Things I Wish Were Different About Teaching

I've written a number of times on here about the problem of everyone having an opinion on how teaching should be done, without ever having had any experience of actual teaching, only experience of learning. Tom Bennett wrote yesterday about the lack of consultation with teachers on this matter too.

I've compiled a list of the 10 most important things that I think need to change in teaching, focusing on a teacher's daily working life, rather than philosophies and policies. I've come at it from the angle that were I to go back into teaching, this is what I would want to see happening first. I've not ranked them in any particular way other than the order that I thought of them in.

I'm hoping that this will be a list of practical suggestions for changes that can be made on the front line. Once again, I would really appreciate your thoughts on these in the form of comments.

Number 1 No faddy things that need to be evidenced in planning
Number 2 Less Spying By Senior Management
Number 3 More customisability on behalf of the student
Number 4 Less weight to the student voice
Number 5 Not having to document everything I do in a day
Number 6 Relevant Methods of Study
Number 7 That I could be myself at work
Number 8 Collaborating nationally on lesson plans and resources
Number 9 That lunch and break times were actual breaks
Number 10 That students were allowed to fail exams if they really were that shit