Is teaching really so stressful?

[summertime06]

Really trying to get my head around this without getting flamed. I have a good friend who is a teacher, part time since having kids, doing the same hours as me (I'm not a teacher), 3 days a week.

For the past year or two, all I ever heard when we met up was how stressful her job was, how difficult it was to be a teacher and a mum at the same time etc etc. I get that there's work to be done outside teaching hours, but I do the same in my completely different job and just get on with it, I think it's part of the job when you get up the pay scale/responsibility level a bit. Any time I did mention that things were similar in my job, I was put down, I couldn't possibly understand how stressful it was to be a teacher?!

And now she's made the decision to take a career break for a few years because there's just no way she can continue to be a teacher and a mum to 3 young kids. That's fine if that's what she wants to do but she's making out that she's been left with no choice but to make this decision because teaching is just so difficult. Is it just me or am I missing something? I get that it can be stressful as are lots of other jobs, but there are surely also lots of advantages? Not having to sort out summer camps and childcare during school holidays? Is it really so much more difficult and stressful compared to other jobs? I genuinely want to understand!

No, I am not lying about the 5 week holiday. Friend primary teacher with husband maths teacher at secondary, two children. My comment on the teacher training is with regard to how jobs change but does the training acknowledge that enough. Most are aware of eg the discipline problems, the mixed ability students in classes nowadays. Has the teaching curriculum kept up with all of those? Does the selection process take account of the personality strengths needed to cope with the changes not just academic ability. I was highlighting how jobs change therefore different qualities may be required and is this being addressed. My friend I would class as being very determined in nature, disciplinarian, perhaps that is how she manages. Now a HT by the way. Yes, as I commented, envious that I never managed to have a 5 week break. I did though say I enjoyed my job.

Well a lot of our teaching staff are on antidepressants so yes it can be.
I m preparing my classroom for an open evening today and wont get a proper break.
Wont get home till late but luckily my lovely adult dc will sort food etc.
My colleague is a single mum of 9 year old dds so yes she s stressed.
Just hanging on in there till end of term now.
If parents saw the effort behind the scenes they would stop thinking we all go home at 3 o clock and have massive holidays.
Having said that i love this job (mostly).

Sometimes wonder if the selection of those for teacher training is robust enough these days

Well, academies don’t even have to hire qualified teachers so I’m sure all will be fine.

There is a recruitment shortage so they will snap up anyone with the minimum qualifications. I am doing a second degree in a STEM subject and constantly bombarded with grants etc to go into teaching. But my H is a teacher so I know full well what it is like and I don’t want that.

But it is specious to suggest that if people can’t cope with poor working conditions then they shouldn’t have been recruited in the first place. Sort out the working conditions and you may get better candidates, plus the ones you already have will start to thrive

Sometimes wonder if the selection of those for teacher training is robust enough these days.

What do you want them to be looking for in candidates? Because a good degree, a desire to teach, a confident and professional manner, a good manner with children and a reasonable layperson's understanding of the requirements of the job are no guarantee that a person will be immune to the barrage of crap that teachers have to deal with.

As for this: Most are aware of eg the discipline problems, the mixed ability students in classes nowadays. Has the teaching curriculum kept up with all of those?

Perhaps you should go into schools and point out to teachers that they should be trying to teach in a way that engages pupils of all abilities and that they should try and make lessons interesting in order to discourage poor behaviour. I'm sure nobody's ever thought of that before. And of course the gazillion different initiatives and training days that teachers endure are not at all geared towards dealing with those issues.

Newsflash: kids largely behave badly because they a) have issues or b) are badly behaved kids, not because the curriculum needs to be tweaked. Not many kids are going to love all lessons in all subjects. They need to be able to behave themselves even in lessons they don't enjoy. Or be removed.

Sometimes wonder if the selection of those for teacher training is robust enough these days, different skills must be needed now from say 20 years ago as well as of course scrutiny of the actual content of the course.

What do YOU think is important in the selection that is currently missing?

I was a teacher for 23 years and I gave absolutely everything to the students I taught. I came home early from holidays to go in for GCSE and A level results day for 20 years, much to the annoyance of my own dc. I went in to do Easter revision classes unpaid. Ran and after school revision class pre exam again unpaid. I loved my job felt privileged to think I could change the outcome for many children who engaged with my subject. Eventually like many teachers I got burned out. I had three illnesses, requiring time off from school in one calendar year. I was upset as I realised this impacted on the kids I taught and decided to retire early. Can't get pension for another 3 years but lucky dh earns enough so I can stay home. My health has been better since staying home but dh says that is not just coincidence as not on legs all day. A very emotionally draining job and many students have horrendous issues at home, which they bring into classroom. If dh not well paid sadly I could not have afforded to be a teacher as my own children would have gone without materially.

“Sometimes wonder if the selection of those for teacher training is robust enough these days, different skills must be needed now from say 20 years ago as well as of course scrutiny of the actual content of the course.”

This sort of comment is exactly why teachers become defensive. Everyone thinks they’re an expert because they went to school, despite demonstrably not having a clue

Haven't RTFT

Quick reminder that comparison is the thief of joy.

HTH

Sorry if this has been covered. My take on it is that teachers in particular have to deal with a really stressful job, which is at odds with how the vast majority of people view it.
So many people have no idea what teaching involves or the invisible hours. If teaching was simply 9-3 with all of the holidays then you’d have a point. But it isn’t. I can’t imagine anything more frustrating than working yourself into the ground, knowing lots of people think it’s a walk in the park.
She’s your friend and she’s taking action to solve a situation that is too much for her. That in itself should be applauded as the world is full of people that moan and do absolutely nothing to about it. Her job can be stressful and so can yours.
I know nothing about being a pharmacist. All I see is someone taking a piece of paper from the dr and putting what it says on it into a bag. Pretty easy and straightforward. If everyone belittled the profession to this, I’m sure pharmacists far and wide would be much more vocal about the stress and pressure of their job.
It isn’t just that teaching is stressful. It’s that so many people can not or will not accept that it is.

Haven’t read all of the posts but I have quit. I worked in another career before and now started in the civil Service and I will never go back. It is an exhausting job and the whole education system is toxic. Teachers are characterised as whiners but it is such a shame that what should be a great job is so awful.

Been told three times (just today!) that I am pretty crap at my job : two teachers, and one child (not a parent, at least!). To my face. And not euphemistically as in couched in appraisal type terms.

Of course, I may be wrong, but I am not sure how much that happens in too many other jobs. And that fact that is you go off somewhere to have a weep you have to wait til the end of a convenient teaching length slot to do so and then endure colleagues and 30 students peering at you in a semi sympathetic fashion/ asking if you have hayfever for the next hour or so. Or deliberately attempting to make you feel worse. The on show element of the job is not unique, but it is also not typical of many jobs.

@Asgoodasarest @summertime06 Oh! The amount of times people would say (when they have to wait because you’re snowed under) things like - “Are you joking? You literally just stick a label on a box - I can do that myself!”

Been told three times (just today!) that I am pretty crap at my job : two teachers, and one child (not a parent, at least!). To my face. And not euphemistically as in couched in appraisal type terms

That sounds like a toxic workplace :( - and you shouldn't have to deal with that sort of behaviour by colleagues.

I think a lot of the issues with teaching stress are actually issues with bad management and awful HR practices. In my workplace if someone told a colleague they were doing their job badly then you'd have recourse to the grievance procedure if you couldn't laugh it off (but I work with sane, decent people who would never approach a colleague in difficulty in that way in the first place).

Yes, it is . Many schools are. A lot of it is poor management. A lot of that is brought about or effected by external pressures which are constant and ever shifting.

My school is by no means unique.

On TV at least it looks like the police are rude and aggressive to each others' faces a lot! But that may well be a dramatic fiction. Teachers are generally very supportive of each other. But when they choose to not be, it is very harmful. My main point is that you then can't run and hide in a cupboard for half an hour.

There are many stressful jobs out there, teaching is definitely one of them. But my teacher friends all seem to have a competitive ‘my job is the worst’ attitude and now it’s almost holidays it’s all they talk about being ready for a break.

I work 60hrs+ a week, I’m always ‘performing’ as clients pay £650 for my time, I can’t have a down day. 3am finishes not unusual, I have to travel anywhere at the drop of a hat, have regularly had to cancel holidays or take calls or do work on holiday (I get 30 days) and now it’s the holidays, I have to arrange added childcare.

We all make our choices in life. There must be enjoyable parts or why do it? It can’t be all negative. There is plenty I love about my job.

I definitely don’t undermine how stressed my teacher friends feel or how hard the job is. I’m just sick of hearing about it!!

Yeah without wanting to be goady, teachers are more vocal about this on social media than other people I know who work very long and stressful hours. But maybe it's because their work environment is so generally unsupportive that it's not possible to have a moan anywhere else.

Well there is also the thing that everyone thinks they know what teachers do, because (nearly) everyone went to school. Only a limited number of people know what a city lawyer does. I work with lots of nurses and believe me they talk shop and complain about the stress and tiredness just as much as teachers (I should know - I live with a teacher)

There was a thread once on here where people the OP said ' tell me what you do in an average day at work'. There were lots of 'wows' and 'goshes' and 'oohs' of awe and lots of sympathy. It was only when (after about 7 pages iirc) that a teacher posted that a backlash and a bun fight began. Her post was immediately followed by an accusation of self pity and hyperbole.

Mistigri - it's probably also because they feel like they are constantly fighting against unfair and inaccurate stereotypes. Everyone thinks they know everything about what teachers' jobs are like, just because they went to school.

If a banker or a nurse or an oil-rig worker told me they worked long hours in stressful conditions, I would assume they were telling the truth. Teachers are used to people sneering at the idea that their job is hard.

@KittyKel if you are charging £650 for your time I’d imagine you’re being paid just a tad more than a teacher.

Question.

Why do the government, instead of spending loads of money (£25k per person) on training teachers that leave because the job is ridiculously stressful, redefine the teacher's workload so each teacher has 1/2 - 3.4 of the classes they previously did? Then they would have much better retention.

My friend is a teacher and it sounds horrible. Kids throwing chairs at her, kids telling her they've been domestically violenced then she can't sleep all night. She says that after GCSEs, when she has 6/8 of her classes, she feels so much less stressed and can do her job while having some semblance of a life. So why not make this normal?

Yeah without wanting to be goady ...

Ha! ha! Good one!

ItIsWhatItIsInnit there are already not enough teachers to go round. To half the number of classes in England the government would need to find an extra 225,000 teachers and £20 billion to pay for them. They would also need extra classrooms which cost money unless they decided to keep the class sizes the same increase PPA time in which case they would just need to provide teacher work rooms.

It’s exhausting and all consuming. Compared to my friends with children I have much less time to myself than they do. Also the holidays aren’t as great as people think. I spend the first week trying to recover from the absolute exhaustion, and the last week planning. We also have to book our holidays at the most expensive time of the year, and I never ever ever have even 1 day off when my kids are all at school.