Today's Secret Teacher blog focused on the demise of the much-loved, eccentric or maverick teacher, at least one of whom we can all recall fondly from our own school days. It gave me pause for thought.
For me it was my german teacher. We were all slightly scared of her because she was volatile...but brilliant. She had no time for messers but she had all the time in the world for those that were interested in learning german. She would sweep into the classroom, arms laden with 'handouts' of her own creation and students would sit bolt upright, switched on and in silence until her first words signalled the start of class. We were captivated by her wild tangle of curly hair, her hippy anything-goes dress code and intense teaching methods. Her love for the german language transferred to us and remains with me to this day. So much so, I went on to study it at university. She was a revered character in our school; students would part like the red sea for Moses, when she would sweep through the corridors. Those who never had the privilege of her teaching were terrified of her but those whom she taught respected her above all other teachers.
If the OFSTED (the UK Office for Standards in Education) system is pushing these beacons of light out of our schools, there is something radically wrong. Surely eccentricity which usually stems from one's passion for their subject is a rare, positive trait that should be treasured in any school because that passion lights a fire under students. The same can be said of parents who are excited about their children's education - our enthusiasm is the fuel that propels them forward.
Now more than ever, our students' attention need to be captured and their brains engaged in learning in more diverse, less traditional ways. Our children were born into a hyper-stimulated world of technology and media where information is acquired at warp speed and delivered in 4D technicolour. A teacher standing at the top of the classroom with an open book in one hand and a piece of chalk in the other is history. We need those eccentric, radical thinking, outside-the-box, highly energised, passionate, maverick teachers now more than ever.
OFSTED in the UK appear to have lost sight of what they are trying to achieve. Many teachers appear to feel tied to their desks, drowning in paperwork and working harder to please the school inspector rather than their students. The Department of Education here should pay attention to what teachers in the UK are saying about OFSTED and reconsider going down the same bureaucratic route. As a parent, I'm not impressed by carefully plotted graphs showing my child's progress benchmarked against national averages. I'm impressed when my child's teacher inspires and challenges them in the classroom on a daily basis. I'm impressed when her teacher demonstrates at our Parent/Teacher meeting how well she knows my child and how she's helping her to grow, learn, achieve and improve. I'm impressed when my child's teacher shows awareness of the different abilities and different learning styles within her class. I'm impressed when my child's teacher shows she cares if my child is upset or hurt. I'm impressed when my child's teacher veers off plan and uses a newsworthy event or story as a teachable moment. Forcing teachers to limit their teaching to certain themes across all strands is not realistic or natural. Teachers need room to breathe, to put their own personality and passion into their lessons and to be spontaneous at times.
My son reports fondly on the eccentricities, hilarity and genius of his favourite teachers at secondary school. Not surprisingly, these also correspond with his favourite subjects which is no coincidence. When he comes home, face shining and wearing a wide smile, excited to recount another funny story about his exuberant science teacher, my heart sings. I'm so happy to hear these joyful tales of his school life. He's associating learning with fun. He's learning and he almost doesn't even realise it during these moments. I can see beyond his teacher's 'show' and I know what she's doing. I want to wink at her every time I see her. She is the type of teacher he will remember and perhaps blog about in the future, not the teacher who had all their lesson plans laminated and alphabetised. They may also have been brilliant but he won't remember them as fondly and he probably won't remember much of what they taught him in the long term.
As parents, what do we want to be at the core of our child's education? Excellent academic results? A positive learning experience? A time to grow socially and emotionally? A place to discover one's talents and interests? I think the answer has to be a melting pot of all of the above. The pursuit of excellent academic results should not be at the expense of all other aspects of a child's education. Would we have enjoyed the movie, Dead Poet's Society, without English teacher, John Keats. He was the central character in that wonderful movie and without him, there would not have been any society nor indeed any story to tell.
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