Yeah you can – the problem with statistics is that 40% of people are too dumb to realise when they’ve been manipulated and 40% are too dumb to recognise when a statistic is reflective of the truth. The other 21% are involved in creating the statistics.

Note: there is a 1% margin of error.

Half of them know this its the other 60% that are the problem

Saying that the current system needs improvement doesn’t really add to the debate. Care to suggest at least one concrete suggestion of what you think needs to be done?

“Care to suggest at least one concrete suggestion of what you think needs to be done?”

Um…… you don’t think that changing assessment is a concrete suggestion?! Do you really want me to, in a comment on a news site outline in detail an entire educational reform?!

Tomy Iona how about introducing some performance monitoring for teachers. It’s a bad state of affairs when we see teachers who simply are not up to the job allowed into a classroom. Why should they be getting the same salary as a teacher who goes the extra mile and produces well rounded students. Or how about giving the young teachers a chance to gain experience and drive new techniques and bring fresh enthusiasm instead using substitutes who have retired from teaching. Or perhaps your suggestions above could include reducing this 3 month holiday that teachers and students have!

My original comment was about measuring results and the fact that our results system is broken at the moment. I commented on that with an idea (which I would never claim to be perfect) that might shift towards a system in which we could have more faith, specifically in terms of the relationship between results and syllabus.It wasn’t meant to become a complete examination down to attacking public servants hours and pay conditions.

I’m getting a bit of that tone from the reply there Ned – Maybe I’m misinterpreting that.

To answer your questions though…..(all with my own opinion, though I think the unions are realistically the main blockage for most of these ideas)
Performance monitoring for teachers is notoriously difficult. The assumption is that every teacher should be able to hit certain targets-and they should. But what targets? The only real target we have at the moment is exams and I’m afraid there is an array of (primarily) socio-economic reasons why a pupil does or doesn’t do well. I agree that the highest standards should be expected from teachers (some teachers don’t expect this from themselves and should change career – other teachers recognise these as an embarrassment to the profession) but I don’t think that exam results is the answer.

Young teachers and experience while I’m not young, I am just qualified as a teacher – and have no job to go to next month so you’ll find no argument there. I will say though that in my experience from teaching practice, the age of the teacher is of absolutely no bearing on how clued in a teacher is to what they should be doing. A teacher I worked with in my last teaching practice placement was in the job for a long time and still had massive passion for it-infectious passion that I know I greatly benefited from. I met the writer of a book which was inspired by the teacher’s frustrations of how textbooks where written for his subject. These are 2 who were in the job for 20+ years. Conversely I felt the lesson kids were getting from the way a different teacher spoke to his classes was appalling.
As for hiring back retired teachers – while this shouldn’t be happening and I know it is a barrier to me getting a job I can see that while teachers are judged on nothing but results, schools will hire based on results. That is, until the political will exists to put a stop to it.

3 months holiday This doesn’t exist. What really happens is that teachers get paid for 12 months at 75% of their salary level instead of 100% over 9 months.
I will agree though that the number of school days could increase. In a lot of ways, I think this increase in days could be more than just contact time with pupils. It could be used for travelling to other schools and overseeing other teachers’ continuous assessments.

There are a bunch of things I’d like to see happen in education, not all are for the benefit of the teacher. In fact, very few actually are…..

Another example is the lengthening of the school day by lengthening class times. Exercises could be done in this time which would prevent the reliance on homework and allow immediate addressing of any problems without kids going home and spending an hour (or more) in frustration. That would mean no books going out of the classroom; no heavy bags damaging kids’ backs; no parents having to substitute quality time for homework time; parents being able to pick their kid up on the way home from work; parents not having to make arrangements for their kids after school; a reduction in book costs for families and an increase in value for the tax payer – even if you were paying teachers a little bit more to do this.

There is lots more that could be done but the political will isn’t there. Given that so many politicians came from teaching I would imagine part of what contributes to that lack of will is the power of the unions.

You should go into politics Tomy, there’s a shortage of teachers double jobbing!

Rather than listen to the educational professionals who are actually teaching the course and can see the results in the here and now? A massive problem in.Irish education is that the government parties would rather listen to IBEC and other groups than listen to those who are actually involved in education day in, day out, i.e. teachers and parents.

Is this a recipe for brick building. FIZI

2/3 kg

2kg…

1X+(0.5 x X)

OK, so it’s 2 kg folks :)
You can think of a full brick as X.
Then you have:

x=1+0.5*x therefore 0.5x = 1 and finally x = 2

It was puzzle to remember from ages ago from my maths teacher, think we were 13 or 14 yrs old back then :)

Actually – it’s not solvable unless you’re talking about 2 different brick sizes…..
X=1kg+X/2
X-1=X/2
2X-2=X
2X=X

unsolvable.

Glad I’m not going to be a math teacher? I would be….

1x=1+x/2
2x=2+x
x=2

I’m a lot better at TG. (at least I’m willing to admit I’m wrong!)

Here’s one for you….

3 people go into a restaurant with €10 each put into a pot to share a meal. The meal comes to €25 and they tell the waiter to hold onto €2 and then he’ll be able to just give back €1 each change.
So each person put in €10 and got back €1 (totalling €27) but the waiter only got a €2 tip. Where did the €1 go to?

Hey Tomy thanks for new puzzle however can you check please if this is correct? you say waiter was promised 2 eur and at the end that he only got 2 euro. So its actually the same – as should be. Unless i dont quite see something here :) thanks

if each person put in €10 then the total pot was €30
Each person got back €1 (after the waiter was given a €2 tip) so it cost each person €9 – 3 X 9= €27
If the waiter only got a €2 tip then it cost 27 + 2 = €29

But they started off with €30 – so where did the other €1 go?

Tomy: thanks, sorry you wrote Ok first time, but was still sleeping on the bus :)
Ok, I think this is bit confusing one, but basically the catch is that 2 euro tip was included in 9×3 they paid, so in that 27 euros. You cannot add 2 again to 27 creating 29.

Thanks :)

Given they started off with €30 you’re still missing €1 though. That’s the puzzle…..

They started off with 30.
They ended up with 3 (all of them).
This means they spent 27 – and that including meal cost and tip, so 25 and 2.

The puzzle is wronlgy suggesting they spent 27 + 2 on waiter, that 2 is not to be added to 27, but included.
If you wrongly add it then you have 29 indeed, but they have already 3 euro back, which doesnt make sense in that case :) If it was to make 30 then they wouldn’t have anything back.

Yep. It’s a case of the order of operations…..

Agree gerard a shocking state of affairs – what next? Religious workplaces? We could divide them up by different religions too!!! Teachers need to be trained to understand how to make learning engaging and that they are facilitators that are supposed to scaffold the active learning of students – it is totally proven that engagement and being in a relaxed and happy learning environment is the biggest contributor to learning. At this moment this is so often NOT the case.

Rubbish. The majority of politicians are also white males. In line with the maths theme, this is more of a common denominator, no?
As for teachers, give them a reasonable shot at providing eduction with smaller class sizes, adequate facilities and materials and I’m sure it’d help.
Also, horses for courses and all that. Different students, different strengths. If a pupil reaches (or almost reaches) their potential, then I’d argue that’s a success. One pupils A1 is the equivalent of another’s C3 etc.
Then again, it’s easier to post nonsense.

Are you a teacher Mary?

I’m not.

I agree just because one has the qualifications to teach does not make them a good teacher.It is the same with many professions.as you say printers and publishers are on to a good thing.As for grinds you eighter have it or have,nt the grinds may get you into university but then you are against the real brains and are lost.

I’m about to be a teacher and I’m happy enough to announce that while still saying that you’ve oversimplified the issue Stephen.

Saying teachers are the common denominator is to be completely blind to the environment in which the child needs to learn and the teacher needs to do their best for the child.

A large part of that environment is teachers yes – but another massive area is parents and their willingness to support.

And just like parents, not all teachers are lazy about the progression of kids. I’d love to know what methods you would use for a kid that comes into every class and disrupts it. Especially if you’d already met with their parents before. I can already imagine some of the answers people would offer and they are roads no good teacher wants to go down.

Also, and this goes for anyone who think that teachers are the problem. If you think you’re getting nothing out of the education system then home school your own kids and see how well you get on.

There are a number of reasons, one of them are poor teachers. Both parents have to go out and work, to pay the high cost of living, wages for teachers and books/bus for school. It would be great to have one parent able to spend time at home with kids, or not be tired from work in the evening!

I think you really need to think about the sense of what you’re saying there.

Having 1 child as a surprise is one thing but having more than that is a choice for all but the very rarest of cases.

If you have 1 child you’re more likely to be in a group of people who can afford that time. If you have more than one you are heading down the road of CHOICE – but you want to say the world is soooo tough for parents. I don’t doubt that it is but your assertion in that last comment is embarrassing to those who MAKE the time even though they are in tough circumstances.

Do away with religion, or tell the church to pay teachers to teach it. Make Irish and History an option, with extra points in the Leaving If you wish to pursue that line. Instead of Religion, teach Socialism and Environmental studies. If they opt out of Irish or History, teach Languages and I mean German,French,Japenese,Chinese or gombeen politician language!

TEACH SOCIALISM!?

I didn’t say do away with it all, just the crap that we learn by rote for exams and will never in a million years use again.

Just an example of subjects that may be of more use too a student, than GOD!