Made-Up Challenges (Solved With More Paperwork)

Party rings that somehow taste stale straight from the packet, a Huntley & Palmers tin, and the brutal truth that the quality of a school meeting can be measured entirely by the biscuit selection. That’s where we begin — because school life is often defined by the tiny details nobody ever writes into policy.

For once, we’re recording on location in an actual school during half-term, complete with strategically placed blankets to recreate the “bedroom acoustics” we normally rely on. From there, we catch up on the week: a long drive in an ageing car that can’t decide how it wants to overheat, and a golden wedding anniversary trip to Centre Parcs — described here as a strangely beautiful open prison. If you’ve been, you’ll know exactly what we mean.

Then we get to the main event: a list from a DBS-check provider claiming to explain the “Ten Challenges of Teaching and How to Overcome Them.” The topics will sound familiar to anyone in education — behaviour, workload, SEND, communication, burnout, leadership pressure, safeguarding, motivation, and paperwork.

The problem? Most of the advice boils down to “work harder, but positively.”

We pick apart the corporate language, the Americanised assumptions, and the way genuinely difficult issues like behaviour management, safeguarding, and family challenges get flattened into meaningless bullet points and LinkedIn optimism.

If you’ve ever rolled your eyes at unrealistic teacher advice, this episode will feel both cathartic and painfully familiar. Subscribe, share it with a colleague who needs the laugh, and leave us a review.

What would you put on a genuinely useful list of teaching challenges?

Transcript

Party Rings And Biscuit Heritage

SPEAKER_00 0:22

These are a bit different. Well, yeah, um, I didn't actually bring them specifically for the recording. Oh that is a real disappointment. Yes, yes, that's uh that's that's often the reaction of most adults to the party ring. What you've got there These are foxes' party rings under the sea minis. Yeah, so they're shaped like fish. I don't know if you noticed that. They're shaped like fish. I have, but not only have I noticed that. How can they be stale in the packet? What we've got at home is uh is a tin. Actually, a Huntley and Palmer's tin for those those Reading locals. We we do have uh, I think uh 25% of our listeners uh currently based in Reading, uh, which is no surprise because that's where we're based. But uh so 25% of our listeners may recognise the Huntley and Palmer's reference. Because of course that's one of that's what one of the things Reading's famous for is uh Huntley and Palmer's Biscuits. Biscuit Factory. The Biscuit Factory, and that's why there's a lot of well no, this this there's the venue now which is called the Biscuit Factory. There's also a block of flats elsewhere in town called the Biscuit Factory. The biscuit factory seems to be a common sort of theme when naming buildings in Reading because there was a biscuit factory. But if you live at the biscuit factory, yeah, it's not the biscuit factory though. Neither of them are the actual biscuit factory, just to be clear. So uh this is stupid. But Reading's proud of its its biscuit heritage. You can still buy, and I saw this the other day, you can still buy the Huntley and Palmer's biscuits from Reading Museum, so they still make them. Um I've got the tin because my parents bought me one of those tins. I don't know whether they got it from the Reading, because they don't live in Reading, my parents, I don't think they did get it from the Reading Museum. I think they got it off of the internet probably, because even though they're uh septugenarians, they they do know how to use the internet, as as many of their generation do. So so my parents bought me this Huntley and Palmer's biscuits in a few years back, and um kept the biscuits therein. They were they were they were very nice. But I kept the tin, quite like the tin, and we now use the tin for storing sort of treats for my daughters, the what they like to refer to as their desserts. But they are things like those meat. What's the French? Or dessert? It's basically the same. Yeah, uh désert. You don't miss it. Anyway, they um so in there there's uh well you've got a little bag of party rings or party fish. I don't like these. No one likes them, they don't like them. We children don't like them. That's why you've got them because they've sort of the biscuits different. They're unwanted by our children, hence why they were available for your consumption today. It's awful. No, they're not nice. Uh but I think you'll find they do taste the same as the party rings. They're exactly the same. They're not, it's just not a nice biscuit. But it says that we'd love to hear from you. If you have any feedback, simply contact us at Careline Fox's Burton's Companies. I mean, feel free to do that after. Give them a ring. Don't do it now, though, because I don't think that would uh add anything to the recording. Uh although perhaps it might, perhaps that's a direction we could go in. But uh no, they don't like the party rings or the party fish. What they currently like largely are the iced gems, and if you come across the side.

SPEAKER_01 3:23

Oh, I do like I love an iced gem.

SPEAKER_00 3:25

Yeah, yeah. Because they're mainly sugar, and I think that's what uh that's right in the woods. Nice and crunchy. Uh and the biscuit base isn't sweet. It's not sweet, and it's also there's not much of it. It's mostly the sugar uh on a tiny biscuit base. So that's so they like that. Although the elder of my two children, uh Matilda, I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna name my child. Why not? Because I think that's fine. I don't know why I've avoided it. She's not gonna have to go into witness protection, she don't think so. I don't know why I've avoided naming my children. Uh Matilda and Jemima. Matilda's the seven-year-old, uh, Jemima's the four-year-old. Uh Matilda's now moved on from the pie. She still likes it uh um an ice gem, but she now prefers a butterkissed popcorn. I don't know if you're familiar with uh their words. Yeah, I am familiar with their words. It's like a glazed popcorn, isn't it? Yeah. No, I I mean I'll be honest, I quite like that too. I think I'm I'm not I'm not indifferent to uh to it to the popcorn the the toffee popcorn. It doesn't really answer the question about why blocks of flats have been called the biscuit factory. No, no, I I don't know why that is. That's probably something we could research. Or maybe, because as I say, 25% of our listeners are based in Reading, as far as I can tell. Perhaps one of you could write in and tell us. I'd love that.

SPEAKER_01 4:38

What what's the teacher favourite, would you say, on the biscuits?

SPEAKER_00 4:41

Or are you not I don't think there is a teacher favourite. I think all biscuits are beloved by teachers. I I think the calibre of the meeting you attend is often defined by the calibre of the biscuit. And and you know that some if if it's you know, nothing wrong with a pack of the custard creams, Bourbons, malted milks, they're fine. It and if if there's no biscuits, I I'm I mean I I'll be in the meeting, I'll stay in the meeting, but but part of me's left already. If it's sort of a tell you what it is, it's normally the Crawford selection pack, isn't it? Yeah, I mean and that will keep me interested to an extent. Well. But if someone comes in with I don't know, a Tesco's finest or a Sainsbury's Taste the Difference packet of double triple chocolate cookies. Yeah, but they only tend to be small meetings there, so they are. And that's someone often sometimes that's somebody saying this meeting isn't really a meeting you want to be in, and I know that you don't want to be in it. Thank you for coming. In order to compensate you for coming to this meeting you didn't want to be in, I've got some some slightly nicer biscuits for you.

SPEAKER_01 5:43

But I I always remember the worst biscuit selection which became no biscuits and no tea, and then just became water vended from the tap into plastic cups, was local authority meetings.

SPEAKER_00 5:57

Yes, yes, they're always low caliber, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:00

Now, um on one hand, that's incredibly reassuring for the listeners who'd be sort of terribly worried about taxpayers' money being squandered on, you know, even a Crawford selection pet, let alone the foxes or anything like that. But for anyone attending the meeting, I think it was just made something that was probably not going to be overly stimulating, uh even more challenging. I think the best lunches I had, but the Department for Education. Well, I've never been to one of those, I've not not Oh my word, yeah. They'd they'd I don't think it was in-house, let's put it that way. But it would be whisked in on trays, you know, for us to help ourselves to. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:42

So that didn't you know, seeing as it's the same taxpayer's money, I thought that was That's true, yeah, because I was thinking the the non-taxpayer events when when you actually have to pay to go to a which is very rare that you know someone all green like that, or you actually get to go to one of those sort of training events that's sort of not free, um, and costs a few hundred pounds, and they might think that you're I I've done I don't get to go to many of those, but I've been to one or two in my time because it has been deemed beneficial potentially that I know the stuff that they're and that is then the lunches are fantastic. I mean they're on a their next level. I mean and that's because it's not taxpayers. It is still taxpayers' money because the school who do you think was paying for your place? The school has funded it, but but in terms of the decisions being made by the people running the course, well they've they've they've obviously not been minded to worry about that too much. Whereas I think when it is run by the local authority, they probably do have to take that

Register Call And Postcard Detour

SPEAKER_00 7:38

into account. Right, well, shall we get on with the show? Yes, why not?

SPEAKER_01 7:41

And I think today we'll flip rolls and uh I'll call the register. My name's Ben and I know I'm present. You know, perhaps in body and not spirit, but um let's call the register.

SPEAKER_00 7:55

Have I got a James Burke? We just la. See, that's all you ever really needed to do. You overthought it. All you ever needed to do was say it in a different language. Yeah. It's not it's not high comedy. No. Um it's just it's it's simple. Talking of not high comedy, have you got a postcard? I do have a postcard, yeah. I've got a postcard. Thanks for introducing it. I know you don't even like these bits. It's from the same Amazon pattern. Uh what I've got here is a picture of Cookie Cat. It's a picture of a cat dressed like a cartoon cat, dressed as an astronaut. He's a refugee of an interstellar war. And he left his family behind. I don't know if that's from an actual cartoon that actually existed. I I hope it is in some ways, because otherwise it's completely pointless, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 8:45

Well, I was going down the completely pointless avenue.

SPEAKER_00 8:48

Yeah, no, I think it is. He's got one pink eye and one sort of white eye, and he's wearing a pink spacesuit. Well, I don't think he looks quite sad he's left his family behind. There's an exclamation mark on that. He's a refuge. I don't think you listen to talking. I don't think if you left your family behind, you'd wear a pink suit, to be honest with you. Well, they mean it's maybe I mean it's safety first, and maybe that's the only one that they had available that would met the requirements of the interstellar travel. He's a refuge. I d I think what you've done there is because you you're not a fan of the postcards, you've switched off there completely. I can see his one pink eye, that's enough for me. You've missed the story, and I want to reiterate, he's a refugee of an interstellar war.

SPEAKER_01 9:30

Yeah. Have you got no Well, we're going down a whole different avenue. You you like sci-fi, can't stand it.

SPEAKER_00 9:37

So Well, no, I mean, because we're both enjoying a coffee at the moment, and we're both drinking uh from Star Wars mugs. Yeah, and I object to it. You object to it, but it's my coffee, and I gave it to you because we ha we're on location.

SPEAKER_01 9:48

Well, when I say objected to it, I didn't object so strongly that I wouldn't drink the contents of it. But I I try not to get too into into that.

SPEAKER_00 9:56

But I mean the reason we're drinking my mug from my mugs and not from your mugs is because we're on location this week.

Recording On Location At School

SPEAKER_00 10:03

We do get a lot of questions. I I've had this question asked of me uh a few times, where do you record? Now, I find that frustrating because we've actually answered that on on previous episodes, so the people asking that question can't actually have been listening to the show. But the the curiosities nonetheless uh but normally to be clear normally we do record in your bedroom. Uh people I think people think we do record in work. We don't, we record on a Saturday night, usually, in your bedroom. Now, the reason in your bedroom is because it actually there is there's there's there's lots of reasons why that would be a good place to record. We've talked about that. The acoustics of a bedroom are particularly effective. But uh we are on location in a in an actual school because we are in the school we work in as we're recording this, but the reason we're able to do that today is because it's the half-term holidays.

SPEAKER_01 10:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:53

And so we've taken advantage of the fact we've both come in to do some work anyway. We've had a little break from our work, we've set up the microphones in my office, put down some blankets to recreate that bedroom acoustic feel. So we find ourselves in quite an interesting position actually this week, Ben, because this is the first time since we started making this podcast that we're making an episode pretty much the same week it's gonna go out. We've we've kind of recorded we've we we got a little bit ahead of ourselves on the recording. We did. And now we're actually recording an episode on a Thursday. This will go out the following Monday, because we've sort of caught up with ourselves. So that's why it is actually currently half

Half-Term Catch-Up And Centre Parcs

SPEAKER_00 11:30

term. So, given that we've not been in school for the best part of a week, what have you been up to this week?

SPEAKER_01 11:35

Well, I went uh I I I did a long journey, uh three and a half hours each way, which is probably not a long journey if you live in Australia, but um in the UK that's considered to be a very long journey. To see a couple of friends who I used to work with, so that was a very nice thing to do. Um but I I didn't much enjoy the journey there or back, not because I don't love driving, because I do, but the car was oscillating between overheating from a water overheating point of view and overheating from an oil temperature point of view, and trying to manage those two um states uh on an old car um that was three and a half hours each way was was a bit of a uh But if I tell you that was the high point uh other than this, um maybe that gives you some sort of insight into my life. Well I'd like to think this is the high point, then. Well, but I did say other than this, sorry, other than this, sorry, I I didn't hear. You do usually accuse me of not listening, but on this occasion I'm going to level the same charge.

SPEAKER_00 12:44

Well, I think that's been a recurring problem throughout all of the episodes is that we tend to not listen to each other while we're talking and only listen to our own bits. Yeah, but what what have you been up to? Because I'm sure it's going to be more podcastable than that, surely. Well, well, how does one define podcastable? I don't know. But what I do know is that this weekend just gone, the bank holiday weekend that we've just uh and the weather was lovely, uh as you'll recall. Uh it's still lovely. It's fresh. I mean, I don't know. If you don't like the heat, I suppose it's not lovely. But uh this week just gone, I I met with my family, uh, my parents, my sisters, their spouses, uh my nieces and nephews in a place called Centre Parks. I don't know if you've heard of the uh the centre parks chain. I certainly have. Now it's not I'm not someone that's I've I've never been to Centre Parks before this weekend just gone. But it was my parents' golden wedding anniversary. Uh they've they've last which is is some achievements. Congratulations to Rambier and Jill. I'm sure they'll be grateful if if indeed they're listening. So yeah, so I went to Centre Parks, which uh is to say, not I'm not normally in that sort of financial bracket, but my uh my parents, it was their golden wedding anniversary, they uh they funded it for all of us, which was uh very we I mean that makes makes them sound wealthy. Uh I don't remember them being wealthy when I grew up. And it was a really lovely weekend. I mean I'm not gonna there's no sort of horror stories there. Uh it was nice. We all got together, we celebrated uh both their golden wedding anniversary and my father's birthday the following day, and uh it was a lovely weekend. We all you know we all had a lovely time, but I'd I'd never done Centre Parks. I don't know if you've ever done Centre Parks. Uh unfortunately I have. Unfortunately, well I hate I hated it. I I didn't hate it, I quite enjoyed it. Um I mean I think largely because my family were there, but how I would describe Centre Parks having never been before and being completely uninitiated is a rather beautiful prison. Um insofar as uh once you've arrived, you you really can't leave. And uh I think I didn't know that. I think I think you probably do need to know that before you get there, because I I did feel a little bit confused and disorientated for the first sort of um 12 hours on site. But once once I got acclimatised, a very lovely weekend was had by all. I'm glad you had a lovely weekend.

SPEAKER_01 14:55

I genuinely am. Okay, but to me, the idea of being locked in to an outdoor activity centre, it for me, I'd rather go to prison.

SPEAKER_00 15:06

Uh yeah, well, I know I could understand that sentiment.

SPEAKER_01 15:09

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 15:09

I mean, all the things I uh forced jollity in an outdoor activity centre for me would be And I mean we we didn't obviously we were there for a weekend and we we didn't sort of we went to the swimming pool quite a lot, but we didn't really do many of the outdoor activities that you mentioned. But there is a there's quite a premium attached to those activities, so the already not cheap accommodation, it's it's it's not well basically it's not a cheap holiday. Yeah, I I don't know that I would I I think the real reason I enjoyed it was because I I do quite like my family and I don't get to see them very often. My family do listen. Uh well I don't think they all listen religiously. I don't think there's there's that level of but uh uh but my uh my nephew Finn absolutely loves the show. Great, hello Finn. And I said I'd give him a shout-out, and you've given him a shout-out too, there. And he did say, and you'll like this, Ben. He said you must be a really funny guy. So hello, Finn. Good good to have you along, as they say. Anyway, shall

The Ten Challenges List Appears

SPEAKER_00 16:06

we? Uh because I I found a list for us, Ben. Sounds unusual. It's not the norm, I know, but I thought it might be fun to go through a list of things this week and uh see if we can make sense of it.

SPEAKER_01 16:17

Yeah, let's let's go for it.

SPEAKER_00 16:18

Obviously, we try sometimes successfully to sort of uh focus this show on the world of teaching and education. And uh some of our listeners, not all of our listeners it turns out, but some of our listeners are actually teachers. And so I found a list um on a well the uh the the the where I found it was uh a provider of DBS checks. Right, disclosure and barring service. Yeah, yeah. Um what do they used to be called? CRB. CRB checks, yeah, and then it became Criminal Records Bureau. Yes, that's right. And then it became the the DBS disclosure and barring service. This is nothing to do with what they do though. Right. But they are obviously aware that a lot of the people who will need to get a DBS check work, not all people, I mean there's lots of professions where you need a DBS check, but they'll be aware taxi drivers, don't they? Yeah, I mean you know it's all sorts of one images the police would would would need you know so there's lots of professions and volunteers and all kinds of things where you might need a DBS check, but they're aware that quite a large proportion of their clientele are teachers. Yeah. So they've thought they've come up with a helpful list for teachers. Oh, good. To help them to do their job and to understand their job.

SPEAKER_01 17:22

Because, you know, a lot of yeah, yeah. So whether you're a teacher or whether you might need some sort of what they like to call an enhanced disclosure, then this is gonna be useful, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 17:32

Well, no, this is just this is just for teachers. Oh, this is just for teachers. So that's sorry, that's what I'm trying to say. Yeah, but if if you were in one of those other categories, I mean you're still gonna glean some really useful information from this, aren't they? I don't think so, no. I think this is no, I'll tell you the title of the list. Um Right. Well that would be helpful. Yeah, because you're sort of you're second guessing what it might say. And and obviously An interrupting. Which is very unlike you. You don't you don't offer interrupt, uh so no, the list is specifically aimed at teachers. And it's called Ten Challenges of Teaching and How to Overcome Them. Oh my word.

SPEAKER_01 18:04

So so this is the disclosure and barring service thinking, right. Well, a major part of our clientele, the teachers. So what we're gonna do here is we're not just gonna talk about DBS checks, but we're actually a bit like the stationary provider. Yeah, we're going to sort of sit down as a group and we're gonna think, okay, well, what sort of 10 Yeah, exactly that.

SPEAKER_00 18:26

This is not the disclosure and borrowing service that have come up with this list. It's a company that's very important that we need they facilitate. So they're one of these companies, sort of third parties. It's one of those. So if you need a DBS check and then has DBS check done, you can contact this company and they'll take care of all the admin.

SPEAKER_01 18:45

Oh, we need to be very clear on that. This is not the disclosure service.

SPEAKER_00 18:49

Probably they are pitching their services more towards teachers. Um, but I don't think exclusively, but they have identified 10 challenges of teaching and how to overcome them. Now that's really useful, I think, if you work in teaching. So I know what those 10 challenges are because perhaps you'd think there's more than 10. I I was thinking they were more than 10. And I you know, I'm thinking in my mind what what those I'm already letting them percolate in my mind.

SPEAKER_01 19:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:13

No, you're you're in you're incorrect in thinking there's more than 10. This list is very clear, it says there's 10. Right. And uh and I'm and but also what's really good, and I want you to bear in mind the title as we go through 10 challenges of teaching and how to overcome them. How to overcome them. Right. Right? So it's not just telling you not just identifying the problem, what's the solution? It's got solutions as well. Now, because that's really important, because if you're just gonna come up with a list of ten problems, yeah, you're gonna put people off. So it says, Teaching is a phenomenal career. Yeah, it's gratifying to make a difference in the youth. 100%. As the youth would say, a hundred percent. That's a well-written sentence, isn't it? Yeah, yeah. It's gratifying to make a difference in the youth. Yet it's also a career that comes with its challenges that many aren't aware of. To the everyday person, teaching children seems like a breeze. I'm not sure they think that, actually. I've never met anyone who thought most people say, I can't I can't understand how you do it, mate. That's normally the response I get. The misconception comes from the idea that teachers get school holidays and half days, but that's far from the truth. Well, no, it's not far from the truth that we get school holidays. We we do get school holidays. We we quite like them, though. I'm not sure what the half day reference is. Half days, I mean would you like to do a three and a half day week? Yes, I would.

SPEAKER_01 20:34

But we don't we don't get that option.

SPEAKER_00 20:35

We don't get half days, no, that's nonsense. But we do get the school holidays, and they they they can be. I mean, often we we do some work during the school holidays. I'm not saying that, but they are they're generally seen as quite a good thing. In addition, while there are challenges in the classroom, outside of school hours, there are as many challenges. Okay. So well we'll we're gonna go through what those 10 challenges are. So let's not let's not second guess them at this stage. No. Uh while the rewards outweigh the challenges, it's still important to understand teachers' roles and the problems they overcome. I thought this was aimed at teachers, but now it says it's important to understand teachers' roles and the problems they overcome. Suggest this is aimed at somebody who's not a teacher who just needs to understand. Um so I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 21:19

I mean, is there much call for a guide from people who are not teachers to imagine what the problems or the challenges of teaching were and exactly how to overcome them?

SPEAKER_00 21:33

I don't I'd be surprised. But but if it is look, this list is for them as well as it is for us, okay? So that's good. So so main audience teaching, but could could be another audience, could be anybody. Could literally be anybody who just wants to understand, wants to understand a teacher. I think so. I think so. Right. So uh now obviously these are titles, as as with lots of our lists, it's a title, followed by a bit more. Now I'm not going to read. It all verbatim, but if you want some more, I'll read the title. If you want me to explain more, because you haven't fully understood it. So, number one, understanding the different learning challenges amongst students. Yes. Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_01 22:15

That's not that's not my honest response, and I try to give an honest response to everything, is that seems to me to be reasonable. But I would ask you, it's not quite phone a friend, but if you could flesh that out.

SPEAKER_00 22:28

Yeah, because I I what do they mean by learning challenges amongst the students? Right, okay. So, regardless of the class or students you're teaching, there will always be a diverse set of learning abilities that demand your attention. I wouldn't phrase it like that, but fair enough so far. Given that there are eight learning styles where they get this. Exactly eight. Uh a teacher has to think outside the box when it comes to meeting the needs of each of their learners. So whole population across the globe divides into eight. Yeah, absolutely. Okay. Different teaching strategies satisfy and stimulate learners in various ways. And as a teacher, you're required to put in extra hours and effort to meet their needs. However, once a teacher develops these strategies, they're rewarded with empowered and thriving learners. How does that get us over? I think it does. Can you just rewind a little bit?

SPEAKER_01 23:17

So I think I missed the solution.

SPEAKER_00 23:19

Where is the solution? Let me read that to you again. So we've established the problem, different learning styles are different teaching strategies satisfy and stimulate learners in various ways. And as a teacher, you're required to put in extra hours and effort to meet their needs.

SPEAKER_01 23:39

So extra hours and effort. A non-specified number of hours and an unspecified level of effort, other than it seems to be quite a lot of effort. Yes. That is the that is the solution. I don't know how that passed me by. It was so quick, it came out of your mouth like a bullet out of a gun. Yeah. It passed me by. So I'm glad I asked you to rewind. Well, it's good, it's good to do.

SPEAKER_00 24:11

Um yes. It doesn't helpful. It doesn't touch upon what the uh eight learning uh styles are. I think that's for another podcast. And I have, yeah, I printed those out for another podcast. Number two, remembering that the title is The Ten Tens to and How to Overcome Them. Student Family Problems and Beliefs Student Family Challenges isn't particularly funny. Why are you laughing at that student family challenges? No, this is this is one

When The Fix Is Work Harder

SPEAKER_00 24:40

title. You've not heard me because I've been talking about it. Well if you didn't complete it, so you started laughing. The fact that I exploded into laughter before finishing should give you an indicator that you need to be listening to the whole thing here. Okay. So number two, student family problems and bullying. Why are you laughing at bullying? Because it's not that so student family problems it's got nothing to do with bullying, has it? And bullying are presented as one problem.

SPEAKER_01 25:08

I mean, two huge areas lumped together into one. We've had this with lists before, haven't we?

SPEAKER_00 25:15

They both deserve a place on the list. Right, so so the um the solution, yeah. I'm all the is. Because teachers work locally with vulnerable groups and children, they must complete an enhanced DBS check.

SPEAKER_01 25:41

Look, I know they've got a shoehorn in the DBS check, but I think it just feels like their family problems and or bullying is going to be solved by the completion of a DBS check.

SPEAKER_00 25:56

But they weren't suggesting the teacher was bullying them, were they, or causing family problems? I don't think so. No, I think they existed outside of the teachers. So teachers there to support, and they can't do that without a DBS check. Well, you can't work as a teacher if you haven't got a DBS check. So they can't go unaccompanied to a toilet in a school without a DBS check. Number three, lack of funding. Now, fair enough. I'm not even gonna No questions there. That's absolutely exactly right. There is a lack of funding in education. One of the current education issues facing teachers today is the lack of funding. Unfortunately, unless you are working at a private school, public or independent schools across the country, unless you are working at a private school, public or independent schools across the country often encounter issues with funding. That that doesn't make any sense. No, it doesn't. Because it's suggesting that private schools are different to public and independent schools, which they're not. And I think what they mean is state schools are. Anyway, that's that's just me being patantic and I'm known for it. When schools encounter budget issues, the first step is to reduce pupil to teacher ratio, which directly impacts I don't think it's the first step, but it's a potentially a uh a it's a natural consequence, maybe. Which the first step is to reduce pupil to teacher ratio. Don't think that's what happens. No, no, um it isn't, but sometimes perhaps it does affect recruitment, which then may have that that that result, uh, which directly impacts the scholars' learning, it says. The scholars. Okay. Uh Wow. Yeah, it's uh someone touch of the Eatons there, isn't it? Someone's found a thesaurus, haven't they? Yeah, yeah. Um teachers face a growing number of students per class, which prevents them from providing crucial one-to-one attention. The result is lower student achievement and satisfaction. Now, the reason I'm laughing is because that's the end of that section. What? Now, the title did promise problems and how to overcome them. Well, a problem shared. So that they've halved it, but they haven't provided the other half, which was the solution. They've not provided any solution. They've just it's just two badly written paragraphs explaining there's not enough money in schools.

SPEAKER_01 28:03

Absolutely, because I was I had my notebook out there, and I was thinking, goodness me, if if they've if we've happened on a list here where they've solved the school funding crisis, then I'm gonna don't mind telling you.

SPEAKER_00 28:16

I would have ripped it off and tried to pretend it was my own. Number four. Now you'll agree with this one. I'll I'd agreed with this one. I'm just reading that the title.

SPEAKER_01 28:22

Well, I've agreed with all of them so far.

SPEAKER_00 28:24

Just depressing. Solutions have not been uh lack of effective communication. Right. Yeah, yeah. I I'd agree with that. I think sometimes that can be a problem. When you're working in education, uh communication isn't always effective as you'd like it to be, and sometimes it can lead to misunderstandings and it can lead to pressures that you don't necessarily if people communicate, but that's fine. Um let's see if that's what they mean and what their solution is. So every year, students are faced with the daunting task of communicating their needs to teachers. That's not what I'd understood by that. No, okay, right. Uh no, we'll go back to the title again.

SPEAKER_01 28:57

Lack of effective effective communication. Oh, they mean from students to their teachers. I don't think that's what most of our listeners were assuming that meant. And it certainly wasn't what I was assuming it meant. No, so they mean So lack of effective communication from from the scholars were effectively blaming the kids for lack of effective communication.

SPEAKER_00 29:21

I think that's that's massively that was an issue that they could have got right and they've massively got wrong. Okay, let's so some kids have a natural knack for it. They can talk about what they want engagingly and get what they need, but many find themselves struggling to communicate effectively with their teachers. Right. This is true, but it's not that's not the that's the wrong title. Anyway, it says the solution is as the wiser of the bunch, it literally says that, as the wiser of the bunch, teachers need to build trust with their students and work on their communication skills every day. Work work on their communication skills every day. Now, are they working on their own communication skills or working on the students' communication skills?

SPEAKER_01 30:01

It's not scholars, scholars, yes.

SPEAKER_00 30:04

You are building an effective communication channel not only between yourself and your students but also their parents. That's just an aside they've thrown in at the end there. There's nothing about the parents till that last. So point one solution was work harder.

SPEAKER_01 30:17

Work harder. Point three, no solution, just lack of funding is a problem. Point two, get a DBS check. Point two, get a DBS check. Um point what was it? Four.

SPEAKER_00 30:29

Yeah. Four is work on the children's communication skills. That will solve the lack of effective communication. But no, work on their skills, and there's something in there about their parents, but it's not really clear what the parents because the parents weren't mentioned until the last sentence. So I'm I'm unclear why the parents have suddenly been sort of shoehorned into this. But oh my goodness, me. I I I think we we felt both of us that lack of effective communication was talking about communication between teachers, within schools, sometimes from local authorities to schools, sometimes from government to schools. Yes. That's what we were thinking about, but not blaming the kids at all. But that's dear, dear. Anyway, uh I mean as I say, children's inability to communicate well is an issue. It just comes under a different title. Number five. This is so this is the title. Being encouraging and motivating under challenging times.

SPEAKER_01 31:18

It's badly worded. They've certainly got an idea of what some of the challenges are.

SPEAKER_00 31:22

So I'm not sure. I think the last one, if they hadn't mentioned children, would have been accurate as well. Well, it was just the title was, but then they've they've sort of poorly explained it. So this one again, I think badly worded, being encouraging and motivating under challenging times is is not a well-written headline headline, but ultimately it's that Monday morning feel-in when you've got to you come in, you're not feeling it, and you've got to suddenly become turn it on, switch it on, and be there for the kids. It can be challenging and something with yeah. So uh let's see what how they've explained it and what their solution is. Right. So the school year is dotted with exciting learning activities and adventures for pupils throughout the year. And most of the year is going to be spent bonding with your students. There will be times when you need to motivate your students through the treacherous parts of the year. Again, treacherous, so it feels ever so Shakespearean to me. This is oscillated between being badly written and using some quite flowery language. High school students are bombarded with exams and assignments that their futures depend on. Preschool students, on the other hand, have to overcome challenges such as pen grips and ball skills. So both age groups need a supporting shoulder from a teacher who they can trust. The treacherous times of year for high school, secondary students, exams, assignments. Yeah. Uh, and the treacherous time of year for preschool students is when they have to learn how to grip a pen. Is that a specific time of year? I don't know, I don't work in that sector, but I would have thought that's not defined by a particular time of year. And I wouldn't describe it as treacherous either. Is that it? That's it. That's the There's no solution provided. It's not even really a problem there, is there? No. Again, I agreed with the actual kind of sentiment of the actual title. There are times where it's difficult to be encouraging and motivating when you're not feeling but that's not what it says, does it? It's not talking about how teachers sometimes we're being going to find it difficult to get motivated because you were having to show a child how to hold a pen. No, or actually to help them pass an exam. No. That's kind of what you are motivated by a lot of the time, is trying to help them

Paperwork Time Management And Pressure

SPEAKER_00 33:20

do to succeed. So what is difficult, I think, as a teacher is sometimes you've had a bad day yourself. Uh, number six, now again, we're going to agree with the title disciplining students. I don't like the title. Don't like the title, I don't like the way it's worded. But well, we don't like the way any of it's worded, I don't think. But in terms of the idea of behaviour management, I suppose is what I'm hearing here. And behaviour management obviously is a challenge in schools. It's well documented, it's quite difficult sometimes, and that's one of the reasons teachers leave the profession is because they find that that aspect of it quite challenging. So let's see how they've solved it for us. Uh so obviously they're going to present the problem in a bit more detail. Disciplining students is a challenge in the classroom and can be a timely, emotionally taxing process. I don't think they meant to be timely, though. That's that's the wrong use of that word. So while you're guaranteed to have delightful children in your class, I don't think that's guaranteed. It's not guaranteed. But uh I can certainly think of some classes. I'd encounter classrooms.

SPEAKER_01 34:20

I would say they're all delightful, or any of them. Any of them were delightful. So it's by no means a guarantee.

SPEAKER_00 34:27

But I'd say it's fair to say that you know most of the time there are some students who would genuinely use the word delightful if you use words like delightful. Which I don't tend to. I don't either, but I know what you mean. So what I've heard of it. I've heard of it. It's not a word that's in my uh my my regular vocabulary, but I've I I know I understand what it means. While you're guaranteed to have delightful children in your class, it's not uncommon that you'll encounter students who lack good manners and are disrespectful. Now that's true, that's absolutely true. Absolutely, yeah. Disrespectful students can kill your love of teaching. Uh but you also have to be careful in the way you go about dealing with disruptions and disciplining students. Yeah, fair enough. Ways to implement the lack of manners in your classroom is to implement justified consequences, get to the root of the problem, get the parents involved, and create intervention plans.

SPEAKER_01 35:12

Yes, it it's not a solution to indiscipline, it is a long list of tasks which will take an inordinate amount of time to complete and probably won't provide a great deal of satisfaction.

SPEAKER_00 35:27

Realistically, the way to solve these problems is to have work in a school where there are established systems to support you to do that. If if you as a teacher have to do all of this all on your own, you're not going to be very successful. Right, okay, let's let's look at number seven. Endless paperwork and extended working hours. Again, sounds reasonable. There's a lot of paperwork attached to the role these days, and we do find ourselves working beyond what many people would think of the established working hours. If you remember anything from your school years, it's the fact that teachers were always up to their necks in marking and grading papers. That's all I can remember from my school. I can't remember that at all from my school days. I said, even I mean, I I wouldn't want to say that teachers weren't doing that when I was in school. I don't know. It's not an overwhelming memory. I don't remember them doing it because I didn't care when I was a student in a school. I didn't wasn't interested at all in what they were doing. Anyway, so but it says if you remember anything from your school years, it's about teacher rose up to the next in marking and grading papers. And sick days aren't always an option. Yeah, fair enough, that's true. Sometimes it's easier to come in when you're sick. Unfortunately, marking papers isn't a task performed during teaching hours, which often leaves teachers marking once the day has ended. Well, again, there's there's a lot of truth in that. Paperwork involves accounting for the growth of your students by tracking their progress throughout the year. Badly worded, but fair enough. Yep. In addition to teaching notes, individual evaluations need to be recorded. Don't understand what that sentence is saying.

SPEAKER_01 36:46

And this is a task and it's rubbish as well.

SPEAKER_00 36:48

It's nonsense. But basically, there's no solution again. Extended working hours is the solution to extended working hours. Extended working hours is the solution to that. And not only that, you need to mark all the stuff and then make some evaluative comments as well. So the problem is endless paperwork and extended working hours, and the solution is extended working hours. Now, you might wonder, having heard number seven, what number seven was about. Yeah. You probably are now going to wonder what on earth number eight is about that's different to number seven. Right. Because number eight is time management. Well, they've already told us to manage our time by allocating more time to I think I think several of the points, and certainly point seven, which has immediately preceded point eight, is talking about time management. But now it's presented as a different problem. Okay, so let's teach is a job that needs you to be on your feet all day, and there's often little time for rest. So on top of being on your feet, you need to be keeping busy bees' minds active. Oh gosh. I hate it. Is this pitched at secondary, primary, early years?

SPEAKER_01 38:03

It doesn't say it matters who it's pitched at.

SPEAKER_00 38:06

But I've seen patronising nonsense. I've never referred to my students as busy bees. Absolutely not. This is a good sentence, too. Creating creative ways, creating creative ways to keep little ones entertained is vital to making your job as a teacher easier. This is where planning and time management comes into play. Oh, I'm glad they have brought it into play because I had no idea what any of this had to do with the the this is it. This is where planning and time management comes into play. As with high school scholars, time management involves designing a stimulating schedule and covers the years' work without flying past content. I don't think any of that made any sense.

SPEAKER_01 38:45

It doesn't make any sense. And it's highly, highly irritating. It's you don't think they've done a deal with that stationary provider, do you?

SPEAKER_00 38:55

No, I'm going back to that stationary provider list with sort of nostalgia, uh rose-tinted glasses. Because whatever you'd like to say about that list, and it was appalling, it was quite well written. Yes, it was well written. This this is not, is it? It's I in fact I think this is what tells us it wasn't written by AI, because frankly, AI does better with a syntax. Yeah, we do. These people have managed. Number nine, again, we seem to have left the UK because number nine says pressure from school administrators. That is definitely American. Now, in America, the school administrator, I believe, is the senior leadership team. Yes. Yes. Now, in the UK, a school administrator would be someone who works in the admin team, and they don't put any pressure on us. As a general rule, they're quite invaluable. They're not putting any pressure on us. We need them. We put pressure on them, if anything. Absolutely. So it's a weird one to be in a UK list, but there you go. But I think they are talking about SLT, is what they're talking about. They don't want senior leadership. Teaching has become a super competitor industry. That's right, it says super competitive, not competitive, competitor industry. Right. Which requires teachers to be thinking out of the box constantly. Competition applies to those in the school with a lot of teachers feeling as though they need to achieve greater things each year. On top of the competition, teachers are solely responsible for students' development, growth indicators, and disciplinary factors. These factors put a lot of pressure on teachers' shoulders. Now, that's a badly written problem, which doesn't have any solution to it. I haven't been helped to overcome the pressure from my school administrators in that, but equally, I'm not sure what the pressure is either, based on that sentence, though that paragraph. Something tells me they're not sure what the pressure is. They're just assuming there will be one. There is pressure in schools, and often it does come from top down, from leadership onto uh and some of that pressure is justified, and sometimes that pressure can be a reflection of the pressures on the leadership team. Uh and maybe sometimes it's passed on too readily, and and that's sort of you know, that's I think that's not just teaching. I imagine that's most areas where there's any form of hierarchy. Yes, which is almost everything. Which is is pretty much all all industries you could work in. Uh so not unique to schools and that badly worded and no solutions.

Burnout Signs And A Flat Ending

SPEAKER_00 41:10

Uh number 10 is burnout. Oh gosh, yeah. Again, you know, that happens, you hear about it. So, you know, if this was just a list of titles, yeah, we'd have interpreted them very differently and possibly gone, that's quite a sensible list. Yeah. Apart from number two, which combines two very serious problems as one throwaway problem. Right, so number 10, burnout. It's no secret that teaching can be a demanding profession. That's sure that that's not true, that's not what they said at the start, though. No, it's thoroughly rewarding. Before point one in their introduction, where they said no one understands how demanding it is, to saying to point ten, we're assuming that everyone does. There's no secret. Yeah. With the constant pressure to produce great results, it's not uncommon for teachers to experience burnout. But how do you know when you're suffering from the condition? Hold on, a solution seems to be presenting itself here. It does, it does, it's emerging from the mist. Here are some signs of burnout in educators. Right. Feeling drained after working on lesson plans or grading papers. Yeah. Okay. Just those two though. No, no other activity can, you know. But if you feel drained after working on lesson plans or after grading papers, that's a sign of burnout. Okay. But if you've so if I felt stressed out because I'd had a late night rehearsal. No, it's not. No, that's not a sign of burnout. If you've been working with a challenging class and they've left you feeling burnt out, that's not a sign of burnout. What about writing a program of study? No, no.

SPEAKER_01 42:36

It's specifically lesson plans.

SPEAKER_00 42:38

Lesson plans and grading papers, man. Grading papers. Marking papers, we call it in this country, though, not grading them. Correct. Right. Here's some other signs of burnout that you might find. Have GPs got this as a sort of quick reference. Dreading going into work every day. Yeah. If you dread going into work every day, that might be a sign of burnout. Yeah, could be. Possibly. Wishing you could leave your job. Yeah. And find something else to do with your life. Signs of burnout there for you. Uh well, the solution though is no, that that's it. That's all they've written. So the list finishes dead there. Yeah, there's not even a conclusion. Now, often these lists do then have a little summary, a little conclusion to say, you've read through all our points, here's some da-da, you know, here's some takeaways for you summarising what you've read. But this list ends dead on the end of it.

SPEAKER_01 43:25

Ends dead and doesn't even say for help with none of the above, apply for a DBS chat.

SPEAKER_00 43:36

Well, that's the bell, um, and that presents us with the challenge of how to end the show.

SPEAKER_01 43:41

I think that's quite easy, really.

SPEAKER_00 43:43

How are we gonna do it this week then?

SPEAKER_01 43:45

No, I've got a ten point list of how we could end the show. Or we could just say goodbye. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 43:51

Goodbye. Goodbye.