I think Judith has summed up the problems extremely well, especially
regarding managers and the quality of CPD on offer.
It's also worth mentioning that if two people teach 12 hours per week but
one teaches just one class for those 12 hours and another teaches three
4-hour classes, the second has a much bigger job: three times as much
paperwork and planning, especially if the three classes are at different
levels. (And if the three are all mixed-level classes, believe me, there is
very little time for anything else in life but paperwork and prep.) Now if
we double that--the only person I know who managed to teach six 4-hour
classes per week was young and single, and he only managed that for one
year.
Lorna's point about the message all this conveys-- 'You are not really good
enough'--is also very pertinent. Many of us are simply not treated or paid
as professionals, so it's hardly surprising if there is resistance to
further demands on time and energy. Add in lost pay (or needing to give up
holiday time to make up missed classes--not popular with students, either)
and no recognition and no opportunity for advancement, and the result is not
going to be a good take-up of qualification training or CPD.
Like many teachers, I love learning as much as teaching. I'd say I'm being
denied the opportunity.
Cheryl Thornett
ESOL tutor
Birmingham Adult Education
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