To think that teaching is one of the most undervalued jobs in our society?

[toptramp]

I know you will all tell me off for starting a thread about a thread but tough.

Most people have something negative to say about teachers; the holidays are too long and paid and then we have training days but honestly; most people when I tell them that I am a teacher say; "Oh I couldn't do that with all those teenagers" . Well stop bloody moaning then!

And also I have never once heard anyone say "thank you so much for educating and looking after our kids and providing them with a future." Rant over. Lack of parental support is one reason why the education system in this country needs help.

The problem with how people see teaching is simple really.

Everyone has been to school.
So everyone --thinks- knows what a teacher's job is.
And if a teacher is good then it will look easy to the outsiders as they really only see what happens in the classroom, nothing more.
And if a teacher is less good (as happens in all professions) then they see it all in front of them.

My main reply these days to those who say it is such an easy job with so many perks is also simple:

If it is so easy and cushy - then why not train and become a teacher yourself? After all, no one is stopping you! You too could go and have those 9-3 days and 13 weeks holiday.

Yabu. Street cleaners, clerical workers, care workers all are far more undervalued.

Actually teachers pay and terms are quite good.

And I know many professional jobs where people are thnaked for their work.

My DH is a solicitor. He is regularly sent cards to say thank you, or he gets gifts from clients (individuals and businesses)or invotes to "coporate" events such as watching the cricket, rugby, a day at the races, meals out, etc.

My BIL is a surveyor and gets very similar to the above.

I know medics who get cards and chocolates and wine, etc.

Gifts of thanks is not limited to teachers at all, ime.

And tbh what the general public thinks isn't that important anyway. So long as the children in the class are getting a good education and that they are progressing - well that is the reward for most teachers.

I think it is only really on place slike MN that we see the other side of all this. It is only ever on MN that I have seen teachers so vilifiled and so much complained about in great force, very rarely in real life. But it is nothing new on here. I have been here nearly nine years now and it is the same old comments, the same old threads - most days I don't even bother any more.

((btw, am qualified teacher, worked for 10+ years in secondary, then 3y in prison ed and now working as a ta (soon to be hlta) in primary))

I'm not sure it's undervalued. I feel pretty valued and I teach in a v challenging school. I think also I am confident of my value. In material terms I am pretty well paid and while work silly hours in term time the holidays are fabulous.

I do think our job is not understood very well, which is I would imagine true for many jobs which have a significant behind the scenes component as well as a public component. People know what they see.

I have some personal experience (through friends so not too much) of what a teacher's job entails, I don't live in cloud cuckoo land, I know that I couldn't do it. If you are good you'll see the rewards without having to be physically praised for them.

I don't think they are. I think most people, when they think about teachers at all, do so positively, save a few dimwits who probably think the whole world has it easier than them.
BUT there is no profession that expects such constant praise and attention as a teacher. Geez, they just rattle on about it constantly. They'll always feel undervalued because even if it were the most valued job In the whole world ever teachers would still moan they weren't value enough.

Teachers earn a living wage and work office hours.

The truly undervalued are the Care Workers who do 10, 12, 14 hour shifts for barely over minimum wage; have no control over whether they work bank holidays or Christmas; wear "uniform" that is supposed to help hygiene but only really serve to ensure that no idividuality can ever be expressed...

And that's the ones who are lucky enough to care for strangers. Parents of disabled people and children of elderly people do the same job, all day and all night, for £55 per week that they have to fight to get in the first place.

Or, you could be a farmer being paid 7p per litre of milk, up at 3 am to clear up cow shit...

I think carers have the most undervalued job in our society.

Don't most people want to support teachers anyway? After all, it's my precious children you're teaching, I want to support as much as I can in their education, only if a teacher is disorganised, has a low patience threshold or generally crap that I'll wade in. Otherwise isn't it rather 'Cutting off your nose to spite your face?'

Ok. I am going to bow out.

It is kind of reinforcing my view which is bloody sad. but I suspect the fact that there is another thread which i haven't read is clouding the issue. I am feeling as if my views are being taken as anti-teacher when niching could be further from the truth.

Hulababy. Like I said. Most people get thanked at the end of a transaction. And corporate entertainment is nothing to do with thanks it is cementing relationships to ensure future business. Tell me when you last walked into a bank and told the cashier she was doing a great job and I will concede that people get thanked just for doing their job all the time.

If some teachers continue to respond to the attacks of idiots with an incredibly victim like attitude they devalue their own worth. Teachers do a fantastic job in difficult circumstances. They should be some of our most valued citizens. Some of the reasons respect is diminishing is in their own hands. If you endlessly portray your job as unrelenting, unremitting, thankless shit then people will not value it.

I completely agree OP.

My sister is a teacher (secondary) and bloody hell she works hard! It isn't just office hours, she spends a lot of evening/weekend time marking, writing reports and lesson planning.

I couldn't do it in a million years.

What about nursery workers? They have children for up to 10 hours a day with only a half an hour break from the children, minimum wage, minimal leave, no pension, have to deal with children who have been abused either through neglect, sexual abuse, emotional and/or physical abuse on a regular basis. Be responsible for teaching children how to be potty trained, talk/communicate, social skills, manners etc. They are responsible for a large amount of children (up to 8 at same time, often mixed ages) when often mums at home say they struggle with one or two.

Then go home and have to complete Learning Journeys in their own time for no extra pay at least weekly as well as attending hours of meetings and courses in their own time for free regularly. They never have a break from the kids and still have mountains of paperwork they have to do in their own time.

' Tell me when you last walked into a bank and told the cashier she was doing a great job and I will concede that people get thanked just for doing their job all the time.'

Last Friday. I thanked Steve in the bank because I paid something in and he didn't try and sell/offer me anything else. He just did the job I wanted him to efficiently.

Pag, I think what I said could be construed as anti-teacher, when actually I fully support them apart from some of the snobby twats I had to work with when I was an SN TA

"Teachers do a fantastic job in difficult circumstances."

They do. But not the most difficult of circumstances. There are troops in war zones, that's a pretty difficult circumstance. Prison guards keeping violent criminals off the streets. That's pretty difficult. Nurses and HCA's giving palliative care to terminally ill people must be pretty bloody difficult too.

Relatively speaking, the average classroom full of kids isn't really all that difficult...

YANBU

Lots of people 'work hard' - I'm not sure why that makes being a teacher any more worthy of adulation.

I'll say it 'till I'm blue in the mush. If you're good, rewards will be there.

Teachers' pay and conditions have declined. They used to be in line with professional jobs, now the pay is in line with service jobs.

"They get well paid."

Seriously, some of you have to just ignore some of the people who start the negative threads. You just give them the chance for their threads to get more traffic. Just ignore them. Yes it is hard when you've had a bad week, but if you keep answering you just keep their threads active. FWIW we undervalue a lot of important and tough jobs in the UK, because salary and status are what matter to many people.
Start ignoring their threads! It'll piss them off!

I agree totally about the carers and childcarers etc. Working in these industries you are treated as thick, uneducated, why would you want to do that? couldnt you do something 'better' etc. Caring is not seen as a profession as teaching is you are viewed as stupid for doing it by a lot of people and only doing it as you are too uneducated to do anything else. At least people have respect for teachers carers arent respected at all (this includes carers at home for sn children/husbands/wives/family etc)

I don't believe for a second teachers need to work 70,80 hours a week. I can't understand why that's taken as an indication of how hard they work. Maybe they work all that time because they're inefficent and don't have the skills to find effiecencies? If I worked twice as long as I needed to it would be assumed I struggle to do my job, not that I work very hard.

No I don't.

I think teaching is a job like every other job, and we should all shut up about it. If you want to be a teacher, do it, but shut up about it.

And if you don't want to be a teacher, then don't, but shut up about it.

Yours,

A Teacher.

I think when you consider our holidays our pay is ok. I say that as a teacher who does very little in the holidays as I recognise I am not paid for them. The chances for promotion and pay increases are good, in fact compared to my dp in the private sector much better .

I agree with Pag, if we are going to recruit the best teachers there has to be something about the job that is positive. When I talk to my sixth formers about career choices, the brightest and the best rarely want to teach. One of the reasons for this is other teachers banging on about poor pay, poor conditions and long hours .

Downbytheriverside

So you thanked him at the end of the transaction. Like I said.

Go back. Don't carry out any transaction at all and just thank him for his general bank work. That is what op wants. General, not specific thanks.