slowjam10
Member
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2006
- Messages
- 249
- Gender
- Male
- HSC
- 2008
Hey guys,
At our school we are having some pretty big problems with teachers being away continually and/or canceling extension lessons without any notice.
The main problem is with one particular teacher who, while being a great teacher is constantly away, due to a recurring illness. I have him for Modern History and Extension History, while other year 12's have him for Economics.
In year 11, he was away for basically part of Term 1 and all of Term 2 and 3. While he was away all of his classes were replaced with random substitutes, all of whom had no qualifications in the particular subjects. Rather, they would just sit there eating and/or sleeping and occasionally, engage in chit-chat with students. One teacher actually used to bring a Tupperware container filled with nutrigrain and a plastic drink bottle filled with a protein shake. he just sat there all lesson eating and drinking and talking about how he was supposedly a bodyguard for Olivia Newton John.
While this was happening, nearly if not all, students made several complaints to the replacement coordinator, as well as the Studies Coordinator and they basically just sugar coated the whole situation and told us that everything would be fine and that he would be back. Each day it was like, no he'll be back next lesson, no next lesson.
Then in Term 3 of last year we got a supposedly experienced teacher to replace him and instead of teaching us the Preliminary Course on on Indochina he taught us the HSC Course - in a fashion that is. Then when the Preliminary Exam came around he panicked and realised he was teaching the wrong stuff for us once i asked him for the syllabus. When i asked for the syllabus during a library lesson, he was like 'ohh there's a syllabus?". He then googled syllabus on his laptop and was like wow the Board of Studies website and was like I should go on here more often. Ohh and this teacher has been teaching for at a guess over ten years.
Anyway the sick teacher for Modern/Ext. Hist/Eco who is also the HSIE Co-odinator came back for Year 12. But now he is starting to go off sick again and everyone is really worried and the school, just keeps saying its under control etc.
But its not under control. For Modern, we haven't really even started Russia and the Soviet Union or our personality - Trotsky. The Economics class is not even half way through the course content and people are getting marks of like 8%. In extension history, the class dropped from 7 to 4 students straight after the half yearly and we are not even half way through the content for it either.
And to top that off, we have a Modern Assignment due in less than two weeks on Collectivisation and Industrialisation, which no one really knows anything about, except from their own reading because we have done next to nothing on Russia.
Currently, I do 12 units and I'm ranked first in all bar Modern which I'm second in. So I could drop say Modern, but then that means extension history will count and well there's still the no teacher issue.
So really I'm in a catch 22 and when I or other students approach the School Executive, they really just try to brush it aside and frankly, I'm sick of having to teach myself and have glorified teachers or should I say babysitters present during lessons in which we should actually be learning.
I really want to do well and make the most of my final year, as I presume most do and this just makes it a whole lot harder and no one wants to know about it, teachers will say 'ohh don't worry it'll be fine there's heaps of time till the HSC, relax, go home, take a nap, you're worrying about nothing'. Then they patronise you even more by patting you on the shoulder and smile at you.
I'm sick of the whole sugar coating. Seriously, our school should start a Bakery.
On Monday, the whole 30 something eco students and the other students are going higher up, it' just not fair.
I know sickness is unavoidable and I feel bad for the teacher. But the school should have different procedures in place for issues like this.
My philosophy is - you go to school to learn via a process called teaching by a person called a teacher!
Any suggestions would be much appreciated!
At our school we are having some pretty big problems with teachers being away continually and/or canceling extension lessons without any notice.
The main problem is with one particular teacher who, while being a great teacher is constantly away, due to a recurring illness. I have him for Modern History and Extension History, while other year 12's have him for Economics.
In year 11, he was away for basically part of Term 1 and all of Term 2 and 3. While he was away all of his classes were replaced with random substitutes, all of whom had no qualifications in the particular subjects. Rather, they would just sit there eating and/or sleeping and occasionally, engage in chit-chat with students. One teacher actually used to bring a Tupperware container filled with nutrigrain and a plastic drink bottle filled with a protein shake. he just sat there all lesson eating and drinking and talking about how he was supposedly a bodyguard for Olivia Newton John.
While this was happening, nearly if not all, students made several complaints to the replacement coordinator, as well as the Studies Coordinator and they basically just sugar coated the whole situation and told us that everything would be fine and that he would be back. Each day it was like, no he'll be back next lesson, no next lesson.
Then in Term 3 of last year we got a supposedly experienced teacher to replace him and instead of teaching us the Preliminary Course on on Indochina he taught us the HSC Course - in a fashion that is. Then when the Preliminary Exam came around he panicked and realised he was teaching the wrong stuff for us once i asked him for the syllabus. When i asked for the syllabus during a library lesson, he was like 'ohh there's a syllabus?". He then googled syllabus on his laptop and was like wow the Board of Studies website and was like I should go on here more often. Ohh and this teacher has been teaching for at a guess over ten years.
Anyway the sick teacher for Modern/Ext. Hist/Eco who is also the HSIE Co-odinator came back for Year 12. But now he is starting to go off sick again and everyone is really worried and the school, just keeps saying its under control etc.
But its not under control. For Modern, we haven't really even started Russia and the Soviet Union or our personality - Trotsky. The Economics class is not even half way through the course content and people are getting marks of like 8%. In extension history, the class dropped from 7 to 4 students straight after the half yearly and we are not even half way through the content for it either.
And to top that off, we have a Modern Assignment due in less than two weeks on Collectivisation and Industrialisation, which no one really knows anything about, except from their own reading because we have done next to nothing on Russia.
Currently, I do 12 units and I'm ranked first in all bar Modern which I'm second in. So I could drop say Modern, but then that means extension history will count and well there's still the no teacher issue.
So really I'm in a catch 22 and when I or other students approach the School Executive, they really just try to brush it aside and frankly, I'm sick of having to teach myself and have glorified teachers or should I say babysitters present during lessons in which we should actually be learning.
I really want to do well and make the most of my final year, as I presume most do and this just makes it a whole lot harder and no one wants to know about it, teachers will say 'ohh don't worry it'll be fine there's heaps of time till the HSC, relax, go home, take a nap, you're worrying about nothing'. Then they patronise you even more by patting you on the shoulder and smile at you.
I'm sick of the whole sugar coating. Seriously, our school should start a Bakery.
On Monday, the whole 30 something eco students and the other students are going higher up, it' just not fair.
I know sickness is unavoidable and I feel bad for the teacher. But the school should have different procedures in place for issues like this.
My philosophy is - you go to school to learn via a process called teaching by a person called a teacher!
Any suggestions would be much appreciated!
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