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.

In term time it will b tiring but surely all those holidays gives the teachers plenty of time to re-energise.

I think the exhausting thing about teaching is that because of the huge presence you need (I don't mean you need to be loud), it's like being on stage all day long, acting. Come the end of the day sometimes you just need to flop down and soak up a bit of silence!
The holidays are great, and the fun, humour and affection you get from little children is amazing, as is seeing their delight and pride when they learn new things.
The paper work can be ridiculous, as is the new "performance" related pay. (Which depends on children's progress). I'm glad I can see retirement looming in the not so distant future.
My daughter recently told me "i'd never be a teacher, it's just 'eat, sleep, work, repeat.'" I guess she has a point, and it does make me sad that that's my own daughter's experience of a teaching parent.
Oh and of course in saying that, I'm not in any way saying there aren't other exhausting jobs, tiring for all sorts of other reasons. But I guess half of the problem is this strange assumption that it's what most of us are thinking.

I have taught, taught adult training, and done presentations. Although there are similarities, there are also differences.
And if you do something all the time, it is much easier.

Have you ever taught in a school brasty? I think there is a difference in teaching classes of children all day & teaching adults who for the most part have chosen a particular line of work. Have you taught classes of teenagers? Until you clarify what job you do yourself it is difficult to say if YABU or YANBU.

What do you want from this thread?

Has one teacher has said their job is the most tiring and stressful of tiring and stressful jobs and all should bow down in awe to the amount of stress and exhaustion teachers face everyday?

Most teachers on here have acknowledged that other jobs involve, stress, exhaustion and long hours for inadequate pay. Some teachers and others have tried to explain why teaching is stressful and exhausting and necessitates long hours but it just seems to turn into a pissing competition about who has it worse.

It would be better if jobs like teaching, nursing, social work, police etc weren't so tiring and stressful and were better paid as we rely on these people to look after us. Arguing about who has the longest hours, worst working conditions, poorest pay is an utter waste of time. And if you win, and you have it worst, so what?

Teachers do moan, as do NHS workers, shop workers, social workers, lecturers, computer programmers, administrators, fashion designers, financiers, counsellors etc etc. Does no one have the right to moan to their friend about work unless they're literally shovelling shit for 18 hours a day and workfare wages?

Maybe your friend said only other teachers understand is because a lot of people think teachers have a cushy job with all that holiday?

I very much doubt she believes no one else has a tiring job, but people seem to have plenty of sympathy for nurses and doctors etc, which teachers don't get as much.

Even striking; junior doctors got sympathy, teachers got slagged off cos parents had to take time off work.

I live opposite a school.

No teacher gets in before eight and unless there is parents evening no one is still there after six.

I know they might do a bit at home but still shortish hours as many leave just after the pupils.

OP I teach full time and also teach an adult ed class. Purely for the money. And compared to teaching kids it is really easy money. No behaviour management, chasing detentions, parents to call, homework to chase ... it is an absolute joy. Sadly the hours do not fit in to those of a single parent

Audrey Lots of teachers at my school leave shortly after the kids because the traffic is terrible if you leave later. Plus it's more comfortable working at home - the heating at my school goes off at midday and marking in your classroom at 4 in your coat and scarf but still feeling cold isn't fun.

I do hours of work at home, not 'a bit of work'.

Plenty of jobs require overtime
Plenty of jobs involve managing big workloads
Plenty of jobs are micro managed
Plenty of jobs involve receiving abuse
Plenty of jobs are closely scrutinsed
Plenty of jobs are criticised
Plenty of jobs are exhausting
Plenty of jobs are demoralising
Plenty of jobs are vocations
Plenty of jobs require dedication
Plenty of job have pointless data tasks
Plenty of jobs require working with difficult 'customers'
Plenty of jobs have seen real terms wages decline
Plenty of jobs are derided online
Plenty of jobs are getting tougher
Plenty of jobs 'never stop'
Plenty of jobs require staff to buy their own stuff
Plenty of jobs have seen perks cut
Plenty of jobs require shouldering tremendous responsibility for the future of others
Plenty of jobs deal with sensitive information
Plenty of jobs have unrealistic targets
Plenty of jobs come with the threat of being struck off

I'm not claiming for teaching that it is 'the worst'. That would be silly. Some teaching jobs are still good. And some teacher still don't give a crap. But it is almost impossible in the current climate to be a 'good' teacher without selling you soul to the profession. The increasingly macho work culture promoted by school leaders, the government and Ofsted makes sure of that. It doesn't need to be like this. It was a good job when I started. There's very little to be positive about now, except the kids.

Until it changes then I, and anyone who wants to feel good about themselves and have a life, am out.

Boney I don't expect it and I fear that too much time has now elapsed to fix the crowd control problem. Good manners are a historical curiosity.

Were it still possible to fix the problem it would go a long way towards alleviating teachers' stress and exhaustion.

Audrey I leave my school at 6 because that's when the caretaker locks up. We're not allowed to stay later than that. I do all the unfinished work at home. At my last school I had keys and used to stay until 9 or 10 on the night DH picked the kids up because I would far rather work at school then be able to relax when I get home.

You see that's what can be a bit frustrating.
Teachers: Yes we do work long hours, it's tiring, but we know other jobs are too.
Response: All the teachers I watch leave school at half 3.

There's not really a lot to say to that is there. Ok we all leave at half 3 and do a little bit of work in the evenings. We were all lying before. You've rumbled us. But it's still more tiring than any other job in the universe.

I leave at 4pm on non meetings nights to beat the traffic.
Usually do about 8-10.30pm on laptop or marking most nights. So, no hobbies, TV, gym or even much time for housework.

Dear god is this thread still going?

I am a childminder - I am permanently knackered

DH works for local governments - he is knackered all the time too

My friends work in teaching, in local government, in higher education, in Human Resources, in the NHS, in offices, in SS - we are all knackered, we support each other and help out when required. We bitch about our jobs and how everything is pared back so much that we are all working more hours for less reward - and we all moan about how knackered we are.

I find it astounding the amount of people on this thread who have no sympathy or empathy for their friends and family.

It's quite tragic that there has to be a competition to see who works the hardest or who gets most tired.

Try being a social worker in a busy inner city
Children and families locality team!

Yabu - I have worked lots of jobs and current do a non teaching job. It is by far the most tiring!! The physical energy (with little Ines), the constantly managing behaviour, the paperwork that has you up til midnight, the getting in at 7.30 so you can prepare resources before the photocopier gets jammed, the lack of any single second to yourself until home time. Knackering!

YABU

When I used to go and help on school trips at my dc's primary I would have to lie down for a day afterwards. I don't know how teachers do it.

In term time it will b tiring but surely all those holidays gives the teachers plenty of time to re-energise
You'd think so, wouldn't you? But a very common teacher experience is the holiday virus that hits you the first weekend of any holiday as your system finally switches off the adrenaline and you come down with something. In the summer there's still enough time after, but the Christmas holidays are often written off with this.
Make it less stressful = genuinely attractive job to go into = no recruitment or retention issues = better standard of learning = everybody happy.

When I used to go and help on school trips at my dc's primary I would have to lie down for a day afterwards.

Really? Crikey, I always found it a bit of a fun change of scene. We are all different. I do think some teachers are in the wrong job as it really sounds like it drains them to an unreasonable level. I think the majority of teachers are pretty good at coping - at least the ones I know/am related to. It is only on Mumsnet that the job appears to reduce people to quivering wrecks. But then, we can all remember teachers who plainly couldn't cope.

One in ten teachers quit last year.

Whatthe I'm not sure if you meant that post to be so insulting.
I suppose you probably did.

I've done both nursing (10 years) and teaching (secondary and primary 25 years)
Nursing was physically exhausting but you couldn't take your patients home with you. Trust me it's true that unless you have been a teacher or live with one you have little idea of the workload and intensity of the job. If it's so great ( holidays blah blah) why is there a shortage?

As pp have said this really shouldn't be a race to the bottom situation. Lots of public sector workers are under intolerable pressure in the face of cuts to spending. As Boundary and Fruit agreed a few pages ago we should support each other rather than trying to outdo each other. The media/government seem to want us to blame each other and keep martyring ourselves, rather than holding the to account.
Sorry to hear about the people working over Christmas away from their families too....

Someone said before that they taught 3 days a week (so assuming 5 hours a day teaching, that's 15 hours teaching a week). But they would regularly work 70 hour weeks. So 15 hours teaching and 55 hours planning and marking. Something has to be going wrong here!! Why does it take so long?! If you know the curriculum, can you not plan the lessons in advance in school holidays?! It just seems so inefficient to an outsider.