Teachers - most disliked profession on mumsnet?

[OhReally18]

In the last few days, I've seen a lot of teacher bashing on mumsnet. Even teachers giving other teachers a hard time. Seems like it could be one of the most disliked professions on mn. Is this a true reflection of how the rest of society feels?

I've been teaching in primary for a good few years and I have never experienced bad feelings towards teaching in real life, just on here and social media occasionally. Maybe the odd envious comment about holidays but that's it.

It's by no means harder than other professions but teachers are portrayed as lazy, moany, hard done by, ungrateful, the list goes on...
Is this fair? Surely it's no different to other professions?

I think this.

'They' do say (one being my dad sometimes) 'those who can do, those who can't teach'. So there's another perception in society.

I'm a step mother and a police officer. Basically I'm fucked on Mumsnet. In the real world I have a great relationship with my step children and have a great set of friends and colleagues who think I'm pretty ok.

I don't have a problem with teachers in general. I specifically train in a subject they have to be compliant in so I often will see an average of 30 odd teachers a week in sessions. In the vast majority I think they are brilliant. You always have the odd one as you do with any profession. Mine included.

However there is a core contingent of teachers on MN who I would have serious issues with being in practice. The level of absolute belief they are in the hardest profession and the entitlement and hand wringing is borderline offensive. This particular, vocal , group insist on being voices in their profession on here and embarrassing themselves and it.

In real life I know they are the teachers that all the others are embarrassed of, avoid and laugh at. In a previous username I had one announce that their job was smore stressful than the 12 hour days in Social care , in a pandemic. Where people were dealing with multiple deaths a week.....in front of them. But the teacher tried to complain that the stress of zoom teaching was worse.

So no in general the teaching profession is like any other , some amazing , some awful. It's not more stressful than some other jobs. It has some perks but that's offset by some down sides. However I strongly suspect a large proportion of the anti teacher feeling comes from the fairly disgusting posts made over the last few years where a core group seemed to think they were the only ones affected.

I think Health Visitors get a very bad rap on Mumsnet. However, the constant slating that teachers get in the Tory-based media which seems to be replicated on here sometimes has contributed to the recruitment and retention difficulties in teaching. I wish parents would just discuss any issues with their DC's school rather than jumping on social media to moan about schools and teachers before they've even talked to the school. If we want teachers for our kids, there needs to be less general negativity about them on social and mainstream media by people who don't actually know anything about the job.

It's rife on Mumsnet as many here are parents of school aged kids so the subject of teachers and schools arises a lot.

I was HR, did it for years. It is a good job and I helped a lot of people in my time.

I work in a school, not as a teacher. I was in the commercial sector for 18 years before, and am starting back there in a few weeks time.

Schools are being run into the ground and its impacting in the quality of education for your children.

I wish people could talk about that over discussing who does the longest hours or got the most covid.

Some of my family are Teachers .All have worked hard .I think "Teacher Bashing" is a sort of silly ritual .How many people could manage a class of 30 small children or stroppy Teenagers? Usually or own are more than enough!

On here, teachers and SAHM's often claim to work harder than anyone else, no one understands how tough it is etc. I just roll my eyes

Teachers I know in real life have a great work / life balance. Yes, they work hard and take their role seriously, but they don't bang on about it

Yep we got one email a day with work, which would have taken 5 mins to draft and no other contact. Also no contact during the day if we sent emails out ourselves asking for help. How hard would it be to have done daily zoom classes etc. My DH and I both worked full time and had to homeschool both DCs, like many others. It really annoyed me when the teachers then were refusing to go back into the classroom when so many key workers were on the front line day in day out.

I honestly think everyone would be much happier if we didn't constantly talk about our jobs and constantly compare them; which is hardest, easiest, most stressful, worst paid blah blah.

I think covid drove this quite heavily, with the whole 'key worker' categorisation of who had the most important job and who was the most hard done by.

You work, you get paid, you pay your bills. If you're unhappy, do a different job. Nobody should give much of a fuck about what the job actually is. All it does is form unhealthy stereotypes and increase resentment.

Teachers are more busy defending themselves than actually teaching and earning money. They shouldn't have to.

Yep we got one email a day with work, which would have taken 5 mins to draft and no other contact. Also no contact during the day if we sent emails out ourselves asking for help. How hard would it be to have done daily zoom classes etc. My DH and I both worked full time and had to homeschool both DCs, like many others. It really annoyed me when the teachers then were refusing to go back into the classroom when so many key workers were on the front line day in day out

Zoom was discouraged because of hacking, therefore safeguarding issues.

Any teacher who "refused" to go back into the classroom had to have a valid exemption, i.e they did not refuse.

I think there are some weird views towards teachers. Only the other day I was insistently told it’s ‘a vocation not a job’, like you should give up hope of a good wage to educate.

I did other jobs before, and other jobs after I left 5 years ago. The 15 years I taught I did find worse for mental health and stress certainly. There’s a perception teachers are teachers for life, but statistically it’s not true. Many leave after only a few years and the rate generally leaving the professional is so high that there’s a massive recruitment problem. I get offered jobs still all the time through word of mouth, despite being clear I have no interest. Most local schools are still recruiting agency staff for September desperately and one locally one has a teacher lined up for half the classes they have. That says something, I know so many ex teachers.

In other jobs if I’ve moaned people don’t seem to take it personal or get wound up. Maybe it’s because I’m not expressing a less than joyful reaction at being with their precious children? If I say ‘the office is so fucking hot’ or ‘my boss has no concept of time off, always calling me’ no one rants about it! I either get a neutral reaction or supportive moan. One friend in the civil service is a total bore, thinks they work in government, goes on 24/7 about work- people tolerate it. Another guy I know in sales in a flashy arse, but again seems to be ignored. People are so reactive with teachers in comparison. I guess it’s true of service jobs, in the same vein as how people talk if train drivers- it’s unacceptable if they aren’t there to facilitate them.

TBH I’d have thought that was estate agents.

Apologies to any EAs on here, I know there are good, honest ones, but I’ve known some downright dodginess.

Another thing, like for train drivers, I wish people would look at some reasons why teachers are ‘moaning’. Railways and schools are being run down and whilst staff can leave, it’s the kids that are being failed. I find it shocking some standards of education, for example locally
-over 50% of teachers are supply here. I still tutor abs I’ve tutored children who didn’t have a maths teacher for a maths lesson for the whole of year 7 and 8. Just work sheets (at the wrong level) and largely the PE teachers.
-80% of people teaching physics have no physics qualifications (A-level counts).

Generally huge numbers of children are being failed in schools. I once contacted 19 supply agencies mid-term for a year 2 class, and cobbled together 2 reluctant supplies and a TA to see them through SATs…. It was unacceptable

I do think teachers get a hard time here but I definitely think the police seem to be the most hated profession. Doomed if they do and doomed if they don't. It's really horrible to read some of the comments, so full of hatred and every police officer in the country is tarred with the same brush.

I think HV are the most hated profession on here

I think the highly politised union's are a massive problem..

I have no issues with union's fighting to keep teachers Safe during COVID.
However there are deeper and unsettling political angles.

For instance a well known user said something like "mate we don't diagnose". On here when a parent was wondering what was going on with their children Sen.

I know some heads don't agree with "dyslexia" they said it doesn't exist because it disadvantage other DC... so they all become disadvantage..

How did those that "Do" learn to "Do" ?

...maybe someone taught them?

Unions are NOT heavily politicised, thats just 'Mail/Express BS.

Its now only the public sector that have a strong union membership and the current Govt wants to rid the country of this, so we have a battle for survival... so is the problem really the unions?

Exactly

@PearTree120

I am talking about my experience in my school. We taught online every day. I know other schools didn't.

What I was trying to get across is that not every experience was the same - for either a parent, a child or a teacher.

Well teachers don't diagnose. How is that political?

As for the some heads don't agree with dyslexia - unsubstantiated .

For instance a well known user said something like "mate we don't diagnose". On here when a parent was wondering what was going on with their children Sen.

But teachers don't diagnose @RockandRollsuicide . They're neither trained nor qualified to do so. I spent more than thirty years as a teacher in special schools and was highly skilled, but I still don't diagnose, nor should I. Because I'm not trained or qualified to. If I felt something was wrong that hadn't already been diagnosed, I'd talk to the parents and get a referral to an Ed Psych/SALT/paediatrician depending on the issue.

Not diagnosing doesn't mean that they 'don't believe' in a disorder.

Sara yes I know but I've come across an actual resistance to even parent's seeking diagnosis.

It's quite a thing Sara Clara read about dyslexia for instance.

Teachers have been obstacles to getting any help at all or diagnosis.
It's been a " what we can't do" attitude.

The comment on here was agressive and callous and very surprising.

It's not teachers fault at all that they don't study Sen in the pgce.

But Sen is a massive issue in schools with no will to recognise or support DC with Sen .

Echt it's not..

Go and read about dyslexia, lots of articles on it and how it's unfair to diagnose it.