Why all the anti school/teacher threads?

[shithappens123]

I’ve not been a member for long but I’ve noticed the amount of school bashing threads on MM. it’s almost as if some patents see the school as an enemy not as organisations wanting to educate their children the best they can.

I’ve read threads on how they gleefully complain about teachers (seems more in primary education though) and saying how incompetent they are when they have no idea how hard they work.

Teachers are fair game on here and it’s most disturbing.

@herculepoirot2

You really do over estimate your own importance in the world. What makes you think that anyone would be so interested in your comments that that take the time out of their day to read them.

Go on, leave teaching then. What are you qualified to do? Your self entitled attitude tells me that you would struggle to find employment outside of the public sector.

@hashtagthathappened what part of smile’s post is bollocks? Are you in a school? Because the funding is an issue (for whatever reason). It is not filtering down, in my experience.

smile - that jobs requiring overtime are better paid than teachers.

Back in the 90s my Mum was a care assistant for the princely sum of £4 an hour, which was crap even then. She once did THREE HOURS unpaid overtime because one of them had a fall!

I mean yeah, there are loads of problems with teaching - but we are fairly well paid, considering.

What makes you think that anyone would be so interested in your comments that that take the time out of their day to read them.

You’re reading them right now. Or you’re trying to. I DID leave teaching. My Oxbridge degree and ten years of previous work history qualifies me to do a few other things, though, when I fancy a return to the workplace.

😂

And “self entitled” is a tautology.

@herculepoirot

I think leaving teaching was a good thing for you to do.

@Ricky44. I think you have created the nasty tone, here.

Ricky44

I thoroughly agree. It means I no longer have to deal with people like you. Unfortunately, it also means one less well-qualified, hard-working teacher in the pool for a core subject.

Ricky44 you sound like a bully, stop it.

All the comments from teachers have done is demonstrate how they think they are much more important than the children they teach. A lot of the teachers posting on this thread don’t sound as though they are in teaching for the right reasons at all.

Ricky44, I'm law trained (fully qualified, but didn't seek admission).

When I've had issues with the school, which has happened along the way, I've found that approaching it in a non-adversarial manner that doesn't smack of arrogance (we pay our taxes, we pay your wages, you will do as I command) and understanding the constraints that schools and teachers work under has generally enabled a suitable compromise or solution to be reached.

Hopefully, your DP being a lawyer has these skills and understandings too.

@shithappens123
Lol, teachers hanging up and bullying again.

@mbosnz

What complaint to the school are you referring to? I’m quite happy with DDs school thanks.

Just shocked at the self important attitude of some of the teachers posting on this thread.

All the comments from teachers have done is demonstrate how they think they are much more important than the children they teach.

How so? Because we think we have the right to do our jobs without being harassed and abused? 🤔

Ah well Ricky, one of the problems with us teachers is that we’ve all you’ve got.
The situation in education is critical, many staff aren’t staying more than three or four years and even more are part-time. Meltdown approaches.
I can’t see things improving over the next decade or so, which is why I’ve been reading and cooking for the last few hours rather than squabbling on this thread and others. No point.

@Ricky44 I really don’t think you understand how on the edge teachers are and how comments like yours, are the final straw. It reeks of spite, malice and glee at someone else’s difficulties. Ironic really, as that is exactly what we have to protect your children from in the classroom. Without teachers who don’t engage in that kind of behaviour, teaching is left open to the worst kind of power hungry egomaniacs. It is your children who suffer. I have witnessed aggression, bullying, intimidation and nastiness that has shocked me aimed at 4-5 yr olds. The same adults who are all smiles to your face at pick up. You really don’t realise how some schools may have only one or two staff who are the ones holding it together. Not all, some. And I have worked in the private sector Ricky44. That ‘I paid yr wages’ line does not go down well there, either.

I’m an ex-teacher. I’m about as supportive to the school and its teachers as it’s possible to get and I do as much as I possibly can as a volunteer who may be somewhat more useful than a lot to try to help their workload (as someone who “gets it” I tend to end up doing a lot of the more monotonous and less glamorous stuff than many volunteers who just want to do the fluffy playing with the kids part). 99.9% of the staff at my kids’ school are bloody fantastic - and I’ve told them so, made sure the Head knows I think this and also the governors... however this year I have actually had to make a formal complaint against one teacher’s total and utter refusal to engage with any of my SN child’s provision. Tried desperately to get it all resolved amicably, tried to just fill the holes myself at home - but it hit the point where, supported by our amazing SENCO, we did have to take it to the Head to get the situation resolved.

Therefore to at least one teacher in the school I am now “that parent” - but I went well beyond what other parents would have done to attempt to get it resolved informally and amicably and it took taking it higher to get things sorted out. I have bloody hated having to go up against the school and have that atmosphere of confrontation - but I know it was one shitty teacher - who is actually very good in front of the class but just doesn’t seem to want to be bothered with the SN kids - in isolation and not the profession as a whole.

As for why it goes on on here and peaks at this time of year - people have to work around the long school holiday so the feeling of “they’re never AT school” starts... tempers are getting frayed and small niggles have started to bubble away after the school run every day for the year (there are certain parents I’m looking forward to the break from!)... report comparison on FB has reached peak season... and I have to say - some of the more vocal MN teachers are very much the type who will bite back and keep putting up a good fight fuelling it on - and they’ve just broken up (unless you’re here - we don’t break up till later today) and have the time to get drawn into a pointless argument on the internet! Always peaks this time of year, then always peaks again whenever there’s a snow school closure with an minor increase in whining whenever there’s an INSET day timetabled.

Wouldn’t want the threads banned - nothing is going to fuel resentment more than feeling like one group is untouchable, and then we’ll be demanding the same from other groups all over the place - and I think that in situations like the one we’ve been in this year - parents DO have the right to question things and call out teachers not doing what they should be doing.

Wait a week or so and the site will be full of parents desperate for the holiday to end and dreaming of their children returning to school.

Back in the 90s my Mum was a care assistant for the princely sum of £4 an hour, which was crap even then. She once did THREE HOURS unpaid overtime because one of them had a fall!

That’s shitty. I hope things in care work have changed. I know in nursing - certainly for the nurses I know - overtime is paid and/or balanced by time off in lieu.

I do think that teachers, particularly at the start of their career - which is an increasing proportion of staff - get a crap hourly rate. Most do a minimum of 2 hours each evening and at least one day of the weekend. That’s a lot of overtime, and on a salary of 22,000 it’s a low rate p/h.

But I take your point, there are some jobs - caring is an example- which should be paid an awful lot more. It shows us what society values, I think :(

It would be good to discuss this calmly without anyone getting nasty and personal.

Some overtime is smile but they are expected to turn up half an hour before a 12 hour shift for handover and often finish late - 14 hour days aren’t unusual.

Similarly in shops and bars and so on there’s an expectation to stay until cashing up and the like.

I almost feel a bit embarrassed for angry Ricky.

All examples of poor employment practices, but not really the subject of this thread. The idea of a few hours a week unpaid isn’t driving the recruitment crisis. Teachers have always known about marking and planning. It is the culture of education, a culture in which the teacher is expected to do more than it is possible to do in the time available, and to do so whilst withstanding huge amounts of unreasonable criticism.

I know. I am a teacher myself. But the defensiveness helps no one.

hashtagthathappened

What defensiveness? Nobody here is trying to say teachers are infallible - that is an accusation designed to silence teachers who say, “Hold on, that’s not what happened.” All of a sudden we are told we think we deserve to be immune to criticism, just because we don’t accept any and all criticism. That isn’t defensiveness.