Teachers I need solidarity before I leave the profession

Also let me guess, the kids that were hand-picked to go were disproportionately the disruptive and badly behaved ones from the bottom end of the class whereas all the normal well-behaved kids were more likely to miss out, right?

This is 100% your fault though (or your schools fault)

if you are picking kids randomly or based on some objective criteria (like a competition) then the parents have nothing to complain about and should be told to get lost.

However thats not what you did -- you had a blatently unfair selection criteria where you handpicked certain children,. Of course thats going to cause resentment, and the resentment is 100% justified

Picking out hat is great. Much prefer this.

Our school gives priority to those who have not been on previous trips. This is also great.

So much is expected of teachers these days. Our secondary teachers are doing so many extras.

I took a y6 group to a residential and a parent sarcastically asked on Twitter whether his child was on the trip as he couldn't see them in the photos of one part of the trip.

The photos were of the parallel class doing that part of the trip and my class hadn't done it yet at that point.

One nice parent countered with a message saying thank you to the staff who were taking the time to look after the kids and to keep the parents updated with lovely photos.

I once had a kid (secondary school) walk into my lesson eating a Cornetto. I told him to put it in the bin. He swore at me then stormed out of the classroom. I spoke to his mum who said that I had made a big mistake. “He doesn’t like being told no, never challenge him and you will be fine”. I explained that I would tell him no, when he broke the rules. She replied that she couldn’t help me then, they knew in their house never to challenge him. He was 11!

"Solving a kids problems their whole life will make them exceptionally unable to deal with life and never make them a good partner. Epic failure parenting."

This. "Snow flake generation." explained right there

My absolute favourite e mail interaction with a teacher was with a much loved music teacher, she was leaving so I sent her a card saying how much we'd appreciated her support over the years and we'd miss her, love, stinkertroll, p.s. the kazoo you sent home during covid was a mistake!

I got an e mail back saying thank you for the card and your dd has something for you, the witch sent me a bloody kazoo!! I promptly recorded myself playing 'it's a small world after all' and e mailed it to her, she was so pleased with it she turned it into her ring tone one of the other teachers told me at a later date!!! I miss her 🤣 (but why anyone would turn such a hideous song played by someone who doesn't have a musical bone in her body into a ring tone is beyond me!!!)

My real reply is ignore it.

But I would like to say:

Dear Parents,
Seeing as you do not trust me to honestly pull names out of a hat, I cannot see how you would trust me to supervise your children, on a trip. So, probably just as well they didn’t get picked.

Hopefully the kids who didn’t get to go.

Ignore the parents, concentrate on the kids

(I know it’s easier said than done, I’m a teacher and live in a small village, it’s an absolute nightmare)

Gosh that's lucky!

I have to disagree on the last part - he will be Trump like in attitude sure but won’t land or keep a job, will never have a successful relationship and continue to run to his mother.

Solving a kids problems their whole life will make them exceptionally unable to deal with life and never make them a good partner. Epic failure parenting.

Absolutely ridiculous!!! Ignore, ignore, ignore let SLT deal with it if it warrants a response.

If it helps, last year I had a teenager shout at me asking why I even became a teacher when I'm so shit at it (they'd been using their phone in class and I spoke to them privately) - told their mum who asked me in an email with caps whether I ever stopped to ask them about their feelings...

A colleague of mine received a horrible email years ago from an ongoing pita parent. She forwarded the email to her colleague, quite rightly ranting about this unreasonable and horrible parent and how the parent doesn't get how hard they all work, never appreciates anything etc etc. However, she hadnt forwarded the email but had accidentally replied to the parent. This was a Friday evening and she realised what she had done.she felt sick all weekend worrying. However, Monday she received a bunch of flowers and an apology from the parent. The email had clearly opened this parent's eyes!

"In primary we were told to email the teacher. I emailed the teacher. The head called me out for emailing the teacher at 10:30 at night. As though I have a choice about when to squeeze life admin in."

This is batshit.

Many workplaces have a policy on emailing outside of reasonable hours. You absolutely do have a choice of when to send such an email, regardless of when you draft it.

I'd have thought if you are complaining about other people's planning, you'd have the sense to plan and edit your own post so that it was written intelligibly and without mistakes.

@TizerorFizz "By the way, clock watching and professional don’t sit well together. Many professions have to go above and beyond."
You thought it was appropriate to come on this thread and tell a bunch of teachers about going "above and beyond?"

"Just think of your pension." Which has been heavily curtailed for many younger teachers and, judging by the mass exodus from the profession, really isn't the draw you assume anymore.

Same.

They are bloody lucky they are not in a school that gives them detention first time they don't have a pen...

DC would be saying why aren't they relying on "floor loot?"

I always make a point of responding to emails where parents have gone out of their way to say something kind. It really does make an impact when 99 out of 100 are ones complaining !

This is why it's so often nothing.

A bit of planning could not have made the bakery bigger.

Oh yes, another straw to the camel's back! I knew several years before I left, after a successful career, that so much has changed since modern technology. Fantastic to use to teach but oh the data, Academy takeovers, micromanagement etc.

I feel for primary school teachers who have parents allowed to e mail personally, shouldn't be allowed. You need time to go home, be with your own families and not have to reply to 'those parents' to deal with on an evening whilst marking and planning. Far too intrusive. Xx

Hmmm! Was an accident waiting to happen. All or nothing really. Don’t disappoint dc. They didn’t see it as fair. I get it’s a club but some of these dc probably get balloted out half thd time. One of my dc did. Never got the rub of rhd green. It maybe should have been two visits or no visits. It does feel horrible to Llose out. As a parent I would not complain though. I’d keep my thoughts to myself but I’d feel my dc had been left out when a bit of planning could have changed things.

By the way, clock watching snd professional don’t sit well together. Many professions have to go above and beyond. Just think of your pension.

Yes- just run a 'baking competition!!' Just like that!! 🙈

This just epitomises the problem. Someone who hasn't done the job explaining to someone who has why they are wrong, with no idea of the issues with what they're suggesting. A competition that needs to be organised, thus taking up more time? And somehow objectively judged? And be fair to the children who don't have a decent kitchen or the money to afford ingredients or who are at their grandparents every evening til 6.30pm and haven't got time to cook. It's the sort of idea that anyone who has worked in a school for 5 minutes would know is unworkable.

As for why to offer something to 5 out of 30, surely better than 0 out of 30?