An open letter to Michael Gove

This is an excellent piece by a teacher trying to explain to Michael Gove just how hard teachers work, after Gove has threatened to lengthen the school day and make school holidays shorter. Teachers have been attacked by successive administrations since Thatcher got in in 1979. They’re an easy target. Everyone remembers the poor or vicious teachers they had when they were at school, and there are any number of loudmouths who believe that anybody can teach, ’cause all you have to do is stand in front of a blackboard and talk. Or something like that. My first college was an Anglican teacher training institution, and three quarters of the students there were training to be teachers. From my own experience of talking and studying with them, I know that most are conscientious and work extremely hard, often in demanding and sometimes dangerous circumstances. I’ve met one young woman, who was sexually assaulted by one of her pupils. Others were threatened with violence by irate parents. Despite claims by successive administrations, including New Labour, that they support teachers and are trying to reform the profession, teachers have become demoralised by the lack of any real sympathy and support from government. The Uphill Struggle here has attempted to set the record straight, and accurately described just how hard teachers like her work.

Tags: Conservative, Margaret Thatcher, Michael Gove, New Labour, Schools, Teacher Training, Teachers, The Uphill Struggle