To sue Gove for ruining my back

[teacherinpain]

3 prolapsed discs

This is down to the crippling weight of paper work and marking I've had to lug round with me all day every day since Gove came to power. ( The hospital confirms this)

This will never heal

What if every single teacher who has been physically or mentally damaged by this mad man sued him personally for the results of his insanity.

[Nancy66]

Bad backs are unpleasant but LOADS of people get them from doing all kinds of work: production lines in factories, people who drive all day, people who sit all day, people who stand all day, builders, labourers, nurses, doctors.

It's hard to think of many jobs that don't have some impact on our backs.

[RolloRollo]

IamRecharging I agree - it really shocks me the attitude people take, and the way they egg others on to share such attitudes. Yes he has made some big mistakes but he also proposes the odd good thing. But whatever he says and does leads to some being over dramatic and throwing appalling language about.

[pleaseaffixstamps]

RolloRollo and IamRecharging - if you take control of an entire education system, ruin it, and render many parents powerless, then you can't be surprised when there is a lot of anger about. I'm not one for personal insults, but I do understand them - especially as the traditional routes for parents to be involved in their children's schools have vanished. If you step on someone's hand, you can't be surprised when they yell.

If you look up "tone policing", you might see also why I think this tutting over people snarking about Gove is just a distraction from what Gove is actually doing.

[RolloRollo]

I am in education and I know the full extent of his impact. I don't believe he has ruined it. Yes he has done a bad job in many ways. Yes he has made some bad choices, but also some reasonable ones. Parents are not all that powerless from my experiences.
Anyway this is not a debate about Gove.

I think blaming a bad back on Gove is just as much an issue and distracts from the real issues. Those who go on from those kinds of moans to trying to discuss the real issues with Gove are not likely to be taken seriously. Taking an attitude that everything bad about education should be blamed on him does no good.

[RolloRollo]

That should say *parents are no more powerless than before IMO.

[pleaseaffixstamps]

You made it a debate about Gove by complaining about the people talking about Gove.

Also "your experience" =/= "all experience". Nobody in any profession can claim to know everything about it. My experience of his policies is that they've been a disaster for education where we live.

[RolloRollo]

It was a debate about Gove in the title 'To sue Gove for ruining my back'
I never claimed my experience is the same as all experience, I just claimed that the tone taken by many towards Gove (E.g. in this thread) does no good for education.
I am sorry if I was not clear.

[Nomama]

Rollo - possibly because those responding are of the opinion that Gove has done no good whatsoever for education.

Maybe, like me, they all believe that there is nothing he has done that has been based in research, knowledge or the needs of students and teachers. Everything he has done has been for soundbites, the wants of the few and has flagrantly disregarded and, a few times, threatened, teachers who have disagreed.

As education minister the man is a menace.

Having said that he isn't the only one, just the current one, the nearest target.

I teach across an enormous campus (3 sites, 600 acres) and have to carry everything with me.... everything. I teach 5 different classes a day and have to have all books, work, equipment for each student with me when I get to the classroom. So I have to carry a rolling trolley, a toolbox (small carrying box), my laptop and a number of small bags to divide each class's work into. Much of my journey is in one direction, away from my office. So I have to carry it all round all day.

I don't have the luxury of a teaching room or an elephant (or other beast of burden). I am far from unique in this... as others here have said!

Gove, Ofsted etc have, over the last couple of years, increased the daily bumf I have to have at my fingertips. OK, it is not just under his tenure that this has happened, but, as I said, he is the current incumbent and so is the natural target of my ire.

So his apparent lack of knowledge, consideration and listening skills plus the additional crap I have to produce all add up to me disliking the thought of him intensely. And I am angry and shallow enough to think the very bloody appearance of him only adds to my anger and his being an obvious target. PLUS the fact that he is a jumped up journo with F all background in education and I detest the man!

Now... I admit much of that is unreasonable... but I am not feeling reasonable, I am feeling angry, for many reasons, mostly to do with the amount of actual teaching time all the Gove crap steals from me and my students.

I hope that makes some sense, even if you don't agree or it does not match your experience.

[teacherinpain]

Surely it is your responsibility to have awareness that the load you carry is too much, and to put into place a system to reduce that load - storage, trolleys, whatever, discussion with other staff to find solutions?

Agatha, I am and have been for years, fully aware that the load I carry is too much, unfortunately thee is absolutely no leeway to put in place any system to reduce that load, either for me or for other staff.

I have records of several attempts to compromise with the amount carried round the school, but none have been acceptable to SMT, who are attempting to put the Ofsted and Dept Ed requirements into practice.

I know many teachers don't have to carry all this, but some do. I think it depends on the course you are teaching, vocational seems to need a lot more paperwork than academic. it also depends on your timetable, how many lessons you teach before having time to return to your desk, how far apart those lessons are, etc.

I am quite shocked at the number of teachers on here badly damaged by the physical work load. it shouldn't be happening.

It doesn't make it any better that it happens in other jobs too. It shouldn't be happening to anyone of us.

[Meow75]

I realise that this thread has been mostly about the physical effects of being a teacher in this country at the moment, but for me, I'd like to sue everyone in the chain for the effect of teaching on my mental health.

I resigned in December 2013, after teaching for nearly 16 years, and I had experienced my only second ever time of feeling suicidal - completely because of workload and the way I was treated by my LM and SMT. The first time was in May of 2013. Twice in one year was more than enough for me.

I am now job hunting for a role OUTSIDE of education and I was offered a job within one month of claiming JSA. Naively gave the LM and HT as referees, and then the job offer was withdrawn.

[AElfgifu]

Do you have a job now Meow75? Are you getting any support from your union?

[Noappointmentnecessary]

For anyone that thinks our job is easy (teaching) all I can say is offer to volunteer in your local school and then make your own judgement and see what we deal with day to day x

[caruthers]

Bad backs are unpleasant but LOADS of people get them from doing all kinds of work: production lines in factories, people who drive all day, people who sit all day, people who stand all day, builders, labourers, nurses, doctors.

This all day long for me.

Work in general is stressful too and no job/profession can have it engineered out completely.

[Meow75]

Unfortunately, when DH and I reviewed finances over Christmas, Union fees was one thing that I stopped paying. Didn't seem necessary as I wasn't going into a classroom ever again. Interview was Feb 11th, job offer withdrawn Mar 10th.

Asked company HR if I could see ref's they refused. Not sure I wanted to read them anyway, and figured it wouldn't get me the job back and mentally thought it would put me back several weeks.

I'm fed up with not having a job but I'm not on AD's like I was in Dec and Jan.

[sonlypuppyfat]

You may very well work hard at school but it's not a very long day is it.

[AElfgifu]

12 hours a day on site Sonlypuppyfat, + evening work at home as well, I think teachers work longer hours than they should.

[RolloRollo]

Nomama
No, I completely understand your points. I teach and I never disagreed that Gove has lead to a lot of issues and damage, let alone destroying morale.
Your situation sounds awful, I guess I am fortunate to have a teaching room which is mine and I rarely have to move from.
I just disagree with the way people speak of him, I see it as further destroying morale and just creating more issues. I can understand why it happens but I have seen how destroying it can be.

I guess I am lucky, I moved schools recently and went from a school where morale was low, staff turnover very high and staff wellbeing at an all time low... To a school where there was real motivation and drive, a real buzz and attitude that whatever the wider circumstances (ie Gove) the children we teach put up with some fairly awful adversities and they deserve the best education and positive teachers. The whole mindset and attitude taken in my new school is refreshing. Management are on side as long as you work hard and there is a real sense that we will do all we can to improve the life chances of the children. I realise I am very very lucky and I also realise most teachers want the best for their children but feel restricted by Gove's policies.

I have seen that despite Gove and his policies it does come down to how you view it and how those around you react to it all. You can let it get on top of you, be unsupported by management (not something you choose or can control I know) and feel like you are letting the children down day after day because of it all, or you can (and I admit only if this attitude is collective amongst all in a school community) take the changes, agree or disagree, but ultimately keep positive and do what you can to reduce the impact of Gove's poor policies and maximise the impact of his better ones on the actual children.
I am not saying to get into a school with the atmosphere mine has is easy, it was luck for me to end up there. I am just saying that if one less person takes the mindset that Gove has destroyed everything then that is one step closer to a better, more positive school environment. At the end of the day you cannot control his policies and impact, all you can do is go with it but do all you can to minimise the negative impact on you and your pupils.

[AElfgifu]

Rollo, I wish Gove would read your post. You have summed it up really. If you are very lucky, and if you work very hard, it is possible, in some circumstances, to overcome Gove's negative influence, and maybe get away with teaching in a way that could benefit some of the children. What a sad indictment.

[ICanSeeTheSun]

I would want to be a teacher, I have an NVQ. Level 2 in childcare 1/2 way through the 3rd year I quit.

First month of working in a school I used to ask about thier plans for the weekend and always got the same answer..... Playing catch up.

My GCSE results was not good enough for A levels so planned to do the 3 year course, then an access course to go on to teaching.

[shockinglybadteacher]

As you can tell from my nick, I was a shite teacher which is why I am no longer one :) However, I can tell you that good teachers have an insane workload and have to do things that I never do now (in an office job) and never did previously (as a security person).

There seems to be a prevalent belief that teachers waft into their classrooms at 9am, tell the children "Read from page 20 to page 200" for class after class, then leave happily at 3pm to enjoy a relaxing night with friends and family, while thinking of the holidays (when they go to Costa Rica for six weeks) and the next inset day (when they spend the day in the pub). If only.

I was an EFL/EAL teacher so I had a far smaller workload than a full-time teacher in any school, let alone a tough state school, and I still found it overwhelming. I have nothing but respect for the job they do - in fact they may regard themselves as "special" but that is right because they are special.

You worry over all of your pupils - will X pass that exam? Y seems to have lost interest and be sleepy in class, I'm a bit worried for what that means for her homelife. Z's disruptive, he never used to be. Is my teaching boring him or is there a deeper problem?

You prepare lessons - I taught classes at different levels and could be up til midnight preparing. Tell me in what other job you never get to switch off from it. Or where you are regularly asked to breach H&S and told you're a wimp to complain. Or where you are told you're being a special entitled girly for making any complaint at all as anyone who'd ever been a child could teach your class no problem. Or where everyone you meet either has bad experiences they want to tell you about people with your job or wants to tell you how much harder they work because all you have to do is stop kids killing each other for a couple of hours then go home at 3.

What made me a shite teacher wasn't a lack of commitment, it was a lack of skill. I grew to hate the absence of "spark" (I had colleagues whose teaching was a joy to behold) and realised it wasn't a talent of mine so I'd best give in gracefully. The colleagues who stuck on with it had amazing commitment and skills - but also a workload I envy not in the least.

[pleaseaffixstamps]

sonlypuppyfat teachers are there for far longer than the pupils. They have to get there earlier, and don't get to knock off at 3.15, but have lesson planning, reports, and endless marking to do, as well as after-school activities. The teachers at my DS's school often have to work on Saturdays and on ostensible "holidays" (half-term and the like) to supervise interventions.

A friend of mine stopped working as a teacher when she realised she spent every Sunday in exhausted tears as she spent the day lesson-preparing for the week.

[sonlypuppyfat]

But can't you see that's what everyone does? Most people only get 4 weeks holiday all year! Two weeks in summer one at Easter and one for Christmas.

[pleaseaffixstamps]

Yes? I hadn't suggested otherwise. I was responding to your "it's not a very long day is it".

[Feenie]

Soonlypuppyfat, the most recent DfE survey found that primary school teachers work an average of 62 hours per week.

Still think it's 'not a very long day'?

[sonlypuppyfat]

I don't think they are killing themselves though.