IN BRITAIN TODAY - TRUST THE TEACHERS

TRUST THE PROFESSIONAL TEACHERS

In Britain Today, there is total distrust of the Professional Teacher - like there is total distrust of Hospital Professionals and other Professionals in our Society.

This distrust is manifested by the Government who have imposed masses of rules, standards and regulations whereby every tiny action by the Teacher is supervised, monitored and checked by the Head and Deputy Teachers, Ofsted and Government Education Departments.
It seems to the Teaching Staff, that there is total distrust of their abilities to perform well in class. Every move must. be assessed. The Teacher must be pressed for more and more higher standards regardless of the impact on the mental health of the teacher. Government appears to think that Teachers are Robots and not Human Beings.

Of course the justification is the objective to raise standards of performance by pupils and the school.
Is that not what all parents want ?
Standards, standards and more standards with reports, reports and more reports. The teacher is made accountable for everything in the classroom according to what the Government Standards are written into the Laws of Standards !
The lesson preparation work is checked, the individual students work is checked, the class  performance checked. Why has the teacher done that, why is this or that result so low. why has not the teacher not included this. Why has the teacher failed to reach the standard in this subject or that subject, why has the teacher failed to complete the write up report in time ? Why ?; Why? Why ?
A variation on the old song should be - Hey Government, l.eave that teacher alone.

The Government needs more information, the parents need better results for their children, the Head Teacher wants a better rating for the School.
There is endless pressure on the Teacher In Britain Today to prepare lessons in their own private time but to be continually assessed and re-assessed on their achievement levels against standards and report writing. An Unbearable pressure leading to breakdowns in Teacher Health, pressure on Marriage Relations and Teachers leaving the profession. Government supervision of the Teaching Profession has gone too far.

Take for example the views of one experienced teacher -

• We are required to plan and document in advance every single thing we say, do or teach. On one instant of Observance in class by officials I was criticised because I had not pre-written all the questions on my lesson plan.
• My experienced years counted for nothing.
• I have to prove my words in advance in writing
• I must write up that I am going to make my lesson more challenging and how.
• I can not longer speak to my teaching assistant  about her role in the lesson - I must define it on paper in advance, Yes , more paperwork
• I have to prove specific marking of every piece of work every child does in every lesson. With 32 in the class, that can be 96 - 128 written comments.
•  There is way too much emphasis on assuming what is measurable is the most valuable information  
• We have lost sight of good teaching and replaced it with lots of paperwork
• I have to work most weekends to keep up with paperwork
• The Head is more interested in my paperwork than teaching ability. Yes, he is under pressure for paperwork too

One Head Teacher who has recently resigned in 2014 from the Teaching Profession because he could not suffer the stress  any more of the excessive burden of administration and lack of respect from Government and Parents alike. said -

Some excellent valid points have been made in this article.  

He is not alone. Many more Head Teachers have buckled under the strain of Paperwork, Reports and unduly Scrutiny from the Civil Servants and Government.There will be many more if Policies do not change for the better.

No wonder Classroom Teachers and Head Teachers are disgruntled  and upset. This is crazy Management of the Educational Profession and Schools System in the United kingdom.

One Parent suggested -

Tell the Government to impose the same stringent criteria for judging the performance of Teachers onto the Members of Parliament, The Civil Service and The House of Lords. Perhaps they are already committing this fundamental mistake of paperwork overload. 

Children are very sensitive  and observant to the mood of their teacher in the classroom. They can easily detect if a teacher is not well, moody, tired, irritable and short tempered. All the signs of stress. This is not good for the children and certainly not good for the teacher.

The Government seems to have forgotten that Teachers have undertaken some 3 years of intensive training, they are dedicated people and that they care for the children that they teach. Teachers are the Salt of the Earth.  Teachers are people of good character  and the majority of teachers are inspirational people. Of course there will always be some black sheep in any profession. It is the duty of Head Teachers to root them out. Head Teachers are responsible for standards in their school not Civil  Servants in Whitehall London. I am in favour of Ofted regular visits to schools but I reject the excessive amount of Report Writing that the Teacher is currently subjected to. I am also against the mass of Targets and Sub Targets. imposed on the teacher. Let them spend more time teaching and less time completing reports.

So what can we do about this distrust of Teachers ?

• Make the Head Teacher responsible in full for the standards of performance of his / her teaching staff by classroom observance - and more freedom from report writing.
• Let the Governors review performance at the school but not to blame the teachers for every poor individual performance.
• Let Government accept the principle that the Teaching Profession know best for what is good teaching practice and not Civil Service and Government Mandarins.
• The NUT - National Union of Teachers know what is best for the good education of our children - they have the practical experience and not the Government. Their advice is worth more credence than the high ground perspective of the Civil Service and the Department of Education in Whitehall. The Government should listen to the NUT viewpoint and implement more of their recommendations. I am not a Member of the NUT nor am I a Member of any political party. This is my independent view.
• Recognise that the individual pupil has the responsibility to learn and that the teacher must not be blamed always for poor results. Also, accept the fact of life that some children are late starters.
• Reduce the amount of subject matter in some of the courses. Do not over fill the curriculum with subject matter placing extra pressure on the teacher.Education and Subject overload is not a good thing for our children. Excessive homework is one example. A child needs to enjoy home time and not have to worry about homework all the time. Is this because the curriculum is top loaded ? Is this because homework must be regular or the teacher will never cover the subjects and therefore will be black marked for under performing.
• Remember that personal character development is just as important as academic achievement.
• Physical activities are important in the school curriculum. Do not sell off any more sports grounds.

Start to treat the teacher with respect once more, lift the administrative burden and let us have happy, healthy teachers and not overstressed, irritable,  depressed teachers.

Trust the Teacher not the Civil Service. Set the Teacher free of red tape. Let us have a healthier Teaching Profession.

Trust the Teacher to look after our children. The Teaching Profession know best.

GENERAL ELECTION MAY 2015 - UNITED KINGDOM

EUREKYS -  FORECAST OF RESULTS
29 January 2015

ConLib Coalition Government

David Cameron Prime Minister

SEATS

Conservatives 310

Labour            270

Scot Nats          30

Lib Dems          18

UKIP                  8

Greens                7

Plaid Cymru       3

NI Dems             5

Sinn Fein            4


NOTES - ASSUMPTIONS

1 Scots Nats would not support a Labour Coalition

2 LibDems would support a ConLib Coalition to remain in Government

3 Possible Minority Government - Conservatives

4 - If Minority Government, a Re Election soon after the Autumn Statement 2015.

IN BRITAIN TODAY - LIST OF EUREKYS ARTICLES

IN BRITAIN TODAY


LIST OF TOPICS   -  POLITICAL SOCIAL CURRENT AFFAIRS

Solutions not Shadowboxing

Author - Raymond Williams MA MPhil MBA DIPM
EUREKYS

Eurekys is a Registered Trade Mark


1  AUSTERITY AND NATIONAL DEBT

2  THE GLUTTON SOCIETY 2015

3  REFORM OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS

4  UK IMMIGRATION POLICY

5  RADICAL CHANGE IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR

6  CHANGING THE MINDSET IN THE ORGANISATION OF PUBLIC BODIES

7  CARE OF THE ELDERLY - COMPASSION OR FEAR

8  TERTIARY EDUCATION - NEED FOR REFORM

9  BRITISH FOREIGN POLICY

10  THE UK AND THE EU - WHERE NEXT ?

11  THE NOREPLY CULTURE

12  HIGH SPEED RAIL PROJECT

13  THE LEVESON REPORT

14  THE BBC - NEED FOR DOWNSIZING

15  THE HACKING AFFAIR

16  THE ONLINE DIGITAL MUSIC REVOLUTION

17  DIGITAL MUSIC CONVERGENCE - A NEW MARKETING TOOL.

18  PAST REFLECTIONS  - THE VISION OF 1961

19  MISTAKES TO AVOID IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A SUBSIDIARY COMPANY 

20  IN BRITAIN TODAY - A HAPPY PLACE TO LIVE ?

21 THE NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE - FUTURE STRATEGY 2016 - 2021

 22 IN BRITAIN TODAY - TRUST THE TEACHER

23 BOOK PUBLISHING IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

24 THE HOUSING CHALLENGE

25 ROLE OF THE BUSINESS SCHOOL


GOOGLE - EUREKYS

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Under each year there will be listed a number of articles.
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IN BRITAIN TODAY

Political Social Current Affairs

AUSTERITY AND THE NATIONAL DEBT
The Eurekys Formula

The ordinary citizens did not cause the Global Financial Crisis that has created outrageous levels of National Debt and nearly an era of crippling Austerity.
The example of Greece has illustrated how interest repayments and cumulative interest payments has caused financial misery for millions of innocent citizens leading to riots and in some cases a radical change of Government.
I would like to suggest  one possible solution  - which I have named The Eurekys Formula.

National Debt should be re-classified as Zero per cent interest per annum and cumulative interest balances should be reduced to Zero.
What an outcry from the Creditors this will bring. They will want their pound of flesh  regardless of the misery this causes their fellow citizens.
The super rich continue to live in their luxury way of life whilst most of the rest of us suffer - is this a good thing for Democracy or the image of Capitalism ?
Why should not the Creditors, Investors and Financial Gamblers suffer too in the interest of their respective countries ?
So, Politicians, International Monetary Fund, The Economic Union Central Bank. The Federal Reserve Bank and all the other custodians of Capital - think about this radical proposal to get some Financial Equilibrium and higher standards of living in the World and less destructive Austerity.
We are living in The Glutton Society. This has to change for the better of everyone.
Of course, The Creditors will object with more than 20 arguments why The Eurekys Formula will not work.
Eurekys can only advance one argument in favour of The Eurekys Formula -

FAIRNESS FOR ALL THE INNOCENT SUFFERING CITIZENS IN DEBTOR NATIONS


What do you think ?

Photo - Ray Williams

THE GLUTTONS OF OUR AGE - THE GREED SOCIETY 2015

THEY ARE ALL GUILTY - The Government, The Shareholders, The Headhunters, The Human Resource Departments, The Remuneration Committees, The Management Institutions - and Members of Parliament. How can so many people get it so wrong ? What ?

The outrageous gluttony of massive inflated salaries and annual bonuses of Senior Executives in Corporate and Government, Civil Service positions in the United Kingdom is a Self Interest Perpetuating Conspiracy 

In December 2014 there was widespread disruption for thousands of rail passengers from London because Network Rail had not completed engineering projects in North London. The Chief Executive accepted responsibility and declared that he was going to decline his £135,000 Annual Bonus - but he still kept his £675,000 salary and gold plated pension contributions - and his expenses account. What a gesture !

Another example of sheer Gluttony is at the BBC - a Public financed body. The £800,000 plus salary of the Director General is outrageous  and the Government is to blame for allowing this to happen.
Payoff levels, pension schemes and expense accounts are all part of this thirst for financial gluttony.
Many of the so called Stars earn £Millions. What a National Disgrace ! They are not worth this kind of taxpayers money. 

The role of Senior Bankers in the Grab all you can stakes is well documented in the United Kingdom. Salaries in their Millions and Annual Bonuses in the £Millions were and still are commonplace. Shame on the Shareholders and Remuneration Committees.  It still goes on and on in spite of some recent curbs.
The Civil Service Unions will argue that in order to maintain quality staff Executives must have salaries that match the Private Corporate Sector. What rubbish !
Of course the European Union does not provide any good examples. There are many cases of Officials earning over £250,000 annually plus costly pension contributions.
Of course it is all a gluttonous circle of self interest - a case of You scratch my back and I will scratch yours.

However you will hear the exclaim - If we do not pay the market rate we will not attract good people. This argument has prevailed for decades. We might lose good people to Dubai, Singapore, Frankfurt, New York.is another argument to justify the gluttonous , outrageous salaries and Top Management packages.
All this is nonsense.

Most Chief Executives need a Team of Good people to support them - usually Marketing, Finance, Production, Sales and Human Resources - that do the leg work.
If some selfish Chief Executives decide to leave the United Kingdom then let them go , The British Government should introduce a new law that states - If you hold a British Passport - you pay UK taxes  That might make them think twice about abandoning their country and British heritage.

In any case, there will be plenty of replacement candidates from the ranks who will be pleased to accept a lower salary that that vacated by the Chief Executive.

Our taxation rates need a revision away from the GREED SOCIETY.
For salaries over £150,00 the Higher Rate of Tax should be - 70%
For salaries over £250,000 the Higher Rate of Tax should be  - 80%
For salaries over £350,000 the Higher Rate of Tax should be  - 90%

Should the reward for work and effort be only grossly Gluttonous levels of Income ?
Should we be motivated by other ideals ?
If you already have £Millions of assets - do you need to earn salaries of £500,000 and sometimes Millions per annum ?

For an Executive earning say £50,000 per annum and paying 40% tax with no tax avoidance scheme and no hidden assets, these outrageous levels of reward for the Chief Executive can act as a disincentive, frustration and loss of good quality staff. Often, high earning CEOs lack the Personal Qualities to motivate and retain good executives.

Our Business Schools need to pay more attention to the study of Chief Executive Profiling and Behaviour Patterns and in addition to their Corporate Objective to Increase Shareholder Value, how they can Increase Employee Value - meaning, Improvement in Employee Standards of Living and Return on their Labour .This is an area that needs further development.

We are not a Just Society in the UK at the dawn of 2015.

We need bold new thinking in 2015. Whatever the new Government will be in May 2015, we DO need to review -
What kind of Society do we want for our children and grandchildren ?
Should we not share the wealth of the country in a fairer way ?
How can we allow older people and younger people to have low standards of living whilst others own £50 Millions and more in assets, live in sheer luxury with tax avoided wealth distributed across the World ?

The  Political parties say they are trying to create a fairer Society but in my view they have not gone far enough. We need some Hawkes to swallow up the Fat Cat Gannets,

When will a Leader emerge who will lead us to a better fairer Britain ?

I hope that it will be in my lifetime.

REFORM OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS

In 1955 a typical question in the London University Degree Examinations was -

Should there be a Reform of the House of Lords?  Discuss.

60 years later Politicians are still discussing this question.

We live in a Democracy - or do we ?  How much longer can we go on with a non - elected undemocratic House of Lords ?  Yes , there has been some cosmetic changes in the structure and composition of the Second Chamber but this is only the tip of the Iceberg.
On and on we go with Members of the Upper Chamber with not one Member supported by a vote from the people of the United kingdom.
So do we want a Democracy or do we continue with this archaic Institution ?
The truth is - ordinary people will not have the slightest chance of doing anything about Reform.
The House of Commons is also not likely to do anything radical about the situation.

What do I - a simple ordinary citizen think about Reform ?

Yes - there should be a complete Reform of the House of Lords. How ?

• The House of Lords should be renamed - The Upper House.It should comprise 100 Members.
• No Member should be elected by any Political Party.
• The United Kingdom should be divided into 50 Regions.
• Each Region should elect by Popular Vote - 2 Upper House Representatives.
• The Election should coincide with the General Election.
• Members should be elected on a Proportional Representation basis.
• Members should remain in post for the duration of a Parliament.
• Bills from the House of Commons should only be delayed for a second reading on a 70% vote majority.
• Members should be paid a reasonable amount of remuneration but this can be varied based on the level of attendance - ie if a Member does not attend regularly, he / she will not receive the normal level of payments.
• Expenses must be vigorously monitored by an independent committee.
• The Church of England should not have special treatment - they should stand for election in the normal way.

To coincide with this Reform of the House of Lords, the House of Commons should be reduced to 400 Members of Parliament
Timing - No later  than 2020. Preceded by a Referendum - with Multiple Choice Options. in 2018.
Any other ideas ?  Examination Question 2015 - Discuss these Proposals for the Reform of the House of Lords.