UK Education
How could the already recognised worst education system amongst developed nations become even worse? It is very easy. Get your advisers to issue statements criticizing the present totally disillusioned UK teachers.

I am still optimistic, because, hopefully, at some point someone will come to power who possesses the necessary vision and insight to make the necessary changes. However, even when that at long last occurs, it does not diminish in any way the enormous harm done to a generation of children that deserved a lot better. Those administrators and politicians have a great deal to answer for but believing in natural justice and that we are answerable for everything we do to a higher power, I sincerely am very sorry for them.

My own comment to the BBC "Have Your Say" "Should bad teachers be sacked?" was not published so here it is, followed by the statements by Sir Cyril Taylor that initiated the discussion; and the responses by the UK public with whom I have great faith. They clearly know that the present disastrous system is not the fault of teachers but of administrators, politicians and advisers with the same mindset of Sir Cyril. As I have said previously God help UK children because clearly those same administrators and so on are incapable of doing so. I make no apologies for referring to the UNICEF report again for until those in power accept that the present system is a disaster, and the report proves that, nothing will change.

My comment - People who decide on a teaching career are usually highly motivated with a great deal to offer children and society. Generally today, they are totally disillusioned due to the disastrous policies of administrators in the Ministry of Education or whatever they want to call themselves. I have been trying, unsuccessfully, for 40 years to obtain clear, unambiguous answers to very simple questions from such administrators. The present and past policies have resulted in the UK (according to the recent UNICEF international league table) ranked 21st - last, yes; the worst education system amongst developed countries - see http://members.cox.net/tei/teiPages/UK%20UNICF%20Report.htm. Tragically for the children of the UK the present policies continue, with the mindset that the fault lies with teachers. Statements from people such as Sir Cyril Taylor (has he ever taught children? - no need to answer!) add to the already disastrous idea that the blame rests with teachers and not the system - very convenient! This isn't all happening because of teachers; it is happening because the system is the worst amongst developed nations and produces the worst results. There is a great deal of information available (http://members.cox.net/tei) to indicate that the UK is going in the opposite direction in which to optimize the wellbeing and learning of children but the mindset of Sir Cyril Taylor and those of similar ilk will only perpetuate the present disastrous situation. If they examined Finland, New Zealand etc and so on they would realize how disastrous the present system is. If they did this they might actually implement policies that produce an education in which children will thrive and excel but I am without hope this will occur. It isn't complicated or difficult. Just give teachers the freedom to feed in the right material through the right methodology at the right time and behold it all works easily and beautifully!  Will they totally review and change the system - not a chance. Sir Cyril Taylor does nothing to help teachers and may result in many otherwise excellent teachers from entering the profession but that is the story of education in UK today. Freedom in education? If administrators had to apply to themselves the standards of accountability and transparency they energetically apply to the system they administer, they would be fired for clearly they have failed, and the people who have suffered above all others are children and teachers.

Sir Cyril Taylor's comments - "We've got 400,000 of our children attending low-attaining schools; 75,000 leave schools at 16 with hardly any qualifications at all; five million adults are functionally illiterate. That's a serious problem. The head teacher that is good can take the necessary action, you get the wrong people off the bus and get the right people on the bus in the right seats. That means if you have weak heads of department you ask them to move on and you go out and recruit fantastic teachers." etc.

A selection of readers' comments (from over two thousand, the vast majority supporting teachers) - I am a teacher and the vast majority of problems teachers' face is from a constantly changing morass of paperwork that get pushed onto us by the government themselves. They keep changing targets, initiatives, we have to produce the paperwork but do not get given the time to do it.

Pupils themselves are undisciplined, parents show little desire or ability to support teachers, pupils who have assaulted staff at our school are rarely excluded, if they are they get reinstated by appeal.

I work in education and every teacher I have met has been dedicated, caring and committed to the children they teach - and most are happy to give up their own time into after school clubs, shows etc. The government needs to make parents take more responsibility for their children and support the schools and the teachers. I'm sure most of the extra funding goes on councils trying to produce statistics to say their schools are the best. Give it to the schools then you'll get the results!

Teaching would be made a lot easier if the teacher actually had the power to control the class, how do you control a 14 year old when they know they're are untouchable and their parents do not support the teacher? The government have had 10 years to sort this (long standing) problem out and yet they are still tinkering on the edges.

I am a teacher and i actually handed my notice in yesterday due to poor support from my Headteacher regarding Children's behaviour, Challenging parents and a heavy paperwork load. I am tired of a 15 hour day with no thanks or support.

Rather, prohibit the rude, disruptive children of bad parents from attending school until they learn how to behave.

So putting up with the abuse and anti social behaviour is all part of the teachers remit. It's those who set all these targets that need sacking

I taught in state comprehensives for many years and I saw very few 'bad teachers'. I did see a lot of people who were stressed to the limit by huge class sizes, endless discipline problems, lack of resources, unsympathetic and incompetent management and unsuitable work environments.

Seems to me everyone looks to blame the teachers for poor achievement in the schools as if they can wave a magic wand. If you want to blame anyone blame successive governments for incompetence, penny-pinching and apathy.

I think a lot of teachers would have much more opportunity to excel at school if they didn't have such a huge amount of admin, poorly behaved classes, lack of respect from children and parents, poor resources, and better wages. It's outrageous that the government wants to get rid of people for being bad teachers when it is their rules and regulations that have resulted in so little focus on teaching these days and forced a ridiculous amount of attention onto things like PC behaviour and admin

As a Primary Head I have experience of having to support teachers who have difficulties in the classroom and I agree that bad teachers need to go. However, I must stress that most of the appalling behaviour we are having to deal with in schools is often down to poor parenting. Parents are keen to tell me their 'rights' but very few of them appear to want to take responsibility for disciplining their children. In my opinion, until this is dealt with we will lose our good teachers also.

Leave the teachers alone, being the son of one I happen to know how many 20 hour days they work. Its often not the teachers fault they simply aren't equipped with the right resources from the government to help them. That and they often have to teach many pupils (and thanks to the government this number is going to rise) who don't wish to be taught.

Those who roam the streets at night committing crimes are in school classrooms the next day and teachers are supposed to control them with the threat of detention (which they won’t turn up for) when the police (who are always in groups of at least two and are allowed to use force) are unable to control them. People expect teachers to work miracles.

It really annoys me that snobs who know nothing about education at the bottom end talk about getting in better teachers and closing schools when the real problems are social ones. We have many economically deprived children who have already given-up on the world that has betrayed them. Government officials and 'education experts' need to wake up and face reality and stop blaming the brave teachers who cope as best as any human can with our defective society. These officials are ignorant!

As a teacher I'm relieved that the top recommended comments are all supportive of us teachers and see this latest attack on us for what it is. After 12 years I'd love to get out of it. It's virtually impossible to impose any sanction, there's little money for resources, going on any essential training to keep up to date is seen as skiving lessons and we're constantly trying to meet 'targets' and quantify everything we do with 'data'. The kids are ok- it's the government's obsession with stats.

Hang on a minute, let's get rid of BAD government advisors and let teachers (the professionals) get on with teaching.

As an ex teacher, I can tell you that interfering politicians, hopeless local authorities and the army of sundry "experts" and busybodies are the ones who have dragged education into abject failure in this country. Schools now have no discipline, no culture of learning and falling standards and this is not due to the teachers. I got out a long time ago.

How depressing to sit and read another negative article about teachers, particularly as I sit down to get on with another weekend's worth of marking. I taught in a 'challenging inner-city school' which I left after two years. The strain of dealing with the pupils was bad enough, but the patronising and demeaning attitude of the management was worse. The vast majority of teachers are hard working and committed individuals, but few will stay in a job where they are constantly told how bad they are.'

Comment from Teachers' Union - The government says that ultimately head teachers are responsible for the quality of teaching and they should take action against poor performers. But head teachers' unions say recruitment can be difficult, especially with shortages in maths and science. National Association of Head Teachers deputy head Clarissa Williams said: "Faced with a crisis in recruitment, some head teachers may feel that it's better to have anyone in front of a class than no-one, simply because they have a responsibility to have that class taught by a qualified teachers. "In terms of quality of that person, hopefully they will be able to do it, but there is no guarantee."