To be sick of the current public slating off teachers!

[Belle15]

Just feel teachers are criticised from all angles at the moment and we work damn hard for very little financial gain or thanks!! Would like to see any of the people moaning about us actuallu spend a day in our shoes.Needed a rant!

[deepfriedsage]

You prove my point, that is why teachers ate disliked, put down people and laugh at misfortune the damage they cause in students lives.

[Feenie]

AIBU - ducks and buses?

[ilovesooty]

I don't think the simple act of studying should lead to expectations of financial reward. Putting that studying to good use and demonstrating excellent performance should be rewarded. It's how that can be fairly assessed and evidenced is the problem.

[GetStuffezd]

I would never duck up your life, Deepfriedsage.

[ilovesooty]

ONE person's negative experience and agenda doesn't give adequate grounds for being critical of a whole profession.

[spotscotch]

No one is laughing g at others misfortune deepfried

We are laughing at your ridiculous generalisations of an entire profession Based on what is obviously your own bad experience.

[Feenie]

I had a plumber who ripped me off once - £120 just to bleed a radiator (I had dropped the key between some floorboards).

Ergo, every single one is a complete bastard, don't cha know. Oh yes.

[PaulSmenis]

"I don't think the simple act of studying should lead to expectations of financial reward."

No, I don't either. There are no guarantees in life. People have always felt disenfranchised and the educational system is to blame. They should be more honest about this fact of life.

There is no entitlement to a certain salary as such. People need to wake up that the UK is in economic decline and people are lucky to have work in the first place.

[SirChenjin]

£21K is around the starting salary for a nurse too Belle - and many graduates would bite your arm off for a chance of a job which has a pay scale, the same number of holidays, a strong union, good pension etc.

[deepfriedsage]

Not just my bad experience. The bad experiences of people with our medical conditions, each person tells the same story.

Not just people with our medical conditions. That HT from Oxford in Kent who retired and her freecycle info given away with witch hunts on families at the school, Alison something I gather her name was.

[Passmethecrisps]

Genuinely, deep it does sound as if you had a terrible experience. But surely common sense would tell you that not all teachers behave badly?

You can also surely see that people are simply responding to your generalisation. That is, after all, what this thread is about.

Tell us about what happened? Start a new thread asking for opinions?

[Feenie]

People need to wake up that the UK is in economic decline

Indeed. I refer you to my earlier MP link.

[Talkinpeace]

deepfried are you stoned?

[sonlypuppyfat]

I think we all remember being at school and being the but of some teachers sarcastic comments. I went to my DD parents evening I spoke to her History teacher who when I went to shake his hand decided to then drink his coffee. What I'm saying is that am I supposed to respect these people give me a break when they work a full day for a full year I just might.

[ilovesooty]

That still isn't indicative of a whole profession. That's what people are trying to get through to you.

[ilovesooty]

Oh goodness. We've got another generaliser.

[Feenie]

I went to my DD parents evening I spoke to her History teacher who when I went to shake his hand decided to then drink his coffee

Omg - hang him and therefore all teachers immediately. Ffs.

[Amaxapax]

You know, I think threads like this are really unfortunate. Just before my school broke up for the holidays, we had a pretty disturbing union meeting. There are some plans that I found very upsetting, such as forcing teachers to renegotiate their pay each year, cutting holidays and lengthening school days with no intention of raising pay and taking away administrative assistants, meaning teachers have to take over those jobs. I think most of these plans would have a detrimental effect on the quality of classroom teaching. I don't think the current government is concerned with improving education; they are concerned with making a political point.
Having said that, I get very frustrated when teachers moan about workload, and I think it undermines the more significant issues. Lots of people have more work to do than they can feasibly fit into an eight-hour work day. As a teacher, I find my work ebbs and flows. I have my busy times and my easier times, just like anyone else, so I roll with it, just like anyone else. I don't deserve more sympathy than anyone else in another job.
The reason this is important is that, in the next few months, teachers in all unions will be asked to go on strike. I don't like the idea of going on strike, but my regional union rep rightly pointed out that, if we don't stand up and make our feelings of opposition clear, we are tacitly conceding that Gove's plans are good for education and good for the profession. They really are not. But we are going to have to work hard to sway public opinion that we are not just moaning about insignificant things, but instead taking a stand agains decisions that do not respect teachers' professionalism or value children and their educational experience. So, please don't complain about your workload. Work within your school to find a way to manage your workload. Then, take a look at what Gove wants to do and start using social networking, leafleting, and plain old conversations to help let parents know that you want to protect the quality of their children's education, not just your own benefits.
Sorry this is so long. I have lots of feelings.

[Passmethecrisps]

I think, on the whole, we are well renumerated.

I do think that the discussions about teaching get a bit stalled around money.

I have a job I love (take that flamers!) which I get paid well for. I do, however, work in a grim building which oozes lack of care from the council, have outmoded technology and suffer from a lack of trust from the general public

[deepfriedsage]

If I was a parent at that school in Kent I would be very concerned about information they may never know was written about them, was not deleted and was given away on freecycle and it happened to land in the hands of a parent who had a school witch hunt on them, not me, they wanted to know what to do with the info.

[Belle15]

I agree! But the point is, the payscale is being withdrawn! Our pensions contributions are increasing and we will be expected to teach until we are almost 70 to then claim less at the end! I hope my daughter never has to be taught by a 65year old teacher- what good can come of that?
Me and my partner are both teachers and under the proposed changes we will be paying almost £500 a month between us into our pensions and then have less to claim at the end!
Anyway done with moaning now- I agree in comparison to some we are much better off. I don't think it's fair to say we can't moan because others are worse off as in that case who could ever complain about anything?
My point was that we are, as a profession regularly slated and I feel we are slated unfairly.
The poster discussing how we all 'throw kids under the bus' is a perfect example of the type of people I am talking about

[Feenie]

Are you secondary, Amaxapax?

[sonlypuppyfat]

Feenie all his kids know him as a complete tosser too my friends DD is deaf in one ear and refused to seat her where she could her him, he is a controlling prick like they all are no wonder the kids are all failing and falling behind other countries

[Passmethecrisps]

I agree ama. There aren't actually any teachers on here complaining. We seem a happy bunch actually.

That does sound poor sonly but is either likely to be the behaviour of an arsehole rather than a teacher or a genuine mistake.

[Passmethecrisps]

He is one prick sonly. One. Please don't judge us all by one poor example.