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-   -   Teacher sent home (https://www.cableforum.uk/board/showthread.php?t=33670580)

Hugh 08-10-2010 20:06
Teacher sent home
 
after speaking at Tory Party Conference.

Telegraph
Quote:
Katharine Birbalsingh was told to work from home after claiming that school standards had been “so dumbed down that even the children know it”.

She addressed the conference on Tuesday just moments before a keynote speech from Michael Gove, the Education Secretary.

But her comments are understood to have angered staff at St Michael and All Angels Academy, south London, which she joined this year.

On Thursday it was confirmed that Miss Birbalsingh had been ordered not to come into the school for the rest of the week while senior teachers and governors discuss her position.

It is believed that she could face disciplinary action for bringing the academy into disrepute.

idi banashapan 08-10-2010 20:15
Re: Teacher sent home
 
detention! and lines!

colin25 08-10-2010 20:34
Re: Teacher sent home
 
hmmm What would happen if you did the same thing working for another business..and went public stating you thought the company lack capacity or ability etc

you have the right to voice your displeasure...you also have the right to be fired

Maggy 08-10-2010 20:49
Re: Teacher sent home
 
I fail to understand how she can bring disrepute on an Academy.

The Academies that have sprung up across inner city centres in the last 5 years are just failed schools that have accepted private funding to refurbish and repair schools that essentially still have the same pupils with the same attitudes and problems,same parents with the same attitudes and problems and sometimes the same tired staff.I'm not saying that there hasn't been some improvement but it's mainly cosmetic..

I also think that she is entitled to her opinion and is entitled to vocalise those opinions without being disciplined..After all we aren't a police state yet.I'd like to see how the union deals with this one.Disgusting!:mad:

Caff 08-10-2010 20:51
Re: Teacher sent home
 
I assume that she feels overwhelmingly frustrated at the red tape and ridiculous demands.



I'm so glad that I'm in the process of getting out of what has been been the world to me for 4 decades

papa smurf 08-10-2010 21:11
Re: Teacher sent home
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maggy J (Post 35105938)
I fail to understand how she can bring disrepute on an Academy.

The Academies that have sprung up across inner city centres in the last 5 years are just failed schools that have accepted private funding to refurbish and repair schools that essentially still have the same pupils with the same attitudes and problems,same parents with the same attitudes and problems and sometimes the same tired staff.I'm not saying that there hasn't been some improvement but it's mainly cosmetic..

I also think that she is entitled to her opinion and is entitled to vocalise those opinions without being disciplined..After all we aren't a police state yet.I'd like to see how the union deals with this one.Disgusting!:mad:



they'll probably do nothing ,unions don't command the power they once did ,and her employers are clearly disappointed with her actions ,wouldn't be surprised to see her career at an end .

martyh 08-10-2010 21:18
Re: Teacher sent home
 
This is an absolute disgrace ,we have here a teacher who is obviously fully committed to her profession to the extent that she is prepared to stand up and criticise a system not a particular school but the system itself .Without any criticism from teachers the system can never improve .I think someone in her position is far better qualified to criticise the education system than a government minister who in reality would know very little of the ins and outs of our education system but wouldn't be subject to the same outrage if they said the same thing

Is she right though? has our childrens education been dumbed down ?

papa smurf 08-10-2010 21:22
Re: Teacher sent home
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by martyh (Post 35105955)
This is an absolute disgrace ,we have here a teacher who is obviously fully committed to her profession to the extent that she is prepared to stand up and criticise a system not a particular school but the system itself .Without any criticism from teachers the system can never improve .I think someone in her position is far better qualified to criticise the education system than a government minister who in reality would know very little of the ins and outs of our education system but wouldn't be subject to the same outrage if they said the same thing

Is she right though? has our childrens education been dumbed down ?
she probably is right but these days no employer wants to hear about the failures ,best to pretend everything is hunky dory look the other way , don't make waves etc .

RizzyKing 08-10-2010 21:36
Re: Teacher sent home
 
At the risk of incurring Maggy's wrath i totally agree with this woman i think education has been horribly dumbed down and all for the sake of politics. We have been so chart and statistic obsessed in the last deacde that all that was concentrated on was those not the standard. Having a brother who routinely employs people for a whole range of positions from very low to very high i have heard him comment more then once on how standards have dropped over the last two decades.

Now no he isn't a teacher but he is a businessman and often finds himself frustrated by the lack of people at the younger end of the spectrum he looks to give a chance too. We do have a problem in this country with our education system but i don't believe the problem lies with the teachers so much as the complete overkill of beaurocracy that surrounds it. As with many other departments in this country we need a major cull on the desk warriors and get the services back to what they once were, operated in all ways by the professionals that work in them not by some faceless clueless desk hero who only cares about his paperwork.

Maggy 08-10-2010 23:18
Re: Teacher sent home
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by RizzyKing (Post 35105969)
At the risk of incurring Maggy's wrath i totally agree with this woman i think education has been horribly dumbed down and all for the sake of politics. We have been so chart and statistic obsessed in the last deacde that all that was concentrated on was those not the standard. Having a brother who routinely employs people for a whole range of positions from very low to very high i have heard him comment more then once on how standards have dropped over the last two decades.

Now no he isn't a teacher but he is a businessman and often finds himself frustrated by the lack of people at the younger end of the spectrum he looks to give a chance too. We do have a problem in this country with our education system but i don't believe the problem lies with the teachers so much as the complete overkill of beaurocracy that surrounds it. As with many other departments in this country we need a major cull on the desk warriors and get the services back to what they once were, operated in all ways by the professionals that work in them not by some faceless clueless desk hero who only cares about his paperwork.
I don't think things are as bad as she makes out but they have worsened.

My main complaint is that each and every qualification that our children have to acquire to get a decent job has gradually been eroded in value and meaning.

The last government's mantra seems to have been 'We must have more children getting A-C in GCSE.We must have more students attending college.They must get more A-levels at a higher grade.Everyone must go to university and get a degree.'

Now graduates must have a first class honours degree to become teachers was one recent suggestion of the Coalition.Well only if the remuneration is good enough sonny..:mad:

My concern is that all the public examinations have been cheapened as just bits of paper to fit an employer's criteria and not for the sense of achievement that they should imbue to those that take and pass them.A degree should mean much more than it does at present..At the moment getting a Masters degree is just about still does have the cachet it did but I can see a time coming when it's just one more bit of paper to gain in a bid to get the most basic of employment.

danielf 08-10-2010 23:23
Re: Teacher sent home
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maggy J (Post 35106034)

Now graduates must have a first class honours degree to become teachers was one recent suggestion of the Coalition.
Yes. Because degrees have been eroded as well and a first means f all these days.

Osem 08-10-2010 23:26
Re: Teacher sent home
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maggy J (Post 35106034)
I don't think things are as bad as she makes out but they have worsened.

My main complaint is that each and every qualification that our children have to acquire to get a decent job has gradually been eroded in value and meaning.

The last government's mantra seems to have been 'We must have more children getting A-C in GCSE.We must have more students attending college.They must get more A-levels at a higher grade.Everyone must go to university and get a degree.'

Now graduates must have a first class honours degree to become teachers was one recent suggestion of the Coalition.Well only if the remuneration is good enough sonny..:mad:

My concern is that all the public examinations have been cheapened as just bits of paper to fit an employer's criteria and not for the sense of achievement that they should imbue to those that take and pass them.A degree should mean much more than it does at present..At the moment getting a Masters degree is just about still does have the cachet it did but I can see a time coming when it's just one more bit of paper to gain in a bid to get the most basic of employment.
Devalued currency comes to mind......

Yes and it's very odd that whilst they've been boasting about how well all our young people are doing, they've at the same time arguing that we don't have sufficient skilled or indeed unskilled young people to fulfill all the demands of industry and the state, hence the need for migration. :confused:

PeteLockwood 09-10-2010 09:17
Re: Teacher sent home
 
this is almost as ridiculous as the other day a teacher was sent home for turning up smart but without a tie..

nomadking 09-10-2010 09:33
Re: Teacher sent home
 
And surprise, surprise the head of the school:-
Link
Quote:
Dr Bishop reportedly described Tony Blair as ‘the most wonderful Prime Minister in the world’ after joining him on stage as he announced his bid for re-election, although she later denied having said that and admitted she feared the school had been ‘used by Labour’.
Whether she actually said it or not, she was at the event to be on stage with TB.

RizzyKing 09-10-2010 18:41
Re: Teacher sent home
 
Our problem is that it was deemed not acceptable for there to be great differences between kids and therefore all had to have a chance to get that magical pass whether they deserved it or not. Personally i would prefer to see a return to the old days where exam passes were due to the hard work and perserverence of those kids that wanted to strive for it and for those kids who want to mess about and not do the work tough you don't get a pass. It may not be nice to say it but we do have people who are not as smart as others and the system should be more adaptive to them rather then turn the exams to the point where everyone can get a pass. Do that and the meaning to qualifications will return carry on as we are and yes a masters will start to be eroded by the same malaise that has eroded all others.

Maggy 09-10-2010 19:21
Re: Teacher sent home
 
What we should have is a respect for one another.

The fact that it is considered demeaning to clear the detritus away that society produces and anyone who does it for a living is looked down on..As in actual fact these days of recycling and renewable resources it's not an unimporant job,it's a vital one.Same for all the other low paid but vitally important jobs done by people who get little respect for what they do.

Doctors do important work but no more than the men who cart away his rubbish or clean the sewers or sweep the streets.We can't all be chiefs we have to have the indians as well and they are surely worth more than minimum wage?

Stuart 09-10-2010 21:09
Re: Teacher sent home
 
The problem is that she said schools were dumbing down to a public forum (not an internet forum, but in public). Whether she meant her own school or not, her school would have taken it to mean them.

Most employers would consider that Gross misconduct.

The fact that her head was on the stage with Bliar is probably irrelevant, as her head said nothing.

Hugh 09-10-2010 21:45
Re: Teacher sent home
 
Update - MSN
Quote:
In a statement, the Diocese of Southwark confirmed the teacher will be allowed to return to the classroom next week, saying: "Her speech at the Conservative Party conference used pictures of children from our school and made reference to them by name. We are concerned by this and in particular by the way in which the pictures have been used.

"Teachers will always have opinions about the ways in which schools should be run. Some teachers may agree with some of the points made by Ms Birbalsingh and some may disagree."

It added: "Our concern is that the position of the Academy should not be misrepresented. Generalisations about teachers and schools can be seen as insulting to many teachers who have worked hard to make a difference to the lives of the young people in their care. We and all schools have high aspirations for our young people whatever their backgrounds.

"Miss Birbalsingh was asked to work at home on Thursday and Friday and will return to work next week."

It is understood that Miss Birbalsingh, an Oxford graduate, asked her headteacher's permission to speak at the conference.


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