Uneducated teachers

[AmyH]

I spent many months sitting in a hospital as my son was ill (premature) and observed all the work that the nurses were doing while taking care of my son and the other children in their care. I would not consider myself to be a nurse nor would I apply for a job as one.
I think I would make a great nurse and I believe that many patients miss out on my many skills and superior bedside manner but I fear that due lack of qualifications in this field I may kill a patient.
I am sure you consider yourself to be a great teacher but the big reasoning in why you should attain teaching qualifications is because "we don't know what we don't know".

 

[AmyH]

as a side note: On the basis that people are allowed to teach with no formal teaching qualifications, why is it that hong kong government forbid home schooling?

 

[TheQuasimother]

A doctor isn't allowed to be a doctor without proper credentials. Neither is a nurse, engineer, accountant etc.
A teacher is more than a warm English body.

I'm a fully trained an accredited teacher across 3 countries and it's bloody insulting to see 'teachers' walking around untrained and think they are better teachers because they THINK they are good at it. There is more to teaching than the warm and fuzzy feeling or making a child happy. Pedagogy, Methodology, Assessment (for learning, of learning), etc. are very important tools of the trade and people who think they can go into the class and get it right are just so darn wrong. No decent school would hire a teacher who isn't trained. How would you know what to write in for the curriculum development of a child. How would you know how to stretch a student? How would you know how to manage the development of a child. It's more than going into the classroom to create a warm and fuzzy feeling. It's more than ABCs or learning basic English. I would NEVER place my child in any situation where FORMAL school and curriculum management is concerned into a school with untrained teachers. Or even a school that doesn't invest in continuous professional development. Ask the principal of your school if s/he'd place his/her child in a school with an untrained teacher... the answer would probably is NOT!

Granted that there are good teachers who aren't certified. There are also a lot of lemons out there in the teaching profession. But when these folks go get their proper certification and seek continual professional development, they usually end up realising how they've gotten it wrong - that anyone can be a teacher - Just stick a person in the classroom and get on the job experience. I'm sure I'll be a great doctor that way too. Get me into a clinic now for on the job training! In X no. years, I can tell a trained doctor that I'm a doctor too as most doctors and nurses learn on the job too!

The QM
Accredited teacher
B.A. (Hons), PGDE, MEd, MAppLing
And continuously fulfills HOURS of professional development each year from local and international institutions/conferences just so that I can be better at my job!

 

[geocup]

I fully agree with you QM (your credentials are similar to mine)! I feel that many schools try to save money by employing clowns who have no regard for a child's educational development. Some schools really like to employ clowns as the children like this, however, there is really no learning taking place in their classrooms- just fun and games.

 

[hf23]

Wow. You guys are very passionate. I totally agree with you "The QM". I feel like teaching children is my calling There is much more to teaching than standing in front of the classroom and just what happens in the classroom.

In Australia, we have similar procedures to what cupcakes, AmyH and Bumps have described. ANYONE who could potentially come into contact with children must have a background check done on them, this is to minimise the risk of something awful happening to the children on school premises. In an ideal world, we wouldn't have to carry out such routines and everyone would have a "heart of gold" but this is not the case. When the media report child abuse that occurs in a school setting, it is sickening. A school should be safe environment for children to play and learn. Unfortunately, we have to be pro-active about protecting out children even when it comes to the cost of a poor young male teacher not even being able to give a child a hug after they've taken a tumble in the playground for fear of "how it looks".

 

[cchan88]

Just wondering as a working parent, how exactly do you know if your child's teacher has gotten the qualification to teach or not? Most schools here don't exactly list out all the employed teacher's CV and qualification.

 

[geocup]

Just ask the teacher. No big deal for teachers to be asked. If they are qualified they are more than happy to answer you.

 

[TheQuasimother]

Hf23

Yes. I was told the most valuable piece of paper in NSW is my security clearance! I hold it dearly. But HK is getting up to speed with it. New foreign teachers employed by EDB, HK are now required to get a CNCC - Certificate of No Criminal Conviction.

Cupcakes
And the thing is, even with the number of years experience and continual PD, I still don't think I know enough. There is always something I need to train for e.g. I'm on the quest of either Sp. Ed in Literacy Recovery & Gifted Ed or going on to a PHD to do field research on an area of interest. So I don't understand how teachers who aren't qualified can get mighty about their abilities.

The worst I have encountered so far has been to hire unqualified foreigners with no teaching experience to teach local teachers how to teach???!!! I mean, that would mean adults who were educated yonks ago with methodologies that may be outdated! E.g. Implementing English taught in a First Language setting directly into an ESL setting without thought! How crazy is that! They don't do that even where I'm from - Australia, not at in the schools I have encountered! Or recently, finding out a certain education centre hiring a high school graduate (white of course) to write the writing curriculum for enhancement lessons of international/local ESL students!

I'm a high school teacher and while my son is in Kindie, I've never once admitted to his teacher that I know how to teach him. At every parent teacher meeting, I always ask how I can support his learning. There are the common sense things we do as parents/home educators but his kindie teacher always gives me a better idea of what I need to do to enhance his development as part of directed fun play/learning.

Schools are no place for unqualified educators who THINK they can. It's not like afterschool care/enhancement. Learning is a long term journey that requires thought and deliberate planning. Only teachers who know their pedagogy can do that. Good teachers don't have short term visions. Good teachers plan for a child's long term development. It's more than a song and a dance in the long run. After a year in K1, you can tell when your child's been developed by a teacher or someone who thinks they're a teacher. I've experienced this first hand from two different schools (where my son's been educated). TEACHER EDUCATION makes a difference.

 

[AmyH]

mommybee you could always e-mail the principal and ask the question? Surely you would have a right to know that someody who is a major part of you childs education and development has the necessary skills and qualifications to do the job? I know that with my son (I am a SAHM) I had many conversations with my son's teacher before school every day and we discussed her career (involved teaching in UK in a school). I cannot say the same for all of the teachers in that school but I do know that my son's teacher was qualified to teach.

 

[TheQuasimother]

Mommybee, most schools divulge this. If it's a local school, they have to account for their teachers' qualifications to the EDB. So if you ask, they'd be able to tell you. If it's a reputable international school, they'd post it on their website. I know what qualifications my son's kindie teacher has and how much experience she has.