To feel like parents aren't allowed to criticise teachers anymore?

[velaryon]

I have the utmost respect for the teaching profession, especially the hard work and dedication of many teachers despite a pandemic and nationwide lockdown.
But at the same time, I've seen a lot of parents genuinely concerned about the teaching & communication at their DC's school who were immediately accused of 'teacher bashing' and being too lazy to teach their own children.
AIBU to think this is absolutely ridiculous?
I don't see anything wrong with questioning the level of teaching a school is providing, provided it's done in a sensitive and understanding way. IMO it's ridiculous how quickly someone is accused of teacher bashing for asking a legitimate question.

I'm so glad I dont teach any more.
I think it can be difficult to manage the differing expectations of parents even in one class.
Using homework as an example from when I was teaching:
Too much
Too little
Too hard
Too easy
The child didn't know anything about it and said they'd never been taught the topic (this was never true)
They didn't have (insert any piece of equipment) at home.

@IcanandIwill but why do you want to come on to an anonymous public forum to complain about the quality of work your child is being set? That's a personal issue between you and your DCs school. Absolutely nobody can help you on MN, or any other public forum, so why would you feel as though you're having any of your rights taken away by not being able to just wildly complain about your issues to anybody who will listen? Why not just do something productive to resolve the problem you're having??

It just looks a bit wet. Teachers are not an oppressed minority
Engage with discussions or hide threads.

@Mistressiggi
Feel free to keep twisting my words
Chill bruh

Engage with discussions? You just want to have a go. Fair enough. Go for it. When teachers post and try to explain we are ignored. Yeah. Ok. Whatever. The problem is some parents think they are customers and qualified to comment on teacher ‘quality’ ... you’ve got to laugh really.

@LaureBerthaud
Not a teacher.
But supporting the children and managing the expectation of parents is a start for what teachers ate currently doing.

I'm making upwards of 50+ calls a week. It takes HOURS. And I don't have to try and "teach" in between

No twisting required Pinkk, that's what you wrote. The rest of your post means nothing to me as I'm not 14.

I really agree about the flowers.

It’s like sticking your fingers in your ears and going ‘la la la.’

Daffodil it’s about as productive as trying to explain things to some of you.

My DH is a teacher (years 9 to 13) and is teaching 6 lessons a day from our kitchen. He is bloody knackered. Online teaching is all new to him and he is up every night until 11.30, perfecting lesson plans for the next day.
Despite this, he still has parents emailing in, every day, offering advice on how to adapt the lesson to suit their particular child.

DD is a TA who was all set to start a PGCE in Sept, but actually, after spending a year in a school and seeing the realities of teaching, she has decided it's not for her and has quit before she even started.

@Mistressiggi YEET

Thank you YounghillKang That’s exactly right.

It’s like sticking your fingers in your ears and going ‘la la la

Exactly!
I've got no beef with teachers but the flower thing is lame.

We get one word doc a fortnight, telling us to go and research a topic, do some maths on white rose, read with our child and not forget to do some exercise. That’s it. Have had a couple of v short videos (less than 2 mins). Not a single phone call. Nothing interactive, no zoom classes. The teacher is not marking anything, and is in school once every 2/3 weeks. This isn’t acceptable.
And before you ask, I’ve rung the school 3x to constructively raise my concerns, and twice have submitted questions via the parent forum. Zilch in response.

As lame as the constant whining and goading going on here? Not even close. Teachers are choosing to disengage. You might want to ask yourself why.

PS I also think the bloody flowers are childish. Either engage in the discussion or hide the thread.

This is all a bit ridiculous.

I have two dc in the same school. One teacher has been genuinely phenomenal. I don’t know how she does it. Zoom classes, detailed work, and keeping up to date with each individual child.

The other compared to her has been pretty useless but I think anyone would look useless compared to her lol!

He’s fine. My dc isn’t getting a lot of work but the world is still turning and things are what they are.

I don’t know what he’s going through. Maybe he’s just not as capable or as quick to adapt to a completely unprecedented situation. He’s human and I have no reason to think he’s not doing his best.

My child will survive his “lack of teaching”. Nothing catastrophic is going to happen because he’s giving minimal work.

The hand wringing and angst is insane! So too is the insistence that “teachers” are a hive mind, all acting the same way, all doing the same thing.

Like any profession, some will do better than others. I don’t get the need to constantly bitch about teachers and to rather bizarrely lump every single teacher in together!

Just...why??

Although yes, the flower thing is pretty cringey! 😂

Are those flowers the new biscuits.

Why don’t you criticise the Dfe? I mean this is a profession which struggled to recruit pre-corona. What if the problem is that the govt made so much work (eg safeguarding responsibilities, large class sizes) that people quit after a few years?

Why are people surprised that there is variation in provision? Because the academies system means that schools can be more independent and choose to spend their budget in different ways? Some would choose good IT platform, some do more SEN help, some a bigger range of subjects.

I thought I heard somewhere that Oak academy was started by teachers in their spare time - not sure if that is right. But shouldn’t we be applauding that? How many people research and implement secure IT solutions for high risk groups on top of their day jobs?

Honestly, the flowers are awful, you guys should drop them. I think you started giving them out in good faith, as solidarity. Unfortunately now Whenever I see them, it makes be think that what they actually mean is ‘I’m not listening’ or ‘I can’t think of answer’ or ‘I’m not going to debate this, just because.’

jimmygrimble please explain what you have tried and failed to explain to me. If you knew me in real life, I don’t think you’d call me hard of thinking.

Can I criticise your parenting op?

‘Can I criticise your parenting op?’
No, you can’t. She’s not being paid to deliver her parenting as a public service to you and your family, is she? Teachers on the other hand are being paid, and as is borne out by this and so many other threads, SOME teachers are doing a great job, and OTHERS are totally failing to deliver the service they are paid for. And parents (many of whom are working full time) are worried and exasperated. WHY can’t teachers acknowledge that? Not every teacher’s output during lockdown has been wreathed in gold.

Under normal circumstances, I don't think genuine concerns expressed properly are an issue. Complaining about teaching during a global pandemic isn't fair IMO. This isn't a time to complain.

I'm sure all the teacher bashers will be pleased to know that they're contributing to that number continuing to rise.

There is a really defensive attitude by teachers on here during normal life and any concern is called teacher bashing.

If teachers are driven to suicide, then it's not the job for them...a higher degree of resilience is required in this job...and I have family members who are teachers.

I recall a thread where a mum said the teacher hit her DS on the head with a book and teachers were still trying to justify it, because he wasn't paying attention.

This is a parenting site, so it stands to reason that they will be a lot of interaction with teachers...hence a high number of concerns expressed.

That said, I really wouldn't express any concerns to be raised at the moment....it's just not the time to expect much in terms of teaching.