To be mildly irritated by most tiring job ever?

[brasty]

A friend who is a teacher has been saying how exhausted she is, and that only other teachers would understand. She is not joking. AIBU to be mildly irritated by this? Yes teachers do a hard job, but there are other jobs that are also exhausting.

Boundaries

But the crux of it (according to some) is that if we didn't moan, the government would have listened to us moan, because moaning would have had a point to it, and would have stopped doing what we were moaning about because they only hold us is low regard because we moan.

Or is that just moaning?

Smells like oranges has it.

Oh I SEE Boney.

So we should moan to the govt, but not about some things because otherwise it all gets a bit, well, moany and the Dept for Education sticks its fingers its ears and shouts lalalalaa whilst making up stupid policies?

So really, the stupid policies are our own fault for being so moany?

if they don't like their jobs they should leave rather than trying to get people to feel sorry for them and think they are doing the hardest job known to man... "

Teaching has changed for the worse beyond all recognition since I started. If I'd known this is what ti would have become, believe me, there's no way I'd have got into it.

It's all very well to tell us to leave and find another job. In a rural area of zero opportunity to change job, it's not that easy to find something else

It is the responsibility without control that I think is the real problem in teaching.

We are constantly told how badly we are doing, yet we are powerless to change stuff we know would make things better.

It does make us point out endlessly what is wrong with the situation we find ourselves in. That can be construed as moaning, when it really is defending ourselves against untrue criticism.

Actually responsibility without control is known to be extremely stressful.

I think one of the reasons teachers seem to moan more than most is that most have never done another job, and assume that people in offices sit drinking coffee, chatting, and have no targets to meet, or have complete control over meeting their targets - ie totally unrealistic view of life in the real world. I had real-life jobs before retaining as a teachers and there are massive pressures in corporate life, and targets also depend on factors completely out of your control - eg customers' decision making , bosses blue sky ideas, and just as stressful, long hours, working out of hours, long commutes etc without the holidays.
After retraining I decided not to become a FT whinging teacher, but to try supply, which was good as I had control over my working life, and then negotiated a teaching contract with conditions that suit me ie rather than just taking on lots of extra stuff and then moaning about it. In RL this is what many teachers who have come in from other sectors are doing. But most of the 'usual suspect' teachers who frequent the staffroom section on MN ( who seem to have lots of time to post) resent this and think it is better for teachers to keep piling on the misery and moan about it rather than taking either individual or collective action to change things for the better.
I feel sorry for Amazon employees ( see today's Sunday Times), call centre workers, minimum wage people with no control over their working lives and military, paramedics, police, social workers, fire and rescue etc who see traumatic, horrific things every day - no sympathy for teachers who could influence their working lives and don't cope daily with tragedy but prefer to whinge.

Im an ex teachr and believe me being a single mum = most exhausting job ever!

I work in a school (I'm not a teacher) and I wouldn't do that job for a million pounds. The pressure is incredible, the government move the goalposts constantly and, in my opinion, actual teaching only makes up a small fraction of their time.

I'd rather work in a mortuary than be a teacher!

I get really annoyed by part timers, some of whom work a whole 4 hours a day and some who do 3 days a week in term time only going on about how exhausted they are. And I know their circumstances so they have older children or no children. All their jobs are admin based, nothing too hard. Boils my piss.

Hahaha. I have taught and your friend is spot on. It is the most tiring thing I have ever done and I have two children. It's relentless, often thankless and underpaid especially early on when you put more in but get a lot less out. Yes, other jobs are tiring too but teaching is so full on during term time that so called holidays are spent catching up and planning for the next term. I was contracted to teach 3 days and I actually worked going in for 70h a week and was still chasing my tail. I wish people understood just how hard teaching has become but it's just like having a baby. Unless you've done it, you can't fully appreciate it. Hats off to all of the teachers out there. Especially the ones who have homes and children to take care of too. I opted out.

I am a teacher and I find the amount of work expected over weekends and evenings is what exhausts. You never get a full day off until summer, Easter or Xmas as have to do a lot over half terms. She is nbu

I get Irritated by people playing Top Trumps and "I've got it worse than you"

Was it Monty Python who did a sketch based on it?

Also, I've had other jobs but none have compared. To the poster what said she did supply. In England you can only supply for a year before taking NQT year so at some point you have to work in a continuous setting before being able to supply as a career choice.

I ama teacher. I am fucking knackered. I regularly work til 10 or 11 at night. I moan about it.

But the most exhausting job I ever had was being a full time waitress.

'the poster what said she did supply*
Incorrect and out of date re only work for a year doing supply.
Assume you are not a teacher or you would have checked your facts first?

I dunno. I couldn't/wouldn't be a teacher. I'm a doctor, I'm no stranger to a bit of work related exhaustion but there's something about teaching that means teachers are generally quite vocal about it. Doctors (just as an example, lots of other people too) tend not to talk when they're finding things hard and that's not great either. There are probably lots of reasons but I think at least part of it is feeling the need to justify the holidays. I know what you mean that they don't have the most tiring job but really, you don't have to be in the worst position to have a bit of a whinge sometimes. As long as it is just sometimes.

I get Irritated by people playing Top Trumps and "I've got it worse than you

This. Plenty of people work hard and have very stressful and physically or mentally challenging jobs. I don't think teaching even comes near 'the worst' of possible jobs you can do.

I wonder if it's because some jobs endure a high level of 'being moaned at' and teachers, particularly, get a lot of flak with low pay for ridiculous amounts of responsibility. I'd say moaning is usually caused by feeling under appreciated. (Not suggesting YOU don't appreciate teachers, but it might be a symptom of wider society not appreciating teachers).

I deliberately sent a card to one of DDs secondary school teachers recently because she'd done something lovely with DD. I think teachers often only ever hear when people have a gripe - form kids and parents.

I expect they don't go back because they prefer doing doing something worthwhile and rewarding, giving something back, rather than pointless, meaningless, soulless jobs in business, working in an office (which is what I do btw so might be talking only for myself!) I would love to do sth more fulfilling like teaching, but seeing how hard my sister works (who never complains) I just think it looks too tough !

I am a teacher and I am shattered. I work 8-16.30 at school and then 20.00-00.00 at home. I also work on weekends, when my youngest naps and in the evenings. I NEVER get a free evening, I have to wait for that until Xmas/Easter/Summer holidays. Most people do not take their work home. Teachers do. So we moan.

I teach 150 teenagers a day.

At their nadir of hormonal, rebellious can't-be arseness at times.

It's not the most physically exhausting of jobs, but my brain is frazzled at the end of the day. Fried,

But there's also beautiful moments that keep me going.

I think it's hard to comment unless you've done it.

How was this ever not going to be a teacher bating thread?

What taybert said.

Also maybe she meant other teachers have experienced how exhausting it is and so they understand. If and when she complains to other people they don't sympathise enough!