WARNING! This website is no longer actively maintained. It is an archive of 2 years work by Doug Belshaw who now blogs at dougbelshaw.com...
Although most US teachers have now finished for the summer, here in the UK we’ve another half-term (c.7 weeks) left to go. Usually after a break I’m brimming with ideas that I want to implement and the enthusiasm with which to do it. This time I’ve got the former but not the latter. Here’s why…
1. Subjects
Although I teach some ICT (Information & Communications Technology), I teach mainly, over 90%, History. Whilst I love teaching History, I get frustrated at the compartmentalization of knowledge and skills. Have I tried approaching senior management to respond to things like the QCA’s Big Picture debate? Yep! But there’s no stimulus to change in a school performing well academically, is there? 
2. School network
Our school network is abysmal. And I mean absolutely awful. Teachers can’t rely on it to access required documents on shared drives, some ICT lessons are spent with students completing meaningless paper-based tasks because ‘the network is down again’, and access to the Internet is at best sporadic. Can you imagine trying to be an edtech evangelist under these conditions? Can you even imagine teaching in the 21st century under these conditions? 
3. Spoon-feeding
Don’t get me wrong, I’d much rather have nice middle-class students to teach than rough and difficult-to-control ones (as in my previous school), but I do get sick and tired at times of their whinging. Learning is about discovery, about taking smart risks to find out new things. Unfortunately my current school is a bit of an exam factory and students expect to be spoon-fed so that they can get the grades they ‘deserve’. Unfortunately, this is an attitude shared by some parents and members of staff… 
4. Interruptions
The last half-term of the year is seen as a bit of a fun by the students, as a time to take their foot off the pedal. But this is the time of the year when we should be consolidating learning, not swanning off on trips vaguely related to the curriculum. Learning should be fun, but that comes mainly from intrinsic motivation, not extrinsic ‘rewards’. All that ends up happening with the numerous ‘immersion days’, ‘curriculum enhancements’ and the like is interruption to teaching and learning. I don’t want to sound like a spoilsport, but we could eliminate homework if students actually spent all the time they’re in school on uninterrupted learning!
5. Career Progression
And finally, I’m frustrated by lack of career progression. Yes, I want to earn more money so my wife doesn’t have to work and can look after our 4-month old. But the main reason I want to move on up the ladder is so that people can’t veto my ideas and so I can have a greater impact on education. The brick wall I’ve come up against is lack of GCSE results from Year 11 classes. At my last interview the feedback I got was that both my interview and sample lesson were excellent. I won’t have any results until the year after next, because my current Year 10’s won’t have yet taken their exams when I’m applying for jobs next year. The teaching profession, it would appear, is still not a true meritocracy…
/whinge 
(Spoon-feeding photo from Sean Dreilinger, Interruption by lichtundschatten, both @ Flickr)
Popularity: 5% [?]
Doug
For all of the reasons you have given and including i)having to comply to a dry national curriculum, ii) have students memorise content to pass exams, iii)spoonfeed students to complete coursework, iv)compromise my own values to met management set targets and v) put up with unworkable initiatives created by ex-teachers keeping themselves in a job so that they dont have to go back to teaching - after 10 years I went on the international circuit. My conclusion after 1 year abroad…….I should have done it a long time ago.
When I think about the ridiculous and unethical situations I was put in. Examples being- I had to change Year 9 Teachers Assessment Levels to meet whole school targets. I had to put through coursework that didn't fullfil the requirements of the score and then get the student to improve it after the moderators request for samples. I had to over estimated A level grades (I'm still not sure why). The list goes on.
I worked in schools which were very high on the league tables and sadly it was the statistics that mattered most, which is why I think a number of our young people are increasingly screwed up. I think are teachers are also less able to connect with young people because of what is driving them.
We're not teaching real life skills, real thinking and problem solving skills, we're not teaching students to inquire and collaborate. We're recognising that many of these needs exist on documents such as schemes of work (for inspection purposes) but the business is all about results not education. Had I not moved abroad I would have finished teaching. Its been a relevation.
And the only way to fully integrate IT is to dispose of ICT as a subject…. me thinks
Thanks for the comment Andy. You're in Italy, yes? I've contemplated moving abroad - for next year in fact - but the timing, what with our new arrival and all, wasn't right. I shall be looking further afield in future for exactly the reasons you mention…
Dough,
You sound disappointed., I am, too. I teach English as a foreign language in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I am struggling to use
new technology in my classes. My surroundings are a little off-putting. I
insist, though.
For example I cannot use the computer lab at school because it is used by the
subject called "Computer Sciences". My students have a writing
workshop, nobody would tell me they can't write in my class; I know writing is
an old technology.
I could continue with a long list of drawbacks (very low salary included), but
my point is this; I used to think that my situation was due to living in an undeveloped,
poor country, maybe this lack of concern is not a question of North or South.
Perhaps it is question of what kind of citizens authorities want our students to
be in the future. Whinging citizens? Citizens who don't take risks? Spoon-fed? Or
critical, autonomous citizens.
Gook luck
You needn't go too far to find something that tackles nearly all of these issues. It's called Scotland. We finish up in three and a half weeks and our loose curriculum is based around four broad principles: confident individuals, successful learners, effective contributors, responsible citizens. As long as what you're doing fits in here, then you're away! Yes, learning can seem compartmentalised, but the flexibility afforded by the curriculum means you're never far away for some real cross fertilisation with colleagues, provided you make the move. I've not met one colleague in the past two years who's not been up for that kind of thing.
So, when are you on the GNER?
Judging by the reaction of my head via a comment made in briefing today, it could be sooner than I'd originally anticipated!
You are bringing to the forefront many issues that MANY people are having — yet are afraid to vocalize them…………..
thanks for being transparent and taking a risk…………we all support you, understand your frustration, and we all CONTINUE to look for solutions.
Jen Wagner
Maybe if you spent less time on a pointless website and more time thinking about how your lessons could engage the children then maybe you would feel more professionally fulfilled. At the moment you seem to be full but of ***p not academic rigor.
@Jennifer: Thanks Jen! I wasn't seeking to be controversial, just reflecting on my experiences, as usual…
@Robert: Thanks for the insightful comment. If this website is pointless, why are you reading it?
Wind them up and off they go.
A reply before 6 in the morning, how sad is that.
This correspondence is now closed
I'm not a regular poster on your blog, but I am a regular reader (As a Geographer it makes me feel slightly dirty to read the thoughts of historical ones) and I most of the time I do have take issue with some of the your thoughts; but the reason I continue to read is because it takes me from my comfort zone, as a result of your reflective practice, you challenge my thinking. In this respect, I'm disgusted by the comments of Robert.
You can work within the system, your ideas about coursework are excellent, if students also benefit, they will act as the catalyst to encourage others to adapt their practice…. evolution though is sometimes a frustrating and painfall process. Some people will always be resistant to change, someone wise once said 'why bother watering the rocks in the garden…'
Best wishes
Couldn't have said it better myself!
A guest lecturer on our MA course talked about the very issue of the history curriculum in the UK. He explained how it was taught as a series of inevitabilities, rather than an exploration of possible alternative outcomes and the consequences of the actual outcome. I recognised as he spoke how hard my history teacher had had to work to try to escape that treadmill, and how little scope there was for such diversions in a tight schedule. Bear in mind that this was in South Africa. I have also had conversations via blog comments that indicate that the same is true in Canada.
It seems that England is not alone in this! How exciting if students could explore what might have happened if different decisions had been made and different outcomes achieved.
With regard to Ewan's comment, I have been increasingly impressed by what I have seen of the Scottish education system.
I hear you, Doug.
The problem I see is that the "digital divide" in our schools is not just between our students and teachers, it is also between a growing number of dissatisfied teachers and administrators that play "yes sir" to antiquated assessment practices. The way I see it, institutional inertia in our schools is rooted in our assessment practices and they have to revamped now!!
In the business world, the convergence of technologies (read The World Is Flat by Thomas Friedman) has led to an inertia of change in the way we conduct business. This has not happened in our schools yet because results are not as immediate nor responsible to profit margins and efficiency.
From what I see we are both in education for the same reasons (as most probably is anyone else reading these excellent blogs). I luckily don't work in an exam factory, but we still have problems with teacher and administrative engagement in the potential that 21st C. Literacy can bring to the whole student.
This week (our last - no students either!) will allow Jennie and I to run 3 impromptu sessions per day each for teachers and admin on the following topics. Creativity and the future of learning (Ken Robinson video, Tony Buzan…), Google, Resourcing, Web2.0, New Literacy… The big draw card again will be the coffee and muffin keynotes!?!
We live in exciting and hence frustrating times (for those in the know). Connectivity is the key. We are upgrading our servers and bandwidth to try to keep ahead of the nay sayers. Is there a Web2.0 answer to your network dilemma? Google?…
We're off to the ISTE educational technology conference in Atlanta on Thursday for a week of connecting and networking with the future of this rather frustrating business. Back to normal temperatures - It's 47 C in the shade outside now.
Cheers from sunny Kuwait