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Re: [LUG] Computing in Schools..

 

On Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:02:15 +0000
paul sutton wrote:

> On 11/01/12 10:30, Grant Phillips-Sewell wrote:
> > On Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:02:27 +0000
> > paul sutton wrote:
> >
> >> On 11/01/12 09:48, Grant Phillips-Sewell wrote:
> >>> On Wed, 11 Jan 2012 09:09:55 +0000 (GMT)
> >>> Gordon Henderson wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> Perhaps there is hope after all:
> >>>>
> >>>> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-16493929
> >>>>
> >>>> Gordon
> >>> It's a good start, but I can't see it coming to fruition easily or
> >>> soon. In my experience, I(C)T in schools is almost always 'taught'
> >>> by non-specialists - there are exceptions to the rule, but that's
> >>> always the case with broad generalisations - and as such there is
> >>> unlikely to be a body of I(C)T teachers in schools that are
> >>> willing or capable of teaching the 'new' curriculum.
> >>>
> >>> Getting IT specialists in to teach the subject would be the best
> >>> option, but that is not going to be an easy task. I, for one,
> >>> would be quite happy to go and teach IT in secondary schools, but
> >>> it would mean an absolutely massive drop in salary... and that's
> >>> from someone who is qualified to teach (I have a PGCE, but in
> >>> "post compulsory education and training")! To start out in a
> >>> secondary school, I believe we're talking about a salary of
> >>> something in the region of £17k or £18k... not bad to start with,
> >>> but for many in IT that would represent a huge drop.
> >>>
> >>> So where are we going to get these new IT teachers from? Those at
> >>> Uni studying IT courses will most likely not know of this proposed
> >>> change, and their experience of IT at school will probably put
> >>> them off going in to teach it anyway and those in the IT industry
> >>> are likely to be put off entering the teaching market by the
> >>> potentially significant drop in salary.
> >>>
> >>> Grant.
> >>>
> >> Surely to teach programming it would really help to have people
> >> teaching who have real world programming experience, so rather
> >> than graduates from Uni we have graduate --> industry --> teaching
> >> that way you are bringing knolwedge and experience to the post.
> >>
> >> It is like me with rugby, I could easily undertake a level 1
> >> coaching course, having never played all i would do is teach what
> >> was on the course where as someone who has played can bring a
> >> different level of experience to that coaching. I am just
> >> sticking with tag.
> >>
> >> I guess its like giving a lesson on Life in china, having never
> >> lived there, or been to the country, where as if you bring in
> >> someone from that country to give a talk in a lesson you bring a
> >> new dynamic edge to the lesson, with resources etc
> >>
> >> Lets see what happens, but yeah, why go into teaching when you can
> >> earn far more in industry ( what did kevin post as a salary £25 an
> >> hour).
> >>
> >> Paul
> > Although an hourly rate doesn't usually convert well into a salary,
> > £25/hr in Education would mean this:
> >
> > Let's take an almost "worst case scenario" for a full-time teacher
> > (based on my experience):
> > 25 hours per week "contact time".
> > 12.5 hours per week "other duties".
> > 10 weeks "holidays" (let's say unpaid as this is a worst-case
> > scenario (6 weeks for summer, 2 for Winter, 2 for Spring)).
> > 20% taken off for taxes and other stuff.
> >
> > £25 * 37.5 * 42 * 0.8 = £31,500 take home salary. A bit different to
> > the average starting salary of £17k (take home of ~£13.6k).
> >
> > Grant.
> >
> What i was saying was that, why work for what teachers earn when if
> what kevin posted was typical people can earn far more in real
> programming jobs, getting people who can do this into teaching may be
> easier said than done. If we are to attract the best then we need
> to pay better wages

Agreed, that's kinda what I was getting at too.

Grant.

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