Welcome to tonight's #edchatie discussion.
As usual, before we begin, please introduce yourself and remember to include the #edchatie hashtag in all your tweets for the next hour so they can be compiled in the transcript at the end.
Good to see investment in MFL, but the only longterm way to improve shortage is to make teaching attractive again. Better pay, respect for teachers' opinions in reform & a competitive campaign to draw talent into teaching would help #edchatie#mflirehttps://t.co/eUx2BR0PC5
Tonight on #edchatie we'll be discussing all things “GDPR, garda vetting, teaching council registration, 2 yr PME, *seismic* curricular changes, increase in inspections - is teaching fast becoming an impossible job?”
So, let's begin . . .
Does anyone know what the constant need to reform and change is driven by? We are constantly being told to do the same things in a different way but no one quite knows what different way they mean yet #edchatie
#edchatie Primary SET, Mayo. Why is it happening there? And why here? What is different in the background from times past? It would seem the UK is also a very difficult place to teach. Re: GDPR - I think it has been over hyped. Take care of the info you have & respect privacy
#Edchatie: Liam here, little late, post-primary science, working in the UK, but still trying to keep up to speed with the Irish scene - curious to hear peoples' thoughts.
Looking to speak to teachers in ETB schools about opting out of religious instruction and what the new circular means for them and students #Edchatie#JournoRequest
#edchatie Times have changed and education needs to change with them. We demand accountability and professionalism of other services. We can't say that Education should be exempt.
#Edchatie: Liam here, little late, post-primary science background, working in education research in UK but still trying to keep up to speed with the Irish scene - curious to hear peoples' thoughts.
Claire secondary school teacher Dublin #edchatie the Maths teacher and optimist in me definitely thinks it isn't becoming impossible. It's getting more challenging in terms of paperwork, legislation etc..but I think that we are all moving towards more litigious society in general
#edchatie folks we can't be harking back for the good old days, they never existed. You can declare there was less paperwork 40 years ago but there was also corporal punishment. Whatever is the best for students, I am behind it.
I think in our profession we need to embrace change and move with the times in lots of ways. However I do fundamentally disagree with change for the sake of change. I genuinely dont think that's what's happening at the moment, maybe I'm being naive? #edchatie
#edchatie Yet you describe it as a problem John. How far overboard have initiatives, paperwork & inspections gone?Do teachers get to teach freely & responsibly or under pressure & the foreboding of who might knock on the door next?
Yes,professionalism is required of professionals
Are we then saying that the changes and developments in and around education in Ireland are , instead, actually making the teaching job more possible?
#edchatie
#edchatie pay inequality for many, casualisation - bitty part time hours esp. at second level, few decent stable RPT contracts even for so called in demand subjects like MFL, mounting paperwork & this new JCT has its flaws, ineffective unions & TC #edchatie
#edchatie Do you think teachers are overinspected? One of my middle schools last year the principal would do 15 inspections a year of every teacher. Do Irish teachers have their principals drop in to observe part of a lesson? Most #acps teachers teach with an open door.
yes but when you get the CDP people telling you to peer assess for example but the GDPR people telling you well you can BUT no names etc xan be identifiable what do you do? there are incidences where GDPR is gone overboard #edchatie
I'd gladly welcome other teachers/management popping into the classroom. I think it would lead to more conversations which I think can only be a good thing. #edchatie
#edchatie PLCs in US schools often peer assess but it done as a group and in one location. Process in place from the beginning. Professional Learning Communities =PLC
On Ireland AM this morning, Aisling Gillen, Service Director with Tusla and Sinead Mooney spoke about Sinead's experience of reaching out to Tusla and participating in a 'Meitheal' programme, when her son's behaviour became unmanageable #childandfamilyweek#mondaymotivation
Any new initiatives need supportive, relevant CPD for teachers to buy in. While JC may have challenges, it is supportive. T4 inservices years back were the similar. Can anyone say they have had relevant training on GDPR yet? #edchatie
agree re the p/t hrs and complete lack of affordable incomes around these contracts. I've seen 4/6 hrs advertised. A host of 11 hrs ....all well & good but how does one live on that? #edchatie
My door is rarely closed and I would have no problem with the principal sitting in on my lessons once I had been given some notice. Principals are more present in the classroom these days and I welcome it. Nice for them to engage with staff on that level. #edchatie
We're halfway through tonight's #edchatie discussion on “GDPR, garda vetting, teaching council registration, 2 yr PME, *seismic* curricular changes, increase in inspections - is teaching fast becoming an impossible job?”
I agree so much......... #edchatie I think they have to involve it self in various roles to justify it's existance. I have referred to them as the gonorrhea of Irish education :-o
john the GDPR regulations have stated subject teachers CANNOT take home copybooks/work to correct at home unless they're "secured" or students' names aren't on them....how workable is that? #edchatie
#edchatie GDPR and privacy: An organisation that supports pupils with SEN wrote to us to offer support & training in a program suitable for one of their clients & our pupils. Arrived to help but didn't know which pupil as s/he couldn't be named in letter and had forgotten!!
Where does it state this though? I know this is an interpretation that perceives this but there is very little to back up these interpretations by the DES or management bodies?#edchatie
And many transitioning out of teaching are experienced teachers who have been in the profession for years not just younger teachers or NQTs. Such a brain drain, sad to see. #edchatie
The last student teachers I had sit in on my class, I asked them to note down a few points that they felt I could Improve on or take a diff approach to. We sat down for chat after lesson and I took loads from that chat! The following class, I did the same with them. #edchatie
haven't seen the garda vetting point raised yet. As a teacher who's subbed for many yrs across the voluntary & ETB sector this waa a right pain. Can never understand why if I'm garda vetted vol schools STILL require a vol disclosure signed by a peace comissioner (at my expense)😡
Tonight on #edchatie we discuss “GDPR, garda vetting, teaching council registration, 2 yr PME, *seismic* curricular changes, increase in inspections - is teaching fast becoming an impossible job?”
Share your thoughts
Yes this is a nightmare I would imagine! The one Garda vetting document should cover all schools and tbh should cover clubs and coaching too. #edchatie
#edchatie
Teaching in IRL has gone to the dogs.
I would not recommend it to anyone.
Students are fantastic, classroom is fantastic.
DES (with sidekicks at the Teaching Council) have destroyed what was once a decent job.
Now so low paid for responsibilities demanded.
Robert (Dub)
I don’t mind colleagues coming in to observe if they give me notice. But I once had an incidental inspection involving an inspector with not 1 word of German in a Senior class where German was continuously spoken - now that doesn’t make sense! #edchatie
Don't think teachers are over inspected. I know some who havent had one in over 10 years. I was inspected in a subject, wse & an incidental. I think they more you are inspected the less mystery and fear there's around it. Plus it's great to get constructive feedback
#edchatie the vetting model should work in reverse. Everyone gets vetted once. It forms part of the TC annual membership form. If you have be convicted of a offence, it gets added to your teaching council "license" or endorsement. School gets notified of changes in teacher status
"They" being the management in schools as I believe they find it easier for day-2-day running to have extra bodies in the staffroom.
teachers will solve it ...by voting with their feet & leaving the profession #edchatie
I understand your point, but yes, it does matter. If the JMB are interpreting the legislation that way, then why aren't all the management bodies doing the same? We cant pick and choose elements of legislation depending on the school we are in/ at the whim of management #edchatie
#edchatie
People in DES & Teaching Council couldn't care less about teachers.
It's like running a football team & not giving a damn about the players.
They're in it to line their own pockets.
Wait till Cosán kicks in.
Teacher shortages at present will seem like a picnic.
Teaching isn’t the career it once was, when I entered training it was well paid and respected. I feel it’s lost both those qualities. I have thought very seriously about leaving the sector BUT I can’t possibly imagine not working with kids everyday, doing what I love!#edchatie
I was once vetted 3 times in one year (for charity work overseas, local scout group & international scout jamboree) what a waste of Garda resources. There should be a garda online registration model #edchatie
That’s true @johnmayo but I wonder if maybe one day some brave anonymous whistleblower will speak out about education! As was the case in the Gardai and banking sectors. However it’s a cold lonely place to be in as a whistleblower, I imagine! #edchatie
In reply to
@mssweeneyhomeec, @johnmayo, @johnmayo
And give current experienced MFL teachers decent stable contracts not bitty part time jobs. I’ve seen 3 hours German and 6 hours French jobs advertised on educationposts - I mean, nobody can survive on that even with possible crumbs of extra subbing #edchatie
#edchatie It takes courage in your convictions. I hada DM conversation with a primary principal about that Jamie Barron article. She knows it was wrong but would not put her head above the parapet to complain about it . It is the system but we are all part of the system!
#edchatie Eistear, múinteor MFL. What I find most challenging these days is keeping my pupils my number 1 priority. This should not be a challenge, yet I know for many of us, upskilling, new regulations & curriculum reform are causing us to lose focus. And that's worrying.
#edchatie
Teaching in IRL has gone to the dogs.
I would not recommend it to anyone.
Students are fantastic, classroom is fantastic.
DES (with sidekicks at the Teaching Council) have destroyed what was once a decent job.
Now so low paid for responsibilities demanded.
Robert (Dub)
Is teaching becoming an impossible job? Short answer - No! Yes it’s more difficult to get a permanent post, yes it’s demanding, yes the workload is heavy BUT it’s definitely doable! #edchatie
We're into the famous final five minutes of tonight's #edchatie discussion on “. . . Is teaching fast becoming an impossible job?”
Last thoughts, ideas, solutions - now's the time to tweet them out
I think the danger with voting with feet and leaving the profession scenario is that standards get dropped in order to get more teachers in quickly to replace them, potentially lower quality, higher turnover, & the starts a perpetuating spiral to deprofessionalisation. #edchatie
In reply to
@mssweeneyhomeec, @ciaraquill, @johnmayo
