Non science/maths teachers teaching maths

loveroflight

A worrying trend creeping into our school. Teachers with various unrelated degrees being given maths classes. What can be done. Don't want to fall out with these colleagues either. A very unapproachable principal involved!!!

clartharlear

Be a little more precise than "non science/maths"...

I know a science degree holder who is not "qualified"* to teach maths, and a business degree holder who is. Plenty of business/economics/actuary/computer/IT type degree courses have enough maths to satisfy the Teaching Council whereas not all science courses do.
Are you sure that the people in question don't have enough maths credits in their degrees?



*"" because Teaching Council? :rolleyes:

Rosita

loveroflight wrote: »

A worrying trend creeping into our school. Teachers with various unrelated degrees being given maths classes. What can be done. Don't want to fall out with these colleagues either. A very unapproachable principal involved!!!

I'm not sure you'll get much sympathy for your views here. Some here appear to think that qualifications are irrelevant and if you have such life experience as washing the local under-14s jerseys it "qualifies" you to teach and none of this oul academic nonsense matters a whit.

clartharlear

Rosita wrote: »

I'm not sure you'll get much sympathy for your views here. Some here appear to think that qualifications are irrelevant and if you have such life experience as washing the local under-14s jerseys it "qualifies" you to teach and none of this oul academic nonsense matters a whit.

Wow.
"Some", as you call them, are arguing that subject discipline qualifications are more important that general education qualifications in teaching that subject.

You've missed the point so far that you've arrived at its inverse.

Rosita

clartharlear wrote: »

Wow.
"Some", as you call them, are arguing that subject discipline qualifications are more important that general education qualifications in teaching that subject.

You've missed the point so far that you've arrived at its inverse.

Many differing views have been offered. Your right to lecture me on what the "point" (as you call it) is derives from what exactly? Condescention doesn't wash wth me I'm afraid.

Coolio

If you're sure that they are not qualified by Teaching Council standards then you should be annoyed. What you can do about it is another matter. Tread very carefully, and don't take any action individually. If you feel there's a large section of the staff that have similar views maybe bring it up at a union meeting where the rep can then approach the principal.

As regards another posters assertion that subject qualifications are more important than educational qualifications, I'd have some issues with that. Knowing the subject is vital but surely educational issues such as classroom management, special needs, differentiation, assessment for learning, understanding of where our profession is heading are all important parts of being a properly prepared and professional teacher. Why do the rest of us bother with a teaching degree and/or H.Dip. if there is no benefit to them?

Toto Wolfcastle

Rosita wrote: »

I'm not sure you'll get much sympathy for your views here. Some here appear to think that qualifications are irrelevant and if you have such life experience as washing the local under-14s jerseys it "qualifies" you to teach and none of this oul academic nonsense matters a whit.

Why not, rather than stirring, offer advice and sympathy? You obviously have opinions on this issue.

gaeilgebeo

janeybabe wrote: »

Why not, rather than stirring, offer advice and sympathy? You obviously have opinions on this issue.

+1

evolving_doors

loveroflight wrote: »

A worrying trend creeping into our school. Teachers with various unrelated degrees being given maths classes. What can be done. Don't want to fall out with these colleagues either. A very unapproachable principal involved!!!

Just wondering loveroflight!! what are the teachers degree subjects ?...

implausible

Why is this any worse than any other subject being taught by someone who is unqualified?

In many schools, you'll find teachers often roped into teaching subjects they're not qualified for. I've taught Religion in my time, having absolutely no qualifications in it. I've also taught Maths. I did it in 1st year in college, but the TC don't recognise it as one of my teaching subjects. Principals are often stuck and make do with who's there. If a teacher is asked to teach a subject they're not qualified to, the teacher should object.

Rosita

janeybabe wrote: »

Why not, rather than stirring, offer advice and sympathy?

I prefer to offer opinions which are not tailored in advance by someone else? Why should I have to offer sympathy for example? What if I don't feel sympathetic?

Toto Wolfcastle

Rosita wrote: »

I prefer to offer opinions which are not tailored in advance by someone else? Why should I have to offer sympathy for example? What if I don't feel sympathetic?

I assumed from your post that you did. My apologies if you don't. Now, if you have nothing of use to add to this thread I suggest that you do not post in it again.

gaeilgebeo

janeybabe wrote: »

I assumed from your post that you did. My apologies if you don't. Now, if you have nothing of use to add to this thread I suggest that you do not post in it again.

+1

Rosita

janeybabe wrote: »

Now, if you have nothing of use to add to this thread I suggest that you do not post in it again.

Not sure how this is supposed to work to be honest. The problem with this is that you appear to have deemed yourself the sole judge of the utility of my posts, and I cannot know in advance if they will pass muster with you.

TheDriver

ah, nice to see Rosita is back fuelling up some vague impartial advice in the teachers forum!

Toto Wolfcastle

Rosita infracted for ignoring a mod warning and for posting off-topic.

Can we get back to the topic at hand please? I'd rather not hand out any more infractions. Thank you.

evolving_doors

Armelodie wrote: »

Just wondering loveroflight!! what are the teachers degree subjects ?...

still wondering!!

Rosita

janeybabe wrote: »

Rosita infracted for ignoring a mod warning and for posting off-topic.

Can we get back to the topic at hand please? I'd rather not hand out any more infractions. Thank you.

Ignoring a mod warning? I will reserve the right to reply on a public forum to comments made on a public forum. You chose not to take the option of giving a warning by PM. You can't have it both ways


It is strange you are defending a position where you object to what I am writing by saying this "Why not, rather than stirring, offer advice and sympathy?"

while......................

ignoring a post which says "ah, nice to see Rosita is back fuelling up some vague impartial advice in the teachers forum!" - (hardly advisory or sympathetic.............but okay by you it seems, and it is fairly obviously off-topic. Why is that okay while my post wasn't?)

and..................

two posts which offered nothing other than +1 to what you wrote. Others would call that back-seat modding would they not?

I wonder which comment of mine exactly rattled your personal cage? Clearly something did when you are exhibiting such remarkable double-standards.

I realise there is no answer to this which reflects well on you as you over-reacted to something that was written. But all I can do is highlight the inconsistency and hypocrisy at play.

TheDriver

haha, in fairness to you Rosita, i just can't take you seriously anymore, that drum you have been beating for last 6 months on this forum must have a serious hole in it now.
And regarding my comment, you only have to see old threads whereby you stirred the same stuff you are doing here. Ah, you have made my night, great read!

Toto Wolfcastle

Rosita banned for 3 days.

TheDriver infracted for off-topic posting despite a warning.

Can we please now get back to the topic at hand? I do not want to have to hand out further infractions or bans and I do not want to have to close this thread. Thank you.

loveroflight

Sorry about delay.

One is a Hdip History and English teacher, and the other teaches Irish.

It's not the way our VEC school has operated in the past.

rainbowtrout

loveroflight wrote: »

Sorry about delay.

One is a Hdip History and English teacher, and the other teaches Irish.

It's not the way our VEC school has operated in the past.

But what is the real problem loveroflight? Is it that maths teachers are not getting the maths hours, have maths teachers taken a cut in hours while these non-maths teachers are teaching maths classes? Why does a HDip have teaching hours? Is it part of their Dip hours or have they been given hours of their own? Did the Irish teacher do maths as part of their degree?

Powerhouse

TheDriver wrote: »

And regarding my comment, you only have to see old threads whereby you stirred the same stuff you are doing here. Ah, you have made my night, great read!

"old threads"......................"made my night"??????


You need a hobby outside the house big-time if you are into reading old threads, and reading a post from an anonymous person makes your night.

Rosita of course has a point but the moderators here remind me of the Guards in that their arrival on the scene usually tends to escalate non-issues into big deals rather than keeping things under control.

If the moderator in this case had been able to resist having a go this would have petered out to nothing. Instead she now has to resort to further over the top stuff about possibly closing the thread. Ridiculous.

Toto Wolfcastle

Discussion of this topic has been moved to a new thread which can be found under the same title. This is because of continued off topic posting. I have copied the relevant posts to the new thread. Thank you.