Conflict of interests

RealJohn

I was just browsing the NUI Maynooth forum here and I came across a post that I found worrying. It's quite possible that it's just a disgruntled student making excuses for him/herself but if it's true then the teacher in question has a lot to answer for. The important section of the post went as follows:

However there was only 6 people in higher level maths in my year out of 90 because the teacher didn't want people in there that weren't geniuses ( she is the laziest teacher out there, she wont teach you in class but then tells your parents she wants you to go to grinds with her for 50 euros an hour with 7 others in a group, I had her for chemistry ). So because of this I wasn't able to sit honors maths

Does this sort of thing actually go on? Have any of you come across it? In our place, we have a policy of not giving grinds to anyone in the school (though free extra classes are allowed). Surely there's a clear conflict of interests here, if the story is true. Should there just be a blanket ban on charging your own students for grinds?

RainyDay

I did see a primary teacher who was out sick this year with an ankle injury hobbling into a neighbour's house to give private music lessons to a student in her school. Funnily enough, she normally gives the lessons in the school itself, which seems a bit strange to me.

Roquentin

hearsay from students id say. teachers do give grinds outside of school but i doubt they would be foolish enough to trick students into going to grinds by pushing them out of a class.

evolving_doors

Sounds like random rambling teenage hearsay, I mean you could pick apart those comments... E.g. Did the teacher specifically tout her grinds at a PTM? (No wayyyy any teacher would do that, and if they did the parents listening are more to blame for not reporting her to principal). It's also just the use of "and she....and she....and she " that makes me question is the purpose of the rant to sling as much mud as possible.
Dunno how this made its way onto a 3rd level forum as it sounds like the output of a 15yr old.

Of course though... It's terrible if it's all true. I don't think there's any question of that.

I think the clue behind the motivation to rant is in the last sentence ...."and because of this I wasn't able to sit honours maths".

rainbowtrout

I also suspect that any normal principal would be asking questions if there were a decent number of students doing HL maths for JC and suddenly only 6 of them were in the LC class.

Sounds more like a disgruntled student than anything else.

spurious

That sort of post should be reported.

MouseTail

rainbowtrout wrote: »

I also suspect that any normal principal would be asking questions if there were a decent number of students doing HL maths for JC and suddenly only 6 of them were in the LC class.

Sounds more like a disgruntled student than anything else.

6 students out of a whole year of 90 doing HL maths. I call BS

maynooth_rules

MouseTail wrote: »

6 students out of a whole year of 90 doing HL maths. I call BS

Its ten years ago but when I was in 6th year there were only about 12 of us doing HL Maths from a total of 125 students.

rainbowtrout

maynooth_rules wrote: »

Its ten years ago but when I was in 6th year there were only about 12 of us doing HL Maths from a total of 125 students.

It's certainly possible but the notion if only 6 being 'allowed' do HL maths I think is the issue here

Roquentin

maynooth_rules wrote: »

Its ten years ago but when I was in 6th year there were only about 12 of us doing HL Maths from a total of 125 students.

maybe that was because the students werent working enough and not the teachers

pandoraj09

Honours Maths is beyond many students so not surprised to hear of the small numbers. We normally have 2 out of about 60 taking Hl. And yes, I have come across teachers giving inschool grinds...and making a lot of taxfree money from it. I don't approve of it at all but it certainly does happen...

Roquentin

pandoraj09 wrote: »

Honours Maths is beyond many students so not surprised to hear of the small numbers. We normally have 2 out of about 60 taking Hl. And yes, I have come across teachers giving inschool grinds...and making a lot of taxfree money from it. I don't approve of it at all but it certainly does happen...

the op was making the point that a teacher was deliberately pushing students out of a class so she could bankroll her grinds scam. Now that does not happen. Youd be in court for it

evolving_doors

pandoraj09 wrote: »

Honours Maths is beyond many students so not surprised to hear of the small numbers. We normally have 2 out of about 60 taking Hl. And yes, I have come across teachers giving inschool grinds...and making a lot of taxfree money from it. I don't approve of it at all but it certainly does happen...

you mean grinds actually on the school premises?? thats risky to say the least..

RainyDay

Armelodie wrote: »

you mean grinds actually on the school premises?? thats risky to say the least..

Yeah, seemed very strange to me to have one of the teachers teaching music on school premises. Do they pay for rent of room? Do they have public indemnity insurance? Does the school's child protection policy apply? Just seems to raise far too many questions.

evolving_doors

RainyDay wrote: »

Yeah, seemed very strange to me to have one of the teachers teaching music on school premises. Do they pay for rent of room? Do they have public indemnity insurance? Does the school's child protection policy apply? Just seems to raise far too many questions.

do you mean music as an LC/JC subject? or instrumental lessons?

Is the teacher definitely not paid by the school?
And.... is the teacher definitely being paid?

jusy asking because I know there are teachers running a free music class as an extra subject... also teachers doing instrumental lessons( fees paid to school, then teacher paid by school).

gaeilgebeo

I really think the example given in the OP is a complete extreme and bordering on scandalous. I would also question the "facts".
Any educated person (which all teachers are), would have a good moral and ethical code when such a situation may arise.
I highly doubt that many teachers would risk their reputation, teacher registration and career to charge their own students for grinds.
It just doesn't make sense.
If a teacher wants to give grinds, there are more than enough students looking for grinds.
If a teacher wishes to give extra classes to their own students, so be it. We have all done it and still do but there would be no question about charging.
This is the type of thing you would see as a headline in the Indo and really not worth discussing without the true facts.

RainyDay

Armelodie wrote: »

do you mean music as an LC/JC subject? or instrumental lessons?

Is the teacher definitely not paid by the school?
And.... is the teacher definitely being paid?

jusy asking because I know there are teachers running a free music class as an extra subject... also teachers doing instrumental lessons( fees paid to school, then teacher paid by school).

Instrumental lessons at primary school - teacher definitely being paid cash fee per lesson by parents.

Ficheall

Same disgruntled student appears to be posting similar elsewhere too: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=92000915

evolving_doors

RainyDay wrote: »

Instrumental lessons at primary school - teacher definitely being paid cash fee per lesson by parents.

AH yeah, there's umpteen extra curricular stuff going on after school hours and then again you don;t know for a fact that the teacher isn;t declaring it for tax. Nothing wrong with receiving cash into the hand as long as you do the books at the end of the year!!!

evolving_doors

Ficheall wrote: »

Same disgruntled student appears to be posting similar elsewhere too: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=92000915

Ya I suppose what is one to do, go onto the thread and pick their story apart. i think their spiel is secondary to the purpose of that thread anyways.

RainyDay

Armelodie wrote: »

AH yeah, there's umpteen extra curricular stuff going on after school hours and then again you don;t know for a fact that the teacher isn;t declaring it for tax. Nothing wrong with receiving cash into the hand as long as you do the books at the end of the year!!!

From a Revenue/tax point of view, you are correct.

But on the broader issue, there is something wrong with parents paying directly to a teacher for a service taking place in the school. Is the teacher covered under school insurance policies? What happens if something goes wrong - who is liable?

And there is definitely something wrong with a teacher teaching grinds while out sick from school, as described above.

spurious

Let's leave it here and if people want to discuss it further they can do so in the forum it was originally posted in.
Thread closed.