...do teachers really work that hard?

[User298895613]

I know the general idea on AIBU is that teachers work load is ridiculous, that they work extra hard and that they never never stop to the point that they r all seemingly leaving the profession.

But, AIBU to wonder if they are any different to anyone else? and actually might have it a bit easier? I mean, I also work myself into the ground, am exhausted, never stop etc... But I don't have summer holidays off to look after my kids, and I often work well into the small hours at night.

I'm not saying teachers don't work hard, but sometimes on munsnet I just feel like some teachers kind of spend a lot of time complaining about the workload, when maybe it's just the same as everyone elses, but with a nice long summer holiday?

(Sorry, I appreciate this will really inflame some posters, but it just had been annoying me lately)

lou, I am an English teacher so it very much is my job to point out both mistakes and errors in grammar and spelling.

Good teachers work really hard. In every profession, there are the good, bad and couldn't care less.

Piggy you've confused me

My typing is truly the very most worst on the planet. I am without parallel in this respect.

It was irony OP.

If you were a teacher , your heartfelt post would be said to be moaning and/or exaggerated.

Personally, I hope you feel better soon, but you need rest, not validation of your opinions on a couple of teachers, extrapolated out to the whole profession.

Its your job to TEACH not point out errors

Gosh. With sharp repartee like that you must be a scream at parties. 🙄

getintoteaching.education.gov.uk

Here’s the link you need. If you start teacher training in September, I’ll gladly have this conversation with you in October to see if you still feel the same my love.
Off you pop.

Stop making a fool, your the exact teacher that gives teachers a bad name. Aggressive, arrogant and hard done by

You're.

That just goes to show that you know nothing about me. As I've said a billion times, I teach because I can make a difference. I go above and beyond for my pupils which sometimes even involves buying food, clothes and supplies out of my own pocket. I'm neither aggressive nor arrogant, but yes, I am hard done by and if you knew anything about the education system, you'd agree. I'm not half as hard done by as some of the children that I teach who are living in deprivation though, so that's something to be thankful for.

You know I've read a lot of the answers here, and things like this thread is probably what I find the hardest thing about being a teacher.
Yes I do work hard long hours... But yes so do others. Just a lot of my work is hidden work, things that are vital for me to be able to do my job things that have to be done outside normal school hours that noone ever sees being done, except my poor family.
Yes I do have long holidays, all but 4 weeks are unpaid. But yes I do go in and set up my room in the holidays, mark work, catch up on assessments and make resources in that time.
Yes the pay is good, maybe not compared to other so called professions needing 4 years plus at uni to do, but the lack of promotion opportunities staying within the classroom sucks totally but as a wage it's OK. But then come into my classroom and see how much of it goes back into making it a nice place to learn, the books, the games, the general resources, my children's old toys don't get sold on they go to school.
Cuts to school budgets mean alot of resources that enhance the learning are provided by the teachers themselves, particularly in pimary.

But all of that would be okay because I chose to do it and the children make it worth it. Seeing their progress, their pleasure learning, the opportunities I'm opening up for them would all be worth it...

Would be... if the media and generally in posts like this we weren't slagged off so often.
We are probably the least respected profession in the media. What other profession receives so much criticism or haranguing?

And it is this that makes it so hard. The hours, the workload, the stresses would seem a lot easier if someone somewhere didn't constantly feel the need to have a pop... And in a site in particular like this, slag off the very people trying their hardest to support and educate their children.

Why? What does it satisfy?

Just love life and stop moaning about it

How incredibly childish.

On the bright side, a survey recently of the actual British public placed us 3rd in a list of most trusted jobs. So, that's nice.

We’ve fully covered the “you’re situation” now “stop making a fool”. I’m aware I made a mistake.

I hope you don’t make your students feel like that if they make a mistake. I love how you picked up on the mistake but not on the fact that I’m doing my masters especially after insinuating I was unintelligent. I hope students are allowed to voice their opinions without you belittling them the way you did me.

piggy don’t think your efforts with typing have gone unnoticed on this thread

I taught full time for 33 years and had to retire early with a quarter of my pension docked. I had burn out. I loved the teaching and the kids and had got, I think, quite effective at it. What broke me was the fear of OFSTED and the Kafkaesque management where you never knew when an ‘outstanding’ grade would fall to merely ‘good’ or even ‘requires improvement’. They used it to intimidate and I am a conscientious and highly anxious person.

I don’t think other jobs have you living in constant fear. I would never be a teacher again if I had to choose anew.

On the other hand, after a year or so I got it all out of my system and have never been happier.

My learners aren't generally knob-ends, to be fair to them.

We are probably the least respected profession in the media. What other profession receives so much criticism or haranguing?

I don’t see that and I am sorry you feel that . I am grateful for the teachers we have

I suppose I put teachers in the same category as NHS workers , and police . A profession that works hard and have to put slot of their souls into their work . Which they don’t get rewarded for

However I don’t pity teachers in the same way as I do nurses . I don’t mean that patronisingly but nursing is hideously overworked and underpaid

So that’s where I set my bar . I also think my
Kids attend a decent school where they look after staff so I don’t see them have the pain that others do

Yes the pay is good
Whaaat???
No, it's not. It's beyond shite.

Knob-ends??? 😂😂😂

I think that might depend on the branch of nursing you are in, too.

Thsi is not to criticise nurses in any way but there was another recent survey which found that teachers thought they worked fewer hours than police and nurses. Researchers actually found, on average, teachers worked hours far in excess of the police and somewhat more than nurses. it did surprise me a little but it was a proper bit of government research.

I was a teacher for a while and yes it was damned hard work. I was generally working until midnight most nights with planning, preparation and marking. Most of the teachers I know spend large parts of the holidays preparing for the next term so although they have 13 child free weeks a year they are not actually "on holiday" for most of it. I found it really hard to do anything outside of work and actually switch off. When I gave up I rediscovered weekends. Now I work for the NHS and although that has its own pressures, when I leave work I can actually forget about it until I go back the next day or week. There are plenty of jobs that are better paid for the hours put in, I'm certainly in no rush to do it again.

I actually have a lot of respect for teachers despite what this group has interpreted. I just partially agree with the original post in that it does appear teachers are the most vocal when it comes to raising issues. Either way i don’t feel i deserved to be called a knob-end. I think “stop making a fool” is letting the other teachers down by behaving like that.

Piggywaspusged I agree with you nurses defiantly don’t work as many hours as people are saying teachers work on here.