Nick of Melbourne, Reader's Comment, Full marks for teachers who make a difference, Dr Tanveer Ahmed, a psychiatrist, The Age, 5 April 2011 http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/full-marks-for-teachers-who-make-a-difference-20110404-1cyir.html? comments=79 Historical link preserved from the original page.
Good young teachers are being wasted after four years at University.
I used to be a school teacher and it would not surprise me if some people thought that I wasn't a very good one.
Whilst I knew my subjects better than most, I was not able to control the behaviour of the individuals that do their utmost to ensure that as little as possible is learned and, in general, lessons are Hell on Earth.
I worked constantly after work trying to prepare lessons that I hoped would work.
Eventually I burned out and quit utterly depressed.
Since this time, I have worked in the public service full time, got a Masters degree and am now working on a PhD - all without working nearly as hard as when I was teaching.
My work in the public service is highly regarded and I'm happy and better paid.
The biggest problem is that teachers today have nothing at their disposal to ensure that classes are sufficiently orderly for learning to occur.
Some teachers manage better than others, but the system is broken.
Good young people are being wasted after four years of University.
If you sack them, who will replace them?
Not me.
The problem is - dealing effectively with badly behaved students.
It's obvious, but it's politically inconvenient.
It needs to be fixed.