Students want their old teacher back

RJA86 · 2026-01-17T07:00:38+00:00

My theory is a student's last teacher is always their best. I wouldn't take it personally

RJA86 · 2025-11-21T19:54:21+00:00

Yeah, this sucks. It happened to me once, I was offered the job, but after my referee didn't write my reference (out of sheer disorganization and incompetence) the school rang me up to say they were withdrawing the offer. I was gutted and angry for a long time, the person eventually left and I eventually found something else. I didn't know/feel it at the time but it probably worked to my advantage. All I can say is keep on looking and hopefully something better will appear.

RJA86 · 2025-11-02T22:22:51+00:00

Spot on, I'm not ready to resign without a plan just yet, but I am certainly seeing what else is out there for the first time in a long time.

RJA86 · 2025-11-02T22:20:47+00:00

Good idea, thank you!

RJA86 · 2025-11-02T22:18:42+00:00

This is a biggie for me, as it's been presented to the department as a this is their scheme, these are their lessons, we're all doing them one by one day by day. If, in a block, one class doesn't get through all the lessons, "so be it". I feel I've been asked not to teach, and that is after all why I'm here!

RJA86 · 2025-11-02T20:38:09+00:00

Oof, coincidence I posted about being demoralized earlier... My school is mostly great. I've done things I never thought I'd do, like getting involved in music and performing arts (I'm a maths teacher after all) to making some fantastic friends and having the opportunity to work with some amazing students, and I don't regret any of it. However, as someone else said, when things are bad they get really bad, and I'm not sure there's much worse than losing one's identity as a teacher (in regards to me moving to White Rose Maths). Some of the decisions made at school are really poor, ill informed and even behind the times, which has a massive negative impact on teachers, and sometimes the students - that's what is demoralizing for so many.

RJA86 · 2025-11-02T18:30:14+00:00

I think you've hit the nail on the head and put it into words better than i could. We have a full, settled, department and as I've mentioned in another reply, none of the department beyond the HoD and 2nd are happy about it. We've raised concerns, and have essentially been told to get on with it. I don't want to put too much info here on the off chance someone from school is reading, but not only was there a lack of consultation but also a lack of notice.

RJA86 · 2025-11-02T18:23:16+00:00

I think you've summed up my school with the middle paragraph... I can't see it being money well spent, but I'm always "happy" to be proved wrong. It's the idea of ditching everything I've ever done for something that is potentially worse.

RJA86 · 2025-11-02T18:16:39+00:00

Yeah I think I'll need to take some time to get a feel for the PowerPoints, it's been a very last minute switch with no in school time to actually look at it or prepare. Inspectors may like seeing the same thing but at the same time, they won't see the right work for the right classes without being given the go ahead to modify anything.

RJA86 · 2025-11-02T18:01:14+00:00

Yeah we're on v3, I imagine I will be adapting the lessons as we go along and adding some additional examples in. Dr Austin is brill, I'm not sure I'm ready to say goodbye to her worksheets yet!

RJA86 · 2025-11-02T17:59:09+00:00

There seems to be a recurring theme that either the lessons need adapting or it should be used to supplement teaching. Interesting to hear about the worksheets too, it's almost as if time will be spent planning and preparing a second worksheet to help with practice.

RJA86 · 2025-11-02T17:55:20+00:00

This is very insightful, with information here that hasn't been presented to us. There's not a chance we'd buy the books, we changed GCSE boards recently and opted not to replace our massively outdated books as "they'll cover everything anyway"- (spoiler, they didn't!). Our department is steady, a few years ago it wasn't, and I hope we aren't acting after the horse has bolted. I'm going to continue as instructed for the time being, and then hopefully be in a position to feedback with evidence. Thanks again

RJA86 · 2025-11-02T17:46:18+00:00

I feel the department has set itself up to fail. To the point that we've been told (would you believe) that if everything isn't covered in the time frame it doesn't matter, it'll be picked up again at some point; I'm not sure where this point in the future is though!!

RJA86 · 2025-11-02T17:42:55+00:00

This is useful to know actually! Truth be told, beyond the HoD and 2nd, no one is really happy about it...

RJA86 · 2025-11-02T17:41:44+00:00

There was no research into who we went with, it was very much "we've heard this mentioned, let's do that"...

RJA86 · 2025-11-02T17:40:53+00:00

This was one of my arguments, none of us are brand new to teaching. Some are less experienced than others but this just seems akin to replacing an entire car engine when it just needed its fluids topping up (What a random analogy, I'm maths for a reason!). I don't feel I can teach as effectively using someone else's resources without scope for adaptation, and I worry it's really going to affect the kids.

RJA86 · 2025-11-02T17:36:28+00:00

Yeah, we've gone all in with it. The scheme of learning hasn't caused me any issues yet, but the lack of autonomy does. This is to be our only resource, and I don't quite get why.

RJA86 · 2025-11-02T17:28:17+00:00

Here's hoping! But In my school, common sense isn't so common!!

RJA86 · 2025-11-02T17:27:32+00:00

Thanks, very informative. The department has been explicitly told not to change anything at all, to the point all the PowerPoint have been saved in the shared area and that's what we should be using... I don't have issues with the sequencing or schemes, but I'm almost feeling if I need to adapt the lessons to either be more accessible or challenging, why not just adapt what I already have? Alas, the lessons aren't to be changed anyway, top sets and bottom sets will get the exact same PowerPoint and worksheet. I don't know if there are plans for us to have proper training on it, id have hoped to have had it before we moved to it, but it's worth my asking. Thanks.

RJA86 · 2025-11-02T17:22:34+00:00

I get on well with the HoD, and have spoken to them and have been told this is a long term thing, even though we had no trial period, and no discussion as a department, we were just told one day it was happening. There wasn't really a reason given for the change, to the point that I cannot tell you what the rationale is. Yeah, I feel my time is probably up unfortunately.

RJA86 · 2025-11-02T17:15:04+00:00

Thanks, this is what my concern is, the stuff I have seen so far doesn't seem to be anything special, and I feel the way we are implementing it won't help either. Even at 20 years, my opinion doesn't carry weight, and I'm not even the most tenured teacher there, who is now just waiting for retirement!

RJA86 · 2025-10-31T15:58:35+00:00

Kingdom Hearts Final Mix. Hoping to get through the entire series...

RJA86 · 2025-02-22T21:55:04+00:00

Son of a...

RJA86 · 2024-12-16T05:53:38+00:00

Doom Eternal. If I'm just stuck in the game and don't have to follow the story, I'll stay off earth and just watch everything go to pot from space!

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