AWESOME TEACHERS AND EXCESSIVE BRITISHNESS
One of the most trusted professions being told what to do by one of the least trusted.
The author, John Connolly, has me pondering my place in
his four stages of adulthood: confusion, anger, complacency
and grumpiness Unsure where to stick, I have come across a general election.
Although an act of parliament stated that we can't have one for another 3 years
and the incumbent prime minister repeatedly said that there wouldn't be one,
here we jolly well go.
I intend to write in praise
and awe of the teachers I meet every day in my state comprehensive school in
Ware. I am hopeful that they are typical of the wonders teachers do around the
country, although, perhaps, my lot are
particularly talented, committed and worthy.
Whatever successive, careerist
secretaries of state throw at us, many, many teachers will combat government
indifference to helping children be safe, happy and successful. The teachers
will continue to inspire excitement in learning, inquisitiveness and a love of
books and music, engender friendships that will last a lifetime, help plant ambition
and nurture greatness. Our teachers will be remembered long after hedge fund
managers, lawyers and newspaper editors.
I have no need to re-tread the
funding crisis in schools, the perilous state of teacher recruitment, the mad impulsive
curriculum, 10 year olds with exam stress or any other educational issues.
No-one mentions these in May 2017.
Most football clubs now have a
chant that, at Spurs goes, “We’ve got Ali, Dele Alli. I just don’t think you
understand…” Well, as a nation, we’ve got Teresa May and I could make it scan
if there weren’t more important considerations.
It’s Tuesday evening. I'm not
sure but I think our PM just declared war. In Churchillian tones, she broadcast
to the nation. Foreign politicians are out to destroy the livelihoods of
ordinary British working families. If we don't vote for her in the general
election the foreign governments will act as if there are 27 of them and one of
us. If we do vote for her then her strong and stable leadership will force the
27 into some sort of cowardly retreat and we will be safe. I wonder if she
hummed The Damnbusters theme when the microphone turned off.
Its only right than in times
of attack by foreign powers that we stop objecting to the £3billion of cuts in
state education over the next 5 years and the parliamentary, Cross Party Education
Committee should rescind its statement that government thinking on school
finances is “delusional.” Now is the time for increased hate attacks and
excessive britishness.
Parliament has been suspended
so that we can vote for strong and stable leadership, also giving us the
opportunity to address the teacher
shortage.
Gideon Oliver
Osborne, heir to his family's Baronetry of Ballentaylor and Ballylemon, better
known as Former
Chancellor George Osborne is to be paid £650,000 a year to advise the US fund
manager, Blackrock. In the Commons register of interests, he disclosed that he would
work 48 days a year, whilst being an elected MP.
He has
already earned close to £800,000 for speeches made to banks and other firms
since leaving office in July, but still serving as an MP
He has now
taken on the job as part time editor of the London Evening Standard on a secret
salary “up to £400,000” according to The Daily Mail on 6th May,
still taking his MP’s £70,000.
Can he fit
in a bit of teaching?
As our government acts on “The British people have
spoken!” and possibly, “Two world wars and one World Cup!” it fell to a Finnish
Finance Minister to speak britishness
and sense. Alec Stubb quoted Millwall FC supporters, “Everyone hates us and we
don’t care,” as a poor opening salvo for Theresa May to use in EU exit
negotiations.
Conservative estimates are that the UK will pay a
divorce settlement of at least £50 billion. However Boris and Nigel promised we will be
saving £350 million a week when we leave. I know this is all on its way to the
NHS because I saw Boris standing alongside the sloganized bus. When George gets
his job teaching Maths to 12 year olds he can do the real life sums. We could use
the weekly saving to pay off the settlement by Thursday afternoon of the 142nd
week.
Forget the NHS for a bit longer.
Back to admiring teaches with an attack of the
memories, courtesy of ASCL General Secretary, Geoff Barton and his former
school.
King Edward
VI School
Rules for staff in 1550
- They shall abstain from dicing, gaming and tippling. They must not
keep their family on the premises. Women like deadly plagues shall be kept
at a distance. The masters shall not be excessively harsh or severe or
weakly prone to indulgence.
- They shall teach a little at a time, with plenty of examples. They
shall never advance to fresh subjects ... until the earlier ones are
thoroughly understood.
- The teachers shall appoint two boys called censors to note
offences. The teachers shall secretly appoint a third boy to watch the
other two and report to the master any offences overlooked or not noticed.
School rules for the boys in
1550
- Those who cannot read and write shall be excluded. They must learn
elsewhere the arts of reading and writing.
- No boy shall come to school with unkempt hair, unwashed hands or
dirty shoes or boots, torn or untidy clothes. Any boy misbehaving himself
either in Church or any other public place shall be flogged.
- They shall speak Latin in school. Truants, idlers and dullards
shall be expelled by the High Master after a year's trial. Every boy shall
have at hand, ink, paper, knife (used to sharpen a quill pen), pens and
books. When they have need to write the boys shall use their knees as a
table.
- The whole of the scholars (100) shall be assembled in the morning at 6 o'clock and at 1 o'clock. They shall go home to dinner at eleven and to supper at five. There shall be five classes, under two masters in two rooms, the older boys looking after classes when the masters were not teaching them. School shall finish at 3pm on Saturdays and half holydays.
Some walk among us who would celebrate such a
forward to the past scenario.
An OECD annual report has revealed that teachers in England and
Scotland typically work longer hours teaching more pupils than teachers in most
other developed countries and have experienced an above-average decline in pay
since 2005.The report also revealed that teachers' pay in England has experienced an above average decline since 2005 while teachers in other OECD countries who also witnessed a recession (Poland, Germany, the United States and Australia) saw their pay increase.
Teachers' unions have complained that an excessive workload is deterring people from staying in teaching – while uncompetitive salaries make recruitment to the profession a challenge.
A spokesman for the DfE commented: "Great teachers are at the heart of this government's commitment to delivering educational excellence everywhere.
"This is why we are not only tackling excessive teacher workload but have also given head teachers the freedom to pay good teachers more, meaning the best teachers can access greater rewards earlier in their careers."
It’s my fault, then.y don't worry about impartiality when reporting on Nationalist's demo's twnright hostile to patriots and the true Brit's.
Except when the awful Katy Hopkins is provoking outrage, I quite like LBC. Whenever teacher pay is mentioned someone always phones to claim that they are self- employed, work 18 hour days, 7 days a week, have no holidays and no pension…..
And seem to suggest that teachers should aspire to such
conditions.
Teachers either do badly or well in pay comparisons depending
on your admiration of crane drivers.
42. Rail
construction and maintenance operatives - £35,781
43.
Business, research and administrative professionals - £35,545
44. Crane
drivers - £35,458
45.
Journalists, newspaper and periodical editors - £34,639
46.
Engineering technicians - £34,355
47.
Chartered architectural technologists - £33,651
48. Business
sales executives- £33,432
49.
Secondary education teaching professionals - £32,524
(Cosmopolitan
16th March 2017)
Teachers do have a contributory pension
scheme. Their contributions have been increased, benefits reduced.
The Retail
Price Index is the measure of cost-of-living and I
hope the table shows that it has risen by 9.6% between 2011 and 2016
Year
|
Annual %
|
Index
|
2016
|
2.5
|
260.6
|
2014
|
1.6
|
257.5
|
2013
|
2.7
|
253.5
|
2012
|
3.1
|
246.8
|
2011
|
4.8
|
239.4
|
JC has been
a Head of Department for 15 years. Here
are her pay details.
August
2011
|
August
2016
|
|
Gross pay
|
£3392.50
|
£3507.50
|
Deductions
|
||
NI
|
£288.54
|
£340.26
|
Tax
|
£510.40
|
£446.40
|
Pension
|
£217.12
|
£357.76
|
Deductions
1016.06
|
£1016.06
|
£1144.42
|
Net Pay
|
£2376.44
|
£2363.08
|
Whilst the
rpi shows a 9.6% increase in prices JC’s take home pay has gone down.
So, to be sorrowful,
anguished or agonised as we stumble into
a politically backward, anglocentric isolationism of excessive britishness? Searching for the soul of our peoples, I look
at our teachers and their work with our future and I am comforted and inspired.
Thanks
Dennis O’Sullivan
6th
May 2017