to think there is NO NEED for 2 inset days after a week off?

[Charliefarlie1192]

Only realised by asking on fb this morning that ds doesnt return to school till wednesday as today and tomorrow are inset days, aibu to think this is beyond ridiculous?!

juniper When I first started teaching my dad was really concerned about the amount of time I spent working and constantly told me that I was making life difficult for myself and there was no way other teachers worked as much as I did; that it was not sustainable for a job to take up that much of your life indefinitely!

Bless him, eh!

boschy - I really like ds's teachers (he has 2 on a job share) they do an amazing job. Dont assume.

Charlie the comment was about how they feel about you not the other way round.

Hth.

So OP, tell us why the inset day was a surprise then so I can laugh and feel smug because that might explain why you're narked :o

Well now I've read through all your comments OP it does sound like teacher bashing. Your OP didn't specifically blame them, but once you get on to "our taxes" and the "countless weeks off" you do seem to imply the teachers are lazing about just to inconvenience you.

sarca :o

OP home ed your dc and inset days need never bother you again.
(Another teacher's wife sick of teacher bashing)

Thank you folkgirl :)

I think a lot of teaching is invisible. Herein lies the problem. Unless you live with / are a teacher you don't see the work that goes into the visible stuff - i.e. the work your child produces and the education they receive. Much of my DHs time is spent providing pastoral care, being the one person a student can turn to in life because no-one else gives a shit, training up new and existing teachers... like I said the list goes on.

A good example - DH recently discovered that some of his students were mis-using a social netowrking site (not FB), not only by posting malicious comments but their profiles were open / public pictures etc. Many of the parents 'get' FB now but not other sites, so he is providing an open forum once a week for parents to go in and learn how to use and therefore self-police these sites. He doesn't have to do it, it isn't part of his job description, but caring for his students and their families is. It is another evening on top of all of the other responsibilities - meetings, revision, more meetings, parent consultations - which is more time away from home. Sometimes I get really touchy about the hours he puts in; it can feel like he puts other people's children (like yours, OP) before his own.

The absolute least we can do as parents is support those who are giving this vital part of life learning to our children. And perhaps cherish the time we have with our children. Teachers' working life is hard enough without also having to defend themselves against parents who moan about INSET days, who perceive their job to 'have enough holidays as it is', and who can't get themselves organised with regards to childcare on days when school is closed to students.

My mum is a teacher. I clearly remember spending weeks of the school "holidays" watching her mark work, plan lessons or even, for many long and boring days, help her tidy her classroom and store cupboard and change displays on the walls. This added onto having to be at school before and after normal hours while she attended meetings, did bus duty, tidied up, did detentions and after school clubs.

When it came time for me to choose my degree - either with a B Ed or without - I chose without because I knew then that I didn't have that level of dedication. Teachers do an amazing job, one for which they should be revered and respected, I hate threads like this that make out they're somehow getting an easy ride.

As has been pointed out many times, INSET days are not extra holidays and they are important. Before we had INSET days, there were still 13 weeks of holidays. All INSET means is that the teachers lost 1 week and now have to work and provide childcare for their own children to boot.

"why cant the teachers train during the holidays? they get enough!"

"teachers get enough time off, they are paid from our taxes to teach our children, they have countless weeks off a year and still add inset days to the holidays."

"And I am not teacher bashing its the system that frustrates me, dont know how many ways to say it really"

Well, no, those two comments are directed specifically at teachers and not the system. Not entirely sure what other way there is to read them.

Until you've been a teacher, you really can't comment on the length of holidays etc.

I used to work as a senior manager - 60+ hr weeks, weekends, last nights etc and only 25 days holiday a year. Honestly, I could not see how teaching wouldn't provide a better work/life balance, so I changed careers (not the only or main reason, but honestly, yes, it was one)

I still work 60+ hours a week, yet I also take plenty of work home with me, spend my entire holidays workings, and cannot ever switch off. I see parents/kids in the supermarket/out shopping etc and have to always be in 'teacher mode'.

I clearly remember spending weeks of the school "holidays" watching her mark work, plan lessons or even, for many long and boring days, help her tidy her classroom and store cupboard and change displays on the walls. This added onto having to be at school before and after normal hours while she attended meetings, did bus duty, tidied up, did detentions and after school clubs. -
Blather you have hit the nail on the head here. Each and every half term, I spend at least 2 full days in the classroom changing displays, tidying etc as I don't have a TA to do it for me whilst I'm actually teaching. The remaining 3 days of my week off are spending marking books, planning lessons and assessing pupil progress (or, like this half term, the entire week has been spent writing 1500 word reports for each of my 30+ pupils)

So...yes...obviously teachers get enough holidays. Silly me.

OP you may not have intended to teacher-bash, but several things you have said are disparaging.

Oh. I meant to add. I'm currently writing this at home, after our Inset morning, because the class computer and printer are not working. Hence, my lesson planning/prepping is now being done using my own resources and ink at home. REALLY don't remember ever having to use my own ink at my own cost when I worked in business (and I earned three times the amount then!)

just in case OP thinks I'm sat here enjoying a lovely day off whilst she has to provide for her children

OP - YABU and totally disorganised if you only realised this morning that you child doesn't go back until Wednesday !

I suggest that you stop having a go at teachers and look closer to home

INSET dates are published well in advance by schools .

We call them insect days here - after a friend's DS called them that!

We call them "bug's days" because that's what DS1 called them when he was in reception... He thought they were insect days :)

YABU.

Responsible working parents check school holiday dates and inset days in advance.

If childcare arrangements were that much of a problem for you, you would be organised.

Yep, I've had my 10 year old son and 3 year old daughter 'helping' me tidy sort the classroom for the new term

At least I always knew how exciting my book corner was...

And yes, a lot of the job is invisible.

And I still haven't heard the OP's story about why these Bug Days were a such a surprise :o

My DD (8yo) tried very hard this morning to convince me it was a INSET bug's day today so she could have another day at home with mummy.

I would happily oblige :) but was a good mummy and sent her packing

As a wife of a teacher I can only reiterate what Folkgirl, Blather, Soozy and Itdoesnthurt have to say.

Teachers also have to deal with pupils like this wonderful one from my DH's school I couldn't give a tossHe has been excluded from school. His speciality was being abusive to female teachers, but it's alright because it is part of of his religion innit!

Poor parenting if you don't now when your children are supposed to be on/off school.!
Leave the teachers alone, maybe spend some time in their shoes and then come back to have a go at them.

2fedup that's crap :(