Secondary teachers, do you ever have shite day with horrid kids and then blame yourself?

Lol! In my first year as HOY I used to have a lad who routinely did a runner when things got a bit much for him. I had to train him to only run as far as the playground, so I could then go and support him, rather than him running home, where his mum would wallop him!!!

The worst feeling in the world is when you ARE the Head of Year and the pupil point-black refuses to cooperate! Fortunately it doesn't happen often but it feels awful when it does. The flip side of it is a pupil in your year group refusing to cooperate with a member of SLT and then you come along and they do it immediately. Fortunately our school works very much as a family and (I don't think) any judging takes place in either situation - except teachers judging themselves and we are all our own worst enemies for that I think.

If it makes you feel better I once escourted a child to Welfare and she dug her heals in, and refused to move!

We both had to wait there until I could get the head of year to come. She had to wait 30 minutes in the middle of the playground with the kid before she would move.

3 kids a year is nothing, Fizzbuzz!

I have sent children out in the past. We have a semi formal system in the department (which is large) where disruptive children are sent to work in sixth form classes. We normally have at least one sixth form class running through the day.

I teach quite a lot of sixth form classes, so I tend to 'recieve' more than I send out, but the system is a good one, limits the disruption to the rest of the class, and reduces the amount of paperwork that we have to complete.

We also have a system where welfare workers will come and remove a child from a lesson. Fortunatly (and it it mostly luck, I have mostly well behaved children atm) I've never needed to use this, but it is re-assuring to know that the acility is there

Talking of workplace reform - how is it going in your school?
Last term how:
a) much cover did you do?

We do all our own cover - there's no money for supply teachers, and not enough work for a cover supervisor. Two of my frees a week are set aside for cover and I usually get taken for just one of them and sometimes I escape altogether. Because we have nominated periods for cover, I don't count on being able to mark or prepare in that time. It's pretty normal to volunteer to cover a lesson in your own department so that some teaching can still go on, even if it's not one of your nominated periods. I don't think I got any frees at all a few weeks ago when one of my colleagues was off sick for a week.

b) many displays did you put up?

We do our own displays. It's not a big deal - takes about 10 minutes to do. Who should be doing display?

c) many displays did you prepare?

I do them every half-term.

d) often did you have to collect money from pupils?

I put it in the register and the office staff deal with it. I don't even open the envelopes. If it's a charity collection, the house captains in sixth form handle it completely.

Last year how:
e) many exams did you invigilate?

I was in a different school last year, and the policy there was that you could be asked to invigilate if you would normally be teaching the class at that time. You would be called around half the time.

At the school I'm in now, we use teaching staff for all invigilation, even for public exams. The public exams are a pest because you can't do any work during them, but for school exams, we can do marking and they are really no trouble at all.

Wow - that hit a raw nerve. I don't think I said that teachers should be perfect in every lesson - I was just addressing the OP's question: "do you blame yourself?".

I think we all do blame ourselves to some extent, even when it's the class from hell. That's the way that most teachers have been trained to think. Even with the worst class in the school, there are still a few pupils who genuinely want to learn, and we have to do what we can for them (they have to be with these rotters for all of their lessons).

I am a long way from perfect, and in the school I'm in, I really do have no one else to blame. But I've been in places where the behaviour has been atrocious, and I do know what it is like. It is a rubbish feeling when you have to call out for SMT support, and I don't know about others, but I never felt that it ever reflected well on me.

I used to work in a beacon school with Stepford children. I was bored to tears. I work in a 'rough' school now, it's famous for it's reputation. I love it. Bad days, good days - bring them on!

Don't apologise AsGoodAs; I thought your "rant" was actually quite restrained.

Hercules1 Much more refined than my rant.

scienceteacher - the best lesson plan in the world cannot counteract events that happen outside the classroom. Kids coming into lessons who have just been fighting, high on drugs, having a serious shitty time at home etc don't suddenly leave all this behind with a good starter.

Sorry for the poor language this person sounds like he/she works in lovely leafy - maybe private school, and/or holds a senior position.
Science Teacher -You don't sound in awe of us poor professionals who work in inner city and challenging schools - you are far too busy blaming up, looking down your nose and saying that we deserve it as we 'fob off poor lessons on them.'
Shame on you

AsGoodAs, I had to bite my tongue and sit on my fingers to avoid replying to the thing you've just quoted!

I am considered a very good teacher, routinely get "Outstanding" for lesson observations, work as a coach to struggling teachers but I still sometimes have crappy lessons where, even if I've planned everything to perfection, something goes wrong - they all turn up late and knackered from PE, one of them is in a foul mood because they got their foot trodden on in the corridor; they've had two supply teachers before getting to me etc - sometimes kids will play up WHATEVER the teacher, whatever the lesson.

It's naive to think that every teacher should be able to achieve perfection every lesson I think - even Ofsted inspectors don't expect that - you can still get an Outstanding even if the class (or some of them) play up a bit, providing they can see you managing the behaviour.

We all have more to learn, we can all improve however long we have been teaching, we must always be "reflective practioners" of course we must - but grrrrr to try to blame every bit of misbehaviour on the teachers.

quote
Anytime something goes wrong in lesson, the teacher really needs to take responsibility. Even great kids can act up, and when they do, it is often the fault of the teacher. For example, a poorly planned lesson where the resources don't appear means that the teacher needs to waffle/apoligise/waffle...

Even with truly difficult classes, it is still up to the teacher to take the hit for a bad lesson. There are teachers who can relate to these kids, so there is some hope, and opportunity for lessons. At the end of the day, you can only control your own behaviour, and not the pupils'.

Pompous twat

a) much cover did you do? At least one a week, registration cover usually too.
b) many displays did you put up? All of the ones in my room
c) many displays did you prepare? All of them in my room
d) often did you have to collect money from pupils? Doing it now for SATs revision and trips (ASS HOY)

Last year how:
e) many exams did you invigilate? Lots
[Hmm] quite naffed off now as appear to be a human mug.

Haven't read the whole thread so apologies if it has already been mentioned

I think that most teachers follow the 'reflective practioner' model, which means that you do your best, and then afterwards think about how things went and improve it for next time.

Anytime something goes wrong in lesson, the teacher really needs to take responsibility. Even great kids can act up, and when they do, it is often the fault of the teacher. For example, a poorly planned lesson where the resources don't appear means that the teacher needs to waffle/apoligise/waffle...

Even with truly difficult classes, it is still up to the teacher to take the hit for a bad lesson. There are teachers who can relate to these kids, so there is some hope, and opportunity for lessons. At the end of the day, you can only control your own behaviour, and not the pupils'.

If you have a lot of difficult classes, it is a horrible working environment. What is crucial is to have a supportive team behind you.

I can't hack that environment and am in awe of those who can. I teach in a place where pupils have a generally good attitude and where sanctions are real. I cannot fob off an bad lesson on them - if things go pear-shaped, there is only one person to blame.

I'm doing supply at the moment. Had a stool thrown at me last week by a Y8 because I took a toy off him!

Saw some of the same kids 3 times out of 5 lessons of Friday, so wonder what kind of quality education they are getting (I try to be really hands-on, even with science!, and work hard to engage them and to get onto their level in some way, so I know a bit about their perceptions of the world and of their school experience).

I've come back to teaching after 3.5 years out of the job, living abroad, and have found myself a bit depressed by how things seem to have deteriorated. Some kids FAB, some truly grim, but there seems to be so little curiosity or desire to take any responsibility for any part of their own learning, that I fear for aspects of the future.

PS Good luck next week, MB.

Lat term as am have not been in since Christmas
a) I think I did one voluntary cover for an hour as the cover teacher had gone awol, one half hour cover as a new teacher had run out of school after an awful lesson and I think two other half hour formal covers.

band c) I have my own classroom displays and my year group board to do, I alter my year group board every other week and my classrom displays are changed every half term and there are some which are constantly updated. I know we are not meant to do displays but if I don;t do them who will.

d) Am not a form tutor so don;t do collecting money, they don;t really do it either other than for charity collections.

e) I don't do invigillation - we pay people to come in but will pop down to be a claming presence if it is my yeargroup or subject.

Badgermonkey - I'm a cover supervisor, so this may help.

In our school teachers are never used for planned cover, but if someone phones in sick very late, or goes home during the day then staff sometimes have to be used because CS already have done max amount of cover agreed.

At our school CS do max 17.5 hrs cover per week (15 lessons plus 10 registrations), and have significant other duties/responsibilities with the rest of their time.

Our staff do very little cover (maybe 2 or 3 a year), but sometimes when they are still used there is a CS who is 'free'.

Fwiw in our school CS work very hard and are never 'not doing anything', though most of our staff do realise this.