Nooooooooooo!

Compromise has been reached with the AltEd programme I’m leaving.  My fellow tutor on the other schemes is going to deliver the Personal Finance aspect of my course, but without the maths underpinning – or not to any great degree (pun deliberate) anyway.

I shall still administer the exams and supply Jackie (co-tutor) with lesson plans and resources; which I’m more than happy to do as she’s great and I know she’ll deliver the sessions well.  Yes, I’ll be paid for doing the exams; I made sure of that!

But meanwhile, whilst I was industriously sorting out the continuation of my programme, the English side is having its own problems.  Last year, the local college provided a tutor; this year he was not supplied as he had his own full-time department at the college to run.  However, the college “forgot” to supply anyone else, so a manager agreed to come along until half-term or until a tutor was engaged.

They engaged one last week who was supplied by an agency.  Greed-ridden co-ordinator interviewed her and took her on, only to find out (don’t ask why she didn’t check first, I don’t know) that this tutor had been kicked out of the next-door school for unprofessional practices (I wish I knew what, but I don’t).

So the agency was told not to send her after all – and surprise, surprise, they didn’t have another one available.

Today, the English session was run by two youth workers who just held a group discussion.  But not a structured discussion; mainly a chat with the students, which was probably excellent youth work practice but was NOT what a literacy or English Speaking & Listening session should be about.

THEN, and this is the punch line that made me choke and search around for the belladonna, greed-ridden co-ordinator put herself forward to deliver the English.  Anybody who hasn’t read me for years (and seen my previous rants about this woman) will be thinking, “That sounds reasonable,” but this co-ordinator is ILLITERATE.  In the literal sense of the word.  She literally cannot read well, cannot write at all well and certainly can’t spell. 

Spellcheck is her friend, but she doesn’t realise that spellcheck will approve “there” even if the spelling should have been “they’re,” etc., etc.  Capital letters are dotted around at random in sentences and missed out when they should be used; paragraphs are a mixture of indented and block; grammar is consistently as bad as “you was excellent" and "should of.”

One of our local schools no longer sends pupils to the scheme as a result of the awful celebration event invitation letter she sent to them last year.

I can’t say enough how dreadful she is at English.  She’d struggle to pass a test at Entry Level Two.

The only saving grace is that the senior manager has not yet approved this “appointment” and he would have to agree it before anything could happen.  He knows how bad she is, because he used to ask me to rewrite her reports. 

I pledge it here, if he does approve her teaching English or literacy, I shall immediately resign from my main job (which is in his area).  I’d still be ok at the other two schemes where I teach, because they’re in a different management area.  I would not want to be associated in ANY WAY with the scheme, or with the manager for condoning such a horrendous course of action.  Talk about feel devalued (if it happens).

I must remember, it may not happen.  It may not happen.  It may not happen.

However, I needed to vent here!