Teaching Council and €€€€€€€

TheDriver

Just wondering with the teaching council upon us, is everyone going to regsiter, pay up and get with it or are people going to be rebels and see if they really will stop salaries?
Also, will they do us any good????????

spurious

I'm still waiting them to reply to a qualifications query I sent in October. They had never heard of the subject I teach, which while admittedly a minority subject, has been examined since 1994 and appears on the Junior Cert. timetable. This does not bode well for the level of professional support they will offer.

A friend who went on one of the Teaching Council junkets said the money spent was unreal - if that is what our money will be spent on, I think I'll take my chances and see what happens.

I have no objection to paying for a professional body, but I have no evidence that the Teaching Council is one, though some evidence that it is a mickey mouse quango.

kittex

spurious wrote: »

I have no objection to paying for a professional body, but I have no evidence that the Teaching Council is one, though some evidence that it is a mickey mouse quango.

Not currently teaching in Ireland so the regular payment is not an issue to me right now. However, I can agree whole heartedly with these comments by spurious and also add how appalling the fees are to have your qualifications checked. I have one subject, but still have to pay for 2 checks (€225) as they count 'secondary' as a subject.
Funny though how people I know applying for 2 subjects, don't have to pay for 3 in that case...:rolleyes:

Also, it hasn't cost me a penny to have my documents checked in 2 other countries, so why so much in Ireland?

Great, nay, an essential idea for the profession in Ireland but such a shame it is being so poory executed.

rainbowtrout

it seems from my reading of it that if we don't pay up that they can stop salaries based on the fact that we are not a registered teacher rather than unqualified, which is a bit crap. I did a teacher training course and have the bit of paper to show it, is that not enough? it's been good enough for the VEC i work for, for the last 7 years.

where does that leave people who are employed by a school who have no teaching qualification (i'm sure it's in the documentation somewhere, i just haven't read it all yet), and are hired by the school because no other suitable candidate was available, eg those with a degree but no HDip. There probably won't be many but it does happen. I know there's a dispensation of some description for those without formal teaching qualifications hired before a certain date.


has the fees for checking qualifications only come in this year? I seem to remember sending off my transcript to them last year and there was no charge. Or was it just because it was the first year of it? i'd say it took them all of 5 minutes to check that my teacher training degree qualified me to teach my subjects. :mad:

TheDriver

What about the notion that they will stop people teaching what they are not qualified to teach? That could kill some smaller schools whose teachers take on a range of subjects that they are excellent at but just don't hold a qualification. Indeed, I myself have a subject that only 1000 people do each year yet I only know one teacher of it that has an actual qualification in it! Yet we all have students who get As

spurious

What fools we must all be to think the Teaching Council would live in the real world, where people's timetables are brought up to full hours with a class or two of CSPE, some Learning Support etc.

Think of how they could have handled the few months before looking for money, for example getting an agreement from the Dept that all teachers attending inservice would be fully covered by a substitute at the Dept's expense - that in itself would have made a HUGE difference in schools, but no, they will publish full colour, half in Irish booklets made up of lists of committees with more members on them than some schools have staff and ask us to fund it all.

Only in Ireland.

rainbowtrout

TheDriver wrote: »

What about the notion that they will stop people teaching what they are not qualified to teach? That could kill some smaller schools whose teachers take on a range of subjects that they are excellent at but just don't hold a qualification. Indeed, I myself have a subject that only 1000 people do each year yet I only know one teacher of it that has an actual qualification in it! Yet we all have students who get As

I can't imagine them ever getting down to the level where they are checking timetables to see what we are teaching. My subject area is much like what you describe, I teach Ag Science and while I am qualified to teach it there are many who are teaching it who have Biology and were given Ag or who are teachers and part time farmers and took it on.

it would kill off a lot of subjects in a lot of schools if that happened.

annabel

I can uderstand how peoples timetables are low in hours , and they get a few hours in C.S.P,E , but what annoys me is where they have people who have degrees in psychology and English teaching Irish. This really annoys me as next year I will be qualified in Irish and History but because of the " who you know factor " I will not get job in this school "I like due, to this person . So I can see how the teaching council's rule can come about , but obviously they can't have blanket resolutions

rainbowtrout

annabel wrote: »

I can uderstand how peoples timetables are low in hours , and they get a few hours in C.S.P,E , but what annoys me is where they have people who have degrees in psychology and English teaching Irish. This really annoys me as next year I will be qualified in Irish and History but because of the " who you know factor " I will not get job in this school "I like due, to this person . So I can see how the teaching council's rule can come about , but obviously they can't have blanket resolutions

That's not true of all schools. We needed a physics teacher for maternity leave this year and couldn't get a qualified teacher, we have a physics grad straight out of college at the moment. We also advertised a number of times for an Irish and History teacher as it happens and were not able to get anyone with both subjects in their degree.

spurious

I know of one case where a person who is an expert in Special Ed., originally trained as a primary teacher, cannot continue on with her Special Ed. work in a second level school because she has no standard second level subject in her degree. It matters not that she would not be teaching it, apparently, just that the Teaching Council can tick their boxes.

That's the sort of ludicrous nonsense happening when box tickers meet the real world. No doubt they'll be looking for 90 euro there too.

Enright

i got my demand for 90euro, i have no intention of paying it, at least not now.

i would be prepared to pay for something if i thought i benefited from being a member or if the organisation made a positive representation on my behalf. For the last several weeks, teachers, teacing profession, seems to be getting a hammering on radio. Where was the teaching council?

I cannot see that the teaching council has so far done any of these todate.

Its not the amount itself, although i believe that the cost will rise exponentially, year on year.

I have referred the demand to my union for clarifiacation, surely our meagre expenses should increase to cover the full amount of regristration, if we all hold off paying it, they might get the message.

Enright

i think that the poll should be modifed to include, a will not pay option!!

I just noticed that 138 viewers have looked at the poll and only 5 and answered, does this mean that 133 are NOT paying it?

annabel

In response to rainbow trouts post I agree there can be a huge shortage of Irish teachers . But In this case It seem sto be poliutics . I also realise that schools have to take on unqualified teachers to cover short periods . I taught last lear just with a degree , but my point in this is that sometimes it can come down to politics where teacher get to teach despite their subject knowledge

TheDriver

There is going to be some form of tax credit for those that pay! My concern is that if I don't pay up now, i will be deregistered and must pay for my subjects to be recognised after all that! There is also the case of the diffreences between having subjects to degree level and actually having a degree in it, talking about small print here but there none the less! The obvious thing though is if you are permanent, then what are they going to do about your hours anyways! Contract says school and Minister can get you to teach what they want, nothing about teaching council sticking their unwanted disorganised nose in there!
Lastly, can't they save the environment by only printing Irish versions for those that actually want them!

Sanerah

I recently sent my application form to the TC, and paid 225e (grudingly) How long do you think i will need to wait for?

Enright

Sanerah wrote: »

I recently sent my application form to the TC, and paid 225e (grudingly) How long do you think i will need to wait for?

from what ive heard, about 2 days


that is 2 days to cash your cheque, and mabye about 1 month to process your application, that is if its straight forward, longer if not

nevey

I'm completely confused by the Teaching Council's role.
Is there a comparable organisation say for Gardai or for nurses - to be paid by the state, do they have to pay an annual fee so that their name appears on a register?

To answer the sanerah's question: they took about 3 or 4 months to process my application (submitted mid Sept, returned just before xmas). Don't hold your breath.