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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

School trips - holidays for teachers

136 replies

QueenBing · 25/06/2017 18:03

I'll just kick this off by saying I am a secondary school teacher and for the third year in a row I am organising the annual MFL trip to Germany. AIBU to request that people/parents/fellow teachers/parents kindly effing STOP referring to this trip as a "holiday". And believe me, they're not joking. The extra work that's gone into organising it. The lack of sleep while I'm there. The pressure of looking after 40 teenagers. None of which I begrudge doing, but it is not an effing holiday.

OP posts:
Darkblueskies · 25/06/2017 18:04

I hear you. I've been sleeping all weekend after spending last weekend in Germany with 70 students.

1ofthesedays · 25/06/2017 18:07

It is a holiday. For the parents Grin

For the teachers, I don't know who in their right mind would think it is. Just the journey there would bring me to my knees, let alone the stay!

I have a couple of friends working in private schools however, and because there are so many adults on each trip, they do get to enjoy themselves quite a lot - I am only quoting them!

gillybeanz · 25/06/2017 18:07

I would never think of it as a holiday and I'm a parent of a teen.
Thank you to all the teachers who organise, accompany and look after our children on these school trips. Thanks

Pengggwn · 25/06/2017 18:09

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Pangur2 · 25/06/2017 18:09

I gave up a weekend last year to help with a MFL trip to Europe, getting back super late on the Sunday. Still had a normal teaching day on Monday. Not a single parent said thank you. Dads stood and watched tired female teachers, most of whom were in their 50s, pull bags off the coach and didn't offer to help. Never again.

ThinkFastNotSlow · 25/06/2017 18:10

YADamnRightNBU. Not a teacher, just a parent. I say thank you teachers for your hard work taking my kids off my hands Grin

In no way would I consider 40 kids a holiday, often don't even consider going away with my own kids is a holiday... Confused

Babypassport · 25/06/2017 18:10

YADNBU! I'm a teacher and even the idea of residential trips is enough to make me tired! Hope it all goes well

PurpleDaisies · 25/06/2017 18:10

I've never heard a parent describing it as a holiday for teachers. Confused

ASDismynormality · 25/06/2017 18:12

As a parent I don't feel it's a holiday for the teachers but it for us!
I certainly would not like to be responsible for a group of other peoples teenagers. Thanks for giving up your time.

Original poster
QueenBing · 25/06/2017 18:13

Believe me, some people see it as a jolly! And some parents (last year) said it wasn't right how I could take their kids away but they could because they'd be fined and asked me to justify myself. I was dumbfounded.

OP posts:
Crispbutty · 25/06/2017 18:13

I work at a residential activity centre and I applaud the teachers who are brave enough to spend a week looking after their pupils day and night. It's exhausting.

Original poster
QueenBing · 25/06/2017 18:13

*but they couldn't

OP posts:
elisa2502 · 25/06/2017 18:14

I'm a teacher and it is absolutely no holiday. Scary responsibility with huge implications for anything which goes wrong.

fleshmarketclose · 25/06/2017 18:15

I'm pretty sure it would be my idea of hell rather than a holiday taking a crowd of teenagers away. When my own dd goes on the Music residential trip next month I will as usual be very grateful and send in the wine and a card for the staff accompanying the trip. I have always sent in wine after every residential dd has been on as I'm pretty sure it's needed.

OhDearToby · 25/06/2017 18:15

I can't think of anything less holiday like! Being responsible for other peoples children is so bloody stressful. I need a lie down in a darkened room after dd has a sleepover!

lastqueenofscotland · 25/06/2017 18:18

God I can't think of anything less relaxing.
A teacher friend of mine had to literally carry a 16 year old to her room after she'd got pissed on vodka she'd smuggled into her bad while she threw up all over her. Envy

Original poster
QueenBing · 25/06/2017 18:23

The gratitude here is lovely, it is nice to know what we do is appreciated. At this current school, the first year I ran the trip not one parent said thanks or bye as the kids left. We'd been delayed so we didn't get back until midnight. I could have cried. Last year's was lovely though, apart from angry dad and his term time fines and then asking how much we'd each paid for our holiday Angry Anyway, I'm sure this year's trip will be great.

OP posts:
Aliveinwanderland · 25/06/2017 18:23

I remember a parent once complaining that as teachers we got to go on the trip for "free" and it pushed up prices for the students!

It was in the school holidays.... so not only was I not being paid for my time whilst away they also expected me to pay for the trip! I just laughed at them!

Darkblueskies · 25/06/2017 18:26

I got no thanks last weekend. Not one. My mum used to make me write thank you letters to the teachers after I went on school trips 😂

CakeNinja · 25/06/2017 18:27

I'm still recovering from a trip last week of 65 8/9 year olds! While it was certainly fun for them, and at times for us, the stress of continuously counting and keeping 65 children out of danger, making sure they had their various medications at the right times, making sure they weren't dehydrating in the sun, making sure they had applied suncream, feeding them at the right times, collecting up everyone's lost property after every single outing, and at the same time making sure they were also learning what we needed them to, was absolutely draining. Completely and utterly exhausting.
I love doing it, giving them the opportunity to experience things they may never otherwise get to do, and find it ultimately very rewarding, it's an enormous responsibility. And you always get the parents who just whinge, "my son says he didn't get the chance to go to the toilet when he wanted," "my daughter has lost her favourite top trump card, where is it?" and so on.
And the parent who is 45 minutes late to collect their child, so you sit around waiting and hanging around for them, because the contact details are incorrect so you can only wait when you're just desperate to go home and see you own young children. And this particular parent, when they did turn up, didn't apologise or even say Thankyou.
Tosspot Angry
It's most definitely NOT a holiday.
When I take my dc on holiday, they come with iPads to amuse themselves during downtime! These ones don't Grin

CurlyMango · 25/06/2017 18:27

My two are just back from a week in Germany. We fully appreciate the time and effort taken. It's no holiday, double work for you all really!

Lovestonap · 25/06/2017 18:28

Obviously it's not a holiday for you. It quite clearly looks like hell.

That being said I understand a little where 'those' parents are coming from - and it's not aimed at you as the teacher but at our current educational system that asks us to find 500 quid for our dc's to have a trip in term time but requires us also to find thousands if we want to take them abroad ourselves as we cannot do it in term time.
(can you tell where I stand on that debate?)

However I imagine it's just the same for the teachers who would far rather be on a trip with their own kids than other peoples'

So, to confirm, you are a hero!

user1477249785 · 25/06/2017 18:30

OP I don't think of it as a holiday and I just wanted to say that a trip like this, when I was at school, literally changed the course of my life. It gave me a life long love of foreign cultures and languages and shaped my entire career and life trajectory.

So I say good on you for opening up new worlds to your pupils. I wish I could go back and tell the teachers who took me how much it has impacted my life.

Nickynackynoodle · 25/06/2017 18:32

Good grief no. You are remarkable and thank you for doing it. Our education system would be far poorer were it not for teachers like you.

Starlight2345 · 25/06/2017 18:33

I am not sure I know anyone who would think it is anything but hard work. I helped on a school day trip once ..I was exhausted

Hats off to you.