To feel upset how unpopular teachers are.

[Jellymuffin]

Great news about public sector pay rises - yay! Que countless comments along the lines of 'not all public sector deserve a pay rise, only, nurses, paramedics, police and firefighters'. Everyone except teachers then? Should have expected it really .

I had a few good teachers as a child but most of them were utter shit and made my life miserable. I still carry that resentment around all these years later. Sounds like others do too.

If you are unhappy, why not change career and work in the private sector?

And try being a doctor's receptionist. 3 years of pure hate from the public. Teachers don't have a monopoly on this unfortunately.

The cards from my Year 11s today make it all worth it.

I wasn't proving anything about teachers, I was calling bullshit on you pretending it was autocorrect. It wasn't, you just got it wrong.

You have a massive chip on you shoulder, lots of public servants do. Lots of complaints about how the private sector have it better (bonuses, free lunches, Christmas parties etc) where I work (in the public sector - possibly a teacher ??!?); then you have the moany whiney private sector workers who have a chip in the other shoulder, who wouldn't be happy unless all public servants worked for free and slept under their desks.

Why care? You're getting a pay rise regardless of their thoughts.

Everyone has different words saved in their phone dictionary tizzy, if yours didn't correct it, it means sod all. You were just being an arse

Teachers do seem unpopular. I think it's partly the long holidays, which people think make up for everything else. My friends who are both teachers head off around Europe for a month in the summer and I can't help but feel jealous, even though I know how hard they work the rest of the time

It's cos they are those that can't do anything else better and get reeeeeaaaaaalllllly long holidays innit

If you are unhappy, why not change career and work in the private sector?

Many, many teachers are. There is a retention crisis.

teachers are on good money after the first few years. There are many many ps workers who work just as hard on less pay, far fewer holidays, and much less public recognition. Anyone ever have any sympathy for science technicians? Town hall admin. people?

Wow, TizzyDongue, having a bad day?

Education is so important and good teachers are essential in our schools. Teachers should be paid far more than they are and they should be supported and valued.

I absolutely agree about other unsung public sector workers, it's totally unfair. I think you are right about them being forgotten, but I think I was upset because teacher is a well known public sector job, so in omitting them it is a statement about what they deserve and their value, rather then people just not being aware.

Education, along with housing, is the most important determiner (is that a word??) in how well a child does in their life. So bring on throwing money at getting our brightest and best to be teachers, and ensuring that everyone has somewhere decent to live.

If we spent more money in these areas, we could spend a whole lot less elsewhere.

It could be because many of us remember a particularly bad teacher who was really nasty and they all get tarred with the same brush, though obviously we may have had a fabulous experience with a very good teacher. Sadly, the nasty ones stick in the memory.

The long holidays are something which are bound to make the rest of us sigh as we have to slog away, week in, week out, month in, month out - our time off is much shorter.

They have become more vocal in recent years about their lot. Yes, it must be awful to try to teach stroppy teenagers but you chose the job. Lots of us loathe our jobs with a passion.

I've a family member who is a teacher who has never been told to leave the 'bossy teacher' persona at the school gates which is why he is known as Mr Know All or Mr Big Mouth. A little humility wouldn't go amiss. Sorry, but that is my experience.

Personally I dont mind my pay....yes we all want more but it is working conditions and the pressure to make a silk purse out of a sows ear that gets me down rather than my pay.
I may be in the minority but I like the holidays and I earn a good wage, nearly 3x that of my friend who works for a small firm. So I am grateful for my pay.
I dont like the monopoly the WJEC has on exams in Wales and how they have changed the exam specifications again and again. I dont have to witness trauma or death on a daily basis unlike the emergency services.

Police officers weren't included in your OP. They're very well known. So it's clearly not "everyone except teachers".

I said police in my OP.

A lot of teachers are a bit shit. I think that is to do with the pay being too low for the job. The thing is, if teachers really were well paid then a lot of people who are currently teachers wouldn't be able to get a job...

There are fantastic teachers, but that's not the norm.

Oh god, sorry OP, you did as well. Having one of those moments clearly.

I think some teachers are ace and some aren't.
But all of them work in very difficult conditions, under a lot of pressure and stress. They might not have a 'life saving' role such as firefighters or nurses but their role is just as important in shaping the future of our children. And for that they should be looked after.

The problem of course is that you have this image that all civil servants are scroungers that work as little as possible etc etc.
Only change recently for some of them because it has become obvious of how important their role is (that's the Police, firefighters etc etc). It wasn't 6 months ago....

Katherina, where do you draw the conclusion that most teachers are a bit shit? Do you know how easy it is to get rid of teachers now? Less than 6 weeks in some cases if they are thought of as incapable. I can assure you it's been a long time since I met a teacher who is anything less than dedicated to their job. There's no place for them anymore in the rigorously monitored world of eduction. Constant drop ins, video monitoring and ridiculous targets see to that.

They are not unpopular.
They may not be as high on the 'hero' list as Nurses a firefighters but nor are paramedics and physiotherapists.

If they were unpopular we wouldn't have the squillions of 'is £300 enough to buy DD's teacher's present this year?' threads.

KatherinaMinola

The thing is, if teachers really were well paid then a lot of people who are currently teachers wouldn't be able to get a job...

I would love to know why you think this.

At the moment, a huge amount of teachers are leaving and not being replaced because no-one wants to do the job.

Money isn't the issue.

Re the fact that it's possible thatbthere isn't a lot of fantastic teachers...

Thenissue is that people do NOT want to stay in that profession. When you only have ONE candidate for a job interview rather than 10 like it was 5 or 10 years ago, you can't be difficult.
But the reason why people are leaving in mass isn't just about pay. It's that. But It's also the pressure, the stupid rules/evaluation/admi/hoops you have to jump through. It's the enormous amount of work. It's the lack of ressources. It's the targets etc etc etc

Did you know that teaching is the profession with the highest rate of suicide? That, in intself, tells you A LOT about the pressure they are under. Who would want to live a life like this (unless they are so dedicated to the job)

It's the main reason so many leave at the start of their career - the constant, unrelenting scrutinisation and pressure.

Not having a bad day. Possibly ok I am being an arse for calling bullshit; highly unlikely cue autocorrected to que though.

I do feel it would be best if people stopped complaining about their job, and thinking everyone else in the other sector has it better. So a solicitor (random selection) who thinks teachers have it easier because of the holidays can zip it, just as much as a teacher should stop pretending the long stretch of holidays aren't a nice part of the job.

There's plenty of people who don't think like that OP. Lots who don't hate teachers. Focus on them; it'll life nicer for you.