Children deserve long holidays. Staying longer in school won't make them any brighter.
In Europe, schools break up in June and return in Sept. Makes sense to me.
Finland seems to manage it. They have the best education with shorter school hours. Why can't they do that here?
That kind of shows how naive people can be in understanding what actually happens in a classroom.
The kids will NOT be sitting there quietly doing homework. They will inevitably be laughing and being silly and talking to their mates (at least!). They'll need prompting and reminding i.e. proper supervision. Marking and prep require concentration. The teacher can't supervise the class successfully AND get enough work done. The dozens of little interuptions add up. This is why teachers have prep time in the first place!
It depends how seriously it was taken. I can get on with marking when my classes do assessments in silence. Pretty much all my classes will work in silence with few reminders. I'm generally lucky with my school/classes, though they are far from all middle class high fliers. So it could partially work - so long as the homework was actually valuable.
The thing that would prevent me getting on with my work would be that the kids would want constant help. Which would make sense - if they're made to stay at school, they may as well get help.
It depends how seriously it was taken. I can get on with marking when my classes do assessments in silence. Pretty much all my classes will work in silence with few reminders. I'm generally lucky with my school/classes, though they are far from all middle class high fliers. So it could partially work - so long as the homework was actually valuable.
The thing that would prevent me getting on with my work would be that the kids would want constant help. Which would make sense - if they're made to stay at school, they may as well get help.
Yes but assessments are different. They've been meticulously prepared for and are under controlled conditions.
No pupil is going to treat a homework club like that, every day, five days a week.
Two hours of supervising my form would mean a lot of interruptions, and helping them (as it'd be mixed ability in a form class). They'd be naturally restless and wanting to vent some energy after having already five hours of lessons.
I think it'd be completely bloody unfair on them to be honest.
Also, when I work and prepare I'd want the freedom to pop out to do some photocopying, or listen to music while working, or go and make a cuppa, or just basically have peace to get on with things. It'd be unworkable and horrid.
Even with just 3 weeks though..how many other professions get a 3 week block of holiday guaranteed? Along with other holidays too?
I get about 4 weeks holiday a year. And I am not able to take it all together either. Those 4 weeks do me fine.
I just dont see how the 6 week holidays are 'vital'.
The days are longer and usually warmer. No one wants to be in a sweltering class during the hottest months of the year.
As it is, state schools break up at the end of July, which is daft in itself.
The best time for school holidays should be mid June- end of August.:)
Perhaps he is working for the tour operators who could make an even bigger bean feast with a shorter holiday window?
The reality is that most learners can cover the requirements in 36 weeks. Those who need additional support could have some provision but that is not needed in the majority of cases. Maybe Gove will offer to pay teaching staff to provide extra support for those who need it? I doubt it, more likely he wants to change the teachers working conditions providing fewer paid holidays and if that is the case he is on a collision course with the teaching unions.
Also, when I work and prepare I'd want the freedom to pop out to do some photocopying, or listen to music while working, or go and make a cuppa, or just basically have peace to get on with things. It'd be unworkable and horrid.
I gather the youth also like to listen to music and text/use facebook whilst doing their homework. They wouldn't be able to do that, nor I take it, eat and drink, which they would normally want to do.
I gather the youth also like to listen to music and text/use facebook whilst doing their homework. They wouldn't be able to do that, nor I take it, eat and drink, which they would normally want to do.
If it was just that, I'd be fine. But constantly having to remind the Year 8 boys to stop flicking rulers at each other, to refrain from tapping on the table, then enforcing behaviour management rules, then telling people to turn their music down, then confiscating phones and having the hassle of convincing them to hand them over, plus the constant looking around to see if X is tormenting Y in silence.. I can't think of a worse use of a) their time and b) my time.
They need do neither. What they should do, however, is make the curriculum stretch to the end of each term. There seems to be at least a week at the end of each term where the kids stop doing any meaningful work
This is my biggest gripe. Bring a DVD in, let's all clean the classroom, let's have an extended playtime.....the list goes on. This happens for at least 3 or 4 days in the final week.
Also, they'd have been working for seven hours at least. Does anywhere in Europe push children like that.
Also, what happens to extra curriculars and sports fixtures? Staff (who usually do these out of goodwill and for the pupils' sakes) wouldn't be able to be released before 5:30pm, as they'd all have form classes to look after.
This'd effectively delay sports fixtures by two hours, meaning children would play sports in the dark, even at this time of year. And parents would have to traipse to school to fetch them at 10pm or something.
This is my biggest gripe. Bring a DVD in, let's all clean the classroom, let's have an extended playtime.....the list goes on. This happens for at least 3 or 4 days in the final week.
I always have a fun day somewhere in the last week of summer term. And why not? The pupils have worked hard, and deserve a little reward, and it's also important for them to view their school as a human community where we all work and play, where there's time for hard graft, and there is time for a little frivolity.
I agree that shoving a dvd on is a little unimaginative, but there are other things you can do - a themed party or a bumper quiz with prizes etc.
I fully support this. Shorter holidays definitely. Thirteen weeks a year is far too much time off for teachers.:mad: Four weeks in summer and a week each at Chrstmas, Easter and half-terms. Make teachers do a proper year's work like I and most others have to do.
The school day itself is more than long enough as it is but I do think there are far too many half-term breaks in the year. Rather than axe the long summer holiday, they could easily axe the half-term breaks for Feb, May, and/or Oct, imho.
Even with just 3 weeks though..how many other professions get a 3 week block of holiday guaranteed? Along with other holidays too?
I get about 4 weeks holiday a year. And I am not able to take it all together either. Those 4 weeks do me fine.
I just don't see how the 6 week holidays are 'vital'.
Is this for pupils and teachers or just teachers? I would not mind having less holiday time if it meant I had extra time to mark exams/ homework/ plan lessons etc. 5 hours free a week is not enough time to do all that on top of my responsibilities as a form teacher. I think for the majority of us, that is all teachers want. Time to do their job effectively and to a high standard. It is not about pay or the holidays.
If it is the case, this will reflect in your teaching and the time you put into your work, trust me.
I am jealous other people get to go on holiday when the kids are in school and its cheaper!
There's no need for any teachers to declare that their job is harder than anyone else's. That's not what we're looking for. We'd just like people to stop claiming that our job is easy or that we need more to do. We don't. It's bloody hard. Lots of people work bloody hard too, but they're not being publicly denigrated by the government and media on a daily basis like we are.
Agreed. I never go around criticising other peoples jobs or professions. To give all my time and effort to a job to have people tell me I am not doing a good job or I need to be doing much more is so disheartening.
And they wonder why so many are leaving the profession...
Careful! You'll get accused of fibbing!:D When this has been discussed before I have raised the same point and have been almost called a liar. I know many, meany teachers who have holiday homes in France and Spain and I can tell you that they go off abroad on the day school closes and they do not come back until a day or so before school re-opens.
A friend of mine has a house-sitting, pet-feeding business and loads and loads of her customers are teachers who are away the whole six weeks.
I would agree with this. From the teachers I know, most keep their six weeks free. I know I do. But that is because during every other half term or in the evenings during term time, there has always been exams to mark/reports to write/ midterm plans to write/ lessons to plan e.t.c.
This is the ONLY time I do not complete any work. I feel six weeks is too long, but like I said above, I would be happy to work more hours, if given more free time to complete work.
The only time I come into school during the six weeks holiday is on results day. It is nice to see all the hard work the kids have put in has paid off.
The school day itself is more than long enough as it is but I do think there are far too many half-term breaks in the year. Rather than axe the long summer holiday, they could easily axe the half-term breaks for Feb, May, and/or Oct, imho.
It seems in our old age we have all forgotten what it is like to be a child! Children need to time to chill out and socialise. They need to spend time with their families!
The school day itself is more than long enough as it is but I do think there are far too many half-term breaks in the year. Rather than axe the long summer holiday, they could easily axe the half-term breaks for Feb, May, and/or Oct, imho.
Your right the day is long enough when you consider travelling time etc. The vast majority of ours are in school for 8.45 and in reality are waiting outside by 8.30, By the time they leave it's more knocking on 3.30 and if a school club as tonight between 4.15 and 4.30. Now considering the juniors only have 45 minutes for a dinner break and one 15 minute break in the morning that's quite a few hours.
As for half term and end of term breaks I do think they need them, you'd be surprised how tired out little ones and even the older ones get.......I mean the older pupils btw
That is another thing our school had so many pupil's very often if you were the last up for dinner (it went by years) you either had to go without or have 5 mins to get your dinner pay for it eat it and get across the to other side of the school for the next class
Thankfully I only had to put up with that shambolic aspect of school life a few times. School dinners at my school were beset with the same problems as above. A lot of my friends would use their dinner money to buy junk food from the Spar on the way in to school in the morning. Who could blame them?
I used to frequently volunteer to collect text books, photocopying etc. as an excuse to miss the first part of lessons, as I'm sure others did too. A 'trip' to the reprographics room meant passing the canteen and you could guarantee that there would always be a load of pupils being bellowed at by one of the deputy heads for taking too long to finish their lunch, when they were still queuing up for it. In most, if not all, cases the said pupils were late because their year group was last to be allowed in on the particular day and they'd had the misfortune of being at the back of the queue.
I support the teachers,they need their holidays to recharge.their work is so valuable.they help shape the adults of the future.their day and the kids is long enough,end of.now go away gove.
I don't understand the negativity towards teachers, I think they deserve their holidays. It is stressful, some of my friends teach and they say by the age of 40 there is a lot of ill health in teachers due to the stress. My children's teachers are excellent and my 16 year old in particular has been motivated and nurtured by her teachers.
Comments
Compromise - I finished school at 3.30pm.
In Europe, schools break up in June and return in Sept. Makes sense to me.
Finland seems to manage it. They have the best education with shorter school hours. Why can't they do that here?
It depends how seriously it was taken. I can get on with marking when my classes do assessments in silence. Pretty much all my classes will work in silence with few reminders. I'm generally lucky with my school/classes, though they are far from all middle class high fliers. So it could partially work - so long as the homework was actually valuable.
The thing that would prevent me getting on with my work would be that the kids would want constant help. Which would make sense - if they're made to stay at school, they may as well get help.
Yes but assessments are different. They've been meticulously prepared for and are under controlled conditions.
No pupil is going to treat a homework club like that, every day, five days a week.
Two hours of supervising my form would mean a lot of interruptions, and helping them (as it'd be mixed ability in a form class). They'd be naturally restless and wanting to vent some energy after having already five hours of lessons.
I think it'd be completely bloody unfair on them to be honest.
Also, when I work and prepare I'd want the freedom to pop out to do some photocopying, or listen to music while working, or go and make a cuppa, or just basically have peace to get on with things. It'd be unworkable and horrid.
The days are longer and usually warmer. No one wants to be in a sweltering class during the hottest months of the year.
As it is, state schools break up at the end of July, which is daft in itself.
The best time for school holidays should be mid June- end of August.:)
The children and teachers need the break.
He is totally out of touch with reality.
Perhaps he is working for the tour operators who could make an even bigger bean feast with a shorter holiday window?
The reality is that most learners can cover the requirements in 36 weeks. Those who need additional support could have some provision but that is not needed in the majority of cases. Maybe Gove will offer to pay teaching staff to provide extra support for those who need it? I doubt it, more likely he wants to change the teachers working conditions providing fewer paid holidays and if that is the case he is on a collision course with the teaching unions.
Not since 2006 they haven't.
If it was just that, I'd be fine. But constantly having to remind the Year 8 boys to stop flicking rulers at each other, to refrain from tapping on the table, then enforcing behaviour management rules, then telling people to turn their music down, then confiscating phones and having the hassle of convincing them to hand them over, plus the constant looking around to see if X is tormenting Y in silence.. I can't think of a worse use of a) their time and b) my time.
This is my biggest gripe. Bring a DVD in, let's all clean the classroom, let's have an extended playtime.....the list goes on. This happens for at least 3 or 4 days in the final week.
Also, what happens to extra curriculars and sports fixtures? Staff (who usually do these out of goodwill and for the pupils' sakes) wouldn't be able to be released before 5:30pm, as they'd all have form classes to look after.
This'd effectively delay sports fixtures by two hours, meaning children would play sports in the dark, even at this time of year. And parents would have to traipse to school to fetch them at 10pm or something.
I always have a fun day somewhere in the last week of summer term. And why not? The pupils have worked hard, and deserve a little reward, and it's also important for them to view their school as a human community where we all work and play, where there's time for hard graft, and there is time for a little frivolity.
I agree that shoving a dvd on is a little unimaginative, but there are other things you can do - a themed party or a bumper quiz with prizes etc.
Presumably you realise that each public school is different...
You're forgetting the children.
Half term in May - one week off
They have only just returned from the Easter holiday... with May less than half a month away
Not so much "half-term"
but Easter holiday + one week
Something is amiss
You and me both:(
What do you mean? It's the last week of May. This is a six week half term. Seven weeks in some schools.
Is this for pupils and teachers or just teachers? I would not mind having less holiday time if it meant I had extra time to mark exams/ homework/ plan lessons etc. 5 hours free a week is not enough time to do all that on top of my responsibilities as a form teacher. I think for the majority of us, that is all teachers want. Time to do their job effectively and to a high standard. It is not about pay or the holidays.
If it is the case, this will reflect in your teaching and the time you put into your work, trust me.
I am jealous other people get to go on holiday when the kids are in school and its cheaper!
Agreed. I never go around criticising other peoples jobs or professions. To give all my time and effort to a job to have people tell me I am not doing a good job or I need to be doing much more is so disheartening.
And they wonder why so many are leaving the profession...
I would agree with this. From the teachers I know, most keep their six weeks free. I know I do. But that is because during every other half term or in the evenings during term time, there has always been exams to mark/reports to write/ midterm plans to write/ lessons to plan e.t.c.
This is the ONLY time I do not complete any work. I feel six weeks is too long, but like I said above, I would be happy to work more hours, if given more free time to complete work.
The only time I come into school during the six weeks holiday is on results day. It is nice to see all the hard work the kids have put in has paid off.
It seems in our old age we have all forgotten what it is like to be a child! Children need to time to chill out and socialise. They need to spend time with their families!
Same here. I do not trust them at all. it's like they want kids to grow up living work, I'm not working to live, just a bunch of workaholics
Your right the day is long enough when you consider travelling time etc. The vast majority of ours are in school for 8.45 and in reality are waiting outside by 8.30, By the time they leave it's more knocking on 3.30 and if a school club as tonight between 4.15 and 4.30. Now considering the juniors only have 45 minutes for a dinner break and one 15 minute break in the morning that's quite a few hours.
As for half term and end of term breaks I do think they need them, you'd be surprised how tired out little ones and even the older ones get.......I mean the older pupils btw
Thankfully I only had to put up with that shambolic aspect of school life a few times. School dinners at my school were beset with the same problems as above. A lot of my friends would use their dinner money to buy junk food from the Spar on the way in to school in the morning. Who could blame them?
I used to frequently volunteer to collect text books, photocopying etc. as an excuse to miss the first part of lessons, as I'm sure others did too. A 'trip' to the reprographics room meant passing the canteen and you could guarantee that there would always be a load of pupils being bellowed at by one of the deputy heads for taking too long to finish their lunch, when they were still queuing up for it. In most, if not all, cases the said pupils were late because their year group was last to be allowed in on the particular day and they'd had the misfortune of being at the back of the queue.
Yep, the state wants to erode the family unit.
I don't understand the negativity towards teachers, I think they deserve their holidays. It is stressful, some of my friends teach and they say by the age of 40 there is a lot of ill health in teachers due to the stress. My children's teachers are excellent and my 16 year old in particular has been motivated and nurtured by her teachers.