To think that all parents should spend a day in the life of a teacher

[Ivortheengine8]

in the classroom [alone with a class of little brats sweety pies and see what little angels their children all are at school?
Do you think any parents would be surprised? Overwhelmed? Shocked?
well?

We had one child, who deliberately broke every flower head in one of the garden beds. She was told off. Her mother came in and ranted at the teacher for upsetting her child! Nothing like oh I am very sorry she did that and I have had words with her. Another child threw his sandwich behind a locker, throwing it away was bad enough, but where he put it, it would never have been discovered for days on end and it would have stank the room out. His mother said another child must have told him to do it. Both children concerned are nt. If either of my children had done that, no way in this world would I be ranting at the teacher, I would have been highly embarrassed.

Yes Nutty, but when it comes to a classroom where teaching is impossible surely your child is not learning anyway?

Ivor, this is why I would wish that dd's teachers could have spent a few days in my life. To see how hard dd was struggling to be that perfectly behaved, never complaining, always cheerful and willing child, and what it was like to deal with the sobbing hysterical self harming mess that her efforts to be perfect left behind. But they though I was just making it up. Because, as you say, my dd had been properly brought up

Thats what I am talking about Fimbo - not whether teachers likes their jobs or not. I am glad you got the point of my post!! Maybe it was badly worded.

Ivor I absolutely agree with disruptive/destructive behaviour as that impacts on other children, classroom, etc. Hence the "as long as it doesnt impact other children and obviously Im not speaking about bullying, swearing, etc"

Then it should get taken up with the parents and its their responsibility to sort it.

Yes, sorry Nutty, exactly. (pregnancy brain!)

I disagree.

I look after my child and his behaviour while he's with me.

I can't do anything about his behaviour at school. That is the teacher and school's responsibility. I send him to school well fed, dressed and rested. That is all I can do. He is polite enough and fairly well behaved at home.

I don't know what led up to the incident, or if the teacher saw it all, or anything. I don't know what sanctions have already been taken.

There is no way I would discipline my child for normal bad behaviour at school. Because there is always something causing the bad behaviour - and if it is something in the school environment then school needs to deal with it.

Nor would I expect school to discipline my child for bad behaviour at home

I work in a nursery. I think the children are usually better behaved in nursery than out of it. We have parents that say there children do x,y,z at home and you think no way they are so good here. Its like one of the children who comes to our setting had a tantrum on the stairs with her mum but when my manager walked past she just stopped and looked at her. Children always behave better for people who arent their parents ime.

Nutty and Gwendoline lots of teachers are parents. I know exactly how it feels to have be a parent and deal with teachers some of whom are outstanding and some of whom are a tad rubbish.

The actual teaching bit of teaching is not that hard and young people make delightful company and therefore I do not need someone to come and experience the horror that is my job.

Having said that - I have advised my children and those who have asked to look for something other than teaching if they can pick and choose.

I think alot of jobs are hard.

I think there is a lot you can do to help your child behave well at school, any incidents at school have always been swiftly followed up with sanctions at home.

Lots of my friends are teachers.

They have loooooong holidays but go oooon and oooooooooon and oooooooooooooooooon about how blardy stressful and tiring and anxious their job is.

Damn fucking straight. My idea of hell. There is no salary on God's good earth that would tempt me into teaching and I doff my hat to the lot of 'em. DH is a cop and based on chatting to them all extensive research I am fairly certain patting down a dead body for knife wounds is more fun than being a primary school teacher. A teacher mate of mine still can't quite believe that I have a job in which I can actually sit down with a cup of tea and MN in the office [lazy trout emoticon]

The only time I don't feel sorry for teachers is when they moan about report writing. Cry me a river, matey. Come see the tens of thousands of bollocks words I have to churn out

I liked Orm's post of 11.48. It's not just about seeing that it's hard, it's just about seeing what teaching is and what it isn't.

OP please no! hats off to teaching staff of all levels. I think the teachers we have are lovely and do a fantastic job, birthday parties are enough for me,

Hey...anyone want to take DH's day at school today?

5 'interventions' by him, and 2 by TAs. Interventions happen when pupils (these are aged 13 and 14) lose control and start screaming, swearing, attacking other people and chucking chairs around and the teachers/TAs have to restrain them suffering punches and kicks and get spat at. Might add these pupils have EBD - not mainstream school. He is wiped out and demoralised and is now writing up incident reports. Any takers?

Just more hat-doffing from me, Ormirian. Blimey. At least when DH has to 'intervene' he's got the cuffs

i know how hard being a teacher is - i did it for 9 years at a 2ndry school. Sad thing is i enjoyed it when you could teach your subject but more often you were dealing with non teaching issues. I left in 98 and now do boring bookkeeping. Physics was far more interesting.

No thanks Ormirian!

I think there is a difference between a child being 'naughty' or a bit 'rude'
Hell I was, who wasn't at school?

But kicking,punching threatening teachers?
I'm sorry but that is another class of 'naughty' in my book and I don't see why it should be tolerated by anyone including the other pupils,TA's, secretaries and teachers.

I think the trust has gone. We used to tremble in our boots before parents evening when I was growing up because my parents believed what the teachers said about me and they trusted them to give an accurate report.
And Oh my goodness if we got a bad report we were in big trouble at home.
If my children were naughty at school, I would want to know about it so I can correct it also myself.

i will do a day as a teacher.

I'll take any day in August.

Vicki, precisely, A teacher's job should be to teach not to 'control' a bunch of unruly kids. If a teacher went into teaching to babysit a bunch of aggressive, uncontrolled children we would never have any teachers.

LOL MAMA!!

The point I am trying to make, is that some parents get really riled if you so much as tell a child to stand still. They come in, ranting and raving. If a child is not disciplined at home, how in the hell can the school do it, knowing full well that whatever they say is going to be challenged by the parent the next day. I think it is why there is so much unruly behaviour because children do as they please knowing their parents will back them up to the hilt. If my child is naught at school then yes I expect the school to deal with it in appropriate manner but then I give them my support in doing so. I would not be going in and shouting my head off at them telling my child off for being distruptive.

Exactly, Fimbo. Teachers need parental support to do what is best for the child. And often that means sanctions and discipline. The most successful students are the ones whose parenys work alongside the school, not against it. Remember we only want what is best for your child too.

Have done the parent reader thing, and an accompanying parent on a reception year trip to a farm centre.

Could never quite listen again to those complaining mums when the pack lunch food memos were published (i.e what NOT to put in a packed lunch) after seeing two of ds classmates on the trip consume billy bear sausage sandwiches, bottles of orange panda pop, those choco dunker snacks, tesco value choc biscuits, and other assorted sweets, and then proceed to rip lumps out of each other on the coach all the way home, gangster tripping on sugar.

Why a teacher should have to put up with that, i don't know. I felt such sympathy for reception teacher and her ta in a class of 32!

True binful, I never quite understand the sugar thing and why it just doesnt seem common sense to parents that it makes kids hyper. Its not that hard to understand surely!