teachers - what aspect of going back are you dreading the most?

We were saying just last week how much nicer our college is when it doesn't have any students in it 😁

We're wondering if the mullet will still be Haircut of the Year. When I saw the first one, I couldn't help but say, "Who let THAT out of the 1980's?!" and we're wondering if the fashions will have changed...

I had a year 9 tutor group last year - the drama wasn’t too bad, but maybe because all boys…

I'm not looking forward to early alarms or doing seating plans. No idea of my timetable. Also not looking forward to my tutor group being Y9 with all the drama that will bring.

Really looking forward to seeing my colleagues and actually teaching though.

Does your school talk about learning styles? The theory of learning styles has been so debunked! Nobody has a different learning style!

This is awful. I left my first ever teaching job because of someone like this, and I loved that job. I’m so sorry.

Yes, I'm afraid so. When my school went Paul Dix was the closest I've ever come to quitting teaching. Behaviour was absolutely appalling and workload went through the roof - it was basically impossible to get a kid removed from your classroom however disruptive they were being, and the only sanction available was a 'restorative conversation' with them in your own time before the next lesson. And when you tried to book this conversation in with the miscreant, they'd suck their teeth and say they could fit you in in a fortnight because they were all booked up.

And then because following the behaviour system creates workload for teachers and doesn't actually work, teachers end up not bothering even trying to use it. If you know that giving little Johnny another warning just means he is going to be wasting your lunchtime, you absolutely reconsider giving it to him.

I have very much enjoyed six weeks of not wasting my life trying to log onto i- Trent.

Lucky to work in a fab school but Year 9. They were toads in Year 8 and I can’t imagine they’ve improved a great deal over the summer.
5.30 alarm will be a killer for the first week.
Excited to see work pals and the vast majority of kids though.

but it's hard leaving a nice school

Definitely. The morale and vibe at my generally lovely school have changed since the arrival of the unpopular new Head, and some people have jumped ship. I'm going nowhere though. I wouldn't trade the lovely kids, easy behaviour management and great colleagues for anything tbh. Hopefully I'll outlast the new Head, who is the ambitious type.

Definitely the alarm going off - I hate early mornings!
Our inset days look like the usual rubbish but they finish early and I'm looking forward to seeing my colleagues so they'll be okay. There's lots of to get us through.

But I'm bored. My school is fine, I enjoy the teaching and most of the kids are great plus my dept are lovely (but lots are on SLT etc so less of a team feel these days). I'm ready for a new challenge, something to make me think or feel like I'm improving. I'm keeping an eye out for jobs but it's hard leaving a nice school.

Oh god, that bad @noblegiraffe and @TaborlinTheGreat ? Behaviour was shit before it started and has got no better but no worse either since they brought it in but I feel it will be massively ramping up now.

Noooo! Time to look for another school.

Do we work in the same school .

I don’t know who I’m teaching next week. I feel ill today just thinking about it.

Excellent point. I don't think the appeal judge who overturned the asylum seeker ruling on the Bell hotel, who was on the BBC News at 10 last night had learned that!

I gave up teaching quite a fre years ago, but I do remember feeling confident a d excited about the new year until the shocking inset day begone kids in where they throw a load of gumph they've decided you now need to add to lessons/ displays/ resources and so on that they then.expect.you to implement in the hour left after said inset day, before kids are in the next morning.

Laughable now I look back.

Good luck to all.

Things I hated when I went back

Inept SLT and Head explaining things that could have been done in an email, and often repeating the same BS over and over again.

The Head, SLT and their bullying clique.

Watching the time that has been put aside for departments and curriculum organisation disappear.

Listening to the BS catchphrases and acronyms, and the SLT not explaining what they mean.

Getting what is essentially homework because there is never enough time left for the essential stuff that you have to .read.

Oh and the powerpoint of how good our mates did in their class results.

• no spontaneous toilet breaks for my menopausal bladder
• having to listen to the bullshit during INSET, as everyone's said, when there's a mountain of organisation needing to be tackled before the next day's fun
• knowing that the SLT bullshit is just due to their own nonsense PD target-setting. Education is the snake eating is own tail at this point
• weekly learning walks (is that normal?) and constant scrutiny dressed up as useful. It's not. It's stressful and a distraction. Leave me alone and let me teach.
• lack of professional trust

I could go on.

Mmmm tough choice.

1. The stress of sitting in a hall for the training days, when you have a lot of tasks to do to in your department, and SMT spend the day adding more tasks to that list, mentioning inspection threat, but ensuring you can't get to your room to do anything. Great feeling.

1. The ex- teacher paid speaker mental health experty they have brought at a cost of £900, who gives you tips on how to enforce boundaries and avoid stress. Some great tips because you're receptive and feeling positive and determined this year will be different! Then he leaves and the SMT encourage you all to sign up for the team building spiritual retreat that's happening..... next Saturday.

For me it's never the pupils or parents. And actually things start looking up once term starts properly.

RUN.

RUN LIKE THE WIND.

This will end badly.

Awful toxic workplace which has now gone full Paul Dix to cap it all. I don't want to hear another word about relationships (which are of course crucial in teaching) and have now found out that detentions are being replaced by 'reflections' - to be run by classroom teachers whereas detentions were centralised and run by SLT. This was not shared before we broke up or even mentioned. So yes, not really looking forward to going back at all....

And differentiated learning as well- talking to everyone as if they are ECTs.

Left teaching at Xmas, so this is the first year not to have all this. Sun is shining so will be out on the river on my paddleboard /feels weird!!!

Deep dive😄

Only being able to wee at set times. My bladder is currently in holiday mode and loves the freedom 😄

@BeachedOff

“Apparently different learning styles stop after childhood”

👏👏👏 The irony!!