I’ll pass on teachers who fail our kids
All teachers should be inspirational – but when I was asked this week if I could remember any from my school days, I couldn’t.
For me, inspiration is when you’re touched by a person’s passion or skill and want to be just like them.
My school was decent and my teachers were nice, but I wouldn’t describe them as inspiring.
Education is very dear to my heart. One of the reasons my immigrant parents stayed in the UK was so my siblings and I could have a decent education.
Now, as a parent, I am more passionate about it than ever. I am very lucky that my two kids go to excellent schools, where there are brilliant teachers.
They are the ones who – despite the system, the pay, the kids, the parents and now Covid – do the job for the love of teaching. They are the ones who add value to a child’s life, the ones who go beyond the call of duty.
Not all parents are as fortunate as I am. Some have experienced teachers who are lazy, use the profession to suit their lifestyles and let kids and parents down.
But when I voiced this opinion publicly, I was attacked.
“Have you ever stepped in the shoes of a teacher?” they asked. “You are disgusting.”
“What do you know about the education system? We are overworked and underpaid.” So I am making a stand for every parent who has been affected by poor teaching but was scared to say anything in case there were repercussions for their child.
And I am making a stand for everybody in the education system who has been bullied or even sacked for going against the way things are done in school.
For every teacher who attacked me, there were many more parents writing to tell me about teachers who let down their kids.
One failed a child with learning difficulties. One was racist, totally ignorant of cultural needs and insensitive to religious ones. One couldn’t even do a lesson plan.
Teachers sent me examples of colleagues who did the minimum, refused to adapt to new ways of teaching and hid behind a system that let them hide. And I heard from pupils whose teachers could not control the class and made them feel useless.
I am not the first to talk about poor teachers.
Pauline Wood, a headteacher in Sunderland, was su s - pended for saying some teachers did nothing during lockdown.
Teachers have it particularly tough at the moment, with constantly changing rules and advice from the Government about how to handle the return to school after lockdown.
But that’s no excuse for failing to improve parts that are broken.
Parents should never feel frightened to speak up. Our kids’ future depends on it.
One was racist... one couldn’t do a lesson plan
Congratulations to my friend Ranvir Singh, the Good Morning Britain presenter who has been signed up for the latest series of Strictly Come Dancing. I’m really looking forward to seeing her bring a bit of Bollywood glamour to the dancefloor. One thing I will say about Ranvir is she’s a real brainbox – and she could show us alI how to quickstep out of any political situation.