This morning I, like many, woke up to the news that Australian students are falling behind in maths and science rankings according to The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).
It made me mad and a little bit sad, and not only because maths and science are important skills that students need to learn.
It made me mad because before reading beyond the headline, I knew where fingers would be pointed.
As teachers rub their bleary eyes from long nights spent writing reports and planning engaging, educational lessons to teach the bucketloads of curriculum they still need to get through as the end of the year rapidly approaches, they had the rug pulled out from underneath them.
Yet again, despite the copious amount of work they do, the blame was laid. Reading the coverage of the study, it quickly became clear the effectiveness of teachers and the training they undergo was being questioned.
Granted, Government initiatives and trying to solve problems by simply pumping money into them was also mentioned. Alas, as per usual, it was teachers who took the hardest hit.
It was clear many believe the stagnating results – you see, we haven’t actually become worse, others have simply improved – are solely the responsibility of teachers.
Because once a child starts school they are solely the responsibility of teachers. They are incapable of learning anything education related from anyone else. Duh.