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Original poster

Are Teachers, as a profession, for too sensitive of criticism?

66 replies

zanzibarmum · 23/01/2009 23:01

Perhaps it's because they expect their charges to do what they are told and not to answer back that they find criticism from any adult quarter difficult to take.

OP posts:
UnquietDad · 23/01/2009 23:33

All jobs are criticised, but of course everyone who is a parent (and who doesn't home educate) eventually has a teacher assigned to their child, so everyone's going to have an opinion. It's a profession which seems to attract more ill-informed rent-a-gob opinion than most. Which is perhaps why teachers are sensitive to it.

I've heard an awful lot of crap about what teachers supposedly do and don't do - and I've read a lot on here as well.

janeite · 23/01/2009 23:33

Zanzibar - are you a teacher? The APP site would not be at all exciting for anybody other than English teachers, I don't think!

twinsetandpearls · 23/01/2009 23:30

I dont feel blamed for the ills of the nation either, maybe I dont get out enough to be insulted.

Feenie · 23/01/2009 23:30

I cry at Reception assemblies, especially Nativities.
I am going to be just a puddle on the floor when it's my ds!

ravenAK · 23/01/2009 23:30

Janeite, I do actually get quite excited about APP - KS3 assessment that works for English, clearly identifies targets for both student & teacher AND speeds up marking? Love it.

epithet · 23/01/2009 23:30

I'm thinking of that odd article in Alphamummy the other day, twinset.

When I was teaching, I felt respected - but I think the questioning in the media is often done by people who think they could do a better job. And I would love to see them do it.

StarlightMcKenzie · 23/01/2009 23:29

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Original poster
zanzibarmum · 23/01/2009 23:29

Janeite - what's the APP website. What fun are we missing?

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ThumbBurns · 23/01/2009 23:28

Aren't teachers just pig sick of being blamed for the ills of the nation - shit teaching, shit control, nanny-control of lunchboxes, craply-behaved kids who don't seem to know anything - I mean, I don't blame them for being a tad sensitive (if they are).

twinsetandpearls · 23/01/2009 23:27

I dont have to put up with low pay or status.

epithet · 23/01/2009 23:26

Aha, so a profession that requires a good standard of education, plus intense commitment to the job, plus wisdom and compassion, plus tolerance of low status and pay is OVERLY SENSITIVE OF CRITICISM.

Wonder why.

twinsetandpearls · 23/01/2009 23:25

I probably post in education more than anyone else, I bet my fruit cake is better zanzi. Dont you dare disagree I may cry

Original poster
zanzibarmum · 23/01/2009 23:24

Stay frosty. I post on education because I am interested in it; far more important than recipes etc - but I do bake a mean fruit cake.

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twinsetandpearls · 23/01/2009 23:23

It is a thread about her own thread though.

lol zanzi I am the one teacher who has said she is oversensitive. I cry in assembly FFS.

Original poster
zanzibarmum · 23/01/2009 23:21

twinsetandpearls - I wish you were my dcs teacher. You do of course do a fantastically important job often with inadquate resources.

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twinsetandpearls · 23/01/2009 23:21

No I dont cringe, I try to post very honestly on threads on here. I have certainly never defended bad teaching.

Should I be cringing, I am not sure I get your point.

StayFrosty · 23/01/2009 23:20

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cory · 23/01/2009 23:19

Definite similarities between teaching and parenting, in fact. You invest a lot of yourself in it, you care immensely about it, you take any criticism to heart. Doesn't seem such a bad thing to me, really.

twinsetandpearls · 23/01/2009 23:19

Starlight outside of mumsnet I have never ever felt anything but respect for my profession./

janeite · 23/01/2009 23:18

Raven - I've just been on the APP website - what a pair of sad individuals we are!

Would it be terrible of me to admit that actually I was having fun!

Original poster
zanzibarmum · 23/01/2009 23:18

twinsetandpearls - you are not telling me you don't cringe at those posts on this site which ask "My DS wants to go to a bad school, what should I do?"

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twinsetandpearls · 23/01/2009 23:17

Good point Heated, I know that during the week I do nothing else other than teach, mark, mumsnet or sleep. So if someone criticises my teaching I do take it to heart. But I am also very aware of how important my job is if I fail I am not only failing myself but my pupils.

ravenAK · 23/01/2009 23:17
StarlightMcKenzie · 23/01/2009 23:17

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Original poster
zanzibarmum · 23/01/2009 23:15

Heated - thanks for this insightful comment. So it's a psycological occupational hazard.

If I had a sticker I would give it to you with a big WELL DONE!

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