Teacher standards are being judged and debated almost constantly! Whether you’re instructing a class of angels or devils, to some extent, there’s a limit to how much you can feasibly achieve in one lesson. If certain pupils don’t reach their targets, it isn’t due to poor teacher standards alone…

Imagine, for a moment, that you’re a dentist. You see approximately 3000 patients in a month and you’re ready for your inspection and when the inspector arrives, they ask the dreaded question: how many of your patients are on target for having no bad teeth?

‘Well,’ you begin, ‘I do have a large and diverse range of clients, each with their own requirements and needs. It’s a lot of hard work. As a result, 27% of my patients have at least one bad tooth when they visit’.

‘Not good enough,’ replies the inspector. ‘We expect a rate of 95% healthy teeth. Unfortunately, we have to rate your dental practice as inadequate’.

‘But’, you begin, ‘my patients don’t always take my advice, some don’t turn up to appointments at all and others straight-up admit they don’t brush their teeth! I do everything I can possibly do. Once the patient leaves the practice, it’s beyond my control. We do send patients regular reminders that they should come for a check-up and I’m constantly reminding the worst offenders that sugary foods and drinks aren’t going to make matters better when they visit.’

‘It’s your job to make them follow the advice!’ the inspector replies. You try and speak up again but it’s too little too late. Before you know it, your dental practice is graded inadequate, you’re suddenly on a support plan with someone constantly checking in on how you’re doing with a promise that they’ll return in six months to check that 95% of your patients arrive with perfect teeth. You’ve given everything you can as a dentist, but people are still turning up with holes in their teeth.

Judging a professional on the unforeseeable would, by any and all accounts, be considered unfair. So the question remains, why does it happen to teachers?

Now. Imagine, for a moment, that you’re a mechanic…

Subscribe to Beyond from as little as £5 per month, giving you access to thousands of resources. If you want to see what we offer first, sign up for a free account here and take a look around at our free resources.