Daily View: Tory teaching plans
David Cameron announced that the Conservatives would be "brazenly elitist" when recruiting teachers. Commentators consider the merits of Tory education policies.
that the cultural shift to attract high-achieving teachers will cost more money than the government has:
"Cameron seeks some worthwhile ends but also plans an emergency budget after the election in which the spending axe will fall. If I were a new Maths teacher I would worry that this does not quite add up."
being more selective in teacher recruitment will lead to larger class sizes, which isn't necessarily a bad thing:
"But are the Tories prepared to really bite the bullet and explain to parents what, in the end, this means? It means accepting bigger classes and explaining to parents that an obsession with lower class sizes (which holds in Britain and beyond) is actually counterproductive."
The David Cameron will come against opposition to "elite" teachers from the teaching unions:
"His fine words will be worthless if they're not matched by a ruthless determination to face the unions down."
In the Mr Cameron's proposed bar on people with poor degrees becoming teachers:
"Having been a teacher in various comprehensives for 20 years now, I know better than to judge teachers by the quality of their degree. I have seen too many graduates with first-class degrees die in the classroom: they've been chewed up by the demands of the job, enraged that their pearls of wisdom have been so rudely dismissed in a deluge of chatter and misbehaviour."
asking for higher qualifications from teachers is a silly move:
"The private school system is where those without teaching qualifications (post grad degrees in education etc) can find jobs as teachers. The private school system seems to have better results."
Politics blogger this could be a significant policy:
"This may not appear to be the biggest political issue of our time, but if the next government gets teacher training right, it could have a lasting effect on the quality of education for the next generation of children."
On Radio 4's PM programme, ex-school inspector Peter Harding suggests what he would change in the teaching profession instead:
"You take away many of the pressures which teachers are put under today. Teachers are under huge pressures from targets, from league tables, from the pressure of Ofsted, from the pressure of being inspected in the classroom so regularly. I think teachers need to be allowed to get on and teach."
In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit µþµþ°äÌý°Â±ð²ú·É¾±²õ±ð for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.
And finally, the famous people with thirds who wouldn't be allowed to be teachers under the plans:
"Unfortunately, a quick bit of research shows that Carol Vorderman - Mr Cameron's prized Maths Taskforce chief - didn't do all that well when she studied engineering at Cambridge. She got a third class degree."
Links in full
