Teach First aims for top of the class
March 12, 2010 by admin
Filed under Career News and Advice
Teach First aims to encourage graduates to teach in schools in deprived communities. Photograph: Image Source/Rex Features
They say those who can, teach; or at least that’s the catchphrase the government has long been using to entice graduates into the profession. But despite the fact that teaching has been presented as a recession-proof job choice, the government says it still needs more top calibre graduates to enter the profession.
A recent poll by revealed that many are put off by generalisations about teachers’ low pay and limited opportunities to progress.
While the Conservative party has been calling for teachers to be better qualified, Gordon Brown has reiterated the need for “empathy, understanding, passion”; all of which means one thing – motivated, hard-working graduates are in demand. Teach First, an independent educational charity, seeks to find said grads who can inspire and encourage pupils from poor backgrounds to fulfil their academic potential.
James Darley, director of graduate recruitment at Teach First, says: “There’s an educational disadvantage in the UK, whereby the wealth of a parent determines the quality of their child’s education. We can help change that by putting the best minds into the most challenged communities and help raise the achievements and aspirations of a child’s life.”
Teach First offers graduates a structured and rigorous two-year teaching and leadership development programme – the sort of training that most private sector companies have been forced to axe as a result of the recession. Darley points out: “It’s a scheme whereby you will progress faster than …
Read the original article at Guardian
