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      Teaching is 'one of the least popular jobs in the UK'

1. The UK government has just published a report on the future of secondary school teaching (pupils aged 11-16), and the conclusion of the report is that many secondary schools now face great difficulties in finding people who want to be teachers. Since the 1980s, the number of graduates who say they would 'seriously consider' teaching as a career has fallen sharply, from 64% in 1982 to just 17% today. The report suggests that urgent action needs to be taken in order to encourage more intelligent young graduates into teaching.

2. The main drawback of secondary teaching, according to the report, is the low salary. Earnings in teaching are much lower than in many other jobs, and this means that fewer and fewer young people decide to be teachers. Joanne Manners, 24, is a good example: T graduated in maths last year, and I was thinking of doing a teacher-training course to become a maths teacher - but when I looked into the details, it became clear that teaching isn't a very lucrative job these days. I saw I could earn twice as much if I worked in marketing or advertising, and so I decided not to become a teacher.'

3. It's not just about the money, however. The survey concluded that another reason why people don't want to be teachers is that some teenagers behave very badly in school. A lot of schools have problems with discipline, and it seems clear that children do not have the same respect for teachers as in the past. Here's the view of Dave Hallam, an accountant from London: 'When I was at school, we were taught to look up to our teachers, and to do what we were told. No one would ever disobey the teacher or be rude to him or her. But now, this has completely changed, and it is difficult to control the pupils in class. I think parents are to blame. They should have stricter rules with their children at home and also teach their children to have more respect for teachers.'

4. I love teaching, it's my passion. I've been a secondary-school teacher of Spanish for ten years now, and although it's a very demanding job, it's very satisfying. When I see my students passing their Spanish exams, or singing along to Spanish pop songs, it makes me feel so proud,' says Brian Jones, who works in a secondary school in London. So what does he think the government should do to encourage more people to become teachers? 'My view is that the government should reduce the burden of work on teachers, by appointing more teaching assistants. I find that I always have too much work to do, and I'm always snowed under with paperwork. I have to stay at work late, and this is really bad for my family. I've got two young kids, and I often don't get home until after they've gone to bed. My work-life balance is terrible. If the government employed more teaching assistants, it would make teaching a much easier and less stressful job, and more people would be interested in it.'

5. The report is clear that the problem of teacher shortages is a very serious one. It says that the government should raise teachers' pay significantly, to catch up with workers in other professions. It also suggests that the government could launch a nationwide publicity campaign, with some advertisements on TV and in the newspapers, to show the positive sides of teaching to young people. Another solution could be to set a maximum number of hours per week that teachers can work, in order to reduce stress on teachers. 'Hopefully,' the report concludes, 'these solutions can improve the poor image of secondary teaching, and increase the number of young people who want to become teachers in the future.'  

1. Read the article and match these questions (a-e) with the paragraphs (1-5).

a Is the low salary the only problem?

b What does the new study say?     paragraph I

c What should the government do about the problem?

d What’s the biggest reason that young people don’t want to become teachers?

e What is the view of a teacher?

2 Complete this table with the problems and solutions mentioned in the article.

3 Find the words or expressions in the article with a similar meaning to these phrases.

1 people who have a university degree (paragraph 1)     graduates

2 the biggest disadvantage (paragraph 2)

3 well paid (paragraph 2)

4 have respect for teachers (paragraph 3)

5 refuse to do what your teacher tells you (paragraph 3)

6 a tiring and difficult job (paragraph 4)

7 cut the amount of work teachers have to do (paragraph 4)

8 staff who help the teacher in the class (paragraph 4)

9 I have too much work to do (paragraph 4)

10 the balance between how much time you spend at work, and how much free time you have (paragraph 4)

11 give teachers a large salary increase (paragraph 5)

1 Cross out the phrase in each list that does not form a collocation with the word in bold. Use a dictionary to look up any words you are not sure about.

1 go to / do / leave / skip school

2 suffer from a  / get into / be burdened with debt

3 make / sit/resit / pass/fail / take an exam

4 take out a / get a student / borrow a / pay back a loan

5 cram for / write / do badly in / revise for an exam

2 Complete these sentences with collocations from Exercise 1. Use the words in brackets to help you.

1 University fees are very expensive these days, so many students..........................when they are studying, (debt)

2 It’s a really bad idea to ........................... because it’s impossible to learn everything in a short time. It’s much better to start working a few weeks before. (exam)

3 If you don’t have enough money to pay for everything when you go to university, you can ......................... from the government to help you. (loan)

4 In the first year, universities normally let you......................... if you fail it the first time.(exam)

5 Students who borrow a lot of money to study at university can..........................for many years afterwards. It can take five or ten years to pay back all the money. (debt)

3. Match each of the italicized phrases about school (1-4) to its meaning (a-d). Use a dictionary to help you if necessary.

1 When I was 14 ,1 played truant from school, but my teacher caught me.

2 In some countries, teachers can use corporal punishment.

3 Many schools test their pupils by continuous assessment throughout the school year, rather than by having one big exam at the end of the year.

4 Many students prefer to follow a vocational course after school, rather than studying an academic subject at university.

a a punishment which involves hitting students

b skipped (school)

c a course which prepares you directly for a job (e.g. hairdressing, cooking)

d lots of small tests and written work during the year

4 Complete these questions using the phrases from Exercise 4, then discuss them with a partner.

1 Do you agree with.................................................... as a way of dealing with children who misbehave in school?

2 Have you ever.................................................... ? Did you ever get caught?

3 Do you think.................................................... is a good alternative to exams?

4 Did you study a .................................................... after you finished school?

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