Teacher friends in summer...every single time...

[Nursenance]

I'm not a teacher. I have a lot of teacher friends.
Every single summer I get texts saying 'let's get together over summer' , 'we need some days out over summer'.
Similar texts every school half term/Easter/Xmas.

It drives me nuts! I am still at work and in my routine. My weekly routine continues through the year. It's like an assumption that cos they not busy noone is!

For the rest of the year its always they too busy to text, can't meet cos working/marking.

I wouldn't be a teacher for all the tea in China but just drives me insane when they don't seem to realise that the rest of the world does not exist for school holidays.

I physically can’t go out at the weekend during term time as I am exhausted. I’m in school by 7.30 am rarely leave before 5.30 pm and usually drag home 3 hours work a day and a full day at the weekend. That’s just school work.

I don’t go out during term time I’m exhausted I’m on my feet all day every day and then I’m marking.

so yes with non teaching friends I can meet them on a Monday evening at 6 pm for dinner 👍during the holidays but not during term time

Totally get you OP. My closest friends are teachers. I'm school based but school holidays are when I catch up with admin etc. If I'm on leave I'm away. I'm taking 8 days over the school holidays - all of which I'm away for. I've offered teacher friends any evenings. One has granted me 2 hrs tomorrow morning which will probably be it for the summer and the other can be persuaded to walk her dog in the evening so I can see her then. Mostly they need to spend time with family and catch up with all the friends they've ignored for months.

Ffs. This really isn’t the same.

But no one is asking the OP to meet up every weekend/evenings during the week for the whole 6 weeks.

They are simply stating they are free.
Should they not do it assuming you are busy and not see you instead? I mean maybe you could tell them you are only available 1 or 2 in the hols. Then they would know 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

👏

I don't know any teachers who don't realise other people work weekends and also work beyond salaried hours.

I do however know people who think a teaching job is 9-3.

What a ridiculous comment.

My non teacher friends meet up in the evenings after work. I'm just too tired to do that even on nights im not working at home. I don't think they're thoughtless for still going put though.

I think some people are deliberately obtuse when it comes to teaching. Many people find spending a day with their own childen exhausting. I spend my day with 30 of them, managing their behaviour, meeting their needs etc and then have to do my job on top of that (plan lessons, teach them, mark etc). I'm not complaining - it's what I chose to do and I (mostly) love it - but I am knackered at the end of the day!

Some nights, I'm in bed by 7.30pm because I'm just too tired to do anything else.

I think the point at which people are complaining their teacher friends are only available to see them over the summer holidays is the point at which people are really scraping the bottom of the barrel for this to complain about us for!

You're taking this too seriously. My friends and I are much more likely to suggest meeting up over summer because kids aren't at school and longer evenings with better weather.

A lot of non teachers take work home at the weekends all year round.

Knew this would turn into a 'noone knows how hard teachers live are' post!
We know!!! We live with you, we are friends with you, we read endless posts about it. We know!!

Yes it would be crass to brag about a bonus, buts it’s not the same as annual leave is it.
Do you not get annual leave?!

I think teachers are allowed to be excited for their annual leave when they do spend the majority of term time evenings and weekends planning and marking.

Most of my teaching friends, tutor in any ‘spare time’ and visit food banks. Yes you heard me teachers on their knees and having to visit food banks as they can’t afford to live. You have absolutely no idea about the poor pay, working conditions and stress of the job. Long holidays - my arse.

I once worked out all my ‘overtime’ and reports and weekend and deducted from my holidays and compared it with my friend who worked 9-5 and got standard holidays - I got 3 weeks less holiday than him and less pay.

It hasn't and you don't.

I don't assume it means people are expecting everyone to have 6 weeks off, more that they're asking for dates that suit other people.

Knew this would turn into a 'noone knows how hard teachers live are' post!
We know!!! We live with you, we are friends with you, we read endless posts about it. We know!!

Ah, you wanted a teacher bashing post. I see. How boring.

So... why are you complaining about this?

If you know, surely you also understand the reasons behind it?

I don't think teachers work harder than anyone else. But I am exhausted during the time. I began teaching in my 30s so had worked in other jobs beforehand. I worked hard in those too but I was never this tired.

If people don't want to hear teachers' explanations for the next ridiculous accusation, then the easiest answer is to not start threads moaning and complaining about us for one thing or another 🤷🏻‍♀️

I do this because my work does quieten down over the summer. I’m not a teacher.

It's not the assumption people are free. It's that often teachers lives are too full on in term time (I know lots of people's lives are full on all year round), and so once you get to the holidays you try and squeeze a whole life in. It's not personal, one arsey reply will get them to stop inviting you I'm sure 😆

Just tell them you are never able to meet as you work every day, all year round and because you are in your routine.

This thread is mad. I like seeing my teacher friends, as I do all my friends. Hence it's nice when they let me know they have some time and would like to meet. I can always say no!

Just saw this haha, I think you need to dump your teacher friends they obviously piss you off. Noone said noone knows, they're just pointing out the blatantly obvious reason they are reaching out over the summer

I think people forget that most teachers have not always been teachers so they can compare what their life was like before and after.

Unless you’ve been a teacher yourself then you can’t really comment on what their work/life balance is like because you’ve not experienced it first hand.

This is starting to remind of the junior doctor strike threads where posters were claiming they don’t work that hard and that their job is just as challenging.

I’m so guilty of doing this. Hopefully my friends think ‘great let’s get some time in to see Ghina’ rather than ‘Ghina drives me nuts’.

Thought this might be the underlying issue...

I feel like this about my doctor friends. They never stop banging on about how hard it is to be a doctor.

My non-teacher friends used me quite a bit for free childcare during the summer holidays. I didn’t mind, as it was fun for my kids. We did lots of things, but it was a bit tiring.