To feel the rage with “teacher tired” posts

[Rainbowsandglitterbullshit]

The season of teachers posting SM messages “no one knows tired like an end of term teacher/TA/dinner lady” is almost upon us.

I want to scream, what about the fuckers who work stupid hours all week and don’t get 6 weeks off in the summer, half term, two weeks Easter, two weeks at Christmas.

I wouldn’t be a teacher for all the tea in China but these people chose their career.

Grrr, actually don’t care if I’m BU.

It's an odd tradition. As a teacher, I have a lot of teacher friends and they do sometimes post silly memes about being tired. Maybe it's psychological? We near the end of term (still working very hard sorting groups for next year, desperately trying to recruit someone, administering and marking end of year exams) and I think we start to run out of steam. It is a very supportive environment if you're in a good school (good as in colleagues are nice) and there are enough resources out there to help us, online groups are a huge help.

I don't think teaching is massively tiring, nor is it a hugely hard job (although being told to fuck off is a bit much).

Sorry that's narky but I hate the implication I cant discuss any negatives of my job without it being called a pity party. I can Tell you negatives of retail, cinema, film, being a gp, lawyer, yoga instructor, gynecologist, social worker, fireman, accountant etc and they're all shit. I know because I talk to my friends and we all share. Not just the teachers

@Yabbers I absolutely couldn’t teach nursery or be a childminder. However, their charges don’t write many 3000 word essays, which my sixth formers do... When do you imagine they get marked?

I don't really get all the social media posts about how teachers are looking forward to the holidays. After all, everyone knows that teachers spend all of their holidays working. 🙄

As for people leaving, I guess that's to be expected in a job with fairly low entry criteria (compared to other professions) that attracts aimless graduates who can't think of anything else to do.

Teachers are paid for 1265 hours a year, 27.5 a week. On that basis it's well paid and then of course there are the holidays...but in reality many teachers work over, sometimes well over, 25 hours a week overtime...that they are not allowed to be paid for...maybe that's behind the desperate desire to get to the end of term.

I think teachers have quite an intense job, but the memes are annoying AF.

The other ones that annoy me is the holier than thou 'if you know a nurse' ones. Like they are all Florence bloody Nightingale, who never get a break and have to drink their own urine for survival. Eh...nope.

FWIW I think both teaching and nursing are undervalued professions, but ironically, those that excel at them are few and far between. And I suspect the memes are indicators of those who do not.

Rainbowsandglitterbullshit

Another mumsnet phrase tripped out by morons who have no more intelligence than originality.

The irony of this when posting the standard "teachers are" thread, followed by a bit of teacher thread bingo.

@Threesoups - that kind of comment nearly always comes from someone with a chip that they didn't go to university. Is that the case, Three?

mumsneed I do think though, that by the same token if people have no idea how hard teachers work then teachers can't really have any idea how hard other jobs are. They can't know that we aren't as stressed as them, if we can't know that they aren't as stressed as us.

And I get why it happens, because people assume teaching is all colouring and holidays. And it's very frustrating when you are putting so much work in, and someone acts like it's a doddle.

It is shit, and I don't think any job should be so intense you can't wee ffs!

Oh lord there's no way I could get several teenagers through their A-level unlike my dds Maths teacher who held extra lessons on Saturdays and after school and really helped dd who did not have the easiest childhood and found school difficult, he and she were both thrilled to bits when she passed with an A grade.
Brilliant teacher and very nice person. When you're a single mum and trying to do your best for your daughter you need someone like him.

If you dont like what people are sharing on sm the scroll past. Does it really have such a negative affect on you?
I am not a teacher but i work in a school. Today only i have seen 3 of my colleagues attacked by students (primary) one went to hospital to have stitches in her head. Another has had to seperate parents on the playground who were arguing over something tht happened in a dance clas last night. And another accused of stealing a childs coat. Child didn't bring a coat today, had to check cctv of child arriving (late because they slept in for the 5th time this week) to prove to the parent said child didnt bring a coat! Top that off with end of yr assessments and kids that are too warm and cba to sit in a classroom. I think they deserve a whinge. (Along with all of the carers and nurses and anyone who has to take care of others)

I am a TA and I see what teachers have to do and while teaching is certainly not the hardest job in the world it's by no means a walk in the park by any stretch either!

How many of you can go to the toilet, take a break or make a brew whenever you want?

How many of you expect to get swore at, spat at, or assaulted at work? In the last week I know of 5 members of staff who have been physically assaulted. I myself was headbutted by a child with SEND and it bloody hurt!

Looking after 30 kids all day and making sure they don't kill each other and actually learn something is exhausting, particularly at this time of the year when the kids mentally checked out weeks ago.

In fact, right now most of my teacher friends and colleagues are writing reports. Each one is easily 2500 words which multiplied by 30 is 75,000 words. That's like a decent sized novel, all written and proof read by your child's teacher.

Cut them some slack.

I'm one of those LUCKY buggers who is off for 6 glorious weeks soon.
Yes I'm beyond knackered, I work in foundation and believe me 4 year olds are bloody hard work at this time of year.
But I feel lucky. One of my mums works nights in a care home. It's a back breaking, poorly paid job and she gets in at 8am, gets her ds ready for school and then after dropping him off at 9am, sleeps until 11.30ish before she rushes to collect him at 12pm. She does this week in, week out, just to survive. So no, I never ever complain, to anyone other than my colleagues.

Only Teacher’s would tell you their job is harder than a surgeon/lawyer/

DH is a lawyer - a solicitor. Earns a ton of money. We have similar A levels, both have degrees. He works longer hours than me - was always able to as I was able to be there for dd when she was smaller. But not silly hours - home every evening for dinner.

He says himself that there is no way he would ever be a teacher - too much stress over things you can't control, one of the few jobs you are expected to prove yourself in an interview in a way that just doesn't happen in other professions, not enough financial reward, 'free' service so the customers (he means the parents of the children really though) think they have too much say as to what should happen int heir wok place, expectation to spend far longer than prescribed hours working for no reward, etc. Even the holidays wouldn't persuade him! I reckon I could cope with his 'networking' afternoons and days though - I could manage to sit and chat to people I already know over a bottle of wine and good food. Don't fancy the golf though! ;)

Oh for goodness sake. Why is it when teachers have a moan it is always translated as "we have the hardest job in the world". It's not a race to the bottom. If a teacher says their job is hard - it is because it bloody well is. Same as if a doctor says it or a nurse. Teachers don't say they have the hardest job in the world- everyone else just says they say they do. It is hard- that's why we are in the midst of the worst retention and recruitment crisis ever. It's become a miserable and intolerable job not helped by the 30 years of media teacher bashing which has resulted in the mess we are in today with teachers not respected by parents or children. Just sod off and leave the teachers alone. Teachers look after after the most precious gifts we have for hours on end but are belittled and questioned at every turn and not entitled to say how awful the job has become without being branded a bunch of lazy moaners with loads of holidays who have no idea what a "real job" in the "real world" is. If it wasn't as bad as teachers are saying then why are they all leaving in their droves? People don't walk away from careers they have trained for lightly.

Ah threesoups. Thank you for your support. I have 2 degrees and 2 professional qualifications and teach because I now enjoy teenagers company. To do a PGCE these days requires a 2.1 which I thought was quite good. Ah well. As I'm too rubbish to do anything else I'd better start writing reports.

If I had to deal with lots of other people's children I'd need a good holiday. If I had to deal with parents I'd need hunting down by a bounty hunter to get me into work. Unfortunately, lots of the holiday is spent in planning for next year too so it's not even a proper holiday!

Teachers are amazing (unless you are my Y3 junior school teacher who didn't let me go to the toilet when I needed despite a medical condition).

yabu

HermioneWeasley
I can’t bear the FB gloating from every teacher at the start of the summer holidays.

Yet it apparently acceptable when its whoever from the office doing the same thing.

Just double standards.

And the wee thing is real ! I actually forgot to eat today as was so busy. Finished bus duty at 3.30 and realised I was ridiculously thirsty and then ate 4 Freddy frogs and drank a coke far too fast. Pee looked like builders tea. Kidney stones are v common occupational hazard. As I'm sure they are fit nurses/nursery workers/ doctors/ care assistants. And I do kiss the networking afternoon I used to have, drinking expensive wine with a client in a v nice restaurant. I even enjoyed the golf !!

one of the few jobs you are expected to prove yourself in an interview in a way that just doesn't happen in other professions

Being interviewed by a panel of children from the school council for a start!

And I can't spell tonight. Because I'm a bit tired. But not as tired as everyone else 😇

I guess one of the things about being a teacher that is different to most jobs (and not all jobs - note I say ‘most’) is that you can’t really have “off” days. Even when you are exhausted, stressed or under the weather, you still have to present for five hours on most days, still have to manage conflict calmly, still have to jump through a million hoops, still have to go home and plan for the next day.

I worked in another industry before teaching and in pre-uni jobs before that, and there was always a toilet you could hide in. Teaching is probably more similar to being a frontline NHS worker than anything else: you don’t get to switch off.

Yes, the holidays are good.

I don't think it's any different to me feeling like that the couple of weeks before my annual leave. I think it's more psychological than anything else because you know it's coming, and at least for me motivation becomes a bit harder and I suddenly feel tired and in need of a break when I know ones coming up. I get 5 weeks a/l and at least the last shift if not the week before I struggle - and my a/l is taken at different times each year, so it's not a case of just being tired at that point every year. We're all allowed to have a moan about our jobs and to look forward to a break aren't we?

Biff and Chip were torture @Strokethefurrywall by the time my third child started to read I wanted to take a hit out on Biff and Chip. Medals not moaning.