Teaching standards !

Moves to increase skills in the teaching profession are certainly welcome, but the push to elevate the entrance level for those considering teaching should not be the sole criteria.  Academic knowledge on it's own is fairly useless if the person involved lacks the charisma and ability to make the presentation interesting and hold the attention of students.

Most people can recall their own school days and will remember the incredible difference between the best and the worst of those paid to be their tutors.  In every school there tended to be at least one teacher who presented the lesson in a bored monotone.  Contrast that with someone who livened the lecture by explaining complexities in language the students could understand and used body language to hold their attention.   Not necessarily was the best teacher the most academically gifted.

These days becoming a teacher necessitates training at university level.   Getting into university requires that person attaining a Higher School Certificate ( HSC ) score approved for teaching and it is proposed to set that at Band 5 level in English and two other subjects.    Band 5 is at the high end of the HSC spectrum, but there is a danger that it will lock out many teachers who otherwise have that special " empathy " that makes a teacher effective in the classroom.

Few would argue with the plan to make it easier to remove under performing teachers and to regularly assess their skill levels.   Teaching is a constantly moving profession.    What worked a decade ago will not necessarily hold the attention of today's pupils, and constant revision of skills is necessary.  Just as presentation skills in the commercial world requires constant training and new evaluation, teachers need personal development upgrades to ensure that the way they present to their classes is relevant to today's standards.   Just cramming more subject knowledge into a teachers mind does nothing to improve the way that knowledge will be imparted to the class.    A boring teacher remains a boring teacher - until presentation standards are lifted.

A touchy subject is the suggestion of awarding higher pay levels to gifted teachers. This usually brings union animosity over how " gifted " is evaluated.  Unions tend to rely on " seniority " linked to years of service, and consequently this has become the criteria for promotion within the teaching system. The end result is older teachers at the top of the teaching pyramid - and talented younger teachers told to " wait their turn " on the promotions ladder.

This review of teaching standards is a good thing - if it is applied sensibly.   We certainly do not need teachers with poor English language skills and we certainly do need teachers with the right attitude to learning something outside the purely academic curriculum - the ability to lead and hold the attention of those from a different age group.

That is the difference between a good and a bad teacher.    Unfortunately, it seems that personal evaluation is going to take second place to pure academic standards as expressed in a HSC report.