To think we could just collate all the teacher/teaching related information here, and have done with it?

[SachaStark]

Just to save time, shall we just have a thread here, where our teaching colleagues can collate all the answers to the questions about teachers and schools, to save having to repeat the same stuff again and again?

1. Why aren’t the teachers working?

They are working.

1. What are the teachers doing all day?

A myriad of things. Including, but not limited to: gathering evidence to get qualification data for Year 11 and Year 13, planning lessons that can be taught remotely, creating resources, marking work, checking on vulnerable children, completing safeguarding referrals, writing school reports, in school minding key worker children, writing new schemes of work and policies for the COVID-19 world, delivering free school meals to students...

1. Why aren’t the teachers doing online video lessons?

Some are. Most (the correct decision, IMHO) are not doing this, following union guidance. This is due to unsafe platforms, such as Zoom, the inappropriateness of it for some ages/classes, and due to safeguarding reasons.

1. What safeguarding reasons could there possibly be for not doing online video lessons?

So, so many, sadly. Including, but not limited to: the vulnerability of teachers’ images or voices being used to create online memes (at best) or pornographic material (at worst) by downloading and manipulating the clips, protections of both staff and students who may be hiding from dangerous individuals known to them, the possibility that abuse may happen live online in front of other children, the possibility that some children may appear on camera either undressed or performing indecent acts...

1. Why aren’t the teachers in school actually teaching the key worker children?

We’ve been told not to teach key worker children in school, we are only child minders at present. This is due to the possibility of unfairness if we are teaching some children and not others, and also because it is impossible to plan for and execute when you are trying to maintain social distancing, and also have no idea what year groups you will have in each day.

1. What’s happening with the school curriculum?

It’s been suspended.

1. When are the schools going back?

Literally, NONE OF US KNOW. It doesn’t matter what your school has said or not said, or what your neighbour’s Aunt Gertrude has said. None of us know anything about when the schools are going back.

1. Why can’t they summer holidays be cancelled, and the kids go back to school then?

Because the teachers and students are technically working right now. The children will need their summer holidays, and the staff will need them, too.

1. But other industries have had their holidays cancelled, so why can’t teachers have theirs cancelled?

It’s more complicated than it is in other industries. Teachers aren’t paid for their holidays, and they also can’t take them as time off at a later date. The government would have to pay six weeks’ extra pay to all teachers, which I don’t reckon they’ve got the spare cash to do.

10. Why can’t teachers just work it unpaid?

Because we are not bloody saints, and we aren’t very well paid in the first place.

11. Why are the teachers still receiving a full salary?

Because they’re still working full-time, see above, points 1 and 2.

12. But why isn’t MY child’s teacher doing X, Y or Z?

We have absolutely no idea. Why don’t you contact the school in question? Maybe they are, and you haven’t seen it yet? Maybe they’re not, and they’ve actually absconded to Hawaii? Maybe they’re just drinking gin all day? Who can tell, I certainly can’t...

13. What are the daffodils on posts about teachers/teaching for?

It was decided in a thread on The Staffroom that it would be far more productive to give each other flowers on threads clearly guilty of teacher bashing, since many people’s mental health and well-being is at a real low at the moment, and many hard-working teachers are genuinely upset by these posts.

14. Is it really teacher bashing, though? I’m so bored of hearing this.

It is, because these threads generally rely on generalisations regarding an entire profession, and are simply an excuse to “have a go”, rather than doing the more productive thing and contacting their child’s school.

15. But don’t teachers think they have the hardest job in the world? They’re always moaning and being so defensive!

Literally none of us have ever said that we have the hardest job in the world. I don’t know who does. NHS staff at the moment, for sure. Other key workers still having to carry on in difficult conditions, absolutely. But we definitely are facing some very difficult tasks in our jobs right now, that we’ve had no time to prepare for, in an unprecedented situation. Exactly the same as most other lines of work are having to do. And we have to defend ourselves, because SOME posters on here do love a pile-on when it comes to teaching.

16. Would you like a glass of wine?

Fuck yes, most of the time, actually. Care to join me?

Best post ever regarding teaching

And already we have a 'but my sister, brother, neighbour, bloke down the pub' ..... ffs

@pinkblanchmange

I don't really understand what was wrong with my message. It wasn't offensive or critical in any way. My point was that while I'm sure this message is true for many teachers it isn't true for all and the parents who are most likely to be concerned are the parents whose children aren't actually working.

People should be kind to each other but if you become overly defensive and try to quash all discussion you basically derail your own argument. You come across as someone who assumes all parents are wrong the second they open their mouth and that anything which happens in a school is beyond questioning.

🌺🌺🌺

But d9n't you know that someone's dogs daughter is a teacher and she just paints her nails ALL DAY and that trumps any other evidence at all?

Thankyou for the post OP. I really hate the bullying, hectoring tone and race to the bottom of the posts about teachers and it makes me wonder why I bother. Let's all just point any poster who wants to bitch here.

We could ask our individual schools, but most parents don’t want to be “that parent”.
Any parent asking a reasonable question politely wouldn't be "that parent".

"Those parents" are rude, confrontational, seeking to create conflict, want to throw their weight around, unreasonable.

So we wonder if we could get an answer from an anonymous forum, where a range of replies from teachers may give us likely answers. But we can’t get that because if we dare to ask these questions on MN, the thread gets deleted.
A question very specific to your child's school is best directed to the school who are best placed to answer it.
A thread asking how best to approach something with school will get lots of useful advice from posters on here, as do threads asking for support with remote learning.
A general 'anecdote + but what ARE teachers doing' is done purely to be goady.

Great post for us teachers

Fantastic
Can we just copy a link to this thread on all the others!

@Mintychoc1, you may well have to be that parent to get an answer that will be specific to you. As demonstrated by the numerous threads on this topic, there isnt a one size fits all for teaching, especially in today's circumstances. An anonymous forum cannot answer a question about your childs teacher isn't doing x, y or z. You can only get an answer from your school. Likely answers are not exact, so are not really very helpful.

Also, how do you know they are actual answers on here and not someone just making stuff up? Even if someone says they are a teacher, you have no way of knowing if they actually are.

So, if you have a similar question to q12 in the OP, ask your child's actual teacher. I certainly would be happy to explain in a way that is specific and true to your personal circumstances. And I say that as a teacher

I think the problem with a lot of these threads is that tecahers do get a lot of critisism and are doing a thankless job and I do think it's created an attitude where no one can question anything without being shouted down. This post is great at describing what's happening at your school but certainly isn't what's happening in all schools. I would imagine all schools are busy collating evidence for Y11s and Y13 but some are not really providing teaching for Y10 and Y12. Others are providing amazing resources for these years. It's not unreasonable for a parent who to question why their child isn't getting any sensible provision and another child is. There may be a reason for it that someone on here can answer (for example a decision made by the school, lack of resources in one school compared to another). There were actually some really nasty messages from teachers on the other thread (and I'm sure it came from a place of frustration and stress) towards people who were simply worried about their children's education.

Great post, OP!

Might I also add the caveats that:

1. We know we're not special.

1. We don't think our job is harder than any other job.

1. We fully appreciate that we still have jobs and are earning money.

1. We know that there are a small minority of teachers who apparently are doing nothing.

DD's teacher is terrible. She has been all year, that hasn't changed now. However her last three teachers are utterly wonderful, caring, hard-working and brilliant. I'm actually quite glad this year has been 'cancelled' because DD might escape the worse of the class mismanagement. I'm not going to assume all teachers are terrible based on one bad experience.

But a lot of the 'teacher-bashing' is based on fear and worry about children's outcomes. We are watching our children struggle, their whole world has been turned upside down and we are desperately trying to keep them safe, happy and progressing. Hardly surprising that people are casting around for someone to blame.

I work in housing BTW. I get called all the names under the sun every day. Trying to keep people safe and housed. I know it's stress.

Thank you x 100

Brilliant, brilliant post.

Thanks OP! This is a great thread, and much needed. I know I haven’t been working in the same way over recent weeks (even on the days when I have been in school), but I’ve just spent the past six hours wrestling with spreadsheets and having Zoom meetings with my colleagues, trying to sort out fair GCSE grades, and I don’t think I’ve ever experienced stress like it!

MyTwoLeftFeet
There's almost no shutting down of genuine questions.

There's lots of exasperation at posts to the effect of "I've decided X is crap. What ARE teachers doing?!"

In fact I'd go as far as to say there's certain things common with threads that are more goady than sincere questions:

• We've had no work, later clarified as they have been set work but the OP doesn't like it
• What are teacher actually doing?
• Some comment about pay and holidays
• They're just sitting around doing nothing
• Why am I having to do their job?
• Some silly digs about staff linking to decent online material rather than making their own almost identical version
• teachers not pulling their weight / should be doing their bit
• Why do teachers think they're so special/ work so much harder than anyone else?

If these crop up in the first 5 posts from an OP you can tell it's a thread designed to whip up a good old school bashing thread.

I cant believe people have actually asked question 10
I bet they wouldn't work for free.

Great post!

Nicely summed up, OP!

I know many teachers and I'm the only one I know of that's not working. But I'm also not getting paid! (I'm a self-employed peripatetic MFL teacher in multiple primary schools). However, even I am uploading some online French and Spanish quizzes for the children on Quizlet (on an entirely voluntary basis).

YES 👏 YES 👏YES 👏 YES 👏 YES 👏

MrsTerryPratchett

While it may be correct that people are looking someone to blame, it should never be justified that teachers in general feel that wrath. Yes an individual school or teacher may be to blame (in this case it should be taken up with them, not generalising all schools and teachers on an online forum).

Ever notice if anything goes wrong in healthcare it's the NHS and lack of government funding that gets blamed? If anyone has an issue with schools it's because teachers are lazy and work shy with long holidays.

Thank you so much OP, today has been miserable until this

If this OP could be a sticky, MN, that would be terrific. It could be standalone with replies locked, even.

Saoirse, as I said, I'm in housing and we are getting the exact same. I won't tell you the names I get called. It's not right, but during this period people are beyond stressed. We do a lot of talking about helping people manage their stress. People who were barely coping before are not coping now.

Not right, but understandable.

Saoirse7
It reminds me of the school threads of ye olde days on here.

OP: Here's a situation that I'm raging about and want to rant about it. Insert generalisations about teachers here.

Cheerleaders: yeah pitch forks at the ready, demand a meeting with the head, say you'll call Ofsted, teachers aren't gods you know, I won't tell my child to have blind obedience, there's too many teacher worshippers on here.

Teachers: umm, you could probably resolve this better by talking reasonably to the most appropriate member of staff, why not try that instead of frothing away on Mumsnet

Cheerleaders: See! We told you teachers think they are gods who should be worshipped. They are saints on here. Nobody is allowed to challenge teachers.

My best friend is a teacher. She has just really pissed me off by complaining about having to potentially go back to the class room in June. I said I would happily send my children if restrictions were lifted and apparently this would be disregarding the health of teachers and their own families.
The reason I am actually really upset about this is that my own staff are currently working front line with vulnerable families. They are on no where near the salaries teachers are and yet are still working, still going out to check children are ok. As are nurses, fire service, police. I do think that SOME teachers think that they are special and shouldn’t have to do this. Why??