Teachers - you're 'avvin a laugh aintcha?

[mholdall]

Kids recently had a week off - half term. They were back this week then, guess what - teacher training day. Seriously, what I want to know is this: is there ANY other job in the country where you get:

• 13 paid weeks holiday a year
• Good pay
• Good pension (believe me, you do compared to people who do proper jobs in private sector - if you dont believe me, try it)
• And yet you still need these extra days to do some training. Training for what, exactly? Seriously, for what???? And how am I, as a parent, supposed to factor childcare in here.
• Oh, and you still do nothing but moan about pay, pensions etc
• Rant over

I love the teachers at my children's school - they are all lovely and every day I drop the children off and they look after them and nurture till 3.15 for me. And they teach them stuff. It's wonderful - oh, except for the inset days. (Bastards.)

Would I do the job? Not in a million.

Anyone who wants 13 weeks hol a year can sign up here ... www.gttr.ac.uk/students/apply/

Go on ....

Yes, go on OP, what's stopping you? Otherwise it's just a load of old sour grapes...

If there is ever a remake of It's a wonderful life with Nicholas Cage in the lead role, could one of you come and shoot me?

I've been curious about for a while about how much teachers get paid in the UK and how the pay scales work - who determines how much each teacher gets paid? etc

Private v state.. as well

Primary & secondary
Head of year
Head of school

If anyone wants to oblige (with a name change or not?!) I'd love to know.

People go on about how they're paid too much/not paid enough - I would like to decide for myself but have no idea how much they're/you're paid!

TIA :)

Line, I'll make it my personal mission to seek out that casting director

Similarly, Rebel without a cause starring Rupert Grint.

How come you've only got three A levels? We were made to do 4 at my grammar school early 80's. My teacher bods all have very different working attitudes. Some work till all hours and stress massively and other roll their eyes at them at say it?s a doddle and don't know what they are going on about. The stressy ones are mainly the ones who went from uni straight into to school, the rolly eyed ones are the ones who have worked in proper jobs i.e. 20 days holiday, no pension and weird and wonderful bosses until they all got made redundant in the 90's and retrained. If it was me I would do infants but I would be rubbish at it cos I would either be laughing along with their innocence or crying cos they are so vulnerable and lovely at that age. Secondary I would probably machine gun them all at some point. Hats off to anyone who teaches teenagers

watch me kill thread now

Oh we used to love the training days.the only days it felt like a normal job.
Anyone who has not taught has no idea how intense it is.I have done other jobs and none have been as hard as teaching. go do it if you think it such a cushy number.

lockets that is fan-bloody-tastic!!

"I make a difference...how about you?"

:)

This fucking thread made me teach in my sleep last night.

7 fucking years I've done that. Whilst not actually teaching 'cos I've had small dc. It's been about 6 months since I last did it. I thought I was free.

I loved teaching. I love children. I loved making a difference. I hated fucking paperwork, I hated everyone assuming crap.

However, I won't go back to teaching now. It wouldn't be fair on my own children - I don't want to do a good enough job (cos I sure as hell don't want my dc's teachers to be doing enough).

This thread has clearly achieved the desired objective of provoking extreme reactions! I have no doubt that teaching is demanding but can be rewarding and nobody should underestimate its importance. However, I suspect that most jobs are demanding these days. IME - and my DDs have been educated in both the state and the private sector - there is a lot of variation in teaching quality. In both sectors I have come across some truly inspirational teachers and also some extremely mediocre ones. Perhaps some just get worn down by the experience and lose their enthusiasm. My friend's husband started life as a financial adviser then retrained as a teacher, but failed the 'classroom control' test. Now he works as an undertaker (I kid you not!) and is very happy - I suppose at least the 'clients' don't give you any aggro!

I think the point is that no other job gets attacked as teaching does.

Teacher's Pay in the Public Sector

I live next to a school and it is closed every day of the holidays except for INSET days. I know this because I can see if the lights are on from my house and they never are on any day of the holiday. Teachers are not there.

Parents feel they are working every day and only get 5 weeks holiday but see teachers 'not at work' while they scramble around trying to get childcare to cover long holidays. That is what causes the majority of the resentment that some parents have for teachers.

It is never going to happen - but I would like to make a modest proposal.

The teaching unions and teaching profession should get together and approach Govt to reshape the school year so it fits in with modern working life. A sort of quid pro quo.

I propose the school year should be split into 5 terms with 2 weeks off at the end of each term and 8.00 am - 5.30 pm school day. Teaching time is 9.00 am - 3 pm and teachers use the final 2 hours to mark and prepare the following day. Having a breakfast club 8 - 9 am would ensure many more children get a decent start to the day and then games from 3 - 5.30 pm would ensure they get some physical excercise too. Govt would need to put a bit of extra resource in to provide breakfast club and some extra games teachers but that should be part of its healthy eating and healthy lifestyle initiatives that Govt keep pushing.

Most importantly, teachers should have to be in school all but the 5 weeks they get for holiday. The remaining 5 weeks that children are not in school should be used for lesson planning and training but the teachers should have to be physically in school 9 - 5 and seen to be working like the rest of us. Govt could provide all/most of the basic the teaching materials online for download online to reduce the preparation time teachers need between terms.

Parents would still have to cover 10 weeks childcare but it would go a long way to calm the boiling resentment parents feel about 'long teacher holidays'. The teaching unions might find parents a bit more supportive of teacher pay/pension strikes. The point is that teachers and their uniosn need to make teh initiative to get into the modern world. Schoosl still operate on the same time table they did in 1890.

As I say it is never going to happen anyway and as I read recently teaching unions are instead asking for teachers to get sabbaticals. Even more time off. That really is a mad idea.

I jumped to the last page and was intrigued as to who FC was. He must be a hotty, right? Went back to page 4 - was not expecting it to be that FC!

Incidentally my children do go to school 8.20 - 5.30 and do pretty much the school day I have suggested above.

For those who think teachers are on a cushy number - get yerselves trained and off you go.

Btw - you might just want to read NorfolkNchance'spost prior to mine. Perhaps it's not so cushy after all eh?
You chose your careers - she chose hers. You get your highs and lows as does she. The fact the school year is designed as it is does not fall down to teachers.