Pupils getting wrong grades due to poor standards of marking

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Is it finally coming home to you all that teaching is probably the most mediocre profession there is staffed by people who are mostly both mediocre and disinterested?

A large number of people go into teaching as the last throw of the dice as they were found wanting for other professions. They then struggle through PGCE and with the "workload". They then take jobs at schools they hate full of children they don't care about.

They are near-impossible to dismiss regardless of their quality.

When they reach a certain "standard", they can supplement their income as examiners.

Why would you think that standards would be better?

Not sure that PGCE students are 'mediocre' or 'disinterested' but the system does seem to be set up in such a way as to kill any motivation, passion and enthusiasm for the profession someone might have once had. :/

Reply 21

Clip

Original post by Puddles the Monkey

I disagree. You can divide new teachers into three main groups:

1. Career changers - people who did other things and now want to teach.
2. People who want to teach and do nothing else
3. People who want to do other things, but are incapable of doing so.

I would suggest that the third category is by far the largest, and there are many people in that category who masquerade as people in the second.

Naturally, if you are doing a job because you are unsuited to anything else, you would usually be mediocre at very best. People in the other two groups may be better - they may be excellent. On the other hand they might not be.

Let's be honest - this is inevitable. Teaching is a huge profession - there are half a million teachers in the country. That's a lot of demand.

Necessarily, you need C grade GCSEs in English and Maths and any degree from any university.

Those requirements are so low as to not exclude anyone. You can essentially be an exceptionally poor student, attend an exceptionally poor university and yet still be qualified to start teacher training.

So I get the bare minimum GCSEs to go on to A-level, I scrape DDE or something at A level and go through clearing to a bottom 10 university to read Urban Development and write a dissertation on dog crap on the pavements.

Post graduation, no employer in their right mind is interested in employing me. My education thus far has signalled that I am an unsuitable candidate and a poor student.

Yet, as long as I can do a lot of paperwork and get through some role-play sessions at an equally terrible PGCE provider - I am qualified to be a teacher. To teach people, even though I am demonstrably terrible at education.

Seems legit.

Reply 22

Puddles the Monkey

Original post by Clip

3. People who want to do other things, but are incapable of doing so.

I would suggest that the third category is by far the largest, and there are many people in that category who masquerade as people in the second.

Would like to see your evidence for this. :wink:

How easy is it to get onto a PGCE? I don't actually know. :dontknow:

It's a real shame that teaching has lost so much prestige as a profession.

Reply 23

TheCynicalChild

History A2 coursework went down after moderation by 2-3 grades across the entire year and when the school asked for a remark, they didn't budge. Was supposed to get A/A* but ended up with a C for the unit, so pretty gutted.