Sunday, March 18, 2007
Nil by teachersWhat do ‘Primary Teachers’ (funded by the DfES), the General Teaching Council’s magazine and the union journals all have in common? Apart from being glossy all colour productions with snazzy design and catchy headlines, there’s virtually nothing in them from… teachers. Professional journalists write everything.
‘Primary Teachers’ contains 36 pages, as a concession the last two pages are given over to classroom resources, classroom capers, answers please and ‘I’m a teacher and a…’ (don’t answer that).
I’m not suggesting that it should be filled with articles by teachers moaning, but a certain sense of reality would help. Also why not try to inspire us?
‘Primary Teachers’ really is the ‘Truman Show’ of magazines, we all live in this permanently sunny, smiley world where happy and contented teachers work in bright, freshly painted schools with manicured lawns and white picket fences. Naturally they didn’t want to disturb the inhabitants by commenting on the Unicef report (most miserable children).
How could I sum up ‘Primary Teachers’ in three words? Trite, insubstantial and patronising.
Labels: Work
