Teachers strike SA

[Black Orchid]

SA teachers strike over inadequate pay offer as they deal with ‘complexity in classrooms and more students with difficulties and disabilities.

A “woefully inadequate” funding offer to help schools cope with students needing special support is the equivalent of one extra teacher for every four schools, the Australian Education Union says.

Thousands of teachers have walked off the job, forcing the closure of 258 public schools and preschools, with the union citing growing classroom “complexity” as one of the reasons.

The rest is paywalled for me ... https://thewest.com.au/news/sa/sa-teach ... 46ab46a235

I am with the teachers on this one. Too many people expect teachers to do the job of the parent and too many parents want to force their children with learning disabilities, special needs and behavioural problems into main stream classes.

Before political correctness and the minority oppression olympics kids with special needs were grouped together. They were catered to and taught at their own pace and did not interrupt the flow of the classroom. Now bright students are left to their own devices because teachers have to spend more time with those with special needs and the middle of the road kids just get left behind.

It's not fair on the bright kids, it's not fair on the middle of the road kids, it's not fair on the ones with learning difficulties and it's certainly not fair on the teachers.

If I had a special needs child I would not be forcing them into mainstream classrooms just to cater to the illusion of normality.

[Texan]

Growing up in the 70s, we were grouped according to our ability and taught at the fastest pace we could handle. We weren’t locked into a group and could move up or down. The special needs kids had their class and it worked. I’m not sure what they are doing now, but it’s not working like it used to.

[Black Orchid]

That's how it used to work here as well and was for the good of all of the kids. Now schools are pressured by parents into putting special needs kids into the main stream classes and teachers are just supposed to handle it, which obviously they cannot.

Meanwhile our education ranking is going down down down.

[brian ross]

Special needs kids' parents are not "forcing their kids anywhere," Black Orchid. It is the Education Department that has decided it is cheaper to have special needs kids in mainstream classes. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Being the parent of a special needs kid makes one well aware of what is going on in the background at schools.

My youngest went to a school with a specialist stream for special needs kids run by a very able, senior teacher. He was lucky. Just as he was finishing high school, a similar school nearby was shut down and the students moved to another mainsteam school where they were treated like pariahs. They were kept in their own special building and only allowed to play in their own special playground. They were of course preyed upon by little shits of so-called "normal" kids in the mainstream population of the school and got second best teaching. How do I know that? My two other kids went to that school and while they had left were still friendly with kids there. They reported that a shit school with extreme bullying had become even worse.

So, please don't try and claim that parents are forcing anything on the schools, Black Orchid. Your ignorance is showing (yet again).

[Valkie]

If teachers did more than 5 hours a day,
4 days a week
With 16 weeks a year on holidays
And actually taught kids reading , writing and math

I might have some sympathy
But they are, by far, the most useless group of individuals on earth
How many genders are there....they can tell you and explain why.

Ask them to calculate basic beam deflection, or even calculate a basic trig problem, and they are stuffed.
Instead of teaching kids to read, they dissect books based on their own misinterpretation of the authors motives and I'm yet to meet a kid these days that can string two words together in a legible manner.

Teachers are undereducated, have far too high an opinion of themselves and get paid too much for the hours they actually "WORK?"

[billy the kid]

Nothing changes...some teachers do a good job...others don't...its been a raffle for decades...
With the way kids are growing up these days I wouldn't be a teacher for quids…...

[Nicole]

SA teachers strike over inadequate pay offer as they deal with ‘complexity in classrooms and more students with difficulties and disabilities.

A “woefully inadequate” funding offer to help schools cope with students needing special support is the equivalent of one extra teacher for every four schools, the Australian Education Union says.

Thousands of teachers have walked off the job, forcing the closure of 258 public schools and preschools, with the union citing growing classroom “complexity” as one of the reasons.

The rest is paywalled for me ... https://thewest.com.au/news/sa/sa-teach ... 46ab46a235

I am with the teachers on this one. Too many people expect teachers to do the job of the parent and too many parents want to force their children with learning disabilities, special needs and behavioural problems into main stream classes.

Before political correctness and the minority oppression olympics kids with special needs were grouped together. They were catered to and taught at their own pace and did not interrupt the flow of the classroom. Now bright students are left to their own devices because teachers have to spend more time with those with special needs and the middle of the road kids just get left behind.

It's not fair on the bright kids, it's not fair on the middle of the road kids, it's not fair on the ones with learning difficulties and it's certainly not fair on the teachers.

If I had a special needs child I would not be forcing them into mainstream classrooms just to cater to the illusion of normality.

Yet another good argument for private schooling.

[Neferti]

Are we talking about Primary or Secondary Schools?

Back in the "old days", kids who couldn't keep up got "held back" (repeated the year), those who were smart got "put up" into the next level. In Primary School it was up to the Teacher (I think) in Secondary School it was because of EXAM results.

I am not sure what people mean by "special needs" ... is that something to do with Autistic kids? They can be extremely difficult and should perhaps be in a Special School, shouldn't they, where the Teachers are trained to educate "special needs" kids? Not stuck in a class with "ordinary" children, where the Teacher is concentrating on teaching those who want to learn and not those with "behaviour" problems?

Doesn't the School organise "special classes" for kids with those special needs? Aren't there Special Schools for kids who need them?

Sorry, I don't mean to be offensive .... just curious.

[brian ross]

Autism is a vast spectrum, Neferti. Kids who are Autistic can range from the quiet kid in the corner through the full on kid who has difficulties coping with loud noises, bright lights, etc. They should all be judged as individuals. Most are fine in mainstream classrooms, a minority can't cope. Some can be violent, some can be abusive. Most get "baited" by evil little kids who believe doing that is fun. I have no sympathy with such children. They have obviously been raised wrong by parents who are insensitive and uncaring.

My own youngest is Autistic and he managed to cope just fine with mainstream schools when the teachers took an interest in him and actually worked to teach him. He had a real hard time when we first moved to Perth. The Primary School wasn't interested in helping him. However, when he moved to a High School with a proper programme designed to cope with such kids he excelled. He learnt early on to ignore the baiters and the bullies. He was a big kid and I took him along to a special needs Karate class. He learnt how to protect himself and the other kids left him alone when he demonstrated that he could look after himself.

[Wally Raffles]

If teachers did more than 5 hours a day,
4 days a week
With 16 weeks a year on holidays
And actually taught kids reading , writing and math

I might have some sympathy as well.