104 teachers sacked

I am rasing concerns with our very Education Department. Though we have caught many teachers that re misleading our students or engaging in drugs, ect.. - There are still many out there whom we will never find. So anyone who is or who knows being harrased by a teacher, needs to seek help from a guardian, or go o the school Department, because NSW, doesn;'t olerate that sort of behavour by teachers, nor shall any other state. It is vital that you do this, to protect yourself, and others from violent criminals. Regards, Cameron.

Posted by: Cameron Thompson of 11:47am November 28, 2006

Alot of these comments are so far from reality it is almost comical. The truth is, that if todays teachers had been employed 10 or 15 years ago they would not be under anywhere near the criticism that they are now. Todays teachers do not lack ability nor do they lack a will to teach. Rather they are being victimised by an unsupportive and ineffective education system that is soft and lacks any form of effective disciplinery strategy towards students. Teachers are being confronted by increasingly disrespectful children that monsters any form of disrespect experienced during our schooling days. Mobile phones, MP3 players, blatent refusal to do work, constant lines of "i will sue you", threatening behaviour, teachers are now being told to F... Off and Get F...'... . And attempts from classroom teachers to take appropriate action on such behaviour is wasted as the child will miraculously turn up to class the next day, often avoiding suspension, with a smirk on his/her face, knowing that the teacher has diminishing power. So as a result, the teacher needs to focus on behaviour issues rather than the actual learning syllabus. This is reality people. To say that quality of teaching is poor shows that you are simply out of touch and avoiding the real problem. I applaud Steve Bracks push to implement cameras in class rooms, so maybe, just maybe, parents will then realise the pressure and strain teachers are under. Which leads me to another point. The lack of morals and respect of todays children is worse than ever. In many cases it is disgusting. There is a much wider problem of parenting and social issues that heavily contributes to classroom difficulty. Pointing the finger at teachers is not going to solve anything, the problem is much deeper. Teachers need more support.

Posted by: Knowledgable Point of View of 11:41am November 28, 2006

I'm not sure how representative the responses so far have been but another, more realistic view needs to be put. When I was a Deputy in the public system I saw a small (5%) number of incompetent teachers, a large number of mediocre but satisfactory teachers and a few (10%) excellent ones. My two brothers, my sister and my dad were all teachers and experienced much the same. All of our kids went to public schools and all of them went on to university. There is a system in place to help and/or weed out those poor teachers but it is not used enough, simply because the rest of an executive's job is so bloody difficult that each 'Improvement Program' takes a lot of time and effort. Have you ever tried to supervise a poor teacher's lesson, reset the electrical fuses, calm down a hysterical mum whilst distracting a de-facto dad who wants to take his kids away? What can be done? The unhappy parent must be as much a nuisance as possible and let her/his feelings be known; first to the teacher (nicely), then the supervisor (rudely), then the Principal (reasonably), then the Area Boss, the S.E.D. (factually), then (shudder) the media! Except for the parent who said she helped with the reading, most of your correspondents seem to write from a position of prejudice and ignorance. We all went to school. We all wrote essays. Does that make us experts on the profession of teaching. Does that mean we're all expert journalists? Be careful, Telegraph journalists and editors, your standards are on show as much as mine were. Are you teacher-trashing again? When the crunch comes as the Boomers leave you may wonder why so few quality graduates want to enter such a pilloried profession. Have a chat with Maralyn Parker, Yours in education and wisdom, Paul

Posted by: Paul Roberts of 1:58pm November 27, 2006

with so much going on in the world at the moment, the classroom and the home should be the places that our children feel safest and are given the encouragement and strength to reach for their stars. and yet, it is here that the innocence that we adore and admire in children is stolen and tarnished for someone else's sick enjoyment. i am a 24 year old female who is currently studying to become a primary school teacher, and i feel sick to my stomach with the knowledge that children are prey no matter whether they are walking through the street, or whether they are in the environment we deem to be a safe haven for them - their school. Our children learn to trust their teachers ... then lose faith in the world around once that trust is broken, and their world is no longer 'safe'. sadly, for years this has continued not only within education, but also within politics and it is publicised in the media... why is it that we constantly say 'thats not right!' and yet it still happens? has it become so much easier to just recognise it and do nothing about it?... because clearly, nothing is being done. i will be both a teacher and a mother one day... and it saddens me to think that my children wont be safe in their own classroom... as a teacher, thats hard enough, but as a mother, its all the more frightening.

Posted by: Eva of sydney 1:48pm November 27, 2006

Good start but long way to go in cleaning the mess

Posted by: Dr Prem of cheltenham 9:00am November 27, 2006

These problems are disgraceful and this type of misconduct deserves serious punishment and a place high up on the child offenders register. Without taking away from the seriousness of the problems mentioned in the article, there is also an equally harmful undercurrent of apathy and poor ability from teachers in the state education system. So many complaints were made about my son's kindergarten teacher in the first term of this year, she was sent to do an improvement and discipline course like the one mentioned in the Daily Telegraph article. I can report that it's a complete waste of tax payers money - she's no better now than she was before the course. No matter how many parents write letters or go directly to the Principal to express their dissatisfaction nothing has been done and this women still continues to teach - if you can call it that - a kindergarten class that is so far behind the other 4 kindy classes it's staggering. More than half the class are not reading to the standard required to move into year one in 2007, the discipline in her class room is non-existent (I know this because as a parent helper I spend time each week helping with reading and comprehension tasks). Not one parent with a child in that class has any faith in this teacher and quite a lot of us have bought our own teaching texts and are completing class work at home to make sure our kids aren't completely behind when they start year one in a few months time. I'm led to believe she has been allocated another kindergarten class to 'teach' again next year - God help those poor little kids. How this women ever managed to get her teaching degree is completely beyond my comprehension. I've no doubt there are a lot of excellent, enthusiastic and encouraging teachers in the state system but I'm afraid there aren't very many at the school my children go to. My husband and I no longer believe that state education is just as good as private education and have made the decision to send our two children to private schools as of next year. We feel really let down and are disappointed that we've had to make this decision. When it comes to education, the old saying rings true; you get what you pay for.

Posted by: Day Dream Believer of Sydney 8:29am November 27, 2006

How many more deviates are going to be allowed to teach our children? With all these no wonder the kids are comming out of school with all the problems in the world just read this story it's unbeleiveable how could this could happen....chid porn,supplying drugs,sexual assalt, i think the federal governmet should get rid of the states and have one federal system they are a waste of spaceand money....

Posted by: robynne morton of merrimac 8:18am November 27, 2006

When does the education industry intend to issue an apology for its long-standing and instutionalised abuse of children? If it's good enough for the church, it's good enough for teachers.

Posted by: Nick Charles of Queensland 7:57am November 27, 2006

The NSW public school system is a joke. All teachers should be sacked and re-employed on a contract/performance basis only. The top teachers ( and yes there are top people/teachers in the public system) should receive a much higher wage. The medium teachers a lesser until their performance is lifted. The bottom end of the teachers should be dismissed permanently. If this results in a shortgage of teachers due to an aging population of teachers so be it. History shows that a previous shortage of teachers was filled by overseas placements. My advise is until the above system comes into effect, send your child to the private sector. You have quality teachers who care more about the students than themselves. Can't say the same about the majority of public teachers.

Posted by: Todd Hunter of 7:40am November 27, 2006

Further evidence that it's time to get out of NSW. Labor manages to stuff everything it touches.

Posted by: Robert Delphion of Sydney 6:59am November 27, 2006