Troops to Teachers

[Seagull over Canaryland]

No-one is saying they shouldn't, and not from an academic point of view either.

The rest of your posts then seems to highlight how relatively few would be applicable.

For instance, I'm just curious as to what skill sets a person who has served in the military has to offer to the child who is say, autistic, or has learning difficulties, or is in special needs, or is being abused at home - without going through the same training that anyone else who wishes to enter teaching has to do?

In fact, the main opinion in terms of skills on offer coming up from this thread is... discipline. Is this really the cornerstone of the government's thinking - discipline?

Hence my view that the idea is good in principle but there are pitfalls and assumptions.

There seems to be several issues here firstly that priority would be given to male ex-military personnel. Whereas there are excellent female trainers and in other military roles who could have very strong skills and be strong role models too. IMHO the issue of gender or past employment is secondary to the quality of the teacher, especially when it comes to the range of special needs.

Traditionally jobs in uniformed services should be the obvious route for many ex-military personnel, however due to cut backs in emergency services, the prison service and security companies / agencies are not now recruiting in the numbers they were 5 or 10 years ago. This is now compounded by cut backs in military staffing levels it is understandable that the Govt. would place emphasis on finding the displaced personnel other vocations such as 'teaching', which is of course a very broad heading.

Finally I agree that the special soft skills needed may not naturally occur among ex-military personnel, when they are more used to a regimented and disciplined regime. However I do think the Govt is looking at discipline and strong role models as a quality in ex-military applicants, yet it may not sit comfortably in many school regimes. I could envisage ex-military personnel being effective in specialist areas such as engineering, youth offending and diversionary schemes.

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

This is not a new idea. When my lovely old Dad (Don't know why I called him that as I am now four years older than he was when he died.) emerged from the RAF Regiment in 1953 after the War, he was a Sargent small arms instructor. Silly sausage wouldn't go through Officer training, so he was offered Teacher training as a career.
He turned down the opportunity and went back to being a chippy. Which in my opinion was a loss to teaching.
In my school there were probably a few who had taken up the Teacher training option, probably the infamous Jack Liddell is the best example?

Hove CGS then?

 

[clapham_gull]

alternatively let the military get a fastrack into parliament.

Now that would be a coup.

 

[Sergei's Celebration]

Now that would be a coup.

A military backed coup was NOT planned in 1974 and how dare you suggest a thing.

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

In my school there were probably a few who had taken up the Teacher training option, probably the infamous Jack Liddell is the best example?

Some would regard him as the legendary Jack Liddell ...

 

[Seagull over Canaryland]

Trouble is for every decent junior officer there are some right chinless wonders among officer ranks who only went into the military when they left public school because there weren't the vacancies for investment bankers and couldn't hold down a real job in civvy street. They have all the attributes required of MPs - or better still fast track them into the House of Lords.

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

Some would regard him as the legendary Jack Liddell ...

Lime green socks anyone?

 

[clapham_gull]

A military backed coup was NOT planned in 1974 and how dare you suggest a thing.

Rumbled.

Actually after reading a few of your responses I'm warming to the idea.

 

[The Large One]

The cynic inside me believes that the announcement is an attempt by Gove to win future support amongst the Daily Mail/Express readership whose idea of what goes on in schools is akin to the current problems in Syria. Whether it benefits ex-service personnel or schools is another matter. For the record I'm from the 'If they can do the job they should do it' camp irrespective of qualifications.

You don't need to be a cynic...

 

[hart's shirt]

Former military personnel have a long history of employment in independent schools (e.g. Brighton College) either in a financial role as a school bursar or accountant, or by having the responsibility for running the School Combined Cadet Force.

During the last 9 years of living overseas, I've encountered many male teachers from outside the UK who've undergone a period of National Service in their respective countries before joining 'the honourable profession'.

Just like any other person who's had a mid-life career change, it's all down to the attitude of the individual in their new role. Attitude determines altitude.

 

[RexCathedra]

One of our best ever was ex-Air Force enlisted, an intelligence linguist whose language wasn't one that schools taught, but who made a superb English teacher.
He was aces with many of the boys who were, shall we say, aligned orthogonally with school.
Big Austen fan.... used to read her as he said 'in a hut halfway up a mountain in a country I can't name with headphones on my head, listening, listening...'

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Nail on head. The power balance between two adults in the army is totally different to the responsibility a teacher has to motivate their pupils and help them see the benefits and pleasure that can be had from learning.

I can appreciate how an ex-serviceman could help with, say, learning times tables, spelling and after school detentions. But I cannot see how a "kill 'em all, let god sort 'em out" attitude will aid creativity or problem solving.

 

[Pickledegg]

The government needs to work harder to help ex soldiers find work, but they should really keep the kids out of it? Aside from the fact that they won't be educated to do so, a lot of them will be suffering from PTSD symptoms even if they aren't aware of it - are they really the best people to be able to handle the stress of teaching without any training??

Are you an expert in PTSD?

 

[Sergei's Celebration]

I can appreciate how an ex-serviceman could help with, say, learning times tables, spelling and after school detentions. But I cannot see how a "kill 'em all, let god sort 'em out" attitude will aid creativity or problem solving.

How's the 1980's going for you at the moment?

 

[maltaseagull]

Stand by your desks!

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

How's the 1980's going for you at the moment?

Will they have elbow patches on their camo jackets?

 

[Return of the Rev]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/educatio...-Forces-to-be-fast-tracked-into-teaching.html

I have no issue with troops becoming teachers but allowing them to bypass having a degree is not the way to do it. Surely, amongst the many talents required to teach successfully, we want teachers to be highly educated in their chosen subject?

Need to be able to teach,highly educated teachers that can't are as much use as a suspended manager,would help if the schools back the teachers instead of pandering to every neurotic parent.

 

[Albumen]

We're ****ed under Gove anyway. No coursework, just end of year exam so creativity and free thinking isn't welcome, hence the armed forces becoming teachers.
Quite sick really but what did people expect when they voted in these fascists?

 

[Questions]

A good attitude to have; you believe in teaching for qualifications, i believe in teaching to provide a foundation for life.

I believe in both.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Is there any evidence, or a paper or a study etc which shows that ex-military personnel make better teachers? I could be swayed by evidence.