Why are teachers fair game on MN?

[shithappens123]

Seriously the daily amount of goady teaching baiting posts are ridiculous.

I really want to know why are teachers such an easy target on here? AIBU to suggest that there is disproportionate attacks teachers like there is no other profession on MN?

Editorial policy. Anti-teacher threads are extremely popular. Popular translates to increased traffic to the site. Increased traffic = £££.

I find it baffling. I'm not a teacher but I have huge respect for them. DS goes to a lovely state school, the teachers go above and beyond for the pupils there. I know not all teachers are good but it's an incredibly thankless job.

I guess that as most people are parents, as an internet collective they come into contact with teachers disproportionately to other professions. If it were a forum for pensioners there may be more references to health care professionals, for example. I do agree, though, that a lot of Mumsnet seem to think teachers have to be almost saint-like in their conduct at all times which just isn’t realistic.

Usually a flurry of it just after term starts.
Boredom? Kids back at school and more time to think up whiny posts?

Isn't anyone fair game on AIBU? Also this is a parenting forum which in itself encourages people to discuss issues with their children, high proportion of parents with school age children, start of a new term, bandwagons etc etc. Pretty obvious.

Partly because of the high level contact people have with them. Partly the holidays and partly because it’s a job people think is easier than it really is, so everyone is an expert.

In my years as a teacher the majority (almost all) parents are lovely and we work together. So many posters on MN not so much, it’s almost as if they despise us and I can not fathom why.

Tell me about it, I’ve just read the thread about teachers daring to take the Maternity Leave they’re legally entitled to. It was depressing reading.
Yet another reason I’m glad I left the profession.

Because in the UK teachers are fair game, a process aided by various governments and media. It is not like this in other countries. I know I taught in the UK for twenty years and now teach in Ireland where I am respected, better paid and given autonomy. The rabble has won in the UK and the system is broken. And of course, everyone has been to school so is an expert.

It's quite simple. It's a parenting forum, ergo you'd imagine most posters have children, therefore they come into contact with teachers a lot more than they would other professions.

Not saying it's acceptable mind, and I don't know who'd want to be a teacher anymore these days for all the stress and vitriol aimed at them.

But there we go.

I don't get the animosity towards teachers either. They do a very hard but worthwhile job for very little kudos. I have huge respect for them.To all the parents who kick off about them, who will teach little Oliver or Olivia when the teachers down tools as they are sick of your shit?

I have no idea. I marvel at the patience they show both in work and online. I go out of my way to to try and show my appreciation as it's apparent that lots of parents can't be bothered to!

Because people think teaching is easy and they're colouring in all day with their precious darling children 🤷‍♀️

Most people think they can teach

The statistics of those leaving say different

You’re a teacher and you can’t work out why there are more posts about teachers than mechanics/florists/plumbers on a parenting forum? Or that most people post when they have a problem?

You’re not doing your profession any favours!

There ARE lots of posts about schools/teachers, but I think a LOT of us are actually very supportive of ‘our’ teachers and the teachers on MN!

Actually, I can teach, I had a very successful career before leaving to be a SAHM. I do miss the environment and my colleagues sometimes. But some of the threads I read on here make me glad I got out.

To prove your point, this thread was sitting directly above -

AIBU Should i have a word with school
AIBU To kick off at school

• on my active thread list.

I started this thread a couple of years ago because I was struggling to understand why so many teachers were leaving with stress.
It was a real education for me (sorry!!)
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/2493519-To-wonder-why-so-many-teachers-want-to-quit

I think many people have no appreciation of the bureaucratic nonsense teachers have to deal with on top of their day jobs. I didn’t.

Not just on MN, in real life too. Various reasons- 1) Everyone has been to school, so they think they know about teaching 2)they are jealous of teachers' holidays 3) they only consider things from their child's pov 4) they think their child would never lie or do anything wrong at school 5) they mistakenly regard school as childcare 6) they find their own 2.5 children hard to manage but mysteriously think that managing 30 other people's children at a time should be easy and not require raising your voice 7) they think that teachers should not be allowed to behave like normal people during their time off... Have I missed anything? Oh yes - 8) they think if their child gets good results, that's down to the child's effort, but if they get bad results it's the teacher's fault.

Disclaimer: most parents aren't actually like that, but a depressingly large number are.

It is odd and yet anyone working in the NHS with patients is deified, I find that puzzling too.

In fairness it seems to be other teachers complaining about the teacher taking mat leave rather than parents!

Because a lot of MN have children at school i expect. School topics are rather popular threads.
Gardeners World forum has loads of threads about plants.

Oh yes. The idea that teachers basically spend most weeks in the 'academic' year on holiday supping cocktails. I have come across many professions in my life and never met anyone as stressed as teachers and I say that having worked with doctors, lawyers, civil servants etc.

A high percentage of posters have school age children.
Most posters have been to school, many will have baggage from their own school days.
Some people have poor perspective about a teacher's ability to provide the personal touch to every individual pupil on the scale that they can give in a family unit.
The government and media are very critical about teaching quality.
Most of a teacher's work is hidden. 9- 3:30 is barely half of a teacher's working time. We are a long way from the far more relaxed days of the 70s/80s and possibly stretching into the 90s and too many people don't appreciate the demands of a job. Other demanding jobs are avaliable, but it is accepted that a nurse may be working 12 hr shifts for example, not falsely criticising them for the length of day, staff development time or holidays.
Some people are just aggressive and combative in the face of petty annoyances.

In my last years of teaching, I had aggro from a few of these types of parents and resented the time, and effort it cost to justify my actions and have silly reconcilliation meetings with their spoilt offspring and reassure them that I would treat them fairly in accordance with school policy which was exactly what I'd done in the first place

Most parents were fine, but "that parent" takes its toll in dealing with the child, and the knock on effects of that child's influence in the class as well as the aftermath of particular incidents.

Teachers are human and not perfect, but 99% of incidents can be dealt with quickly, civilly and politely if you approach it in the right way.

It’s the one profession that everyone has experience of, either because they went to school and have had good / bad experiences and/or because their kids go to schools and have good / bad experiences.

Not everyone has had contact with lawyers, accountants, engineers etc, but everyone has with teachers.

I have friends in a variety of professions. Primary school teacher, lawyer, a&e doctor, engineer, civil servant, accountant..

In my experience the teacher is amongst the less stressed now, as she has been working for a number of years in the same school same year group so has all the resources sorted and knows what needs doing. Earlier on in our careers she was definitely the most stressed and seemed to do the most hours.

Now, my doctor friend is feeling the strain, with kids, job, further study etc.

At one time or another we were all the ‘most stressed’, with professional exams, work load, difficult clients etc.