AIBU to think that not being allowed to sit down whilst teaching is insane!

Why does everyone seem to be doing their best to put teachers off doing and staying in their job.

When I was in school ( many many years ago ) I had a variety of teachers that all had their own style of teaching, some would make us laugh , some were strict, some sat on or behind their desk, some paced around .

There was one teacher in particular that paced , it drove me mad, the room was quite big so when he got to the back of the room and had his back to the front couple of rows it was hard to hear him plus dome of the kids would mess about passing notes etc while his back was turned.

Of course with some classes where the kids move about like home ec, wood & metal work , etc the teachers need to move around but even then they should be able to sit down for part of the lesson , esp at the start while going over the project/ tasks .

I'm home schooling now and one of the first things I realised is that all teachers should be issued with a reclining sun lounger. I think much better if I am comfortable.

Also SLT teams seem to be a bit bonkers these days.

I got pulled up on this when I was a teacher some 10 years ago. I reminded SLT that I have a chronic health condition (that they were aware of) and sometimes I need to sit for a few minutes.

When l started Primary Teaching 40 years ago my Principal would encourage me to sit saying you will kill yourself standing like that all the time. Schools were places of care for their staff then. We sat/ stood whatever suited. Now telling us practically how to breath is driving teachers away. For goodness sake l wish they would back off. Is there no trust anymore in us knowing what to do ourselves. My favourite teacher at Primary sat a lot but he held all our attention as he was such an interesting teacher. I still remember a lot of his very varied lessons.
Teachers and hairdressers stand the most for their jobs and over the years it tells on your body.

I think you have the right to teach as you see fit - every teacher has their own style, which they adapt according to the specific class. This is massively infantilising, the implication being that you don't know how best to do your job without them directing you at a detailed level!

This is one for the union imo - it's seriously overstepping and questioning your professionalism.

Sometimes, a teacher needs to sit at the desk to work the IT. When my whiteboard pens don't work, I can type directly onto the presentation files I've created ... The pupils often find this easier to read.

I love to perch on my desk - I can see across the whole room (I'm short) and it's comfortable. I circulate when students are getting on with a task but not constantly, it's not always helpful! I absolutely will sit at my desk if students are doing an exam question/watching a video clip rather than hovering about for no reason.

It's the same at my secondary school, staff are told to be constantly circulating

When I was teaching KS1 in my late twenties and early thirties, I barely sat down during the school day - unless I was working at a table with a group.
I was as thin as a reed, but permanently exhausted!

Really not sure if I could take the pace of that now, in my late forties.

This is ableist and stupid. So nobody with a disability can work in your school? He's a nob.

Union advice needed.

This is discriminatory. People vary in how long they can stand for comfortably. I had several vein operations about 4-5 years ago and can easily stand for most of a two hour double now, but was struggling before the ops.

A good school doesn't dictate how teachers teach lessons. I mean, sure, have some general guidelines, but blanket pronouncements are so unhelpful!

Definitely get union advice. If you're not in one, I've found Edapt good.

I used to sit on the children's chairs all the time when I was in my 20s. I never sat at my desk. Now I'm much older I struggle to get down that low and it hurts my back after working for 20 mins with a group. I would really struggle and my TA who is 10 years older than me would find it impossible.

My favorite teacher in secondary school taught while sitting on his desk. He had an excellent command of the room despite being quite the oddball.

I pretty much am standing my up all of my lessons (secondary maths) but that I just me. Some of my colleagues sit much more than me. One thing I love about my school is that different people have different ways of doing things and that is fine.

Just no. I teach smaller groups and used to teach a lot of small A level groups. We absolutely sit round a big table together.

I couldn't stand for more than 5-10mins. Teachings hard enough without making you do it standing all day.

They had to sit on the children's chairs at the children's tables.

I easily do 10k steps a day just at work but like having the option to sit. Reading my class a story at the end of the day would feel weird standing up, for example.

I imagine a union would have a field day with that op. Discrimination on health grounds, pregnancy? etc... are you in one? I'd put it in writing why this would not be possible for you on health grounds and get your union involved if they push back.

I was once offered a job at a school where the teachers only had podiums allocated to them at the front of the classroom. No desk and no chair. Suffice to say I got out of there as quickly as possible! I'll tell you what I tell all teachers - just plan your exit and leave. There is a whole world of opportunities after teaching.

I hardly ever sit down when I’m teaching but that’s just me. I do think you need to circulate a bit to ensure everyone is on task and see what they are doing to give live feedback. Pupils make more progress if they can act on feedback there and then and it also cuts down on your marking if u can do it with them.

However there are certain lessons eg an assessment or maybe if they are answering questions using a book or maybe using internet for research I might get 5 mins to sit down but generally even then I am circulating a lot.

What? Why?

Where are the teachers supposed to work before or after the children are in the classroom?

Same at my school. No sitting down allowed.

Ignore it, what are they going to do, sack you?

Theres no one to replace you

A primary school I worked at actually removed the teachers chairs and desks from the classrooms!

I like to circulate while the children are working but I teach KS1. I also sit while giving input and as often as I can during the day! I have health issues and when I stand for long period I get awful back and foot pain.

Apart from this, how dare they try and dictate how you teach.