Why do so many people dislike the teaching profession?

[LucyLastik]

As the thread title asks.

I'm really interested to know where this negativity has come from. I'm suspecting Covid but if we don't get to the root cause of it, will the teaching profession ever be seen in a positive light?

Random musings...

I've seen several criticising those groups here on MN.

There are a few regular posters who have an irrational hatred of teachers. They are quite prepared to lie to make non-existent points then disappear when their lies are pointed out.

I'm a retired teacher. I loved the job and the children. The authorities and some parents less so.

I sympathise with parents whose children are struggling but there is a limited time we can spend with each child - there are 30 other children with an equal right to our time. I wish it was different but schools are having to get rid of TAs who used to be such a wonderful support for children needing extra input.

Don't vote Tory, would be a good start. Schools have been starved of cash because children can't go on strike so their needs are ignored. Our local authority changed to tory from Labour and the education budget was slashed.

Don't blame the teachers for the actions of politicians.

You're a teacher keen to right the wrongs in your own practice? By taking advice from an internet forum?
Refer to your last PM feedback, your observations, your class results and your markbooks. I think that would have a more productive outcome for improving your practice.

I've never heard anything negative I only have praise for the teachers as do my friends . If I need to discuss any issues I've addressed the school and never had any problems (this is a very rears thing , but things happen)

I do have a theory, but I doubt it will be popular and it's purely anecdotal so not based in evidence. * Dons hard hard**

I think some of the more 'moany' teachers have never left the school mentality. So they go to school, do their A-levels, go to University, do their PGCE and then get a job in a school. So they never really "leave school' & see what the outside world is all about.
The best teachers I know have gone into the profession in their late 20's or older, having worked elsewhere, so they at least have an awareness of the struggles of the private sector. IME they tend to just 'get on with the job'.

It's not just teachers BTW, I actually think this is similar to all public sector roles. In the pubic sector you get looked after and if anything is wrong you can shout 'it's not fair!" and the unions will bail you out. I spent 20 years in public sector, and the ones who were the whiners were definitely the ones who had never worked in any other capacity. Not saying they didn't work as hard, but there was always an air of 'well I'll just go to the union' if they were asked to do anything that slightly altered from their exact job description.

I think it's why the had to add "and any other tasks that might be considered reasonable" to the contracts.

Can you clarify? 'woke' in my mind is not sexist, racist, homophobic etc. Surely all good things for schools and teachers?

like l

Mostly the pointless rules, old fashioned thinking, including the strict uniform fetish (every school in the town - so no choice) but the lack of interest or support in the dcs during the pandemic was the last straw - no doubt other schools were much better but my dc’s school was awful.

@MattDillonsEyebrows - ah, that old chestnut!
You don't think that most teachers did casual work as students, in bars, cafés, supermarkets and warehouses? Watch the news? Talk to friends and family?
You don't think they have their eyes opened by dealing with children (and parents) with special needs?
You don't think they have to deal with social problems and safeguarding issues?
If you think we're all Miss Jean Brodie, crack on. I think everyone who works in schools works in the real world.

I think teachers tend to be unaware of how hard EVERYONE works and be a bit chippy about their working life experience. I do get tired of hearing about how much work they put in in the evening and how they have to deal with social problems. Its part of life and the vast majority of people don’t get to work a neat 9 to 5 or avoid heartache. That’s not to say it’s good, just it’s far more normal than they seem to understand. They tend to be people who did well at school and had no additional needs so that can also limit their empathy and understanding. That said a good teacher, teaching a subject they know and love can be a joy to watch.

It’s the constant moaning for me, I have a lot of teacher friends on Facebook and they complain like no other profession I’ve ever come across. They genuinely think they are the hardest working, most hard done by workers out there.

I work in the NHS and as the majority of people know the conditions are awful, the pay is very poor for the most part, hours are long and antisocial, it’s life or death, staff obviously aren’t happy and most are very stressed and overworked, but most of us just get on with it or leave the NHS. I have a lot of Facebook friends who work in all professions across the NHS and they’re not complaining constantly to anyone who will listen in the way that a lot of teachers do.

Yes echt, except I explained in the OP that I was aware all that was the case and that I was only asking why administratively they were added to, classified as, and listed as term-time days rather than out-of-term days.

There is a strange culture around teachers In the UK at least.

There is an us and them divide.

In the eyfs there is a strong ethos of including the parents,they know their child and yet at primary level, it feels sometimes as though a teacher really believes they know your child better.

I'm hoping with new training,better Sen awareness and training that the culture will change to the benefit of teachers and parents.

It needs to be publicly admitted and acknowledged that parents need to do more and be more proactive in supporting their child learn esp in the early year's.
There is nothing wrong with this. Parents should not leave everything to the school!

There should be better packs given out to support and also an understanding that many parents themselves can't do English grammar or basic maths.
I think once it moves to more of. "partnership" footing and some responsibility is bounced back to the parents,it will get better.

It's not fair on al parents to be gas lighted and treated like a stranger when discussing their child..
It's not fair on a teacher to be expected to get all children with a huge range of needs to the same point and standard.

For me it's the teachers who really should not be dealing with kids in any way. My DS had an awful teacher last year and the struggle trying to get him to go to school every morning was soul destroying. It was difficult enough trying to get him back in after lockdown without a shouty, moany, awful teacher (who gave them more homework in primary than my secondary school going child got) to boot. Yes I know teachers are only human with their own problems, but really some of them do not belong in a classroom. I don't know why they became teachers as they don't even seem to like kids!

I just think it's collectively the teaching profession seems to wind people up because they seem to think their working conditions are so different/worse from the rest of the working population

• they complain about workload but seem to forget 99% of the rest of us also do unpaid overtime at some point regularly during our working careers

• they "forget" they get more holiday than the rest of us and don't have the pressure of finding childcare during summer holidays

• they forget they have a job security most of us can only dream of - I don't know of any teachers who have been made redundant, or even sacking them is pretty impossible due to the unions

No it's not a job I could do but the same could be said for lots of professions

I'm not a moany teacher I don't think. And the ones who are all moaning on Facebook are probably in contravention of their school's acceptable use of technology policy unless they're very careful what they say and who their friends are.

But why are there so many vacancies, if all other jobs are equally bad?

But why are there so many vacancies, if all other jobs are equally bad?

Have a look at how many vacancies there are in NHS. Can advertise a job and get zero applicants

I’m a teacher. Been so for 12 years. Mostly love my job….I enjoy working with teenagers and feel privileged to do so. I have sometimes made mistakes, but have always apologised and learnt from it when necessary. Occasional come across crazy parents but try not to take it personally. Every job has difficult customers/clients. I do work incredibly hard during the term…often up at 4 to prep and work late into the night…but I do get amazing holidays so see it a bit like feast and famine. Like any job there’s are benefits and downsides. The alleged member of SLT above saying what is a neurodiverse child I swear is a troll. I have never in 12 years of teaching met a teacher who held attitudes like this. I mean they might exist but rest assured they are very rare indeed. I would always listen to a parent who contacted me about anything and try and solve the problem.

also there is a recruitment and retention crisis. I’m in charge of teacher training at my school and the numbers are dropping. We were trying to recruit a computer science teacher and there were under 10 trained in the country last year. To the parents it may seem frustrating that the school is unable to run the subject but they simply can’t magic up a teacher and it’s not the sort of subject you can learn to teach as sometimes happens.

What about the public sector roles where unions aren’t permitted? How do the unions bale them out?

yet at primary level, it feels sometimes as though a teacher really believes they know your child better. oh yes and they really don’t - especially the neuro-diverse kids who mask at school - have the teachers at the back googled the meaning of that yet?

Which is fine but as a teacher you don’t get the option to boost your salary by doing any additional or anti social hours

A friend is a teacher. She boosts her salary by tutoring.

@sunsoutmumsout - bit of a myth about the power of the unions.
It's not difficult to dismiss a teacher - I've been involved in the process, usually the teacher resigns before they're sacked. We put them on notice to improve and regular monitored observations.

I've boosted my salary by exam marking.

The base pay for a nurse/police/ paramedic is usually lower than a teacher even with unsociable hours pay it's usually less than 35k for a band 5. These professions deal with life and death staff shortages yet don't moan as much teachers do.

I think its equality of misery.

Some people think a lot of annual leave and a good pension give a person no right to address or voice the negative aspects of their role. Because they don't have these things in their role.

Those things are great, but they don't make up for limited salary progression, utter inflexibility for family life in term time, and a lot of weekend and evening work in term time. You entire family, extended family and friends have to fit in with your work schedule. Its hard work and most teachers are fit to drop by the end of term.

No am not a teacher.

Like all things its a balance. Pros and cons.

Cant be that great 20 plus teachers left our local comp last year.