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.

Yes, and if the kids do an assessment in a lesson that has to be marked then they are doing it instead of something else to be marked so does not create extra marking. SOWs are done by the HoD - presumably one of those 'responsibilities' that attracts more dosh or more frees or whatever - if not them more fool him.
One thing I have noticed that is puzzling - some teachers still keep paper mark books (one of those because-that's-what-they-did-when-they came-into-teaching-20-years-ago, natch) and then complain about having to duplicate by inputting assessment marks into SIMS - why not just keep marks electronically in the first place instead of duplicating effort? Visible to all, secure, simple. I don't have a planner - keep info all online and my HoD or anyone can see exactly what I have planned any time they like.

If you keep marks electronically then you still have to get them into SIMS (or export from SIMS), they don't magically transfer across.

I don't think anyone is teacher bashing .
Yes teachers are tired. So are others at the end of the day if you don't like your job try something else.
Some teachers are better than others and some put more time in than others.
I work for a teacher two days a week she loves her job and never moans . I get to finish at 430 every day . A real bonus for me . She also goes away every school holiday so not really working the holidays.

I do not therefore understand why many tasks a teacher is contracted to do are nothing to do with teaching, and if they were reassigned to a less qualified but perfectly capable individual, who would therefore cost less, said teacher would have more time to teach and therefore offer better value for money in terms of use of their salary.

Because getting a less qualified but perfectly capable individual wouldn't cost less. Teachers get paid a salary and get no more for all the extra work they do. So all the extra work is essentially 'free' to the school. That perfectly capable individual wouldn't be free.

The point about dinner ladies etc doing form times. Hmmm. Are you aware that teachers do duties at lunchtime because dinner ladies are not really respected by many students in the same way as teachers? So if a DL asks you to move/pick up litter etc you may choose to ignore them: if a teacher (who knows your name, may write a report, has spoken to your mum twice this term etc) asks, you will probably do as you're told. Not saying this is a great state of affairs btw, but it is realistic.

For all of *Mrsguy"'s assertions that she doesn't do this, doesn't do that, and how well she "negotiated" her contract, she seems very part time and frankly uncaring of the pupils.

FYI, I love the pastoral part of my job and I love doing the after school/dinner club/s.

Re the lunchtime duties they are a paid extra for teachers and are voluntary.
Strangely enough they are like that because teachers "moaned" about it.

AND morning, break and after school duties one day a week are no real hardship.

FYI, I love the pastoral part of my job and I love doing the after school/dinner club/s.

Me too. I also think it's a very important part of the role!

Then give dinnerladies ( or some other title - just using that for shorthand) power to issue yellow cards, detentions etc. In one of the better run schools I used to supply in, all staff - eg including caretaker/canteen staff, TAs etc could hand out yellow cards ( for good behaviour, or for poor behaviour). Positives all go towards house points, rewards etc, three negatives and it is a detention. It worked very well there.

Still haven't explained where you're going to get 50 'dinner ladies' from to run tutor time.

Ime extra work comes from rewriting the curriculum every five minutes, new slt bringing something in because they are new that has to be implemented immediately and the 'we have to do it for ofsted' paperwork and paper trails. Pastoral, displays, parents evenings, trips, discos etc are welcome diversions from the unbearable grind of justification and monitoring.

Schools are making staff like dinner ladies redundant I'm afraid.

What type of school do you work in Gismo? You are clearly what would be termed as part time in my school.

The pastoral side of being a teacher is as important - if not more - than the academic side. It is form tutors that develop a bond, that pupils trust and find themselves able to talk to. I know that I (and many other tutors) find this a rewarding role - turning a child around from bad behaviour, supporting a child through bad times, being trusted by that child to help them when they are suffering abuse. Of the many letter of thanks I get from pupils, as they leave and years later - most are from members of my form who thank me for being there and helping them. I would really hate to just teach and it have that side to the job.

It's the marking, assessment (highlighting endless statements half-termly) and planning in intricate detail that takes up so much of my time, anyway.

You can't just not do those things. Well, not unless you wind up on supply.

YABU
The time spent in school actually teaching children comprises at the most a fifth of the work involved in teaching. 8.30 to 3.15 s teaching time. 7.30 - 8.30 is preparing the classroom time. 12p, - 1pm is marking time. 3.15 - 3.35 is waiting for the parents who couldn't be arsed time. 3.35 - 4 is marking time. 4 - 6 is meeting time - 6 - 7 is get home and eat time 7 - 8 is marking time 9-11 is planning time 11-1am is data and pupil progress and admin time - add to this parents evening, school play, ofsted meetings, pupil progress meeting, moderation meeting, exam marking and moderating, answering to every idiot under the sun about what you did between 9 and 3.15.
Factor in being watched and criticised by senior management with no teaching responsiblilty on a regular basis.
Teaching is the worst job in the world and the pay is rubbish.
I am afraid that you are definitely being unreasonable

*I work shifts, which are becoming harder and harder to manage as I get older. If I make a mistake, a life could very easily be lost. I get paid an awful lot less than teachers.

That sounds like moaning to me.*

Not moaning all, stating facts for comparison. I don't moan about my job. I could, but I choose not to.

Surely marking you can do when you are pretty much switched off as it is work that you have planned and set and for children. It does sound like some different ways of managing the tasks outside the box would be good progress.

Yeah, like I said earlier marking, planning, assessment are part of the teaching job, but they don't need to take over your life.
And the pastoral might be fun but takes time, so you pick and choose the aspects that you can do in the time. Other people might prefer to do less teaching and more pastoral. But you don't have to roll over and take on everything to the point that you moan to your friends about how you are exhausted and it's not fair/fings ain't wot they usta be/we are martyrs.
Or do take it on and moan if that is what you want to, but don't expect sympathy when you have a choice but choose exhaustion.
And re part-time - telling that is chucked out as term of abuse. I have respect for part-time teachers, although I personally have chosen to do full time on a full-time salary.

Surely marking you can do when you are pretty much switched off as it is work that you have planned and set and for children.

Like in front of the telly? Means that you've got to lug 90 books home for a start (primary - writing, maths, topic). Even if you only spend a minute on each book that's an hour and a half.

It does sound like some different ways of managing the tasks outside the box would be good progress.

I'm not sure what that sentence means. Do you mean do things differently? If so, yes, I think every teacher can see many ways of doing things more effectively it's just that school policy often dictates the way you have to do things. One of the reasons I left.

And the pastoral might be fun but takes time

I remember when I was inexperienced like you, Mrsguy and a girl in my GCSE class had a nervous breakdown due to stress and was off for ages. I remember being a bit surprised because she wasn't any bother in my lessons.

Fast-forward 10 years and now I'm the one spotting kids on the edge of a nervous breakdown, flagging them up, getting them support and emailing everyone I can think of to make things easier for them.

I know you've only had your own classes for what, a couple of months? So you don't really get this yet. But pastoral support is not about sticking some YouTube videos on during tutor time.

I'm not a tutor, btw, because I'm part time. I do this sort of thing as part of my teaching role.

SheSparkles

As I posted up thread

you say "facts", I say "moan".

I say "facts", you say "moan".

The problem is (expanding on this) is that everytime a teacher turns up to correct the bullshit misinformation that people spread it is "moaning".

So IMHO, if people stopped posting the bullshit misinformation and actually did research about what teachers do, the teachers wouldn't have to continually restate the facts.

I am curious about how teachers are to stop the "crowd control" in lessons, are people willing to put bouncers in each classroom to eject those that don't behave?

It is also interesting to see that Mrsguy is still banging on about those with experience outside of schools apparently having all the solutions through the 'business solution' of thinking "outside of the box" when many people from outside of teaching don't make it as a teacher. (And I am speaking as someone that had a career outside of teaching).

"Pastoral might be fun"

WTAF.

You're on the wind up with that, right?

It is children we are dealing with mrs, if you work in a school like mine, very vulnerable children. Teaching is about more than the downloading of information. Increasingly, schools mop up what other equally stretched services can't - CAMHS, SS etc. Because we see these children every day, because we take the time to get to know them and their parents/caters.

Pastoral care is not fucking FUN. It's central to the role. Don't be so dismissive.

Now, if you could find me someone to do my photocopying, that would be awesome. However, budget constraints mean we don't have one. So teachers have to do it. Or not have resources.

mrsguy said this: lol at the lazy assumption that because I choose not to have a tutor group I do not have a knowledge of pastoral things. I, like other people coming into teaching from outside , have a knowledge of lots of things outside teaching that I bring to my teaching for the benefit of the pupils in the class

I don't think she thinks she's being dismissive, I just don't think she knows she doesn't know. She is very inexperienced. Dunning-Kruger effect.

It's making me cross noble

Possibly because I just finished marking.
Which I would've done some of today but my free period got swallowed by a pastoral issue.
Which the solitary pastoral member of staff couldn't deal with because he was at a case conference.

Oops