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?

I never understand why teachers keep going on about holidays being unpaid as though that makes them hard done by
That's not the case though.

What actually happens is:
Poster either makes a mistake or is goady about teachers, be it holidays, workload
Teachers correct poster
Poster says "see see look they're always complaining and think their job is the worst"

Funnily enough I don't see people queueing up to join the profession.

FrippEnos

School teachers in England and Wales (not those on supply/other fixed term contracts) are paid an annual salary accruing at a daily rate - which is why strike days are deducted at 1/365th of annual salary;

www.doyleclayton.co.uk/resources/recent-cases/supreme-court-finds-teachers-strike-were-deducted-too-much-pay/

Yep. Even as a (now retired) teacher, I find the "but we don't get paid for the holidays" chorus pretty silly. It's a technicality, and nothing else. We get a reasonable annual salary divided into twelve equal moments.

It's a meaningless technicality and resorting to it in an argument gives more ammunition to those who think teachers are moany.

Moments= months, obv.

Teachers in Scotland:

"Newly qualified teachers on their probation year earn £26,697. Salaries then rise by annual increments over the first five years from £32,034 to £40,206."

"A teacher’s full working year is 195 days–which includes 5 days of in-service training. Every year, you’ll get 40 days’ holiday at full pay."

"Teachers work a 35 hour week with a maximum of 22.5 hours devoted to class contact time. New teachers tend to work longer hours in the beginning."

"Teachers in Scotland qualify for generous pension benefits.The scheme provides a healthy pension based on career average earnings."

teachinscotland.scot/being-a-teacher/benefits-of-teaching/

@LolaSmiles, she’s at the top of her pay scale and is in charge of a subject ( not academic; kind of like ‘life skills’ about a max of 10 students per year taking it). It’s a special school though, so different to mainstream.
It has its own challenges but she reckons it’s a sweet deal; she’s said she would never go back to mainstream!
I don’t know if salary scales are different in mainstream though.

I've seen both on here, teacher bashing but also a lot of teacher defending.
Really unless we have all done a variety of jobs, no one will know exactly what the stresses/problems are in another person's role.
I know lots of teachers IRL and none of them make it sound as horrific as posts from teachers on MN. A close friend is a teacher, and I know she has as much free time as most other people working FT. I flat shared with 2 teacher when I was younger. One was always in her room working and doing lesson prep, the other spent hours on the communal phone to her friends and family!
I have seen teachers state that there aren't any other jobs as stressful as teaching (on MN)
I also read on a different site another teacher complaining that other people (in other jobs) were leaving work empty handed so obviously didnt have to do any work outside work hours

I support and work happily with those parents who expect their child to work hard and behave well in class.

See the problem I have with this is that you and you alone are deciding who these children and their parents are. It's all very one sided. My child was a dreadfully behaved child. I didn't force him to do home work at home and regularly took him out of school for "holidays". As a parent I was patronised, criticised and belittled and called in constantly to discuss him with very young teachers who were clearly disgusted by us and didn't bother to hide it, asking probing questions about our home life, asking me to take them through our "morning routine". I understand why this is necessary but it could have been handled so much better.

Later he was diagnosed with autism, dyspraxia, sensory processing disorder and hyper mobility that is 7/9 on the beighton scale and causes him a lot of pain. I didn't force him to do homework at home because his distress at having to do "school" things in the "home" environment was off the scale. He couldn't process that. He is 17 now and still can't write efficiently and probably never will now. I took him out for "holidays" to give all involved some respite and had doctors notes for all absences. In the end he was injured at school, by a teacher, during restraint, and that was enough and I took him out and home educated him. The one thread throughout was lack of understanding or care from most of his teachers, who for almost two years dismissed me as "that parent" because I wouldn't jus swallow the criticism. I knew there was more going on. But I had a friend working at that school and I know what was said about us in the staff room and over coffee. At that time SEN was an elective in training I believe. I don't know if that's changed, has it? Hope so.

So you see when I hear of three or four "little darlings" spoiling it for everyone, I wonder about undiagnosed SN for a start, the stats are pretty high on that I believe, then I think about personality clashes between teachers and children or parents - which understandably do happen, then I think about perhaps a teacher who isn't very good at their job and isn't in enjoying it that much and resents any input from those boring, interfering parents and finally, yes the entitled, nightmare parent that makes life terribly difficult for everyone. I also feel sometimes that some teachers on MN feel themselves to be above reproach and that irritates me because no body is are they?

You'll be pleased to know that my other child though, has 100% attendance and sparkling school reports and in almost two years of secondary school I have never had call to even whisper the mildest of complaints about the school or its staff and they never have needed to about her. They are absolutely brilliant - certainly all the ones involved with her anyway. She's autistic too but was supported from the outset with a diagnosis and EHCP which has made all the difference plus her school has an autism unit. Dd isn't in it but all teachers in the school trained in how autism presents. Two children in the same family with entirely different outcomes mainly due to differences in teachers so 🤷🏼‍♀️

LeMarais That sounds amazing! I'd love something like that.

Pay scales are the same in mainstream, but what I've seen some people have to do as part of recieving UPS ranges from leading a core subject in a multi-form entry primary through to leading all GCSE intervention and 'voluntary' extra lessons.
Some schools are more reasonable in what they expect, but many take the mick.

School teachers in England and Wales (not those on supply/other fixed term contracts) are paid an annual salary accruing at a daily rate - which is why strike days are deducted at 1/365th of annual salary;
For a contract that stipulates 195 days, which is term time plus 5 days of.

Saraclara it is a technicality, but one I've only ever seen teachers discuss in the face of people claiming they get 13 weeks paid holidays a year, don't work hard, shouldn't complain about any element of their job because they have holidays and so on.

I've even seen threads on here where parents have complained about PD days because it's teachers taking days off and "we'd be fined if we did that but they're allowed to just close the school", and still argue when people point out that PD days don't eat into student term dates.

Most teachers sign up to their contract, are quite happy getting on with their jobs, but just wish people would shut up with the goady holiday, easy life chatter. There's no rational discussion with people intent on sticking the boot in.

Any teacher starting a thread like this in AIBU is just asking for a kicking. It’s like self-flagellation.

Why would you?

Very true noble.
If I remember from some of their other posts, I think the OP is feeling rather frustrated at the moment.

It's going to be the same as so many other threads, though I'm really interested in LeMarais's friend's school and how they do UPS. Sometimes there's some good that comes from hearing different ways of doing things.

I am feeling frustrated at the sheer number of negative teacher posts I guess.

It’s all over MN and it’s annoying, I probably need to ignore it tbh

I think teachers are great, do an amazing job and have too much work taking them away from teaching.
But many of us have important jobs that we are doing behind the scenes that are vital. Aren’t we all supposed to be working together to a common goal instead of saying ‘just because I’m not front line healthcare my job is still going on, think of how stressful it is for me!!!!’ lots of people are still doing core hours from home.
We are all trying our best - let’s remember that

The world has been changed almost overnight. There must be very few people that are doing same job with same people in same place in exactly the same conditions as a month ago!

After trying to home school my little shits I have nothing but respect for bloody teachers!!

I’m struggling with mine...how the heck they do it will 30 kids I have no idea 🤷‍♀️

Talking about the wider picture not just now in terms of Covid-19, I think it’s the bad and blinkered attitude that comes across from a minority who are quite vocal, on here and across other media.

I think teachers do a great job, especially high school teachers, teenagers can be absolute beasts. And I think it’s wonderful to have so much passion for a subject that you want to inspire others.

However some don’t do the profession any favours, the attitude that comes across from my POV as a none teacher is that they believe they work the hardest out of any profession ever, ever for the lowest amount of money ever, ever and they’re the most badly done to. This just isn’t true and when people sensibly and fairly try and point this out on here some will go rabid and go on the attack in a totally disproportionate manner, I’ve seen a couple of posts which have really stuck in my mind where I’ve thought Jesus I’m glad you’re not teaching my kids. Completely unprofessional.

And the first line of your friend instantly got my hackles up and is a good indicator of what I’m saying ‘is it jealousy’ 🙄🙄, come on OP, my first thought was oh do grow up, no one is jealous of you behave, and that sort then devalued whatever else you had to say unfortunately.

...and yep, while I'm here, those social workers and health visitors on here have my respect. I've been shocked to see so many negative posts about health visitors on MN. Mine were terrific. And social workers - if ever there was a 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' job, plus enormous stress and helplessness, that has to be it.

I don’t know how they do UPS, whatever that is; upper pay scale?
The downside is that career progression is pretty limited. Special schools are smaller so less promotion opportunities. Staff tend to stay in post rather than move about.
However, she’s pretty happy in her deal so I don’t think she wants a promotion and extra responsibility/ stress.
She gets good classroom support as well although I think their pay is shockingly low.

FrippEnos
Clavinova
PS, you really need to get a life or a different hobby.

Oddly enough - I'm not going out today.

Yeah, social workers really get a kicking don’t they? Whatever they do is wrong, it must be such a thankless job, yet they are absolutely necessary. I expect burnout is pretty high.

Yeah, social workers really get a kicking don’t they? Whatever they do is wrong, it must be such a thankless job, yet they are absolutely necessary. I expect burnout is pretty high

It is, I’m leaving to retrain soon. I can’t take it anymore the walking into houses alone so dangerous the police won’t even go into them because there’s no money for double manning, the being physically and verbally assaulted whenever we have to relay information people don’t like, the constant laying awake at night sweating and shaking unable to sleep because you've seen something horrific you wish you could bleach from your memory, everyone hates you, the news is always negative about you never any of the thousands of good things you do each month or the people’s lives you literally save.

Me and the rest of my colleagues are on the way out which is a shame because we’re crying out for more people to join the ranks, but people just can’t take it anymore.

If all you’ve got to worry about is annoying parents who don’t appreciate you be grateful.

atomic the kids you deal with go to school and are often referred to you by us. It’s not a competition, it’s a partnership.

I would agree I’ve seen both.

I’ve seen teacher bashing - especially now! Too much work, too little work, etc.

But I’ve also seen posters insisting the child lied, insisting that some really horrible behaviour is okay because the child must have disrupted the class / teachers are stressed.

sigh

Nobody said it was a competition @noble just some perspective that really teachers don’t have it as bad as you may think you do. As this thread clearly evidences numerous times.

I love my children’s teachers. I buy them sweets at Easter and chocolates at Christmas and tell them I am appreciative all the time.
I am aware they get lots of sweets before someone tells me