I don’t think anyone will be clapping for us

[Qqwweerrtty]

I feel quite depressed that teachers seem to be getting a bad name at the moment. The impression that a lot of the press and social media seem to be giving is that teachers don’t value education at all. The main message seems to be that teachers are spending their time sitting on their arses whinging about catching corona virus whilst doctors, carers, police, bus drivers, supermarket staff etc. are all willing to take the risk. On top of that there are lots of stories about children not being provided with any remote education at all. I feel sad about this because so many teachers have been in looking after key worker children, others have been providing daily remote lessons and have been giving regular feedback. Lots of schools have come up with solutions to open up to as many children as possible. Some of the ways that teachers have responded to this situation have been so creative and inspiring but very little of that has been coming across. We all know the grumblers in the staff room who seem to hate children. Does anyone else feel that they have become the public face of teaching during this crisis?

[Piggywaspushed]

I agree with lots of it until the end. The grumblers in the staff room often have very valid points.

I don't think there is a public face of teaching and that is part of the problem. The bitching on MN is obsessive and unpleasant. Often very vindictive . The nest of vipers has never been more accurate. We are seen as public servants with the emphasis on servant.

The media has been selective in tis reporting and done the government's job by demonising unions.

Increasing outbreaks in schools have gone unreported. Coverage of return to school in other countries has been poorly researched, unanalytical and uncritical.

It's a shitshow.

[Qqwweerrtty]

Maybe ‘grumblers in the staff room’ was a bit harsh.

[greentreesdream]

I have a middle ground view. I think a lot of the criticism surrounding teachers on here is ridiculous and vindictive. I also think that the aggressive and defensive responses are part of the problem. I feel some schools haven’t been helpful and it’s best to be honest and upfront about this. So I can understand why no one claps for us (not that I want them to!)

[Qqwweerrtty]

I think you are right. I agree about the clapping as well!

[StaffAssociationRepresentative]

Personally I would hate it - no clapping please. Just doing my job

[CheesecakeAddict]

I've come to realise though, that for those who have a negative viewpoint, nothing I say or do will be good enough or change their minds. Because ultimately, the one thing they actually want is for their child to be back in the classroom and everything to be back to normal (I mean look at the backlash teachers got when primary were returning but with social distancing or teachers asking to wear a mask). And that's the one thing I can't give them. I think we are easy targets and people don't want to believe this is a political issue rather than an educational one, because then it will mean their vote will have impacted the current situation (not just how CV was handled, but the worsening teacher retention crisis, the lack of funds, social deperevation excluding many from accessing home learning effectively). We are the easy target.

But, if I do my job to the best of my ability and with the very limited resources at my disposal, I do get lots of positive feedback from parents. Yes there is some negative stuff because we can't do zoom lessons (again, I'm not in charge of that decision, but I'm the easy target) but ultimately the reactions in real life are far different to the ones on mumsnet.

[Plannersareus]

I think the problem lies with the fact that teachers cannot seem to grasp the fact that some of them are rubbish. They need to own the fact that some schools have stepped up and provided a full curriculum, others, like my childs school have been woeful. In all professions there are the good and the bad, in teaching it seems that they are never bad.

[StaffAssociationRepresentative]

@Plannersareus - are you a teacher?

[LyndaLaHughes]

@Plannersareus

I think the problem lies with the fact that teachers cannot seem to grasp the fact that some of them are rubbish. They need to own the fact that some schools have stepped up and provided a full curriculum, others, like my childs school have been woeful. In all professions there are the good and the bad, in teaching it seems that they are never bad.

I think this comes from the issue that many patents who have a bad experience then make sweeping statements about teachers in general based upon that. This in turn results in defensive responses because often comments are worded as a general attack as opposed to an individual experience acknowledged as that. Also often complaints are given without the school being approached to resolve. Of course there are some bad teachers but they really are few and far between under the current regime as the scrutiny is such that they just don't last. I'm a teacher but I really have no idea about what goes on at school for my own children and we do seem to have a culture where people make criticisms without the full story or actually speaking to the school. I think this gets people's backs up. I find when posters have spoken to the school and then still have an issue, then teachers on here are much more sympathetic and accepting of a problem. But the perception of situations is often very different from the reality and that is the problem. Because trust in teachers has been eroded over the years so badly, there is often a sense of feeling upset by negativity as the vast majority of teachers work extremely hard and genuinely care about the children yet the perception of them is very poor and that comes across a great deal- particularly in the current circumstances.

[Piggywaspushed]

I am sure the same applies to the NHS but we still clapped them all