Are all [-] skool [/-]School teachers just tools of the goverment in disguise?

[Andre]

Hi Miles ;

I couldnt resist.



Besides, you lot do have all the numbers going into this thing.


know, 1 plus 1 and all that.



Thats a ewe btw.


I rest my case.

[Gandalf]

Gulp.

Are school teachers just tools of the government in disguise? I suppose when you are talking English public school teachers, you are to an extent. Your job is to peddle the national curriculum and make sure the kids pass the tests. In that sense the teacher is undoubtedly a tool of the government. The material is there and it has to be followed. But looking back at my public school days, the most interesting teachers were the ones who were somewhat subversive and made the lessons something more than they otherwise would have been. I really looked up to a couple of teachers; in particular from History and English. They would add a personal dimension and really try to engage you and encourage you to think outside the box. This was in contrast to other teachers of the same subject who really did seem to be just going through the motions. Maybe you could say they were all just minions taking the paycheck from the government, but looking back I think there were certainly some very responsive and effective teachers.

My own specialty is teaching English as a second language and certainly do not draw on the experiences of learning a language at school. Looking back I can see how outdated the methodologies that were employed were and how it was all teaching towards the end of year tests. I despised languages so much that I dropped them in favour of doing both History and Geography at GCSE which wasn't usually allowed. Those teachers certainly were minions of the government in that creativity was not encouraged and everything was teaching towards the test. To learn a second language you really need some kind of motivation and reason for doing so and we didn't have any. You can only go so far with parroting basic sentences. It was boring and a language lesson should be anything but boring.

I have probably replied too seriously to a rather jokey thread. But in my defence (as I am the one being called out here), I might be a teacher, but I do not work for the government. Furthermore, I produce my own materials incorporating all the things I have learned from SLA research and just as importantly I have always tried to maintain my classroom like my favourite school teachers did way back. Creativity is encouraged and there is always a sense of anarchy. I don't mean in a bring down the government way, but learners actively contribute to the discourse of the classroom and things will not always be predictable. My learners will never suffer the same kinds of lessons I was forced to. And I do blame my government for those experiences.

Teachers who operate only as tools of the government do exist, but they are poor teachers. The good teachers are able to bring another dimension to the learning experience.

[Gandalf]

Anyway, I see the obvious parallel with my "Idiots in the military" thread. So, very funny Andre!

[Andre]

Gulp.

Are school teachers just tools of the government in disguise? I suppose when you are talking English public school teachers, you are to an extent. Your job is to peddle the national curriculum and make sure the kids pass the tests. In that sense the teacher is undoubtedly a tool of the government. The material is there and it has to be followed. But looking back at my public school days, the most interesting teachers were the ones who were somewhat subversive and made the lessons something more than they otherwise would have been. I really looked up to a couple of teachers; in particular from History and English. They would add a personal dimension and really try to engage you and encourage you to think outside the box. This was in contrast to other teachers of the same subject who really did seem to be just going through the motions. Maybe you could say they were all just minions taking the paycheck from the government, but looking back I think there were certainly some very responsive and effective teachers.

My own specialty is teaching English as a second language and certainly do not draw on the experiences of learning a language at school. Looking back I can see how outdated the methodologies that were employed were and how it was all teaching towards the end of year tests. I despised languages so much that I dropped them in favour of doing both History and Geography at GCSE which wasn't usually allowed. Those teachers certainly were minions of the government in that creativity was not encouraged and everything was teaching towards the test. To learn a second language you really need some kind of motivation and reason for doing so and we didn't have any. You can only go so far with parroting basic sentences. It was boring and a language lesson should be anything but boring.

I have probably replied too seriously to a rather jokey thread. But in my defence (as I am the one being called out here), I might be a teacher, but I do not work for the government. Furthermore, I produce my own materials incorporating all the things I have learned from SLA research and just as importantly I have always tried to maintain my classroom like my favourite school teachers did way back. Creativity is encouraged and there is always a sense of anarchy. I don't mean in a bring down the government way, but learners actively contribute to the discourse of the classroom and things will not always be predictable. My learners will never suffer the same kinds of lessons I was forced to. And I do blame my government for those experiences.

Teachers who operate only as tools of the government do exist, but they are poor teachers. The good teachers are able to bring another dimension to the learning experience.

"I didnt expect a sort of Spanish Inquisition".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAn7b...eature=related

[Gandalf]

Yeah, I just started typing and kept on going. I was quite surprised by the length and just thought I would post it anyway. I get angry about public school language curriculums, not just in the UK but Korea too. It's one of the main reasons I will never work in a public school again. Too many awful teachers that really couldn't care less about the language they are teaching and it doesn't help that the curriculum is so outdated and randoml. The poor kids get most of their language needs from private schools and study well into the evenings and then actually need to sleep through most of the public school classes. Public schools and public school teachers are way below par out here. They are definitely tools of the government.

[Andre]

Yeah, I just started typing and kept on going. I was quite surprised by the length and just thought I would post it anyway. I get angry about public school language curriculums, not just in the UK but Korea too. It's one of the main reasons I will never work in a public school again. Too many awful teachers that really couldn't care less about the language they are teaching and it doesn't help that the curriculum is so outdated and randoml. The poor kids get most of their language needs from private schools and study well into the evenings and then actually need to sleep through most of the public school classes. Public schools and public school teachers are way below par out here. They are definitely tools of the government.

Oh king eh? Very nice. And 'ow'd you get that, eh? By exploiting the workers, by 'anging on to outdated imperalist dogma, which perpetuates the economic and social differences in our society! If there's ever going to be any progress.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAaWvVFERVA

"Oh Oh come and see the violence inherent in the system"

[Gandalf]

Yeah, I just started typing and kept on going. I was quite surprised by the length and just thought I would post it anyway. I get angry about public school language curriculums, not just in the UK but Korea too. It's one of the main reasons I will never work in a public school again. Too many awful teachers that really couldn't care less about the language they are teaching and it doesn't help that the curriculum is so outdated and randoml. The poor kids get most of their language needs from private schools and study well into the evenings and then actually need to sleep through most of the public school classes. Public schools and public school teachers are way below par out here. They are definitely tools of the government.

Oh king eh? Very nice. And 'ow'd you get that, eh? By exploiting the workers, by 'anging on to outdated imperalist dogma, which perpetuates the economic and social differences in our society! If there's ever going to be any progress.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAaWvVFERVA
"Oh Oh come and see the violence inherent in the system"

That film is a classic! Life of Brian too.