Unusually good / bad teachers

Ubbquittious

I know someone who had a teacher who simply didn't bother with the curriculum, lesson plans and all that they expect teachers to do now. This lad thought physics. Instead of text book stuff he would simply talk shite & have a chat with the class for the majority of the year but within the actual shitetalk he fostered a way of thinking that helped the students understand physics and he would mention real life examples and explain the concepts but in a ridiculously easygoing manner with no pressure on the students at all. Then with only a month or 2 left in the year he would quickly run through the curriculum and everyone would pass.

The physics teacher I had was quite dire to be honest. Very oldschool, though one day about a month before the leaving cert someone in the class called her a decrepit teacher and she broke down crying, the brightest lad in the class who already knew everything had to take over teaching to the rest of us thickos while she sobbed. It was quite a surreal experience

Nigel Fairservice

My history teacher in secondary school was exceptional. In our class there were 11 As, 9 Bs, 2 C's and a D in the Leaving Cert that year. One of the lads got a medal from the government for the highest result in Leaving Certificate History that year. Our history teacher spent more time messing and taking the piss out of everyone in the class yet still covered all the material. He loved puns and talking about Madness. Loved talking about tv shows as well. He was very engaging and had a way of making you think about historical events and how they impacted upon each other.

I remember in the first history class of 6th year, which happened to be September 11 2001, he gave us all history essays to write for homework. He came in a few days later and ripped all the essays up in front of us. The guy taught us how to write an essay and construct an argument which became very important later in college. Those from our history class that went to UCC would meet him for a drink in the Old Bar once a year while in college.

Mister Vain

I had a few bad ones but my geography teacher was the worst. We learnt absolutely nothing in first year so had to redo it all in second year. He would often drop his pen on the ground so he could look up the girls skirts. The principal caught him physically assaulting one of the lads.

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118854308#Comment_118854308

If only all your teachers were good teachers like that fella.

You might have gotten the points to get into a decent college rather than UCC 😋

mikemac2

I had a primary school teacher who was cross and strict and tbh she was feared. But looking back she was amazing. She spent one hour a week reading books to us and I still remember the books, just had a way to make an impact

Her funeral was one of the largest (yeah maybe judging someone on their funeral attendance might be an Irish thing) that anyone remembers in the parish

I guess I did not appreciate at the time but looking back now she taught so much more than the curriculum, life lessons too.

Strumms

All our primary teachers were excellent, brilliant in fact with the exception of a proper disreputable shîtehawk in 2nd & 3rd class I think…

Secondary we had a useless, aggressive head case for physics… he was interested in the high achievers and not interested in helping anybody struggling bridge the gap…

a maths teacher who slurred his words and looked like he spent the previous 40 minutes sat with a coffee cup full of vodka on o Connell bridge… the prick of a principal let that transpire yet would pull any of us up for a tie not tied properly or a shirt hanging out..

L1011

Had the full range of unusually bad to unusually good over two years in primary.

Fourth class teacher was more interested in beating (probably did want to actually still do that, but illegal by then) Catholicism in Irish in to everyone - various prayers and texts in Irish by rote - than the entire rest of the curriculum. Required a very good fifth class teacher to rescue any idea of standards - and he was able to do this while barely making it feel like he was actually teaching at all.

One thing I remember is there was an election that year and everyone in the class ended up understanding how PR-STV works. Which is more than some actual politicians do as adults! This was done by having an actual school election, for nothing, but with campaign speeches and secret ballots. Not on the curriculum I'm sure.

He's teaching prinicipal of a small (looks like 3 teacher) school up in Monaghan now, must be close to retirement as this was decades ago, but still seems very active looking at the school website. The auld wench from third class is long since retired - at another teachers retirement do a few years ago, big thing in the local hotel, she was the only of the 7 primary teachers I had who didn't turn up despite being invited.

Dickie10

im a teacher (secondary) i wonder what makes a good one in your opinion?

black & white

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118868756#Comment_118868756

The teachers I remember fondly are the ones who made a lesson interesting and didn't use corporal punishment or sneer at us. When I was at secondary school, 3rd level was the exception rather than the norm - in my school anyway ,late 1970's- so the focus wasn't on points. My primary school had nearly all excellent teachers except for the principal and my 5th class teacher who was a county hurler in his first job after graduation. The only thing I remember that he taught us was how to hold an opponents jersey without being caught.

If you want advice from me, be kind even when you have to be firm and never belittle a child no mater what.

Ger Roe

I had an English teacher for the old inter-cert, who became frustrated with the subject matter that he was instructed to bore us to tears with. He quickly realised that the prescribed Shakesperarean novel wasn't particularly relevant to a class of kids in 1979, so .... one day he brought us to the music room and played the then new album 'The Fine Art of Surfacing', by The Boomtown Rats. We listened and discussed Bob's early rages and rants as argued through the album tracks and even the wise cracking hard boys found that they had some comments to make (they would have had nothing whatsoever to say about Shakespeare).

The teacher said how he reckoned Bob Geldof was a deep thinker who had a particular insight into how the world worked and how it might be changed - whatever you might think of Bob now... our teacher was right in suggesting that he might some day make a greater impact on the world. Live Aid happened five years later.

Little things like that fresh approach to school subjects can have a long lasting effect on pupils... pity that they are few and far between when the stale and boring curriculum is followed to the yawn inducing letter. I do appreciate that the changes to the senior cycle system, have improved the offering, beyond what we would have had in the 1970's and 80's.

There is still a way to go though, as the recent debate about the one shot exam evaluation process, has shown us.