THE 'Troops to Teachers' scheme, where ex-military personnel are fast-tracked into UK classrooms to teach and support lessons, was announced.
The thinking behind the programme is to utilise the discipline, team-work skills and experience learned in military service, and transpose those skills to the classroom.
There are definite supporters of the idea – and it would be difficult to argue that those skills are not useful within a classroom setting.
There is, of course, an opposing point of view, largely borne from the fact that the Troops to Teachers candidates will not need a degree and will complete their training within two years, with only one day a week studying.
The argument is that this is simply not enough training to prepare any candidate to enter the specialised knowledge-based profession of teaching.
It is one thing to have the skills to deliver subject knowledge, but the reason that teaching is a graduate profession is because subject knowledge is required in the first place.
As someone who works in education, I acknowledge the importance of specific subject knowledge and passion for a subject that teachers should have. Ofsted focuses strongly on the links between high quality teaching and in-depth knowledge of the subject, and across the UK, schools link up to provide training between specialist teachers.
As a parent, I would hope that whoever teaches maths or science or history to my son would know enough about that subject to be able to communicate it to him in an inspiring way.
In life, as well as in school, there is little more annoying than someone who professes to be an expert on a given topic when, in reality, they just Googled it the day before.
The most telling thing about the scheme, however, is the uptake. There is already less interest from ex-troops than expected. Their reason? In comparison with other professions that ex-military personnel enter after their service is complete, they say that the teaching salary is too low.
And they don't need a maths degree to figure that out.
