Blaming teachers for the low-aspirations of pupils

[Darth Vader]

I see today in the news, teachers are being scapegoated again. This time, for the low-aspirations of pupils.

 

What effect does high youth unemployment have on pupils?

What effect does the withdrawal of EMA have on pupils?

What effect do ridiculous university fees have?

What effect do big employers, keen to keep wages down and profits up have on pupils?

What effects are the cuts on local services having on pupils?

 

Come on Condems - must try harder!

[gnvqsos]

The people who espouse these mantras have never left the leafy suburbs,their default environment.It is ridiculous to make comments like this when thinking of the depressed parts of South Yorkshire.Many youngsters simply want a starter job from which they improve,not a job in law and finance.Aspirations can also be more diverse than a choice of career and many aspire to be good parents etc.

[Darth Vader]

The people who espouse these mantras have never left the leafy suburbs,their default environment.It is ridiculous to make comments like this when thinking of the depressed parts of South Yorkshire.Many youngsters simply want a starter job from which they improve,not a job in law and finance.Aspirations can also be more diverse than a choice of career and many aspire to be good parents etc.

 

You make a very good point.

 

I do think many young people in our city who would have chosen to gone to university a few years ago, are not even entertaining the idea now, as firstly, the EMA has been withdrawn, and they cannot contemplate having that much debt around their necks and their parents are not able to help them out financially. Many of these would be the next generation of teachers. I really don't think the government care two hoots.

[willman]

Most pupils have no concept about either,but their parents do, as is usually obvious at parent evenings.If there is a debt involved with education and it prevents people going to Uni.

Did they really want to go in the first place?

 

Parents have no trouble(in some cases) encouraging debt for cars but seem a little vexed at debt for enhancement of their children.The only people troubled by debt are those who assume they're not going to achieve some higher paid job, if thats the case then they have a problem with aspirations anyway.

 

I can only speak from personal experience but - a boy encouraged by parents to be a professional rugby player(for the money and kudos)who then has a change of heart to get a job earning money now.By following his parents career path he left school with nothing and has nothing.

A daughter encouraged by friends(me) to go to Uni,opts for "college" to do a course in the boom industry of sport,before sitting exams she has now dropped out to be an office worker.

 

They took the EMA whilst studying and then chased the easiest option for cash in the short term. Thats a societal issue not a teacher one.

[LeMaquis]

It was David Laws who made the comments, including

 

“Even in my own constituency, Yeovil, which would not be regarded as one of the deprivation blackspots of the country, most young people would regard going into investment banking as almost leaving the country, because it’s a different world".

 

As investment bankers made a right mess of the economy and as Laws is a former banker himself who had to resign from the cabinet after breaking rules relating to over £40,000 of wrongfully-claimed expenses paid to his partner, making him not that good at figures, then the fewer people on Laws' watch who want to go into banking the better.

[wornout53]

A big part of the equation is parents. Parents need to give children guidance but encourage them to know themselves and to aspire to the highest they can achieve in whatever they choose to do.

University is an option not something to push children into aspiring to...as my mum would have said it is horses for courses.

It is important to give a child aspirations and a desire to achieve but it must be the childs aspirations not the parents, teachers or anyone else. My children were encouraged and supported to go into whatever line of work they wanted to....none went to uni but all have been employed constantly since leaving education and all have qualifications which they got either at college or through their jobs.

[Mecky]

Let's see who they will blame when there are not enough teachers

[Ms Macbeth]

A big part of the equation is parents. Parents need to give children guidance but encourage them to know themselves and to aspire to the highest they can achieve in whatever they choose to do.

University is an option not something to push children into aspiring to...as my mum would have said it is horses for courses.

It is important to give a child aspirations and a desire to achieve but it must be the childs aspirations not the parents, teachers or anyone else. My children were encouraged and supported to go into whatever line of work they wanted to....none went to uni but all have been employed constantly since leaving education and all have qualifications which they got either at college or through their jobs.

 

I completely agree. Parents have the children in the vital early years.

 

I read this a couple of days ago: Teachers are having to deal with four- and five-year-olds in nappies who are unable to speak in sentences or distinguish between letters and numbers.

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2222176/Chaotic-homes-creating-children-incapable-learning-says-Gove-Teachers-report-year-olds-nappies-speak-sentences.html#ixzz2AOKDJXvR

 

What chance do teachers have when some of the children are so far behind at such an early age. If these children haven't been taught the basics, then its also unlikely they've been given boundaries so their behaviour isn't likely to be good either. Perhaps health visitors should continue assessing children until they either start nursery or school.

 

We also regularly hear that its good for children to have a stay at home parent. I'd be surprised if most of the children the article refers to have working parents. If they did, their children are likely to be in nurseries where they would get some intellectual stimulation and be out of nappies by four!

 

I see education as a cross party issue, so lets not go down the road of dismissing this because the article links to Michael Gove. There are also statements from Graham Allen a Labour MP.

[Michael_W]

Well thats the world we live in, look for scapegoats and apportion blame, it's OK when it suits peoples agendas though eh

I like it when people on here use Daily Mail links when so many posters choose to dismiss DM stories when it suits them too

[mossdog]

I completely agree. Parents have the children in the vital early years.

 

I read this a couple of days ago: Teachers are having to deal with four- and five-year-olds in nappies who are unable to speak in sentences or distinguish between letters and numbers.

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2222176/Chaotic-homes-creating-children-incapable-learning-says-Gove-Teachers-report-year-olds-nappies-speak-sentences.html#ixzz2AOKDJXvR

 

What chance do teachers have when some of the children are so far behind at such an early age. If these children haven't been taught the basics, then its also unlikely they've been given boundaries so their behaviour isn't likely to be good either. Perhaps health visitors should continue assessing children until they either start nursery or school.

 

We also regularly hear that its good for children to have a stay at home parent. I'd be surprised if most of the children the article refers to have working parents. If they did, their children are likely to be in nurseries where they would get some intellectual stimulation and be out of nappies by four!

Good points!......it has long been known that lots of kids farmed out from an early age so that parents can pay for modern consumption habits, grow up illiterate and rebellious many finishing up in dud Uni courses and some would you believe becoming teachers!