Did any teachers have it easy over last 11 weeks?

[PicaK]

I nearly lost my shit yesterday with someone who insisted most teachers have had an easy life and not doing a proper day's work during Covid.
I'm not a teacher but many friends are and I don't know any who haven't had a full workload. It's absolutely not the message that's coming across on social media either. Most teachers saying they've done more work.
But then I wondered if my snapshot was accurate.
Does anyone personally know any teacher who has coasted/had an easy ride? (I am not talking about your kids' teachers who you have opinions about but friends or family where you have more insight.)
I'm hoping it's a no tbh and I feel justified for feeling so put out.
Aibu
Yes - yeah the teachers I know have had it easy
No - you're right all the ones I know have worked as much if not more.

Secondary teachers seem to have been busier than ever between online learning and calling vulnerable kids. The primary teachers seem to have mostly been looking after their own kids and I haven't heard any complain about weekend work. Maybe some primary teachers were furloughed though, I didn't ask.

@MsTSwift

Oh, so it’s bitterness! Gotta ya.

The topic of teachers is always so tetchy!

People on the attack and teachers so defensive.

Lots of industries have hard workers alongside those who take the easy road.

It’s probably a chicken and egg thing - people assume teacher have it easy because of the holidays and shorter teaching days, teachers defend their position, people say teachers think they work harder than everyone else and it goes on and on.

In my group of Professional friends the teacher don’t work the longest or the shortest hours. But they do complain the most😊. I think it an inbuilt defence incase any of think they are slacking - which we don’t.

Sorry? Your Post makes zero sense. No not bitter. Just abit surprised at lack of provision from school. I understand government told teachers to focus on childcare and supporting vulnerable families and to park education. Which is kind of strange to me as we 9 weeks in and schools are there to educate unless I’m missing something

I've definitely been able to be more flexible with my time. However, I've been teaching a full timetable (minus my Y13 classes) via zoom, and doing all the marking and planning that goes along with it, so I'm still busy.

I also have pastoral responsibilities so I've been in frequent meetings and up to my eyeballs in emails; what's missing is the face to face contact with pupils, which is my favourite part of my job!

I'm probably working fewer hours overall, but I'm definitely not doing nothing. I'd also usually give up a week of Easter and a week of Summer to accompany school trips, which have been cancelled, so I'm getting time back there (though I'd rather go on the trips!).

I'm a teacher, welfare manager and safeguarding lead. I've been busier than I've ever been.

Sorry, forgot to add I also worked over the Easter and Half-Term holidays, and my salary is pro-rata'd to term-time only so this was unpaid.

Teacher here. I am working my full hours but I structure my day a little differently to fit around my family. I am getting up at 3am to get in 3-3.5 hours of solid planning/prep work done in peace and quiet.
The other 3 hours are then during normal office hours and involved answering emails, making contact, recording stories etc.
However, I do have (mostly) my evenings back. On the whole, the weekends have been my own too, although there have been occasions where I have needed to deal with something.

Normally, as with all teachers, the evenings, weekends and a significant part of the holidays is taken up by school work. Unseen by many, but vital to get the job done well.

Lockdown has made me reaslise the injustice of this. The number of people who have come out of the woodwork, pitchfork in hand, demanding teachers lose pay over not providing enough work. Where are these people during normal times? Why are they not so passionate about demanding pay that reflects the numbers of hours worked rather than the number of hours in contact with their child? Surely the pendulum swings both ways.

Anyway as a result I have resigned. I am no longer going to teach. Which is a massive shame. I have been teaching since 2001, when ofsted still graded individual teachers I was always graded outstanding. In fact a HMI cried observing one of my lessons because of the lovely relationship I had with my children. I have had colleagues bring their child into our school to be taught be me. I have delivered CPD to other teachers in and out of our LA. I care about each and everyone of my children to the point I have spent my own money on resources and in some cases shoes and uniform.

Now I have reaslised how much this is taken for granted and it has left a bitter taste in my mouth. I miss my own children and I have enjoyed the time (my own, non-paid time) that I have managed to claw back to be with them.
So goodbye teaching, hello a job where I get paid for the hours I work. Don’t worry I will be replaced by a nice enthusiastic yet inexperienced NQT so at least the children will have a good supply of glue sticks next year with the money they save on me even if their learning isn’t what it could have been.

That would be the same people who think teachers only work from 9 till 3.30 with an hour off for lunch. Or find homeschooling two kids completely exhausting.

My sister is a secondary teacher and she has had approx half a day's work per week.

Well, I’ve had it very easy, as I’m a self-employed supply teacher so I’ve essentially had 6 weeks off, unpaid.

My best friend is middle management with a full teaching timetable in a secondary school: whenever I have seen her on video chats during lockdown, she has just looked HOLLOW. Like, there’s nothing left. She hasn’t been sleeping much either, I think. Too much anxiety about the vulnerable kids at home, and too many nasty emails from parents demanding a full school day of online lessons, which it wouldn’t be possible to give, anyway.

We get an email a day zero other input no submission of work or marking or any feedback or contact whatsoever. For 9 weeks. Making no comment but that’s our reality

I've seen both sides - teachers (especially SLT) who are on their knees with exhaustion. Same for business team.

My friend and SIL are both HLTAs and have been off the whole time on full pay, just checking emails once a day. I keep getting pictures of them sunbathing. The primary one has gone back now.

[quote NeverTwerkNaked]@PurpleFlower1983 but people in other professions with children still have to.[/quote]
Completely agree! They’ve found it hard and had to adapt their working patterns too I’m sure.

If fact if I were to be backpaid for all of the hours I’d worked unpaid, since starting teaching in 2001 I could retire now!

HLTA here and ICT/computing/online safety coordinator and online safety safeguarding.

I've been really busy - working longer hours than contracted for including out of school hours. I'm overseeing all the home learning, plus supporting staff in how to use the software and equipment to produce the materials to go out,

All of our teachers have been busy - either producing home learning materials - all of our English, maths, phonics and hose has been created 'in house' rather than using bite size, etc, with videos and the like. They've also been in school in on rota supervising KW children, and doing other school admin stuff,

The LSAs have been in on rota too and some have been making home learning materials for their key intervention groups, or videos of them reading stories, etc. Some have been more busy than others but all have given up holiday time too.

Our Learning Mentor and SEND lead have been incredibly busy, as has the head. Other staff, teachers and LSAs, have supported this at times too in various ways.

The office and building staff are in school full time working hard.

We've been a busy school. No one is sitting around doing nothing. I guess some staff may have had more spare time than previously, but most haven't. Some are wfh entirely but still working.

Thank you to all the hard working primary school teachers out there. You are amazing. I wish you taught my DD.

My older DD’s secondary teachers have been amazing. She has SN and they have been in regular contact checking in on us. Providing advice on how to get DD to engage and produce the work required.

What I find unacceptable that teachers in the same school can be so variable in the support they provide. There are 3 classes per year so some children in the same year group are getting more support than others.

In general teachers work too many hours I agree but that isn’t an excuse to do nothing when families need support now.

My 10 year old boys have zoom class every day. Work for the week is given via Google class and I upload their homework for marking daily...and it is marked...suggestions given etc everyday.
They get a project and a book every week so I just download that to my kindle for them.
Out of 30 in the class prob 23 are present every day which is great.
Both of the boys teachers are definatly working like crazy.
My dd is in secondary and she s been guven more work than ever. And again marked etc
All told we could be the office for 5 hrs every day and that s doing the bare min...
So I get ixl stuff done at weekends with them

The one thing most have have had is increased flexibility as to when to do things, and more have their weekends back compared to in term time normally. And more are managing to take their proper lunch break,

So though I'm working longer hours overall, I now can take a nice walk in the middle of the day ( I have my phone apps to be able to respond to parent or pupil enquiries on the move.) I can then catch that hour up later in the day.

However, I wouldn't post it in SM I case a parent saw it and used the fact that I'd posted a sunny picture of a walk against me doing nothing and having all this free time.

My flatmate is primary and has played video games since lockdown appart from the one day aweek he had to do four hours. Hes now back and has been getting to school for 7am so I guess hes making up for it 😀. He said only half the glass have gone back.

I two close friends who are primary teachers. They are definitely kept busy enough, but it's very different from their usual work. They are on a rota to work in hub schools and deliver food parcels, and also putting work up online for their own classes, doing reports etc from home.

They are in an easier position than many though as they dont have their own children to look after at the same time.

We have staff rewriting policies, updating scemes of work, delivering paper learning packs to families with no computers and organising food parcels for those who are struggling financially - all AS WELL as online teaching, safeguarding and whatever else it is we’ve been asked to do. There is no sitting around here, as lots of us also have children to home school at the same time.

I know expectations vary from school to school but my experience has been a busy (and positive) one.

In terms of the teachers at my sons’ primary school, I know up till now they’ve not had more than single figures of key worker children in on any day, out of 170ish kids enrolled at the school,
20ish staff.

Two teachers max in each day plus the head most days. All the teachers have done a weekly home school pack (emailed) which is not very well thought out and I imagine took them an hour tops. Most of us don’t have printers. I’m really disappointed with the lack of direct engagement - we had one phone call back in April and nothing since. My dh tells me they will be busy doing xyz, it may well be true but it very much looks like most have been receiving full pay for doing very little. I know a few have shielding so can’t have been in but that doesn’t excuse lack of engagement -the rest of us have all had to embrace remote working not sure why teachers are different.
To cap it all off school has now said that yr r child cannot return to school after previously suggesting that he could.
Given all the above I’m pretty cross.

Ps to echo others, thanks to all of those teachers who’ve continued to work hard through this. I know that many have done an amazing job.

Some of the teachers I know are working a lot, and some are mostly doing nothing. It’s not their fault though, it’s the lack of guidance from the government.