Michael Steer says iPads and iPhones are a hindrance rather than a help in the classroom
Michael Steer with some of his pupilsChannel 4
The star teacher in new TV documentary Educating Yorkshire has hit out at hi-tech gadgets for making kids lazy.
Michael Steer, who is seen shouting at a pupil in the trailer for next week’s Channel 4 show, says iPads and iPhones are a hindrance rather than a help in the classroom.
Viewers will see the maths teacher bawling in frustration at one of his pupils at Thornhill community academy in Dewsbury, West Yorks, telling him to “do maths”.
Michael, 36, told the Sunday People : “Maths is not a popular subject and now there is a reliance by some students who think ‘Why do I need to know my times tables because I can just go to my phone?’
“It’s still important though, so I try to tell them that.”
Referring to his outburst, Michael, who is also deputy head, said: “I raised my voice maybe twice during eight weeks’ filming.
“It wasn’t a great day. I was on my way to hospital as I had an infected bruise. It happens sometimes, we’re only human.”
Thornhill, a once-notorious comprehensive, was on the verge of being put into special measures by government inspectors six years ago.
After a change of heads, the school is now rated good by Ofsted and last year 63 per cent of pupils got A-C grades at GCSE.
But Michael fears the Government is obsessed with top grades.
He said: “There’s a danger of schools changing into a sort of exam factory where pupils are trained for an exam rather than getting a well-rounded education.
“There aren’t targets that say a grade E might be an achievement for a kid. You don’t get credit for that.”
- Educating Yorkshire, Thursday 9pm, Channel 4.
