Teacher sent home

after speaking at Tory Party Conference.

Telegraph

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]

detention! and lines!

[colin25]

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

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!

[Caff]

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]

Originally Posted by Maggy J

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!

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 .

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]

Originally Posted by martyh

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 .

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.

Originally Posted by RizzyKing

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..

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]

Originally Posted by Maggy J

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]

Originally Posted by Maggy J

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..

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.

[PeteLockwood]

this is almost as ridiculous as the other day a teacher was sent home for turning up smart but without a tie..

[nomadking]

And surprise, surprise the head of the school:-
Link

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.

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.