Teaching Unions

  • The councillor in charge of my LA’s schools will tell parents not to send their children to my local comp if it becomes an Academy…

    Last night, I attended a meeting convened by the National Union of Teachers about my local secondary school, Bethnal Green Technology College, becoming an Academy. The school has already had a public meeting about this – as I noted in a previous post. Alex Kenny, a prominent NUT activist in east London, Alasdair Smith of […]

  • The worst classroom bullies? Politicians

     A toxic brew of meddling and failure to teach the basics has set teachers against pupils Luke had his victim, another 13-year-old pupil, in an armlock and was smashing his fists against his face. Things weren’t going according to my lesson plan. I rushed over to the fighting boys and yanked them apart, yelling at […]

  • Should students choose their teachers?

    There’s no doubt that students, in certain ways, are gaining greater powers in schools. For example, legislation on “Student Voice” means that teachers are obliged to consult students about what teachers they would like to teach them. The wording is vague however: headteachers have a great deal of discretion as to how much they actually […]

  • Why boycotting SATS for 11-year-olds is not a good idea

    The Standard Assessment Tests for 11-year-olds, while not perfect, are necessary. There are three reasons why teachers shouldn’t boycott these tests. Firstly, the tests as they stand do help drive up standards in reading, writing and arithmetic. Extra lessons are put on for those children who are not up to scratch and pupils who are […]