Sir Michael Wilshaw - is he the enemy or what?

The head of SMW is most definitely wanted on a spike by most teachers in the country at the moment, thanks to his consistent battle cries and mouthing off to the press. I must admit to being outraged at the man myself, in my last blog post about him… Sir Michael Wilshaw: Who Is This Kn**?

The case against him has gained more support this week as he was quoted as saying that teachers don’t know the meaning of stress. Is the amount of hate directed towards him justified though?

Here’s why he is the enemy:

• Staff morale-gate: “if anyone says to you that “staff morale is at an all-time low” you will know you are doing something right."
• He is a thug and a bully: “Occasionally I've been known to be a bit like Dirty Harry”
• He thinks there is some epidemic of poor teachers and this is the main cause of underachievement. This was his opening statement after first being appointed.

Here’s why you should think again:

• He doesn't like heads who can’t acknowledge their own mistakes: “What we don't need are leaders in our schools whose first recourse is to blame someone else."
• He didn't actually say that teachers don’t know the meaning of stress. He was talking about head teachers.
• He stated "It's a tough job, in most challenging areas, teaching five to six hours a day is a tough, tough job," whilst acknowledging there was a problem with teacher burnout.

What’s your opinion on the chap?