To think it’s about time @MNHQ stepped up and did something about the teacher bashing.

[SachaStark]

This evening has been AWFUL here on the AIBU board.

@MNHQ, at what point do you actually plan to intervene and do something about the sheer number of teacher bashing threads, and individual posts? Should we expect any kind of moderation?

Or, is this in fact, “all in the spirit of Mumsnet”? Because at the moment, you’re making it look a darn sight like you agree by proxy.

All the others have just been an excuse to have a good bitch about an entire profession, even after it’s explained what teachers have been doing this whole time

Yeah but the thing is there you go with generalisations again. You have no idea what ALL teachers are doing so how on earth could you explain it?

I know for a fact at least ten teachers in ds1s school are working their bollocks off daily, evidenced by the amount of excellent work, feedback and contact he’s getting.

I have no idea what ds2’s Y5 teacher is doing but the evidence I have (zero contact, feedback or marking plus plenty of Facebook posts of sunny garden days with her dc - my sister is a friend of hers) suggests very bloody little.

Like I said, I’ve only read two original posts with actual queries asking for help. Maybe I’ve not been around when the genuine posters have been asking.

By the evening, it tends to all turn into, “The school should provide more, why are there no live lessons, what are the teachers doing all day?!?!”

From my own point of view, my son has had one assignment per week from a couple of subjects, not all. English has a massive push on reading, so just tells them to read, which he hates, so hasnt done. Maths we've had about 2 assignments in the whole of lockdown. Every day he logs on then logs off again, saying "nope, nothing today"...I've checked, he is right. He is at High school. I've had friends tell me their children get 2 hours of work a day. I'm not laying that at the teachers door, I think its a school thing.

LolaSmiles Oh dear... I totally missed that! Can you link to the thread it originated in, please? I feel as though a search for 'daffodils' will be overwhelming.

Of course I’ve got a good idea of what LOADS of teachers are doing. More than you at over 200 teachers I am in direct contact with. No, I can’t claim to know the movements of every single teacher across the country, I don’t think anyone does.

Sufficed to say, they aren’t all doing nothing, and why are we paying their wages, as lots of MN posters like to say.

Sorry if you’ve got one rubbish one, have you contacted them yet?

@Babbas

Find adequate ways of remote teaching or get the fucking schools open. That is my message to senior leadership.

I think you missed the word "safely" out of that....

You're totally right about what many of the threads turn into though OP.

I think some of the genuine advice threads start exasperated or worried and then the OP gets some genuine answers and good discussion continues.

It's such a shame that a lot of posters see a thread about school at the moment and treat it as an opportunity to whip up confrontation and get their teacher bashing done rather than actually help others. It destroys threads.

Absolutely correct, @LolaSmiles.

It’s possible to have a mixed experience.

My y10 is working hard, state school doing what they can. No online lessons. Great email from the head saying yes, y10 can come back, we are sorting it out. Phone call from form teacher, work being marked to some extent. Tests set and recorded.

It’s shit for Y10 but I think it’s also shit for their teachers. They are no doubt worried, doing what they can. They’ll have a lot to catch up on. Both the head and certain subject teachers in constant email contact.

Primary - much less so. Even allowing for the fact it’s probably harder to teach this group remotely. Lots of jaunty emails from the head describing how busy they’ve been that day. A bit of a snippy email telling parents off for phoning the school, followed by a decision to stop manning the phones (I’ve never phoned the school). No reply to individual emails. One email expressing doubt they could open safely on June 1st. Puzzled me because there will be six classes spread into six rooms. I can see they can’t expand to include other years, though.

Class teacher does reply, sets worksheets every night and says thank you for anything sent in. It’s not an education though.

I am fortunate that my younger child is in Y6 and would have effectively finished most of the primary curriculum anyway. But if I didn’t have the level of education, the time, or the inclination/imagination to teach her, she’d be out of the habit of learning. I’d be worried if my child was Y5 in the same school.

This is not teacher bashing. This is a description of the situation. I find the high school has a ‘can do’ attitude and works proactively. It’s not perfect but I’m happy with it. I find the primary attitude very different.

The thing is - teachers are the ‘face’ of the education system, which has a huge amount of users and interested parties. Whilst it might be unfair, I think to an extent it’s also ‘natural’ or expected that a lot of general dissatisfaction would be aimed towards the ‘face’ of the system. It’s down to the individual to not take it personally.

I work for a bank in a semi customer-facing role. I get ‘blamed’ daily for all sorts by those I speak to - money laundering drug lords in Cuba, the financial crash, shitty interest rates, bankers bonuses, branches closing.

I’m the ‘face’ of the bank and although the majority of the crap I hear is bog all to do with me, I do ‘expect’ these gripes to come at me.

I don’t take it personally because I’d never survive in my profession if I did.

I’ve just realised something.

The staff in my primary school treat us (parents) as though we are children. Speak when spoken to, don’t criticise, don’t ask, don’t expect a response. Also saying ‘we are really really busy’ and expect us to believe this blindly with no evidence. There’s a real lack of mutual respect.

The high school treat us as though we are grown ups. Mutual respect, accountability etc.

Is there something in this? Are we having issues with our primary schools because they are used to the sort of crowd control that works for primary children?!

And yet we come on MN and all we read is moaning from teachers

I have seen very few threads started by teachers, and none started by teachers in order to “moan”.

I have seen lots of teachers responding - defending themselves and their colleagues and eventually getting fed up of answering the same questions over and over again. Perhaps that’s what you mean by “moaning”.

I have seen very few threads started by teachers, and none started by teachers in order to “moan”.

I take it you haven't been to the Staffroom recently?

I’m going to have a look in the staff room! Do we have to knock?

I think what you (and other teachers) fail to understand is the pressure parents are under just now. Financial worries, WFM, redundancy, illness and on top of that are trying their best to give children an education

@Nicknacky. Seriously? No teachers have financial concerns, WFM, redundancy, illness and on top of that are trying their best to give their children an education?

This is my personal top hate at the moment - an assumption that somehow teachers are not living the same lives as everyone else. We are. We are also ill, we may still have our jobs but our partners, friends and family might not, we may be facing losing our homes, have concerns about getting COVID, be trying to shield people, be up at 2am trying to get a supermarket slot etc etc etc. And have our own children at home who also need educating. Some of us are doing lockdown alone, with or without children, some of us are desperately trying to support elderly parents, or are worried about loved ones who have cancer and aren’t getting treatment....

Why do you think that isn’t the case? Do you think you would be doing your job to the best of your abilities if your husband was in hospital? Or your dementia-ridden parent was banging on the windows to get out or you were chasing after an 18 month old? Does this maybe explain why some teachers might not be giving teaching their all right now? Just as plenty of other people working from home are doing their best but are fully aware it’s simply not the same as being in the workplace?

We are led to understand teachers usually do a lot of marking out of hours, ie in their own time...so it could be questioned why marking isnt being done now. I'm not saying it should be done in their own time but a lot of teachers say it is. Certainly a lot will be parents and caring for their own families but I think it is reasonable to think they could be doing some work setting and marking. I dont think its unreasonable to think that. So the question is, what are they being told to do by slt? Are they being told to do a minimal amount, and some take this literally?

I take it you haven't been to the Staffroom recently?

I was referring mainly to the Coronavirus and AIBU boards, where the more contentious threads seem to be.

I’m going to have a look in the staff room! Do we have to knock?

Yes, it's hidden now.

Our school also initially had the chat availability on teams so as children could ask teachers questions, now that's been turned off. Parents cant contact them either, we only have the availability of one email address.

I don't understand why teachers are vilified in general, least of all now.

I've only met one or two bad teachers in all my time at school and DCs time at school. I rather suspect that they were just unpleasant people in everyday life so would have been bad at whatever job they were doing.

The teachers at my DCs school genuinely care about my kids, they have answered every concern I've had about the lockdown with empathy and patience and have taken the time to send individual messages via email and Tapestry to both of them. They are sending work home and not being mean if we don't manage to complete it.

So, if it helps at all, I think you are all amazing. Thank you.

Howaboutanewname So why don’t you start having more empathy towards the parents then if you “understand”?

If teachers don’t reply that solves the problem. Mumsnet is like this in general. Everyone thinks different things and we have no control over it anyway what will be will be.

I can’t understand how Some schools can just make themselves effectively uncontactable.

Technically still contactable, however no reply to emails. Can you imagine if parents did that? So much for working in partnership! In my primary it’s starkly evident now that there’s not much partnership. It’s a good job we areY6 because my view of the school has changed and I can’t reverse it.

I was referring mainly to the Coronavirus and AIBU boards, where the more contentious threads seem to be.

I don't think they are contentious though. Parents are worried about their children's education, they compare what's been done in other schools and it seems provisions vastly differ.

I'm mostly working from home and I have been working my socks off during lockdown. I'm really glad my children are not of school age anymore, it would have been really difficult to act as teacher as well.

What empathy is it I am supposed to have exactly @Nicknacky? What exactly do you want from me?
.i work my normal hours plus planning and marking. I am teaching live. I am quite literally ignoring my own children whilst I do that (single parent). I am reporting concerns through established channels about children who do not turn up for lessons, who are turning in poor quality work, who have said something in a lesson about an ill relative, or anything else. In what way am I lacking in empathy?

You are demanding that teachers do more, despite saying you recognise we have all the same concerns as anyone else. Yet you want me to do even more work and give your children an even better education? Am I not having enough empathy when I ignore my own children for the good of hours?

FFS. All,about you.