#YEAR10PROBLEMS

Supply Teachers

This week’s column is something I have been hesitant to talk about for the past seven editions as I always felt bad ranting about any kind of teachers (on a whole, anyway). But I have reached breaking point and had enough of supply teachers.

I expect, when I walk into my lesson, that my teacher will be there, ready for the hour that is to follow. But, I’ve found that there are more foreign faces greeting me at the door – that is whenever they actually turn up on time, of course. So the supply teacher is there, usually looking more confused than me trying to do algebra, with a wad of paper and asks us ‘is this W02?’ Well, yes it is – well done! They come in and get us to sit down, but there is unnecessary talking, shouting and moving of seating arrangements that take up the first ten minutes of the lesson before the teacher decides to sit themselves down and find out where our books are. They eventually tame us wild beasts and we are quiet – this is after they’ve summoned the head of the subject and threatened to put comments in our planners.

It is a complete joke. Half of the time, they get the work wrong and we’re copying things down in our books that we did last lesson, or we’re getting homework that should be 6,000 pages long that our teacher didn’t even set and, when our teacher decides to turn up to the next lesson, we waste that hour trying to clarify what exactly we were supposed to go through with Mr or Mrs Supply.

Of course I understand that my teachers can’t be in for every lesson; but when I’m doing my GCSEs, it might be slightly beneficial if I could actually have a teacher who has a degree in the subject I’m being taught. Just a thought…

See you next week.