On friday (queen's birthday long weekend) my daughter stayed home from school on a 'Student Free Day'. This happens around once a term.

Are our kids getting a better education now than when the school week was 5 days long for the whole term?

It has been explained to me that these days are used for teacher training but I don't understand why training must coincide with long weekends and holiday periods. I know that schools are not there to baby-sit, but society has developed to dictate that both parents need to work to make ends meet and a student free day can upset the applecart. These days must cost business across Australia quite a bit in lost trade, sick leave etc. Surely the training could be done for half the teaching staff at a time and use the other half to supervise the kids, productively.

Does the training include:
a) Broadening their minds?
b) Catching up on work that would be done otherwise?
c) Hooking up the camper one day early?

Please teachers do not take this personally, my beef is with the department that runs our schools.

I studied and got into the wrong profession. I work more than 40 hours/week. Wish I'd put more thought into it and gone with the 9-3 option.

Notice how teaching isn't a profession anymore? Notice how the young girls straight out of uni dress to teach their classes like they're going to a nightclub?


Back in my day . . . . . . .

TheGoodDr said...

On friday (queen's birthday long weekend) my daughter stayed home from school on a 'Student Free Day'. This happens around once a term.

Are our kids getting a better education now than when the school week was 5 days long for the whole term?

Maybe they are getting smarter ?

Maybe your daughter listened in the lesson called 'pull the wool over Dad's eyes and come up with a good excuse not to go to school'

Maybe the old 'I don't feel well' isn't as effective these days ??

In between hooking up a camper and taking as many days off normal work as possible, teachers also teach given the limited resources and support that you would expect from any government department. In between that teachers are now responsible for the moral and social development of of Australia's youth given most parents either prioritise work, personal gain or merely don't care rather than be quality parents.

Most teachers job descriptions are broader now than they were many years ago. These responsibilities also includes dealing with students who have issues ranging from broken homes, suicidal tendencies, self harming, sexual abuse, a lack of respect for self and others... the list goes on. The latest responsibilities for many schools now includes feeding peoples children before they start the day as many students turn up at school having not been fed.

Schools are no-longer a place to come and learn at, and in many cases it forms the foundation of a child's life and this all impacts directly on a society. Training of staff is an essential element of any work place if it is to progress and go forward. Given the challenges of teaching this is as much a priority as any other place of work. From a mathematical perspective, schools need to achieve societies growing expectations in 6 hours per day. This accounts for 1/4 of a day, or approximately 18% of a week.

My mate was bragging about his mining job the other day where he explained that he, like many did next to nothing whilst up north and in turn earnt in excess of $150k per year. There they fed, clothe and clean for him (mmm...almost sounds like a school.) For the remaining half of the year he was at home doing as he pleased. Schools have 12 weeks off per year as per when I attended back in the 70's and 80's, this also included teaching staff having additional days off for training.

As a parent you are made more aware of these days off because it directly inconveniences you. A potential way of gaining an understanding behind these days off would be to contact your school and to ask what training is being provided to the teaching staff and how it will directly impact on your child.

At the end of the day anyone complaining about the "benefits" teaching staff may gain should simply spend the four years becoming at teacher and join the ranks of the "underworked, over-holidayed."

Better still, if you haven't already, send your child to a private school. There you can spend more money to ensure that parental obligations are minimised through the extra-curricular activities that are provided to your child outside of school hours by teaching staff. However expect even more "student-free days" as is more than often the case with these schools.

Like any job, they come in green and then you try give them skills. If they take it onboard then you are a legend, if they don't...then you are a hinderance to them earning the big bucks!!!!
Welcome to BoomBustVille!

Are you worrying about your children's education or the fact that you have to have a babysitter?

Teacher training possibly involves joyous subjects such as workplace saftety, the always fun team building nonsenses and keeping them up to date with what's politically correct and what's not. As well as the ever changing curriculum and grading systems.

I suspect that most of the time the teachers would rather be in class.

Herry said...

I studied and got into the wrong profession. I work more than 40 hours/week. Wish I'd put more thought into it and gone with the 9-3 option.

Notice how teaching isn't a profession anymore? Notice how the young girls straight out of uni dress to teach their classes like they're going to a nightclub?


Back in my day . . . . . . .

just finished high school 2 years ago, was my favourite part

my wife is a teacher,today she left for work at 7:30am and came home at 4:30pm.
its now 10:50 pm and she is marking tests.
tomorrow she will be back in class not knowing whether she will be abused,threatened or complimented by both students or parents.
it may sound like a cushy job but i would challenge anyone to control and teach 20 to 30 kids day in day out , a lot of whom have had no discipline taught to them from birth. i know i couldn't and wouldn't .

Chris6791 said...

Hamsta said...

Some teachers teach, some show up each day and child mind at best. I believe the problem is that there is a lot of emphasis upon teachers trying to be the students friend.

I think its the other way around and too many parents send their kids to school expecting the teacher to teach them manners, values, ABC, 123, potty training, discipline etc, so the parents can be their best friend, instead of being a 'parent' and all that entails.

'ken oath

Agree totally with this. A lot of parents, both working, have the "trophy" child, stick child in day care a.s.a.p. and back to full time work. Feel guilty, spoil child rotten, don't discipline, give child 15 minutes a day "quality time", expect school, grandparents or society to teach morals, manners etc and blast teacher when they are told little Johnny or little Mary are out of control.
I know I will be labelled as living in the past, or old school, however when our kids were born, wife stopped work (by mutual agreement) and it was the best thing we ever did. We still had problems and issues to deal with, but they were our issues and we dealt with them, we didn't blame everything or everybody around us or expect society to pick up the pieces.
Ok, rant over, now i'll sit back and let all the do gooders rip me to pieces.

Sorry Mark_
don't know what happened there but don't want to get you in the firing line.

Gunna1 said...

Agree totally with this. A lot of parents, both working, have the "trophy" child, stick child in day care a.s.a.p. and back to full time work. Feel guilty, spoil child rotten, don't discipline, give child 15 minutes a day "quality time", expect school, grandparents or society to teach morals, manners etc and blast teacher when they are told little Johnny or little Mary are out of control.
I know I will be labelled as living in the past, or old school, however when our kids were born, wife stopped work (by mutual agreement) and it was the best thing we ever did. We still had problems and issues to deal with, but they were our issues and we dealt with them, we didn't blame everything or everybody around us or expect society to pick up the pieces.
Ok, rant over, now i'll sit back and let all the do gooders rip me to pieces.

Sorry Mark_
don't know what happened there but don't want to get you in the firing line.

I agree, Gunna.