To think teachers are not perfect!

[daisygreendaisylilac]

This is based on a large number of posts about teachers - many that assume the teacher could not possibly have done what the OP has said they did.

If they did, it is excused because teaching is stressful and blamed on the government.

AIBU to think that's a bit of a cop out? Personally I know there are fabulous teachers but I know they are not perfect!

Someone up thread said teachers don't like all the children they teach.

Well I teach 11-18, and I always like them all. They never ever fail to entertain and amuse. Quiet, awkward, clever lazy, or whatever, there's always something likeable in them all.

I don't like all mine :) I am professional about it, though.

I am only surprised that anyone can be thought to be perfect!

I don't like all my children. And I'm not even a teacher!

I'm jesting, honestly...

Well, obviously teachers aren't perfect. Nor are nurses, but you don't see umpteen nurse-bashing threads a month.

I sometimes find a similar theme with nursing can happen, but it tends to happen if people question the effectiveness of the NHS - people can get very defensive.

IMO what you have isn't posters disbelieving the child saying "go and find out both sides of the story,"

Its that you have posters saying that those that say "go and get both sides of the story" are saying that its disbelieving the child.

If you can figure that out well done :)

I agree there are many posters who give the good and salient advice to get the full side of the story, but there are others who are quite vocal in that the child must be mistaken and if they are not, it is because the teacher is stressed :)

Quite ironic that you never see any threads saying what a wonderful job teachers do? most are teacher bashing.

I see quite a few posts, certainly, that are very vocal in their praising of teachers, often adding 'they could never do it.'

You get the odd teacher bashing one but that tends to be when it's a teacher who has posted, I'm inclined to agree with the PP that some posters just like to give an OP a hard time.

I think threads start sometimes when parents have a concern.

People then say 'child has it wrong'.

On v rare occasion child can be proved to be right
(and there is always a huge power imbalance)

then it is: 'not teachers fault due to X'

There are a few good, many average, and a few rotten teachers, like any profession.

Christ I don't think I've ever read anywhere on mumsnet that teachers are perfect! However, as mothers (and fathers and carers etc etc) we do know for sure that children can be little turds, oversensitive, imaginative, attention-seeking and so on. Therefore, and quite rightly, people are often told to calm their shit when they are dusting off the pitchforks because wee Johnny comes home saying Mrs X set my pencil case on fire.

I know what you mean. It happens on a lot of threads not just ones about teachers. Ive seen much the same thing on SW ones,teachers,police,child minders any type of job that tends to inspire reactions.

I cannot think of any job at all where all its members are beyond reproach and I don't think anybody should be.

Most jobs with responsibility for other people tend to have systems in place to safeguard the people they are responsible for or tribunals and things like that.

Lots of people from lots of jobs get 'struck off' or prohibited from doing that job again.it is a fact of life but one that people don't tend to like to think about.

I have a theory that it is because it's the type of job where we put trust in the people who do it. And we do not really like to think that that trust could be misplaced because it shatters our safety and reminds us we are only humans

OP I absolutely agree with the view you have expressed. I too have have read many threads where people have been jumped on for suggesting that a teacher has made an error. I was actually thinking of starting a thread about it myself. Over the years of my DCS going through the educational system, we have had some brilliant teachers. We have also encountered some which were less than satisfactory. I imagine that this is par for the course. Teachers are not gods, contrary to the belief of many on MN.

That's a really interesting point sock

I was interested by the insistence earlier (on a different forum) that teachers would not be racist and discriminate on this basis, when they do. Not all (of course) but I've heard it happen. I've also read people adamant teachers would not gossip, would not make assumptions, would not care and have thought 'really?'

Of course Teachers are not perfect. No one is.

They do seem to come in for a lot of criticism though. Not just on here but everywhere. And I'm afraid anyone who thinks Teachers arrive at the same time as the kids and leaves when they do is just bloody stupid!

No one has said that they do

Occasionally I see teachers criticised on here, but it does tend to be when it's a teacher who has started the thread.

I've known wonderful teachers. I've known really good teachers who have made mistakes, and I've known bad teachers, ranging from harmlessly incompetent to dangerous sexual predators.

I wouldn't ever want my children to feel they wouldn't be listened to about a teacher they were having problems with.

I can't see where you want to go with this.
You might as well have started a thread 'AIBU to think some teachers like pot noodle'

I've known wonderful teachers. I've known really good teachers who have made mistakes, and I've known bad teachers, ranging from harmlessly incompetent to dangerous sexual predators.

Are you a teacher because you out seemore to know a heck of a lot about them.

Newsflash, any profession can have those elements in them... drs, nurses, police, etc. Are you going to make threads about those too?

Yes, I am a teacher and no, although I did allude to similar sorts of responses when the NHS is called into question.

MN seems to have calmed down with the teacher-bashing recently. When we had the national strike it was really bad.

Maybe the teacher recruitment crisis and the massive thread about why teachers are quitting in droves helped people see that teaching is a bit shit atm and give us a break?

I would love that to be true noblegiraffe. If only!

I've definitely seen threads like 'my DD's maths teacher is crap, what should I do?' and previously it would have been all 'phone and complain and get the crap teacher sacked' where now it's more 'there are no maths teachers, she'll have to work harder, get her on mymaths'.

I am a teacher and I am perfect.
HTH

I think it's a particular kind of post that tends to get the "It's unlikely that was exactly what happened response". The posts about four year olds whose teacher shouted/ kept them in every break and lunch hour and didn't let them go to the toilet. The parent sees it as a choice between their child being a liar or not, whereas many of us have experience of little ones giving factually false reports because that's how it really felt to them.
There is a long thread on here about a serious issue of a child being strangled at school. The OP has strong grounds for believing that two teachers are falsely denying having witnessed the offence, very grave dishonesty on the teachers' part if true. MN posters on that thread are not suggesting that the OP/her child has got it wrong.