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what do you think of our schoolteachers nowadays
daddycool
05-Mar-10, 13:59
I pity them - kids can be such little "you know what's" and there is little they can do regarding discipline. Having said that their starting salaries seem very high as say, compared to nurses - a good teacher is worth every penny but I think they are few and far between.
I think they actually do a wonderful job in todays society. I do not envy them.
:confused IMHO they get treated as badly as Social Workers. Whatever they do they're damned if they do, and damned if they don't.
I don't think it's worth doing a three or four years undergraduate degree followed by a year or two PgDip at teacher training college to get landed in a classroom where some of the children are obnoxious and their parents as thick in the heid as s---e in a bottle.
They're fighting a losing battle and are unbelieveably stressed. They cant discipline the unruly kids, are drowing in paper work and teaching seems to be secondary to that.
Dont envy them at all:eek:
i would say they have a hard job on there hands
redeyedtreefrog
05-Mar-10, 17:03
I have a brilliant English teacher at Wick High
Dog-eared
05-Mar-10, 17:41
A completely unbiased ;) opinion of Thurso High here -
http://uk.ratemyteachers.com/thurso-high-school/23785-s
Personally I admire teachers , especially since they can't give the belt anymore!
Teachers? those would be the barely educated "college drops outs", who in my experience cannot spell, let alone teach.
It is with little wonder our children are illiterate on leaving school.
these will be the same people who cannot command respect let alone attention from their young charges,
and they are the same people who are leaving teaching because, they cannot touch / comfort / discipline a child in their care,
teachers are not what they used to be,
and maybe they shouldn't be, but children do go to school to learn and the very least a parent can hope for is a competent teacher in place.
I have friends who are teachers,
I have relatives who were teachers, but I would not thank them to be in the position of "teaching" my child.
Teachers? those would be the barely educated "college drops outs", who in my experience cannot spell, let alone teach.
It is with little wonder our children are illiterate on leaving school.
these will be the same people who cannot command respect let alone attention from their young charges,
and they are the same people who are leaving teaching because, they cannot touch / comfort / discipline a child in their care,
teachers are not what they used to be,
and maybe they shouldn't be, but children do go to school to learn and the very least a parent can hope for is a competent teacher in place.
I have friends who are teachers,
I have relatives who were teachers, but I would not thank them to be in the position of "teaching" my child.
[disgust] I doubt your teacher would be a 'college drop out' since they have to be registered with the GTC Scotland and in order to do that they have to have completed (a) PGDE in the subject you graduated in, (b) a Bachelor of Education (BEd), or (c) a part-time or distant learning PGDE course.
In any event it's not an easy pathway to teaching - and the end result? Get slagged off by all and sundry.
IMHO the reason for the decline in education standards is directly related to the decline in discipline and a lack of respect for the teaching profession.
[disgust] I doubt your teacher would be a 'college drop out' since they have to be registered with the GTC Scotland and in order to do that they have to have completed (a) PGDE in the subject you graduated in, (b) a Bachelor of Education (BEd), or (c) a part-time or distant learning PGDE course.
In any event it's not an easy pathway to teaching - and the end result? Get slagged off by all and sundry.
IMHO the reason for the decline in education standards is directly related to the decline in discipline and a lack of respect for the teaching profession.
Everyone to their own.
My teachers were strict, disciplined, educated, well travelled, well experienced, carers of their charges.
Today's teachers fall out of college and into jobs which many are not well suited to.
Today's teachers are overworked, overstressed and over the top in every sense of the word.
"a child" cannot get close to their teacher, nor the teacher with the child, gone are the days of prefects, teachers pets and extra tuition to the brightest in class,
there was a time that Scotland's education system was envied by the world, the same cannot be said today.
Everyone to their own.
My teachers were strict, disciplined, educated, well travelled, well experienced, carers of their charges.
Today's teachers fall out of college and into jobs which many are not well suited to.
Today's teachers are overworked, overstressed and over the top in every sense of the word.
"a child" cannot get close to their teacher, nor the teacher with the child, gone are the days of prefects, teachers pets and extra tuition to the brightest in class,
there was a time that Scotland's education system was envied by the world, the same cannot be said today.
I agree with most of what you say but I wouldn't be quick to lay the blame on the teachers themselves. Most of the problems stem from politicians and their grandiose ideas.
speedo215
06-Mar-10, 09:39
well i know quite a lot of teachers and they do a very good job, the job is made harder for them by all the regulations that are in place.
Also i know a teacher very well that is quite happy to give up their free time to any people if it helps them to get their qualifacation in that particular subject
Teachers have no respect because there is no disiplin and because there is no disiplin it makes it harder for the kids that do want to learn but cant becuase of the other kids carrying on.
Bring back the belt its that simple it never hurted anyone long term you could even restrict it so its the headmaster only person that does it so it can be controled better
If you get an unruly kid he will soon get the message if hes getting the belt everytime he steps out of line
It's a sad fact of life than many of the children with 'challenging' behaviour have been shouted and screamed at and slapped around by their parents yet remain in their 'care'! Yet teachers are not even allowed to restrain these children when they're beating seven bells out of their classmates! We now have a situation where the lunatics are running the asylum.
Thankfully there are children out there who do rise above all this and go on to take a constructive place in society. Unfortunately there are a significant minority that are going to repeat the cycle and be a drain on society all their miserable lives.
I agree with most of what you say but I wouldn't be quick to lay the blame on the teachers themselves. Most of the problems stem from politicians and their grandiose ideas.
Concurred!
I think we are (on the whole) a fine bunch. Last Sept I started at a new school - inner city place - and have found it a refreshing and challenging change. Haven't regretted to move and have a good rapport with the students. Moved there from a 'posh' top-end state school.
The trick is to take the students as they are - times change and a good teacher learns to change with them.
I think we are (on the whole) a fine bunch. Last Sept I started at a new school - inner city place - and have found it a refreshing and challenging change. Haven't regretted to move and have a good rapport with the students. Moved there from a 'posh' top-end state school.
The trick is to take the students as they are - times change and a good teacher learns to change with them.
Well said.
luskentyre
06-Mar-10, 18:59
the very least a parent can hope for is a competent teacher in place.
I think you'll find that the best that teachers can hope for is a competent parent in place. People are quick to blame teachers for their kids poor performance, forgetting that they are the ones who developed the children's attitude and behaviour, long before they set foot in a school. Education doesn't begin (or end) in the classroom.
Of course you get bad teachers but at least they have to spend time getting a recognised qualification before doing their job. I don't think any blame should ever be placed firmly on one side or the other.
One thing is for sure - I would never teach.
I think you'll find that the best that teachers can hope for is a competent parent in place. People are quick to blame teachers for their kids poor performance, forgetting that they are the ones who developed the children's attitude and behaviour, long before they set foot in a school. Education doesn't begin (or end) in the classroom.
Of course you get bad teachers but at least they have to spend time getting a recognised qualification before doing their job. I don't think any blame should ever be placed firmly on one side or the other.
One thing is for sure - I would never teach.
My thoughts exactly, luskentyre. Teaching is a much more difficult job these days. Teachers often receive bare faced cheek from children whose parents have failed to teach them to respect their elders.
mike.mckenzie
06-Mar-10, 19:57
Teachers? those would be the barely educated "college drops outs", who in my experience cannot spell, let alone teach.
It is with little wonder our children are illiterate on leaving school.
these will be the same people who cannot command respect let alone attention from their young charges,
and they are the same people who are leaving teaching because, they cannot touch / comfort / discipline a child in their care,
teachers are not what they used to be,
and maybe they shouldn't be, but children do go to school to learn and the very least a parent can hope for is a competent teacher in place.
I have friends who are teachers,
I have relatives who were teachers, but I would not thank them to be in the position of "teaching" my child.
What a ridiculous, illogical and ill educated post this is. College dropouts? Have you been watching too much American TV? Our teachers have to pass a degree in a relevant field and then study intensively for a PGCE, fight for a placement as part of the course and then hope to get a job at the end of it, there are no guarantees.
You're making a badly thought out sweeping statement based on a little knowledge of a certain cross section of your experience. Your bad experience is not a microcosm of teaching across a nation, what an absolutely preposterous statement.
Your lack of thought is bordering on offensive.
Also, your comment leads far too easily to comment upon the standard of your English. Not up to much is it? Any "barely educated college drops outs" (sic) would be able to take a red pen to it and sign it off with a big "See Me".
Also, I'm not a teacher.
orkneycadian
25-Aug-18, 13:31
Very disrespectful headline here;
http://www.thenational.scot/news/16598590.year-of-young-people-how-an-ancient-tool-turned-me-into-a-maths-whizz/
No way to talk about a maths teacher. :(
There is a saying
Those that can, do.
Those that can’t, teach.
There is a saying
Those that can, do.
Those that can’t, teach.
Some people add another line to that saying "Those that can't teach, write books about it!"
Here is a photograph showing some teachers (as well as pupils) from the Thurso High Reunion fot pupils who started in 1977:
https://www.facebook.com/200410193326820/photos/ms.c.eJxNkNkNRDEIAztaASYc~;Te2CgjyfkdjczAJXAXkZiTm P25gUgBnQRaQeIAycUwG~_GnjgVCIRdiA0IroTIFIGToRkJQhu YDLMAzoUt9SuN2xLDwg6hbmnZJ2S3VvQXp12MeoCE2HMldEaAB Fg9lD~_2O0HYqO0EYQZZy55WYygZgX6qlr4Wv0k0mekW3IGh2x jQTuLRa7uvdYfsZpsB1JFXH9A~;cbZmw~-.bps.a.1023742277660270/1023742307660267/?type=3
Mr Nelson...Tongue Primary School and Mr Joyce....Golspie High School.Best two teachers ever!.
Can’t say any teacher at Thurso left any kind of positive impression on me.
The careers advice there was woeful also. Was you could go to uni or work in Dounreay. No info on anything else at all.
One teacher at the high school left his mark on me. After an extended impasse one of the class eventually owned up to a misdemeanour, following which we all became Spartacus. We formed an orderly queue and he belted us all.
He would be struck off for that today. Thankfully.
One teacher at the high school left his mark on me. After an extended impasse one of the class eventually owned up to a misdemeanour, following which we all became Spartacus. We formed an orderly queue and he belted us all.
He would be struck off for that today. Thankfully.
There was a thread about the belt a few years ago:
http://forum.caithness.org/showthread.php?8222-Getting-the-Strap-in-school
It seems strange to read these reminiscences from that bygone era. Some pupils were belted for trivial reasons. It seems especially harsh that a pupil was belted for a wrong spelling (which pupils with dyslexia could be prone to do) .
As in every walk of life there are good and bad. As someone has already said, politicians who interfere with the system 'to improve' it are responsible for teachers leaving the profession in droves because of the stress involved in implementing 'the improvements'. Perhaps if more attention was paid to teaching the fundamentals of writing and basic maths our young wouldn't be struggling to cope in the world of work.
The teacher who left his mark on me appears in both staff photos that were recently posted on the Thurso Heritage Society Facebook page. I pity him. Although I hope he is still with us.
I was sorry to see recently that one of my old teachers had passed away. He taught technical subjects at Thurso High School for many years.
http://dct.myfamilyannouncements.co.uk/dundee/view/4640748/pollock
He taught me woodwork, metalwork and technical drawing in second year. These were not subjects that I excelled in and so I dropped them when I went into third year. But I am sure that others chose these subjects for O grades and used these skills to get good jobs in later life.
Condolences to Mr Pollock’s family and friends. Teaching is a tough job. Unlike most jobs, it’s full-on most of the time.
Thats a shame Mr Pollock was a good teacher, old school.
85 is good innings though
Mr Pollock, Mr Rogalski?, Mr Laybourne (I think that his wife was a teacher at the school), Mr Fishbourne? and Mr Baikie were the technical teachers when I was a pupil at Thurso High School.
Some of the pupils in my class were intrigued with Mr Pollock's strong Fife accent and did impressions of it when he was out of the room, but not in an unpleasant way.
I remember some of those teachers. Bill Baikie was larger than life. So were many others. It would be interesting to meet them all again.
Alex Salmond always reminded me of Bill Baikie. For good and not so good reasons. A bit of both really. Life would be duller without them.
I never had Mr Baikie the technical teacher, as a teacher except one day when the class's regular technical teacher was absent, he seemed ok to me.
However my most vivid memory of him was on Sports day 1975 when I was in First year at Thurso High School, when if I remember correctly, there was a staff versus pupils cricket match. Mr Baikie must have been hit in the face with a cricket ball, his face was bleeding. I am not sure if there were any further staff versus pupils cricket matches after that.
Is Mr Baikie still with us?
I heard of pupils playing in the staff vs pupils cricket match purely for the opportunity to throw a cricket ball at the head of their least favourite teacher without getting into trouble.
I heard of pupils playing in the staff vs pupils cricket match purely for the opportunity to throw a cricket ball at the head of their least favourite teacher without getting into trouble.
Naughty boys!!! I can't remember cricket being played much at Thurso High school back in the nineteen seventies, I would have liked to have played it as I didn't exactly shine at the other sports, perhaps I would have been better at cricket. The P.E. teachers in my day were Mr Kidd, Mr Brookes and a Mr Dewar (who came to the school in my later years).
I work at a school elsewhere in the country now and nowadays pupils can study for qualifications such as Higher etc in P.E., I can't remember pupils studying for P.E. qualifiications back in the nineteen seventies. Also classes have male and female pupils in them, rather than the all male or all female P.E. classes of the nineteen seventies.
Does this funeral announcement below relate to Mr Baikie the Technical teacher?
http://ajl.myfamilyannouncements.co.uk/home/view/4249340/baikie
I don’t know. Requiat in Pace Mr B, whoever you may have been.
flowertot
29-Dec-18, 09:06
I pity them - kids can be such little "you know what's" and there is little they can do regarding discipline. Having said that their starting salaries seem very high as say, compared to nurses - a good teacher is worth every penny but I think they are few and far between.
You think a starting salary of £22600 is a lot after 4 yrs study at university! Pay max is only £36k. No wonder there’s a shortage! Straight from school to a GW job could earn as much in Dounreay with a top line only slightly below that
Some teaching unions are seeking a ten per cent pay rise:
https://inews.co.uk/news/scotland/scottish-teachers-rejected-pay-offer-huge-majority/
It seems likely that there will be strikes in 2019, if no pay agreement is reached with their employers. Councils are not exactly rolling in money these days, in fact some councils are already planning big spending cuts. So as far as I can see, if the teachers get their ten per cent pay rise, that will mean further cuts to council services and jobs.
I was online recently and saw the following local music link about Caithness bands in the nineteen sixties:
http://rgcgraphics.com/OPTrail2/GaleForceEight.html
I noticed Will Murray, one of my old teachers playing a trumpet. Can anyone remember him? He taught Economics and Modern Studies at Thurso High School in the 1970s. He was a first class Economics teacher, he really brought a difficult subject to life. If I remember correctly although he was from Thurso, he left Thurso High School in 1979 to go to work at a school down South.
I remember Will Murray, used to go to his classes in the huts behind the main block, a good teacher and easy to get on with. He was great with another economics/modern studies teacher, Fraser Smith, if I mind right. Saw Fraser not long after I started work in Edinburgh (late 80s, maybe): he was teaching in a List D school at the time (they don't exist any more, used to be for "difficult" pupils) and was still in touch with Will. Haven't seen either since. I'd forgotten about his trumpet-playing days, nice to see the old photo. Thanks, ecb.
I was looking at an old film called on "Scotland on Screen" called "Atom Town" at
https://scotlandonscreen.org.uk/browse-films/007-000-002-559-c
recently, there was a bit about Thurso Technical College and there is a student at 3 minutes 56 seconds in to the film who looks a bit like one of the Science teachers whose face I remember (I can't remember his name) from Thurso High School. Can anyone else recognise the man, if so did he become a teacher at Thurso High school, please?
Mr Clasper
Yes, that rings bell. His accent must have changed a bit by the time that I encountered him at the school.
News story in the Groat:
" 100th birthday celebrations for retired Wick PE teacher
A FORMER Wick High School teacher will be celebrating his 100th birthday this weekend with a special afternoon tea at the Mackays Hotel along with friends and family.
Allan Abernethy, who was born on September 22, 1919, was a physical education teacher in Wick for almost 30 years.
He taught alongside his late wife Margaret, who was also a PE teacher. ... "
https://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/news/100th-birthday-celebrations-for-retired-wick-pe-teacher-183057/
They were my neighbour for many years, lovely family.
Hope they have a great celebration
I was sorry to see recently that one of my old teachers, Mrs Bradstreet, had passed away. She taught at Thurso High School and Wick High School for many years:
https://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/family-notices/death-notices/bradstreet-aa123456-v1-56/
Sorry to hear that, I remember her at Thurso High in the 70s, a nice soul. Hadn't seen the announcement as the Groat doesn't reach Edinburgh till the start of the week. Thanks, ecb.
Does this funeral notice relate to Mr Stevenson who was an English teacher at Thurso High School in the 1970s?
https://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/family-notices/death-notices/stevenson-aa178566-v1-66/
I believe so, the spelling of Steuart's unusual, and the family details are right. Pre-Covid, I'd come home in the summer, but hadn't seen him for some years. I mind his wife had passed away shortly before. Enjoyed his English classes, and he was a real character. We're getting old, ecb.
He certainly was a character, Stumpy. I remember him saying in one of his English classes that he worked in a biscuit factory when he was a university student in Edinburgh (I think). When I went to university (also in Edinburgh) there was a biscuit factory about a mile away and when the wind was in the right direction, the smell of cooking biscuits would envelope the campus, that used to bring his English classes to mind.
" I mind his wife had passed away shortly before. ... " - I was sorry to read that his son Douglas was also mentioned in the funeral notice as having predeceased him, I slightly knew Douglas who was two years below me at school.
Does this funeral notice relate to Mr Cameron who was an Religous Education teacher at Thurso High School in the 1970s?
https://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/family-notices/death-notices/cameron-aa280708-v1-08/
I think it does, I recognise the family names and I remember hearing he'd retired to the South-West. 80's a good age, but still sad to hear.
I think it does, I recognise the family names and I remember hearing he'd retired to the South-West. 80's a good age, but still sad to hear. - Thanks. He only taught me on one ocassion, he seemed to be a good man. I had a look online yesterday and found the Thurso Community Noticeboard - Facebook page and there were many former pupils saying what a good teacher he was.
I see from the Groat that a Mrs Barbara Smith has passed away, it says that she had been a teacher. Am I correct in thinking that she taught at Pennyland Primary School back in the 1970s?
https://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/family-notices/death-notices/smith-aa297672-v1-72/
Yes, that was her, sure I remember her there in the 1960s as well, a nice woman.
- Thanks. He only taught me on one ocassion, he seemed to be a good man. I had a look online yesterday and found the Thurso Community Noticeboard - Facebook page and there were many former pupils saying what a good teacher he was.
that will be Spongy, a good teacher was not my experience of the man.
A nice person no doubt, but has no control over the class whatsoever, a tough gig to teach Re to a class of Atheists though
In this BBC Rewind video clip from April 1958 at 2 min 37 seconds, there is an interview with Mr Grant, then headmaster of Miller Academy, he went on on to become rector of Thurso High School when it opened in October 1958. He is wearing an academic gown. I remember Dr Young rector of Thurso High School when I was there, wearing an academic gown. Although I have worked in a number of high schools I haven't seen any teacher wearing an academic gown the practice of wearing an academic gown seems to have died out.
https://discover.bbcrewind.co.uk/asset/63243f26c80f2f002436e008?selectedLatLng=58.5953235 6262207%2C-3.522319793701172&zoom=7
I'm in England right now, but I am studying to be a teacher. I have worked as a TA for years, mainly in SEN schools. Once I finish my BA(hon), I will then do a year of apprenticeship for my QTC. You can also do a year of teacher training at university instead of the in-school teacher training, but I would prefer to get paid. My children like to eat. There are so many rules and regulations these days that teachers are tied in red tape.
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