
Posted by: Chris Bentley | 02.04.2010 12:04pm
I would strongly agree with Iain that trainee teachers should not be allowed to go from school to college and back to school as teachers. I recently recruited 3 new teachers to my school from a pool of over 20 candidates. Only after the process did I realise that all of them had done other things before deciding that they wanted to teach (this was pre- recession!). They have all been a success and are very pupil focused. I myself took time out to try farming before becoming a teacher, after having re-started my A levels at FE college, so I came to the profession 2 years after most teachers. I still think that this was a bit early! Teaching has to have some close connections to real life as well as promoting creativity and innovation. Teachers must have the Big Picture of the real world.