Olive
I'm not religious at all, but when I think of some of the utter buffoons that are happily doing Supply teaching up and down the country, it seems a bit mad to throw out poor Olive just because she offered to say a few prayers for a sick child and maybe went on a bit about miracles.


I wouldn't have sacked her even if she was practising voodoo, chanting incantations and throwing bones up into the air whilst dancing starkers around a fire. I'd only get rid of her if she was rubbish at teaching, was always off and couldn't make the kids behave. Oh sorry, that's a daft idea.

Anyway, she's been allowed back now

POSTED BY MR CHALK (C) FRANK CHALK. IT'S YOUR TIME YOU'RE WASTING - A TEACHER'S TALES OF CLASSROOM HELL BY FRANK CHALK IS AVAILABLE AT ALL GOOD BOOKSHOPS, FROM AMAZON.CO.UK OR DIRECT FROM THE PUBLISHERS, http://WWW.MONDAYBOOKS.COM 9:00 AM

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2010

They say hard work never killed anyone but...
Whenever two or more teachers gather together, the talk invariably revolves around how much work they do, how late into the night they stay up planning things and how they slave away at weekends and during the holidays as well.

This is all very good if you are managing a hedge fund and looking to retire to Barbados by the time you are 29, but not really worth it when your salary is less than £30k.

It won't surprise you to learn that I never did very much work at all, as I had a wide range of interests outside school to devote my evenings, weekends and holidays to. It may surprise you that the exam results my pupils got were around average for my department. This was partly because I knew about my subject, partly because I knew what was important to pass exams and partly because the department was rubbish.

Most of the work that teachers do is a complete waste of time. Ticking boxes, target setting, elaborate schemes to follow the latest fad, whether it is differentiated learning, group mind mapping or whatever. None of it inspires the kids or helps them get a job. Get yourself an interesting hobby instead.

Working too hard and getting stressed simply isn't worth the effects to your health (and it also makes you a thoroughly boring person). Overdoing it and taking two weeks off sick every year is no better for the pupils than my approach of doing very little but turning up every day.

It is an old adage that nobody ever says on their deathbed "I wish I'd spent more time in the office!" Take this to heart, write it on your classroom wall and make it your aim this week to ignore at least one supposedly vital task that has been set by those above you. Use the time saved to do something you enjoy and if you do get pulled up about it, just say that you were too busy doing (insert fashionable phrase or buzzword) and look a bit flustered. Next time, try and persuade a few others to do the same.

(Remember, the Martyr Ethos that is so prevalent in teaching nowadays just helps you die earlier)

POSTED BY MR CHALK (C) FRANK CHALK. IT'S YOUR TIME YOU'RE WASTING - A TEACHER'S TALES OF CLASSROOM HELL BY FRANK CHALK IS AVAILABLE AT ALL GOOD BOOKSHOPS, FROM AMAZON.CO.UK OR DIRECT FROM THE PUBLISHERS, http://WWW.MONDAYBOOKS.COM 8:00 AM

Teacher in prayer row may return
A Christian supply teacher from Weston-super-Mare who was suspended after offering to pray for a sick pupil has been given a chance to return to work.

Part-time maths teacher Olive Jones, 54, said at the time the girl was too poorly for a lesson so she spoke to her about her belief in miracles instead.

But the girl's mother said they were not believers and made a complaint.

North Somerset Council said it had now agreed that it can be appropriate for a teacher to offer to share their faith.

Mrs Jones, who worked with North Somerset Tuition Service, was suspended while an investigation took place.

She worked part-time at the Oak Hill Short Stay School and Tuition Service in Nailsea, near Bristol, for almost five years, did not have a formal contract and has not worked for them since the incident on 25 November.

'Highly regarded'

A council spokeswoman said that following a meeting with Mrs Jones it was agreed that it can be appropriate for a teacher to offer to share their faith with a pupil or family.

But she added: "However, a careful professional judgement needs to be made as to whether this is appropriate and indeed acceptable to the person and family concerned.

"Olive also agreed that she would respect either the wishes of a family and/or guidance from a manager not to discuss faith matters with a particular pupil or family."

The spokeswoman said Mrs Jones's teaching was "highly regarded" and that she had now been offered further work through the council's tuition service in Weston-super-Mare.

Mrs Jones, who is originally from Llanteg in Pembrokeshire, had asked the girl's mother whether she could say a prayer, but insisted that she did not go ahead when she was told they were not believers.

The girl's mother complained that Mrs Jones' comments had distressed her and her child.

A spokeswoman for the Christian Legal Centre, which supported Mrs Jones throughout the process said that "common sense had prevailed".

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/bristol/somerset/8491715.stm

Published: 2010/02/01 17:11:19 GMT

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