To think a lot of people are jealous of teachers' holidays but...

[Pengggwn]

...too bitter about it to admit that they wouldn't be teachers themselves?

Just that really.

I have seen so many comments and threads aimed at dissecting teachers' pay and conditions to a forensic level, people complaining that teachers are available over the summer to answer their queries, people arguing that teachers should be working anyway or claim to be working even when they're not (I'm not, at least not for the next month).

And yet, we are in the middle of a teacher recruitment and retention crisis. We can't recruit and keep well-qualified teachers.

Where are all the volunteers??

i am talking about people who have the skills to be teachers, moan constantly about teachers, but wouldn't do the job themselves because, when it comes down to it, they think teachers are underpaid and/or overworked, but they won't admit it because they are so bitter about our 'ridiculous' holidays

You must be reading a different MN to me because I don't see that very often, if at all.

100% agree. But hey stupid people are stupid I suppose.

JacquesHammer

No, I don't think it is my manner. People have written literally thousands of posts complaining about teachers not doing what they want them to do - whether that is to answer an email, to mark in a specific way, to set homework differently etc. - and a great many of those people have moaned about teachers' T&Cs. Nothing to do with my manner at all. I am making an observation that is more general than people's reactions to anything specific I have said.

I suspect the thing that winds non-teachers up about this, is that there are plenty of people out there who have extremely stressful jobs too, who also have to work outside of normal working hours for no additional pay, but do not have the benefit of several weeks a year as holiday and have the additional pressure of juggling holiday child care.

I could not do the job of a teacher btw, but I suspect that is what winds people up!

It’s happening to ALL of us.

No, it isn't. Show me the threads complaining about police officers', social workers', doctors', lifeguards' T&Cs. They aren't there.

I would like to see a thread about lifeguards. I always thought it must be quite hard. Nothing happens for ages or you’ve got to clean the pool, but you have to be constantly on guard in case you miss someone in trouble.

My dh counsin is a teacher and married to a teacher they spend the first and last week marking and spending the middle in the shetlands.

That's how my DH has described his childhood holidays; his parents were both teachers. They used to go to the Scottish islands, because his DF wanted to get far away from other people's children.

People have written literally thousands of posts complaining about teachers not doing what they want them to do - whether that is to answer an email, to mark in a specific way, to set homework differently etc. - and a great many of those people have moaned about teachers' T&Cs. Nothing to do with my manner at all. I am making an observation that is more general than people's reactions to anything specific I have said

But as you said you have never criticised SAHM. I have never criticised teachers.

But suggesting that a group should be above any sort of criticism is ridiculous. And criticising a teacher should be totally acceptable if justified.

EndofSummer

Well, I would like to see one too. I just don't think there is one!

*But I am really confused. The post just said he couldn't meet up at that time. What 'assumptions' am I missing? And he can post online saying what he wants - who the hell are you to say 'he just needs to meet another teacher'?

Seriously you have confused me. What exactly is wrong with a person writing an OLD advert that says when they are free to meet up?*

Someone made I very valid comments a few pages in about comments from teachers on the hours they work rubbing people up the wrong way. I agree, this was one example of it.
It was more a comment I think (about 6 years a go) that oh because I’m a teacher I’m only really free in school holidays. Well, great - but the rest of us are not free in school holidays and very few people I know in professional jobs are available most evenings post 5 anyway, we all just arrange our social lives around working hours which are generally longer than the 9-5. I just very much doubt that he had less free time in the evening than most accountants and trainee solicitors and most other professionals I know.
Look, I didn’t argue with him I just ignored it. But this is an example of SOME teachers seeming to live in a bubble where they work under stress and work hours that few other people can comprehend.

Another example would be a toddler group I am in - we were discussing going back to work when your child still wakes a lot at night. The comment from the teacher was that it was very hard to cope with that being a teacher and obviously she couldn’t just fall asleep in a classroom of 15 years olds. Again, wasn’t really sure what to say to that. Why is being a teacher and being up all night harder than another fairly stressful job and being up all night? I didn’t contribute to that discussion because I wasn’t sure what to say but somehow you get the impression that she thought we could all just slack off a bit if we were extra tired? Obviously not the case.

Loads of teachers work awfully hard but more importantly have an instinctive way of explaining things to children that means they really make a difference and I think it’s a very impressive job.

Show me the threads where police officers, lifeguards, doctors etc moan about how hard their job is and how unappreciated they are.

I still don’t know why anyone would have a go at teachers holidays though. It’s not teachers fault and I don’t begrudge them it for a second.

I think people who do are being and the kind of people to blame others for their own shortcomings.

But suggesting that a group should be above any sort of criticism is ridiculous. And criticising a teacher should be totally acceptable if justified.

But where have I said teachers should be above criticism? This is part of the phenomenon I am talking about: people pretending that teachers cannot take any form of criticism, when actually, they are objecting to unreasonable criticism.

By all means, criticise teachers if they do things they shouldn't be doing. My holidays are part of my contract - why should they attract any criticism at all?

Are things different in Scotland?! I know several teachers, primary and secondary and they all really rate it. Yes they have to do some extra work at times, but I'm yet to meet a professional who doesn't.

Being mean sorry...

My holidays are part of my contract - why should they attract any criticism at all?

They shouldn’t. But I suspect not as many people are as “bitter” about them as you want to think

reallybadidea

Show me the threads where teachers do this, other than where they are responding to people saying they should be available 24/7 and flagellate themselves on demand.

JacquesHammer

I don't want to think it. I think it. It is an observation, not a want.

I genuinely don’t see why people would be ridiculously jealous of holidays.

Of course the main plus point would be not needing holiday childcare but I can think of way more negatives!

zzzzz

And again, I didn't say otherwise. This isn't about how stressful other people do or do not find their jobs. This is about the disproportionate criticism directed at people engaged in a profession that is desperate to recruit, and can't.

I have to agree penggyn teachers do seem to get an unfair bashing as it’s an obvious perk. Why would you bash them though? Honestly. If you really are jealous go be a teacher.

If you just want to have a go at teachers, then go and be mean in your own time and bugger off!

(Not a teacher btw)

Still no volunteers, I note! Come on, people! 6 weeks' summer holiday, you get paid and everything!

zzzzz

What would?