Why is there so much hostility against teachers on MN?

[Bulb1976]

Is it jealousy? The daily teacher bashing threads on here are ridiculous.

Do you blame us for schools closing?

Ok, forgive me if I don’t cry and blame you for being mean.

Most teachers will say "go and ask the teacher", this is seen by many on here as "the child is lying".

No, there are plenty of occasions where not only is the poster's child accused of lying but also the poster themselves. I don't see that much if at all when people complain about the way another professional has behaved.

and just FYI, children do lie.

As do adults but generally posters aren't accused of lying in other circumstances. People respond to the posts on the basis that the OP is telling the truth.

Umm, @Bulb1976, it might be a good idea if you step away from this thread for a bit; it’s obviously upsetting you but calling people morons isn’t going to help. I see why you’re getting defensive but put your well-being over a silly thread on MN.

Lol I won’t let this lot cause me to lose sleep. Thanks for the concern though. I’m just glad I’ve not been accused of making a grown woman cry, I can’t understand the dramatics.

woodchuck99

No, there are plenty of occasions where not only is the poster's child accused of lying but also the poster themselves

Again this is a perception of what is actually said.

People respond to the posts on the basis that the OP is telling the truth.

And when that is based on third party information the first thing that should be done is find out all sides of the story.

Far too many posters respond with "I would be straight up the school", or "I would have it out with the teacher" or the infamous "go straight to the head/chair of governors/ofsted".

I have parents that I won't talk too because of their poor attitude, insults and threats. Schools have parents that no teachers are allowed to contact and all correspondence must go through SLT because they have to protect their staff.

Genuine question, why are teachers not paid for holidays? Surely if you are salaried you are paid for all time off like everyone else as you get 12 equal months of pay?

So if you are paid say £30K per annum and have 13 weeks off, then that's the same as any other working person earning £30k per annum and only having 5.6 weeks holiday?

@woodchuck99, that is a bloody good point about children lying. We would never assume that about adults, we need to have the same attitude to children.
And whoever posted that meme, cop yourself on. If I or @Pomegranatepompom posted something like that about our patients we’d be vilified, quite rightly. Total lack of professionalism.

You are the only person being dramatic here @Bulb1976.

People totally underestimate the demands of the job.

Some people are struggling to cope with their own children being around during the day and are resenting the fact that schools have closed.

@OtherVoices I am struggling to have my children at home all day because I am not a teacher and therefor cannot possibly give them the same level of education they get at school. Surely that's the same for most people?

I consider myself reasonably intelligent but it's still bloody hard trying to help the kids

Far too many posters respond with "I would be straight up the school", or "I would have it out with the teacher" or the infamous "go straight to the head/chair of governors/ofsted

And if anyone suggests these silly responses will hinder more than help they are accused of teacher worshipping. Add in that apparently nobody should complain about teachers either and "I'm not promoting blind obedience" over a simple sanction and you're on your way to bingo.

In most cases the advice for a school situation can be summarised as:

1. Hear what your child says but be mindful there may be some omissions or selectively telling events in a certain way (eg it's highly unlikely your DC was removed from class to isolation for behaving well and only asking a genuine question about the work to the teacher)
2. Whatever the issue/concerns/complaint is, call the school and ask to speak to the most appropriate member of staff. Demanding more senior staff isn't going to make you seem more serious, it just creates more work for people and highlights you're someone who wants to try to throw their weight around
3. Aim for a resolution, talk to the member of staff about the situation. Most things can be resolved this way through polite dialogue.
4. Despite what a small group of people on MN say, by law schools do not require parental consent for detentions. They won't forcibly detain students obviously but a missed detention will escalate up the behaviour policy.
5. Escalate concerns and complaints if needed and should it get to that point then follow the formal complaints procedure.
6. When asking for advice on MN look for those who suggest any of the above because they're probably the posters most likely to help you get a resolution. Ignore those yelling Ofsted/raging/furious/governors etc because they're probably fighting their own battles with teachers via your situation.

Again this is a perception of what is actually said.

No, it is often actually said. See above for the comment from a teacher that "Not their little darlings... they NEVER lie so it must be the teacher who has a personal vendetta against them. "
If someone complains about another profession such as a GP all the GPs don't all jump on board to states that the person is lying. It is something that generally only happens if anyone has a problem with a teachers action.

Theres a bit of superiority here.

I think thats possibly why some...not all ....teachers get a bad rep. But anyone being superior in any job....can be seen as d so its not just teachers.

But theres alot of ego at the mo with teachers.....whats that about

Sorry if this offends you but children have been known to lie. If someone were to complain about a GP then that would usually be an adult. It’s not comparable.

Sorry if this offends you but children have been known to lie. If someone were to complain about a GP then that would usually be an adult. It’s not comparable.

It depends on the age of the child. There is a big difference between a five year old and a 16-year-old.

Working in any public sector or local government job is difficult these days due to the idiots in this country choosing to continually vote in governments with an austerity agenda.

It's all shit and guess what? Now we're in the middle of a pandemic you are all dependent on the state and the public sector in some way. Not so irrelevant now is it, Tory amd Brexit voters.

woodchuck99

So you are taking one post off this thread and using it to represent every thread complaining about teachers.

As for complaining about other professions, many of the other professions would tell you to go away and not come back. This is not something a teacher can do.

OtherVoices I am struggling to have my children at home all day because I am not a teacher and therefor cannot possibly give them the same level of education they get at school. Surely that's the same for most people?

I'm not talking about educating them. I'm talking about having them around.
People aren't used to the nature of many children - the noise, incessant chat, short attention span, general neediness!
Teachers have developed skills to deal with all of this x 30 children at a time!
Trying to educate them along with dealing with all the above.

My advice to struggling parents is that now is not the time to be ramming textbooks down their throats and getting stressed over school work.
Establish a new routine that suits you and your family.

I know quite a lot of teachers IRL and most dont complain about their job any more than anyone else, or feel they have to defend it.
They aren't all holed up in their houses doing marking or lesson prep til 2am in the morning and have time for weekends away, holidays and lots of sports and hobbies.(if you believe some of the posts on MN most teachers dont have time to fart, let alone do any of the above )
Thankfully none are as superior as some of the MN teachers, or teacher-defenders referring to most private sector jobs as "non jobs"
I've never considered doing teaching, I dont think it's an easy job and I know I couldn't deal with a class full of children, changing curriculum, and all the behind the scenes admin as well as lots of other things that I've probably never considered (I dont have a university education either)
Equally a lot of teachers have not done any other jobs and might struggle with some aspects of those.

So you are taking one post off this thread and using it to represent every thread complaining about teachers.

As I have said, there is often that attitude that the child must be lying.

As I have said, there is often that attitude that the child must be lying

I have never ever seen this asserted on any thread and would very much like you to prove this. Not holding my breath.

What I have seen and very often is the caution to wait and see/hear both sides before blasting off.

I have never ever seen this asserted on any thread and would very much like you to prove this. Not holding my breath.hmm

So you are accusing me of lying. How ironic.

So you are accusing me of lying. How ironic

I didn't say you lied. Read the post.

You sound harsh and cynical @Bulb1976. Are you perhaps burned out with your career choice? Maybe it's time to consider moving on. I'm not even being snarky. You sound thoroughly fed up with the children you teach, the "little darlings" and their parents. I honestly feel apprehensive at the idea of someone like you having such responsibility and influence in so many young people's lives.