To slag off someone else's profession?

[Mawgatron]

E.g. Nurses don't really care about their patients.

Or firefighters just sit on their arses at the station most of the time so why are they whinging?

Or the police are all corrupt.

Actually, all of these opinions are bollocks. But I wouldn't dream of slagging off a profession that I have no proper understanding of, so why do so many people feel the need to slag off the hardworking teachers of this country? GRRRRRR!

but when you've only had bad experiences with say, vets then why shouldn't you slag them off?

It is fine to slag off the individual vet, but not to slag off every single one of them because you met a couple of bad ones.

I would be the first to admit there are some terrible builders and construction companies,

but there are many brilliant, honest ones also,

I've had a few exchanges of different points of views on MN over the years,

but the only one that pissed me off was when I clicked on a thread by a MNer who was having construction issues, and another poster (TCB), commented along the lines of, "What do you expect All builders are lying cheating thick evil cunts"

I did very politely point out that was quite rude, and she chose not to retract or change her statement,

The only poster I have no time for, she was well aware that I had posted, but chose to carry on being mean.

I genuinely don't know why so many people seem to hate teachers, they get so much stick. However, it's a question I am too afraid to ask and in the past, the only reason I've been given is because they get 13 weeks holiday a year and don't work a full day. I think those days, if they ever actually existed, are long gone.

I don't think it's right to slag off any profession, like anything there are people who are good at their job and there are people who are bad at their job. I don't think anyone is qualified to slag off a profession they have never worked in, sometimes people need to realise that it's not the job which makes the person behave in the way they do, it's usually red tape. And of course one profession shouldn't be based on a minority who provide a bad example.

A lot of the time I think it's boredom. There doesn't seem to be any other reason!

Hooverfairy
I genuinely don't know why so many people seem to hate teachers
because (almost) every adult has been to school and thinks
I could do that job
because they are unaware of the training behind it.

My job (memorising chunks of horrible legislation and numbers) people are happy to admit they cannot do, so they are less likely to slag me off

that and politicians set great store by changing things
and one of the things they can change - because they control it, despite not using it - is state education

When people come across a bad professional in many circumstances there are bodies to complain to. Also they will not normally have to keep coming up against that professional day in day out. Often you can change to a different professional while your issues with the first professional are resolved.

Teaching is different. It is often not clear who to discuss concerns with. Pupils/students who can be in the front line of bad teaching are not allowed to express concerns directly at all and risk punishment if they attempt to.

As a parent one of the things which causes me resentment is when education spreads into non-educational areas eg clothing and food. While I realise that individual teachers cant affect rules on these subjects I do resent individual teachers repeating the non-reasons for why the school follows these rules. I would be far happier if a teacher was honest.

While I try to refrain from slagging off an entire profession I have called SIL (teacher) up on her whining and sense of entitlement. When she took a look at herself and her teacher friends she conceded that there was a certain attitude which understandably alienated people (I was working very hard in heritage for no pension, no benefits and no job security and asked her in what ways she thought she was better than me). She has grown up a lot and no longer takes what the unions say at face value.

I have nothing but praise for the teachers at my stepsons' schools. But the unions are hugely powerful and too few stop to measure the value of what is being said. Then they spout bollocks which makes them seem naive. Obviously not all teachers but I have never encountered another profession where so many fit the stereotype.

Well, all I do is sit on my backside all day telling people to turn their computers off and then on again. When that doesn't work, I hide under the desk.

Go on, slate the IT workers. I'm public sector too, so should probably be in the stocks.

What about midwives, sitting all day on their fat asses eating cake?

(which is exactly why I am studying to be one... love cake!)

I don't think teachers are targeted on MN anywhere near as much a social workers or health visitors. The difference is that plenty of teachers always pile in to defend any teachers, while the HV's (if there are any on MN) and SW's often keep their heads under the parapet.

Disclaimer: I am not a HV or a SW nor is any member of my family.

Another difference is that failing to support the teacher (=believe and opently state that s/he is right on every occasion) is seen as synonymous with teaching your child to be an anti-social thug.

Failing to support the decision of your doctor or health visitor doesn't have anything like the same moral connotations.

I don't have a profession. I just have a job. So everyone is nice to me. hurrah!

We've all been children so we are all qualified to judge teachers. So ner.... DH hates it too.... he can't even go for a quiet pint in his local without people telling him how teaching is a piece of piss. Currently he is suffering massively from an injury caused restraining a violent angry 15 yr old. So atm his job is a piece of piss as he's off work.

But the unions are hugely powerful and too few stop to measure the value of what is being said. Then they spout bollocks which makes them seem naïve.

I would agree with that statement. I wholeheartedly support the teachers, but I do notice inconsistencies in their arguments that have come from simply repeating what the unions have said.

The same is true of all unions. I have a friend in the fire brigade and the bollocks I've seen on his Facebook page is frustrating. If the facts are wrong, the argument is undermined. Unfortunately.

I'm a researcher (doing a doctorate). I get up at 12 noon, sit watching YouTube all day, read some books and really should get a wee part time job and think about what 'real' job i'd like to have when my contract ends.

I wouldn't normally slag off someone's profession.

But it really p*sses me off that my neighbour from hell, the foul mouthed, violent drunk, gets paid £42000 a year as a train driver, pulling some levers etc and his equally horrible wife gets about £20000 as a PART TIME ticket inspector, walking up and down all day.

Both of them have just a few GSCEs. Me and DH wasted our time going to university didn't we? DH works two jobs and I work full time and we don't earn what they earn.

Really peed off about this.

Why don't you become a train driver and ticket inspector then?

I know someone who thinks that teaching is a really cushy number. I really want to ask him wtf he doesn't go and do it then.

£20000 as a PART TIME ticket inspector, walking up and down all day.

Considering some of the behaviour I've seen from train passengers I wouldn't like to be in her shoes.

But FCEK what you're describing here is how your neighbours are as people. How they behave at home is absolutely nothing to do with their work and neither are they representative of train drivers or ticket inspectors as a whole.

So you're really not slagging off the professions, just your neighbours (who sound delightful by the way).