Okay, about teachers...

[KitKat1985]

Okay I'm being brave here. I know a few people who happen to be teachers. Whenever they talk about their jobs, there's a real 'no other profession has to work as hard as us' vibe to their speech. I am fully aware and in agreement that it's a stressful job with long hours and ridiculous amount of pressure if you don't count the long holidays but it's hardly the only profession that has these issues. I myself am a nurse, and 14 hour shifts on an under-staffed ward with no breaks and several severely ill / abusive patient to look after are hardly a picnic either. But whenever I discuss work with teacher friends there's a definite 'if you want to talk about stress you should try being a teacher' element to the conversation, and it's starting to really get on my nerves. Lots of jobs are stressful, teaching isn't the only one! And it's only teachers I know that seem to have this general attitude about their profession. AIBU? Is it really more stressful than any other profession out there?

What a goady thread. .

It should never be a competition, of course there are a lot more stressful jobs, but it's all about individuals. Someone might love being a nurse and would hate teaching, and vice-versa.

But I do know a young teacher who has just had a breakdown from being in school at 8am, getting home at 5pm, having a meal then spending the evening lesson planning/marking until bedtime. THAT kind of comments is what makes people laugh - there's nothing unusual or outrageous about that. I know on MN everybody works a 9 to 5 with a 10 minutes commute, at most, but in the real world, a lot of workers do extremely long hours. No one has a breakdown because they work long days. What they do in their day on the other hand..

Some people quit teaching, some retrain to become teacher later in life. Some teachers have a lovely class in a beautiful school and all the resources they need, others are dealing with extreme violence and abused kids...

They do work very hard but the also get 13wks a year off and a day for Christmas shopping
I don`t know of anyone in another profession who are that lucky.

A day off for Christmas shopping?? Where on earth did you get that from? I work in a School (not a Teacher) and have never heard of this

I really don't understand the attitude that Teachers are "lucky" to have school holidays off. The reason they have that time off is because their place of work is closed and they're not getting paid. Not being at work when you're not being paid to be at work isn't exactly a luxury is it?

@Mistressiggi "There are loads of teachers on mumsnet and they do not need their Saturday spoiled by some goady post for the millionth time about how teaching is actually a piece of piss".

Completely twisting what I've written there. I've acknowledged many times that teaching has long hours, is stressful etc. I've never described it as "a piss of piss". Maybe you should read before telling people to fuck off.

Well I’m a teacher and I don’t feel that way....nurses have it waaaaay harder!!

Absolutely agree with you op. My family members are nurses and one is an A&E doctor, they witness death every day and deal with the most awful scences in A&E (some involve children) and they have had counselling to deal with the STRESS of the job. It's the same with the police who are working long hours, short staffed and dealing horrendous crimes and pitting thier lives at risk everyday they are on shift. Same with firefighters. Teaching is hard, stressful and long hours but you would more likely get my symphany if you are a doctor, nurse, firefighter or police officer. Teachers moan about long hours but there are nurses out there doing 12-15 hours (illegally) working for our NHS because they are short staffed and patient numbers are huge, they do not have it easy.
Plus remember teachers have just had a lovely pay rise, but the TAs in school who are expected to do the same work have not. Oh and its half term soon 🤣 but the nurses/doctors/firefighters will still be working in case they are needed 😁.

Being a TA is a really shitty job though. Id whinge if I worked so hard for so little. You have to love kids. It might suit some to work around the school day. Id rather use clubs and work more/for more money!!

I think the government take advantage of cheap TA labour.

How about people join unions and start arguing for better working conditions?

Having seen teaching first hand the working conditions are ridiculous. We need many more teachers who can work shorter hours, spend time preparing better resources, better schemes of work, have more time to support students properly, support new teachers better.

I suppose no one is willing to pay what that would cost though.

I imagine nurses working conditions could be much better too.

Let's stop arguing for worse conditions.

You're being goady and telling teachers to quit moaning, based on your very limited experience (knowing a handful of teachers), teachers are telling you to fuck off. I don't think you can really complain.

OP

I haven’t told you to fuck off. Could you answer my question please?

Okay, I am going to put this in capitals because some people seem unable to read: I AM AWARE THAT TEACHING IS STRESSFUL, HAS LONG HOURS, AND RIDICULOUS AMOUNTS OF PRESSURE. I HAVE NEVER SAID IT'S AN EASY JOB. My point is that it isn't the only job that is stressful, has long hours and lots pressure.

I have several friends who teach who enjoy their jobs. They all say that the issue with teaching is that you can do lots and lots of hours. They all set limits on what they will do so don't do the incredibly long hours some teachers do. They probably are not as great teachers as those who work incredibly long hours, but they are realistic about what they can reasonably do long term.

I agree. Teachers have difficult, stressful jobs, absolutely. But so do lots of other people with different jobs. The work they have to take home looks horribly tough but other jobs also take emotional stress and upset home regularly- nursing is a great example of that but I don't want to make out that nursing is the only other difficult profession. Ultimately, we all choose our careers so if you've chosen a career path and you don't like how it is you should move on to something else.

I’ve irked I no that’s three schools here we got a day off.....isn’t technology marvellous for teaching grammar?

I’ve worked at three schools where we got a day off for Christmas shopping, traded against all the attending concerts, and fairs. Not since the Millenium though.

I haven’t told you to fuck off. Could you answer my question please?

I would like your answer to @smileeachday as well.

Plus remember teachers have just had a lovely pay rise

That schools can choose to pay you mean?

My son's school paid the part that the government funded last September, then then paid the remainder in April (not back dated though).

They aren't paying this year's pay rise at all.

BUT COULD YOU ANSWER MY QUESTION OP?

And I agree that a TA is a shitty job. They get paid little and have a lot of responsibility.

I know a teacher who used to be a nurse on the night shift. She retrained in the daytime to become a teacher to change profession. She said her nursing job was stressful and tiring. She also became desensitized from the number of deaths (palliative care). She absolutely loves being a teacher now.

Christ almighty people, it is not either/ or. There are many jobs that are stressful, and many different reasons why a job can be stressful. Most of the people saying teaching isn't stressful have no experience of it. The teachers saying they've got it harder than anyone else all seem to be friends with MNers but are yet to be spotted in the wild. If they do exist, they are just as bad as the people slating teachers.

OP, saying you understand teaching is tough does not negate the fact that the essence of your post is "Don't you agree with me that most teachers are whiney, privileged snowflakes with loads of holiday?".

@Smileeachday. I want teachers to stop talking about their jobs as though it's a 'race to the bottom'. It's not a competition. And it's okay to acknowledge the perks of a job (like holidays) without being defensive. I work 3 x 14 hour shifts a week. I often get told "it must be nice to have 4 days off a week". And do you know what, it is! I don't need to get defensive about that fact as though it's an insult to how hard I work.

I agree OP. I used to be a nurse and know many that dropped out before qualifying, just after qualifying or a number of years afterwards. I also believe alot of teachers work very hard and that it is a stressful job. Our of the teachers I know alot do have the belief that they have the most stressful job ever and that they are about the most low paid profession. Teachers I am sure do get defensive because of people talking about their holidays etc but equally I think people point that kind of thing out because of some teachers attitudes. It isn't a competition. Many people have stressful jobs.

@SmileEachDay bloody hell, 3 minutes between shouts to answer your question. Give me a bloody chance to type a reply!

I think every person knows someone who is "so much more stressed than everyone else, so busy, so undervalued, etc".

I think nursing must be much more stressful as you have life or death to deal with! I'm a teacher and love it. I knew going into it the hours would be long, but almost twenty years in I put up with the pay issues (NI teacher here, our pay is a mess), the endless paperwork, comments about my 9-3 day and oodles of holidays because I love the six hours I am there with my class.

I care about each child I teach, strive to do my best by them, think about ways to engage them and help them reach their potential. Like someone mentioned upthread, you end up worrying about that child who maybe has an unsettled homelife, or the mum who cried to you because dad's lost his job, and that impinges on your time off. But my good friend is a nurse and I know she finds it hard to finish a shift and go home with the stress of her job hanging over her evening.

I think teaching as a profession gets run down an awful lot. Like others have mentioned, everyone has been to school so some people think they could do the job easily - I'm lower primary and often get "sure what preparation do you need to do, they just play all day!".

Maybe doctors see it more now with people using Dr Google before appointments.

Your friend who is a solicitor will be on a considerably higher wage than a teacher. Her job will be stressful with long hours, and a great deal of responsibility.a lot of jobs where the skill level is high will be rewarded with a good salary. Some jobs will have a lot of stress and pressure but perhaps be better compensated for financially. Your TA friend is right to sing about the perks of working term time and school hours because her wage is so low she would struggle to pay for childcare if she needed it. I know TA friends who work in summer schemes to make up for the fact theyre paid for the hours they work and not over the summer (although I believe some areas allow pay to be spread out).

It's not a competition to be the most stressed profession. Or to justify your pay or holidays. I can be quite goady and suggest people train to reach if it's all long holidays and short working days.

I'm fed up with people attacking others. Somewhere like this should be a supportive environment and not a place to shoot down others.

I'm a bit cross now!

God, do these teacher threads never end?!

I was brought up by a single parent who was a teacher. People used to say it was great they had all holidays off and didn’t have to juggle childcare etc.

In reality, as soon as school broke up our dining table would turn in a big paperwork mountain of work to be marked during the holidays. Then scheduled meetings with colleagues to moderate the marking. Then lesson planning for next term. Then visits to school for sorting out classroom. Then “baker days” and so on and so on.

It’s was far from a glorious 6 week break of uninterrupted fun together.

I find my job stressful and pressured (social worker) but at least 90% of my annual leave is actual genuine holiday relaxation time. Maybe a day or two of tying up loose ends etc.

My DH is a civil servant and his holiday year runs January-January. He has to keep cancelling leave last minute due to urgent work coming in and so far this year has only actually used 3 days I think.

So yes, jobs all have varying stresses etc and I think the holiday issue is a bit of a red herring.