Educating Essex

[dune]

ha ha, the teachers are just as thick as the pupils.

[Tokyo-Saint]

I honestly did not know if it was real or a comedy mockumentory ala the office for the first 20 minutes. One thing is for sure, staff are much softer than when I was at school. Teachers need much more power to gain respect from the snotty little buggers answering them back.

[Thorpe-le-Saint]

I honestly did not know if it was real or a comedy mockumentory ala the office for the first 20 minutes.

 

It's on the sky+, I shall let you all know as and when...

 

 

It will be interesting to see what part of Essex it was, having worked in Basildon and Colchester there can be a huge difference in the kids.

[dune]

Are you Mr Drew?

[Saint-Armstrong]

It's on the sky+, I shall let you all know as and when...

 

 

It will be interesting to see what part of Essex it was, having worked in Basildon and Colchester there can be a huge difference in the kids.[/Q0UOTE]

 

Harlow, Passmores in particular.

[Thorpe-le-Saint]

As promised, here is my two-pennys worth:

 

For me it was quite obvious early on that it wasn't a mockumentary, but for me this wasn't the big issue. The Head Teacher (was it a Mr. Goddard?) couldn't be faulted in my opinion, especially when that pupil made an accusation against this Mr. Drew and followed all procedures to the letter - as you would expect. Mr. Drew, while I can empathise with his enthusiasm etc, brought on the numerous conflicts he had by being far too sarcastic in his tone of voice. If he had let the students who were ranting 'run out of steam' or hadn't patronised those with sloppy uniform they may well have been more receptive to his requests.

 

What did strike me though was the inconsistency amongst other members of staff that were not part of SLT. A case in point would be the snow ball scene where one member of staff is lobbing snowballs only to get one smack in the chops. The pupil promptly gets told off: hypocracy. If the member of staff didn't want to get hit, don't go throwing bloody snowballs. Also, the three members of staff who had the audacity to come in mid-lesson and wish Mr. Drew a happy birthday, I would have been livid. You're educating children for Christ's sake, cake can come earlier.

 

What it felt it did do well in this episode, and hopefully there is more of it in the coming weeks, was show the potential barrage of abuse teachers are given by parents who cannot possibly conceive that their child has done something wrong. This is the main issue IMO, if parents don't respect the opinion of staff then pupils never will. Finally, I hope the rest of the public don't think teachers are looking for sympathy from this documentary; we all know what we are letting ourselves in for. What I hope is developed is this sense of empathy with the profession: we work hard in a difficult run-down environment and at that ultimately at the end of the day, regardless of pensions strikes/low pay disputes etc, our main aim is to ensure that your children leave school as respectable members of British society.

[hamster]

"what's pi, where did it come from?" Although amusing, epitomises an underlying problem that I, amongst many others, experienced. What a waste of time and effort making people sit through lessons that they start by disliking and end up hating as a result.I understand what pi is and can use it to work out the area of a circle etc but it was a struggle and I feel my time would have been better spent in woodwork or suchlike. It took me a good 20 years to 'learn' what I was good at and school should have realised and taught me that.That school, based on the staff shown, is trying to bully and humiliate out of the pupils some of the traits that they should be nurturing imho. Those kids aren't necesarily wrong, they are different.I hated school and only had a couple of teachers who were interested in my personal development. Too many egotistical traits kick in when they encounter someone 'different'.

[dune]

Mr. Drew, while I can empathise with his enthusiasm etc, brought on the numerous conflicts he had by being far too sarcastic in his tone of voice. If he had let the students who were ranting 'run out of steam' or hadn't patronised those with sloppy uniform they may well have been more receptive to his requests.

 

Also, the three members of staff who had the audacity to come in mid-lesson and wish Mr. Drew a happy birthday, I would have been livid.

 

Agree with these points. Mr Drew came across as a right wally. And the whole cake thing was cringeworthy.

[Thorpe-le-Saint]

"what's pi, where did it come from?" Although amusing, epitomises an underlying problem that I, amongst many others, experienced. What a waste of time and effort making people sit through lessons that they start by disliking and end up hating as a result.I understand what pi is and can use it to work out the area of a circle etc but it was a struggle and I feel my time would have been better spent in woodwork or suchlike. It took me a good 20 years to 'learn' what I was good at and school should have realised and taught me that.That school, based on the staff shown, is trying to bully and humiliate out of the pupils some of the traits that they should be nurturing imho. Those kids aren't necesarily wrong, they are different.I hated school and only had a couple of teachers who were interested in my personal development. Too many egotistical traits kick in when they encounter someone 'different'.

 

Where there any specifics in the show you took a particular dislike too?

[hamster]

Hope you're not patronising me Mr Thorpe. ;-) I liked it all actually and have series linked it. I can clearly.spot a few pupils in there who will "amount to nothing" [sic]. Being adolescents it is paramount to nurture and focus on what they are interested in and/or good at. I have no doubt that you excel at teaching Mr Thorpe, would you not agree that teaching individuals is more important than teaching a class in some cases? I've been asked to make a presentation on life skills in a few weeks to some hcc decision makers, I shall be making a point of including how to use a mobile phone and.how to express one's individuality through dress. People should not wait until adulthood to learn these things. Sexuality too, not just the action but the interaction. Is make.a blirriant teacher.

[Thorpe-le-Saint]

Hope you're not patronising me Mr Thorpe. ;-) I liked it all actually and have series linked it. I can clearly.spot a few pupils in there who will "amount to nothing" [sic]. Being adolescents it is paramount to nurture and focus on what they are interested in and/or good at. I have no doubt that you excel at teaching Mr Thorpe, would you not agree that teaching individuals is more important than teaching a class in some cases? I've been asked to make a presentation on life skills in a few weeks to some hcc decision makers, I shall be making a point of including how to use a mobile phone and.how to express one's individuality through dress. People should not wait until adulthood to learn these things. Sexuality too, not just the action but the interaction. Is make.a blirriant teacher.

 

I would certainly agree that in some cases you would have to teach individuals. There is one pupil who I teach for example, avid West Ham fan, thinks he is a bit of a Danny Dyer, so it is much easier for me to treat him and talk to him like 'a geezer' than to have constant battles with him. However, you do need to tread a fine line between teaching the individual and letting them take the ****. Unfortuantly I think we're going to disagree over uniform/dress; from my point of view their uniform should be immaculate: they need to learn that they need to do what their 'betters' (bosses etc in later life) tell them too.

 

Funnily enough, we have had many whole staff meetings regarding the use of phones and there is a clear divide. Those teachers who are 23-35 realise the potential that smart phones etc have in the classroom yet it is the old guard that are refusing to move on the school's phone policy.

[hamster]

There is a reason why they are called smart phones. I approve of the use of calculators in exams too. From my experience teaching entry level and below IT to adults, I'd add Google to the permitted list. Schools and their rules cam and often do stifle.

[Thorpe-le-Saint]

There is a reason why they are called smart phones. I approve of the use of calculators in exams too. From my experience teaching entry level and below IT to adults, I'd add Google to the permitted list. Schools and their rules cam and often do stifle.

 

Calculators in exams? Dune is going to lose it in a second, he keeps telling me that exams are getting easier as it is!

[View From The Top]

There is a reason why they are called smart phones. I approve of the use of calculators in exams too. From my experience teaching entry level and below IT to adults, I'd add Google to the permitted list. Schools and their rules cam and often do stifle.

 

That's the whole point of the new "Functional" English and Maths that's schools can do, which is in fact what all U19s also have to do, including modern apprentices.

 

The logic being that you are often taught how to do something but youngsters lack the ability to morph that into the workplace so the functionality of the exams is to include using the tools that you would in everyday like, such as smartphones, calculators, PCs etc.

 

Teach the skills and then show how they are used in everyday/workplace situations.

 

Taught properly, as it is in our organisation, it's a great step forward.

[hamster]

Don't worry about dune, I'm sure that.deep down he knows that his own educational shortcomings are not reason enough for the next generation to be held back. It's NOT YOUR FAULT DUNE. MOVE ON.Anyway, an exam is an exam is an exam. Accept it. If you can retain information that's fine, lots of people need other people with.good memories. If you choose to use a tool developed by some cleverer people to find an answer then that is even better, it shows resourcefulness.Progressing as a society or human race is more dependant on resourcefulness and ideas than it is on peoples ability to recall information.NBI know I'm not good at writing my thoughts and ideas down, I apologise for that but it really is not my fault.

[Doctoroncall]

I saw it repeated a few days ago although I missed the first 5 minutes. What came across to me was:

 

1) I didn't realise Mr Goddard was the head until the abuse incident. He came across as Mr Drews sidekicks laughing at his jokes.

2) Mr Drew was on one hand being pally with the children (that he liked) and then sarcastic (to those that he didn't).

3) Exclusions is wrong - it gives the children what they think they want.

4) Could not believe other teachers interrupted a lesson to wish Mr Drew a happy birthday. Not setting a good example.

5) Never has the saying 'man enough to throw a snowball from distance' been so wrong!

[Winnersaint]

I've only caught up with the programme in the last 24 hours even though I was told I needed to watch it by my colleagues on Friday. Almost all of what I do day to day involves working with young people in a Secondary School in similar type of place (ie in one of London/South East's postwar new towns) so a lot of what I saw and heard from them was very familar to me. The same sorts of values, attitudes and challenges.I found that I agreed with Mr Drew about most things which make working in a school perhaps more challenging and less simplistic than it used to be. He obviously has the interests of those he works with at heart and clearly enjoys his job. I agree with other posters who questioned the cake incident and other inconsistencies, but what particularly grated with me was the way the situation with Carmelita (the girl who got excluded) was handled. The girl was clearly a challenge but the whole thing seemed to escalate very quickly to the point where she swore at him and got excluded as a result. Although he appeared calm and non-confrontational I was left with a distinct feeling he was pressing buttons. He picked the fight and probably knew what the outcome would be.

[dune]

The girl was clearly a challenge but the whole thing seemed to escalate very quickly to the point where she swore at him and got excluded as a result. Although he appeared calm and non-confrontational I was left with a distinct feeling he was pressing buttons. He picked the fight and probably knew what the outcome would be.

 

He reminded me of Gordon Brittas. The girl said she hated his sarcastic tone - I agree with her.

[dune]

The next enthralling episode is on at 9.0 tonight.

[Thorpe-le-Saint]

The next enthralling episode is on at 9.0 tonight.

 

I'm gald you're finding it interesting dune; you'll be advocating a pay rise and protecting our pensions next.

[dune]

I'm gald you're finding it interesting dune; you'll be advocating a pay rise and protecting our pensions next.

 

Of the main characters i'd say the head seemed pretty reasonable, although too childish with his colleagues and therefore not a perfect adult role model. Mr Drew is a complete bell end that loves himself and loves inflaming situations so he can feel all important. And then there's that mongaloid with the curly hair who is even weirder. I'm not being funny, and not directing this at you or your profession, but in this instance only the head teacher could in my view cut it in the private sector.

[View From The Top]

Of the main characters i'd say the head seemed pretty reasonable, although too childish with his colleagues and therefore not a perfect adult role model. Mr Drew is a complete bell end that loves himself and loves inflaming situations so he can feel all important. And then there's that mongaloid with the curly hair who is even weirder. I'm not being funny, and not directing this at you or your profession, but in this instance only the head teacher could in my view cut it in the private sector.

 

TBF there are plenty of teachers who wouldn't cut it in the private sector.

 

I watched it for the 1st time last night and couldn't workout, to begin with, if it was a **** take or not! My wife watched it with interest (and contempt)and she works in a really difficult (but rapidly improving) academy and I watched it knowing that I'd made the right decision to stay post 16 despite excellent offers from two academies in the summer. Even though I now have that option again I could never go back to teaching oiks.

[dune]

TBF there are plenty of teachers who wouldn't cut it in the private sector.

 

I watched it for the 1st time last night and couldn't workout, to begin with, if it was a **** take or not! My wife watched it with interest (and contempt)and she works in a really difficult (but rapidly improving) academy and I watched it knowing that I'd made the right decision to stay post 16 despite excellent offers from two academies in the summer. Even though I now have that option again I could never go back to teaching oiks.

 

Like everyone I had some good teachers and some bad teachers, but the best teachers were the old school ones who had you on your best behaviour. Unlike the limp wristed trio in the documentary they didn't have favourites - they disliked all their pupils in equal measure. And strangely their classes were the most enjoyable because you actually learnt something unlike with those who let us run riot.

[dune]

Got to say i've been really impressed by the heads handling of Vinny. As usual Mr Drew achieves nothing with his patronising tone. I really don't know why some people (including the Daily Mail) think he's so marvelous.