Job sharing teachers - good or bad?

[Giraffe]

My daughter has been told who her new teacher s going to be next year and it's two of them on a job share, two days for one three days for another.

Part of me feels this is nuts and then on the other hand maybe its not such a bad thing. Anyone with experience of this either as a teacher or a parent? Or I suppose a pupil!

 

[Jimmy Grimble]

What level of education?

I think it's pretty standard practice at college. One teacher will teach one module and the other will teach two or whatever the situation dictates.

 

[Ken Newbury]

My daughter has been told who her new teacher s going to be next year and it's two of them on a job share, two days for one three days for another.

Part of me feels this is nuts and then on the other hand maybe its not such a bad thing. Anyone with experience of this either as a teacher or a parent? Or I suppose a pupil!

My son had this arrangement in his Year 2. In honesty it didn't work, the two teachers never appeared to update each other and there was a lack of continuity.

For example my son came home very upset one afternoon so I took him to school the next day to get the teacher to deal with the problem only to be told "don't know anything about yesterday as I dont work Tuesdays!

I suppose the one bonus was that one teacher was excellent and one was poor - he could have been stuck with the poor one full time

 

[Giraffe]

What level of education?

I think it's pretty standard practice at college. One teacher will teach one module and the other will teach two or whatever the situation dictates.

Year 5.

 

[ferring seagull]

It appears that the results are not that great but, as I understand, the cost to the taxpayer of job sharing / supply teaching are astronomical in every way.

 

[BadFish]

Year 5.

I have seen it work effectively, That was between two teachers who communicated effectively and taught completely separate lessons. I have also seen it not work because of a lack of communication and teachers trying to teach the same unit.

I would you go and see the Head Teacher, voice your concerns and ask what is being put in place to ensure continuity and communication. At the very least this will ensure the school has mechanisms in place.

 

[happypig]

My son has job sharing teachers. One of them is very good, the other one is, frankly, a twat.
The upside for me is that at least he has the good one 3 days a week.

 

[yorkgull]

As a teacher, I have seen it work exceptionally well when the teachers communicate really well together. My wife teaches a year 6 class part time, and is given an afternoon to plan with her partner which really helps. Also, they have a phonecall to discuss issues in place. Both like minded people but quite different teaching styles. Class achieved really well in their sats.
However, when the teachers have different mindsets, attitudes, expectations etc it can be a bit of nightmare for the class and the teachers. Head will be well aware of this though.

 

[Cloughie]

Year 5.

I had this when I was at that exact age. There were no problems.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

All my A-Levels were split between two teachers. I thought it worked very well. Variety is the spice of life.

 

[bobby smith]

At 5 years old you need continuity no more needs 2 be said on the matter really

 

[Lord Bracknell]

At 5 years old you need continuity no more needs 2 be said on the matter really

If she's a five year old in year five, she's doing really well.

 

[Walkers Cajun Squirrel]

I had this in year 4. Both were awful and, as others have said, failed to update each other on anything. Both were sacked after 4 months and we got one full timer in which was 100 times better.

 

[alan partridge]

At 5 years old you need continuity no more needs 2 be said on the matter really

 

[John Sayers]

the cost to the taxpayer of job sharing / supply teaching are astronomical in every way.

All depends on how the school manages it's finances. My wife teaches two days a week as a job share and only gets two days wages, so there is no extra cost to the school. She also talks on the phone to her job share twice a week to update each other on any issues / teaching requirements.

As has been said on here already, in some case it works really well, and in others, maybe not so well.

 

[kalinski]

I have seen it work effectively, That was between two teachers who communicated effectively and taught completely separate lessons. I have also seen it not work because of a lack of communication and teachers trying to teach the same unit.

I would you go and see the Head Teacher, voice your concerns and ask what is being put in place to ensure continuity and communication. At the very least this will ensure the school has mechanisms in place.

Great answer to this problem...for a school a job share can be excellent as you can retain great teachers who are returning from maternity or close to retirement. My wife job shares in a Secondary school and they speak to each other once a week to discuss what has been taught concerns etc. both are outstanding teachers and i would take that for my children over a full time poor one

 

[strings]

I had 2 teachers in year 5 (1994/5). I found it quite good - and with retrospect I think it did me well. The class had one strict older male teacher and one younger female teacher. It gave a good mix of teaching styles and both stuck to different subject areas.

 

[Hatterlovesbrighton]

Can be very good and also very bad. Primary School teachers normally have subjects that they excel in and others that they are ok at. Stands to reason that if you have two teachers then your child will get excellent teaching in more subjects than in a one teacher class.

Communitcation is though key so I'd ask the school "What mechanisms are in place to ensure communication between the two teachers?"

 

[Brixton Seagull 2]

Not convinced. Both my kids have had job share primary teachers, and I didn't think either situation was great at all.
If your kid is top of the class, then no problem. But if he/she needs a bit of attention then they could get lost. I don't think 2 days a week with a young class is enough to really get the measure of where the kids are at.

 

[withdeanwombat]

Hang on !

Aren't all teachers shiftless layabouts who earn too much,have ridiculous pension plans and too many holidays ?

The answer is,obviously,to home educate.It's easy work,and leaves you plenty of time to follow a proper career at the same time.