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andycollins · 09-05-2010, 18:10

Agreed, teachers are always open to this arguement and I don't think that any worker in any profession could be accused of good timing when it comes to an issue that has got to the stage that a boycott is a real possibility. I think the real anxiety with those not actually involved in the debate is fuelled by the evocative word "scrapping," it not only brings with it the connotation that this is a "fight" but also the perception that that the "scrapping" will lead to the creation of a vaccuum that will be filled by "beardy" teachers who think that children should float through the education system, without accountablity or rigor. That teachers will breeze in at 9am and leave with the children at 3:30 without a care in the world safe in the knowledge that they will not be sacked and their long holidays is their right. The system has to be rigorous and have at it's heart assessment that lead to future planning and quality teaching. I am one of those. Teachers to some extent enjoyed this luxury in the 60s and 70s, but slowly the barometer has swung too far, to the point where politician are increasingly using educational data as a political football to score points of each other an not as a tool for assessing the progress of individual pupils and the performance of individual schools.

---------- Post added at 17:10 ---------- Previous post was at 17:05 ----------

The introduction of single level testing and a version of Assessing Pupils Progress to ascertain the child level before taking them would be a step in the right direction. That alongside removing published league tables would help.

09-05-2010, 18:10	#13
andycollins Inactive Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 8	Re: students to miss Sats Agreed, teachers are always open to this arguement and I don't think that any worker in any profession could be accused of good timing when it comes to an issue that has got to the stage that a boycott is a real possibility. I think the real anxiety with those not actually involved in the debate is fuelled by the evocative word "scrapping," it not only brings with it the connotation that this is a "fight" but also the perception that that the "scrapping" will lead to the creation of a vaccuum that will be filled by "beardy" teachers who think that children should float through the education system, without accountablity or rigor. That teachers will breeze in at 9am and leave with the children at 3:30 without a care in the world safe in the knowledge that they will not be sacked and their long holidays is their right. The system has to be rigorous and have at it's heart assessment that lead to future planning and quality teaching. I am one of those. Teachers to some extent enjoyed this luxury in the 60s and 70s, but slowly the barometer has swung too far, to the point where politician are increasingly using educational data as a political football to score points of each other an not as a tool for assessing the progress of individual pupils and the performance of individual schools. ---------- Post added at 17:10 ---------- Previous post was at 17:05 ---------- The introduction of single level testing and a version of Assessing Pupils Progress to ascertain the child level before taking them would be a step in the right direction. That alongside removing published league tables would help.