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.

How do you know we're not, Yardley?
I am not about to slag off one of my colleagues at my school on the internet. I will keep it private and go through the proper channels, if I need to.
Although actually, my role is to do my job to the best of my ability and to the extent my HT requires (and beyond, often). What other people do is not really my business, but between them and the Head, unless it directly impacts me.

Yeah, I get that. Totally fair.

I kind of meant more on here, where teachers seem to get very aggressive with parents pointing out that some other teacher anywhere in the country who they don’t personally know at all is not doing any work.

Weird

There was pretty much nothing for the first 12 weeks. I know for a fact there have been a handful of key worker kids in school

Clearly there was a complaint because last week we were bombarded with a lot of work to do

Which is frankly unrealistic at best and lots of links to online things

Which I cannot do as I am using the laptop for work as is my husband

The system is unsupported on a tablet

I am going to complain and I never thought I would be that parent

That’s 2 schools plus your mates @Lardlizard .
SLT at those schools will have set out their requirements for provision during lockdown. What your children’s schools have provided is not good enough. But your sample is not representative of anyone else’s experience other than your own. It may have a lot in common with other people but it’s not the whole picture.
If I were to say ‘I’ve been working hard, so have my colleagues and the other teachers I know, therefore all teachers are working hard’ I’d be wrong too.
I’m sorry their provision has been poor. It shouldn’t fall to you to piece together a decent education for them at this time but if you want help and support and it’s not forthcoming from either school The Staffroom or Ed boards on here are good.

And there being nothing much provided then a massive amount is awful @puguin86 . My DS2 is autistic and that would send him over the edge. He freaks out at the list for the day and it’s been manageable until now!

One of the grundys, that’s why I said. “So I personally feel”

It’s just my experience

I don't think all teachers are lazy, but I do think the amount of work they do has been exposed during this time

Of course some are very dedicated and tbh I’ve always had alotnof support if I’ve ever posted any questions on the education boards which I’ve only done once or Twice but I’ve had excellent feedback there

For what it’s worth, my experience is very similar to Lardlizard.

@CallmeAngelina What other people do is not really my business, but between them and the Head, unless it directly impacts me Do all the posts on MN from frustrated parents about teachers doing very little during Covid not impact you?

@CallmeAngelina What other people do is not really my business, but between them and the Head, unless it directly impacts me

This mindset is the difference between the public and private sector.

I don't think all teachers are lazy, but I do think the amount of work they do has been exposed during this time
So to clarify @Lardlizard, you mean the amount of work lazy teacher do-not all teachers? That’s what I’m getting at. 😊

I don't think all teachers are lazy, but I do think the amount of work they do has been exposed during this time
As a hard-working teacher I’m going to change that to:
I don't think all teachers are lazy AND I do think the amount of work they do has been exposed during this time

Do you know what? If I added up all the hours over and above directed time I've done over the 30+ years I've been teaching, I reckon it's not the worst thing in the world to be doing a little bit less than normal at the moment. In fact, I'm probably "owed" a year or two more on these current hours.
My class is getting fabulous good-quality work provided at the moment, according to the feedback we're getting, so I'm really not going to worry about what some random MNers might think about the provision at their school.
Over and out.

so I'm really not going to worry about what some random MNers might think about the provision at their school Glad to hear it! 😁

Why aren’t the hard working teachers pissed off with the useless teachers?

Because we realise that there are human beings dealing with all kinds of crap going on behind the ‘my son’s teacher is doing fuck all’ claims. Life hasn’t stopped, has it? Today’s useless teachers are not necessarily always like that.

Which is frankly unrealistic at best and lots of links to online things

So you’ve now got lots of work but it’s unrealistic? And online stuff isn’t good enough?

Seriously, what is it you want teachers to do? Nothing we do is good enough.

Seems like most teachers have a lot less to do. Very few children of key workers are in my kids primary school. My kids have just had online work to do which isn’t checked. I don’t mind the lack of work but wish the teachers would be more honest about having a better time rather than getting defensive. My friend asked out having a weekly online meet-up but was told absolutely not in a very defensive way. On the other hand my kid at secondary school has had loads of work and online tests to check they have done the work which is great, sometimes a bit too much work but nothing is perfect!

Our teachers have had the same system as justpickle. Now they want to close on Fridays to plan.... That's fine but not sure why they didn't plan all lessons for just in case school opened in the 3 months they closed. Ours called once and emailed three times and sent weekly work which took the kids an hour a week tops to do! İ wasn't very impressed as i got lots of photos of the teachers going on walks and picnics and baking etc. Which is fine but i ahev been working from home and home schooling 4 kids and finding my own work because the school wasn't that interested.... İ know that's my choice but I expected more from the school to be honest. Even if it was just sending photo copied sheets would have been something or link some pdfs for us to print off... But 10 maths questions for the week. Six spellings and a paragraph worth of writing.... Ok

Yeah, FrenchSeal, that's exactly what we're all doing.

@Givingup123456

Our teachers have had the same system as justpickle. Now they want to close on Fridays to plan.... That's fine but not sure why they didn't plan all lessons for just in case school opened in the 3 months they closed. Ours called once and emailed three times and sent weekly work which took the kids an hour a week tops to do! İ wasn't very impressed as i got lots of photos of the teachers going on walks and picnics and baking etc. Which is fine but i ahev been working from home and home schooling 4 kids and finding my own work because the school wasn't that interested.... İ know that's my choice but I expected more from the school to be honest. Even if it was just sending photo copied sheets would have been something or link some pdfs for us to print off... But 10 maths questions for the week. Six spellings and a paragraph worth of writing.... Ok

Teachers don't plan like that. We know which topics etc we're going to teach but planning is specific to the group of children in front of you.

@FrenchSeal

It's clear to me that most teachers in state schools are doing very little at the moment. There's no reason why schools should not be offering full online lessons (obviously with DC being provided with the required technology if necessary).

As it stands, it seems like most teachers are simply emailing out a few worksheets and then putting their feet up in the garden!

You're not going to get online lessons. It's not a magic bullet anyway. There are very good reasons why they're not being universally offered but you're not prepared to listen to them. You have no clue what we're doing, some people have tried again and again to tell you but you're not interested. Whatever.

The more I read about the possible ways to continue teaching throughout this pandemic, the more I realise just how useless our primary school has been.

Can you explain how DC are to be provided with the required technology! Who is going to provide internet, computers, printers for children? We are still waiting for the promised laptops for extremely vulnerable children the government said we would receive, let alone for children who don't fall into the very restrictive category set.

You're not going to get online lessons. It's not a magic bullet anyway. There are very good reasons why they're not being universally offered but you're not prepared to listen to them.

And yet the plan in Scotland in August is a mix of school based and online lessons 🤷‍♀️

I am really disappointed in the lack of contact and input from my kids teachers during lockdown. The teacher posts one sheet of work per week which is little more than a list of online sites or suggestions of programmed they can watch. My husband and I are both working full time from home during lockdown and are really shocked the teachers are not making more of an effort. My DD is bored to tears with the work she is given so I am trying to think up educational fun tasks to supplement it. The teachers haven’t done anything to stay in touch or check how the kids are getting on either. No work is marked either. I think if I was a teacher of a class of 30 kids I would have made an effort to contact each one over the 10 week period. I think I would want to do that. I’m so disappointed in the whole thing.