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In Scotland, it is already possible to be 'struck off' for bringing the profession into disrepute, but this is not buit into the legislation in the way that is being proposed by the GTCE. We appear to have a system built on good sense that allows us to be ourselves when we leave the school gates behind without fear of having our private lives judged by our professional body… who, unlike England; are elected.
I know that if I was in your position I'd be looking at he £50 to register to teach in Scotland as money well spent...
In the states the fees are nothing new. We have to pay to renew our certificate every so many years. Each state doesn't always recognize the other states certification process so moving can prove costly in terms of time and money to reach the needed credentials.
The code seems rather benign. The ambiguity of much of it can cut both ways. If it's hard to legislate then it is probably harder to enforce. Most of it seems aimed at preventing teachers from teaching one year twenty five times. The focus seems to be on constant teacher improvement and being student focused.
How collaborative was the process that created this code?
I think the code will actually be used by Headteachers to constructively dismiss staff. I've got nothing to hide or be ashamed of in my private life, but I shouldn't have to be looking over my shoulder every time I go to the pub, should I?
It's just plain wrong.
They've put the document out for 'consultation' until February, but that's just to save face. Unless there's a massive protest (including strikes) by the trade unions, it will just be introduced for next academic year.
I feel almost as strongly about this as I do about proposed ID cards >:-(
Now the busy bodies who fancied a bit of power on the board of the GTC have decided we need a code of conduct! I guess they need to do something to spend all those £33's on, apart from a database of teachers full of holes.
It wasn't until I was 50 that I started reading and thinking about freedom, what it really means, and what kind of society and economic environment helps maintain it, and what kind of philosophy or principles form its basis. I wish I had done that much earlier in life. Good luck in your battle. I think you probably realize that this is just one battle in a much larger war.
...texting or writing personally to them or filming or photographing them without their permission or that of their parents.
What next? As someone pointed out on Twitter ... will doctors be disciplined for smoking or drinking because this sets a "bad example"?
What exactly is wrong with the current regulations? On what basis is it felt necessary to extend them?
I agree with you that this is a minefield. There have been several recent incidents here in the states where teachers have been dismissed or put on administrative leave because of "inappropriate" postings in such sites as Facebook. While I agree that to some extent I am supposed to be a positive role model, I am also a private citizen and should not have to feel like I'm being watched all the time.
I don't have time to read the entire GTC Code right now, but certainly plan to later. The first paragraph of the Draft reads "Teaching is an important and responsible profession, whose members can have a profound and lasting influence on the development and life chances of the children and young people with whom they work."
What if we substitute "parenting" for "teaching"? Will parents be expected to sign and adhere to a similar code?
http://www.dougbelshaw.com/2008/06/17/censorshi...
First the GTC, then the RAE. Birds of a feather? "British academics and those working in similar institutions were once famed for their resistance to management, and the resultant harvest of unpredicted discoveries was prodigious.
Now apparently, it has been decided that freedom is too costly a commodity to be distributed widely. Researchers nowadays must persuade their peers in advance that their work will meet the needs of “users and beneficiaries” before it will be supported. Most applications fail. When they do get support, they must overcome other hurdles before their peers will allow publication of the results. "
(from the THE http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode;=404793&c;=1
There are those inclined to liberty — freedom of the individual to live his or her life in any peaceful way. And there are those who are inclined to mastery — permitting others to live their lives only as another sees fit.
There is a massive historical infrastructure behind the idea that all social interactions are based on either force or free will, dating even to the ancient world. But it is a lesson that is still unlearned — or rather, it is casually denied by people who recommend what they call humane social policies. Surely the rich should give to the poor. Surely luxury must relent in the face of necessity. Surely those who start life with a boost from wealth or social position should assist those who have neither.
One can multiply these claims without limit, all with an eye to fairness, equality, safety, security, humanitarianism, and so on. There are many things to say about each claim — for example, that the political means to achieve them often yield the opposite effect. But one point avoided by those who recommend such ideas is that every "humanitarian" policy put into effect makes society more violent.
They deny this, of course, but violence is intrinsic to their chosen means. They must pass laws enforced by bureaucrats who are empowered to force people to do things they wouldn't do voluntarily, and to take property from those to whom it belongs and give it to those who didn't earn it. This requires violence and the threat of violence, since every edict of the state is ultimately enforced by this means and no other. These impulses increase the role of the master-slave relationship in society and diminish the extent to which society is made up of people involved in voluntary pursuits. Society under the control of the redistributionist mindset will be a police state."
Merry Christmas! :-)
Just because you've got a group of 'experts' together doesn't mean that you're any nearer to intangible concepts such as 'truth'. In fact, as accepted computer-generated articles submitted to journals and the Encyclopaedia Britannica vs. Wikipedia debate show, the opposite can be true...