Teaching Standards

As everyone knows, teachers are some of the most moaning-faced people on the planet.

Now some of my friends are teachers, but sometimes you've just got to tell the honest truth - which is that teachers, or some of them at least complain all the time - about the workload, about the stress of their jobs, about being independently inspected - though, to be fair, I've never heard them complain about their long holidays.

But I read a worrying story in the paper the other day about the nasty names some teachers have been calling Sir Michael Wilshaw (67) - who is the chief inspector of Ofsted, the independent inspection body that oversees standards of teaching in schools in England and Wales.

So upset is Sir Michael about some of the rude things that are being said about him - just for doing his job - that he's thinking of stepping down before his full five-year contract is up.

Now Sir Michael, before going to Ofsted, was a head teacher of 25 years standing - in the tough teaching environment of inner London schools, but this still makes him the target of quite hateful criticism from some members of his fellow profession.

Apparently, over Easter, Sir Michael was the subject of repeated attacks at the National Union of Teachers conference - which voted to boycott school inspections and even called for Ofsted and its independent inspection regime to be scrapped.

The Times newspaper reported that some of the speakers at the NUT conference in Liverpool called Sir Michael a “poisonous spider”, “Dementor” (an evil creature from Harry Potter) , an “odious creature” and “Gove enforcer”

With other NUT delegates comparing Ofsted to the Spanish Inquisition and Big Brother - which makes me wonder if these people have 'all their oars in the water', so to speak.

Now I'm sure I've heard teaching unions of late complaining about incidents of completely disrespectful behaviour towards teachers in their classrooms - which they say is unacceptable and tantamount to bullying.

And you know what, I agree - and I would also agree that school students who behave in this way need to be dealt with, harshly if needs be.

But what message does it send to school students - for teachers and NUT delegates to use such foul and abusive language at their conference - and to compare an independent inspection regime to the Spanish Inquisition.

I certainly would want one of these clowns to be teaching my children - so I think it's high time these teachers were put on the spot and asked to justify their ridiculous behaviour.

Because I'll bet if a student spoke to them like that in a classroom - they'd be off complaining to their head teacher and their trade union, quite possibly the NUT!

So, my message to Sir Michael is - 'Stay put. The classroom jungle needs you - yet it's some of the teachers who need a good boot up the backside, not the students'.