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.

I’ve worked really hard. It might look to others or from social media that I’m not but that’s because I’m working at silly times to fit all of the work I need to do in. I have to fit around my husbands work and I have my item children to look after. I’m setting and marking work for 360 students (I only work 3 days), responsible for the pastoral care of 90, in school on a rota for let workers children, writing and off year reports, trying to work our what the priorities are for my curriculum when we get back and try to figure it how we bridge the gaps for those who haven’t engaged online without revisiting too much for those who have.
I’m on my knees.

@jumper1234

I work in school office. No teachers have been in the rota at our school just TA’s coming in for key worker kids. The teachers are supposed to be creating the home learning packs at home which then get emailed to the office staff to print off And collate for children to collect. There is also no direct line of communication for parents to teachers so this Happens with the office staff acting as a middleman. Half the work packs are worksheets and utterly crap, I’d say 50% of the teachers in my school are working hard and have set up lines of communication with their class parents, the others are seeing this as a very long holiday and have been useless!

How do you know? I don’t think the support staff at my school know what I am doing, why would they?

My DD is a teacher at an independent school and has done a full timetable since the school closed in March. She also has to work in the school once every two weeks. When she doesn’t have an online class she is preparing and marking.

I haven't voted because there is a third option.

Some teachers have been fuloughed. There ahve been several posts on here about furloughed teachers, so yes, those ones have had it easy really. (although I appreciate they may be worried about money etc)

All the teahcers I know have been working hard to provide work for kids, and many are doing that around their own kids being at home, with no childcare.

head teahcers are trying to balance the need for their staff to look after their own kids and the need to have them teach too.

I have been working 7.30 am - 5.30 pm every week day including the school holidays. I am SICK to death of teacher bashing. I've been working with vulnerable kids and key worker's children. None of which are normally in my class. People don't understand how hard it is to suddenly care for children with such complex needs, when you have no prior relationship with them. I've been shouted at, hit, had things thrown at me. It's been fucking hard work.

So, to all of those 'oh but my child's teacher hasn't done much therefore all teachers are doing nothing and it's a disgrace', will you kindly fuck the fuck off? I'm tired, missing my family and sick of all of your bullshit.

I reply to every query/comment. I mark work in huge detail. I taught direct object pronouns today and had to rest each it with tons of examples. I’m doing the Centre Assessed Grades again this week because suddenly the exam boards want it done a certain way but only told us just before half term! I have 3 zoom or otherwise meetings tomorrow. It’s a bit manic!

Saying that, a colleague was moaning that she wanted to go shopping tomorrow morning. I was like ‘Love, you’re being paid for working full time!’ Didn’t actually tell her because she’s really lovely, but work is surely the priority?!

Speaking to friends and neighbours, some primary schools have given the kids nothing to do/aren’t responding, which astounded me. What are they doing?

Because I’ve seen the state of the packs they’ve put together and have to take the calls of their disgruntled class parents who need more support/better resources. Believe me it’s fairly evident when someone isn’t doing what they could or even should be

I work part time (3 days a week) and I’ve had to do some work every day, even at the weekend and over the holidays. I’m tired!

Yep several friends doing fuck all. They are not bothered as work stupid hours and pay a fortune in glue sticks whilst in work.

However made up for by the non dispensable staff in on the rota the whole time plus Easter/ HalfTerm.Clearly doing way too much..

I'll be honest. I've done FA. I'm in three days a fortnight with keyworker children, and spent 1 day a fortnight setting and marking homework tasks. Also spent a few hours doing school reports.

But apart from that, nothing.

I work in a special needs school it has been open the whole of lockdown I certainly haven’t had things easy. I have been with children less days (on a rota system) but on the other days required to do zoom lessons etc. The only bonus for me has been finishing earlier as not had meetings etc after school. I have had added stress as trying to work out what to do with social distancing etc when more children are back in, not an easy ask with special needs children.

@Cherrysoup yep this is similar to ours it’s a real mixed bag. Also a lot of the kids have been bringing in their completed work and no one is marking or following up on it as far as I can tell.

On the other hand my childs school has been amazing. Lots of work a variety of online and paper resources and a direct email provided for his class teacher so I can flag anything up with her.

I have been setting work for my Yr 5 class, not marking but supporting them on Teams, doing research for cpd, writing endless documents, planning lessons, making powerpoints and writing pre and post learning assessments for next year. All, apart from the first two, I would normally be expected to do in the evening, at weekends or in the holidays. I have used my time productively.

I have been bored, because this is not what I signed up for. You can be busy and bored. If I had wanted a job that was all paperwork, then I would have followed that route.

I have worked fewer hours because my usual workload is excessive. Honestly, I feel as if I stepped off a treadmill for a while. But don't worry, I'm back in school now, trying to teach 3 year groups in one bubble whilst supporting my class. And next year is going to be hell - you'll get your money's worth - if we don't all walk that is.

The schools I work for the teaching staff have worked full time delivering lessons as time tabled.

I know someone else who admits they only do three hours on a morning and have spent there time doing major renovations on their house.

My sons teachers have responded to no emails or given feedback in work set.

I think it very much depends on the school.

I've been on full timetable teaching all lessons online. Preparation has been time consuming making it suitable for on line.

We are marking all work and giving feedback. Most students are working in the proper lesson time but some are working in evenings so emails,hangouts are pretty relentless.

I have contact with over 150 students a week (secondary and sixth form).

I am personal tutor to 30 and have contact with these students on a 1-2-1 basis each week.

We are having weekly meetings to check on vulnerable students and their progress

We have also set mock weeks for year 10's and year 12's and the mocks are all being marked.

There have been many standardisation meetings to help with predicted grades for year 11 and year 13. Vocational just finished and GCCSE and A levels before halfterm.

We obviously have not had to attend parents evening and open evenings so that has been a bonus. Not having to travel to work has saved me some time though.

Headteacher with a teaching commitment and I haven't found the past 11 weeks easy.
I've been setting work for my class, monitoring a googleclassroom and responding immediately to queries from the children. I've also included my self on the rota for the hub school as I would never ask my staff to do anything that I wouldn't do.
I've been trying to help the families of our vulnerable pupils, coordinating free schools meals vouchers and making welfare calls.
On top of that I've been dealing with all the admin and extra organisation that school closure has caused.

I'm planning my lessons, delivering my lessons via Teams and marking the work - business as usual without the commute. Have been doing so for the duration of lockdown and will continue to do so until the end of term.

Come September, all the kids at the school I work in are expected to be more or less where they should be with regard to the curriculum.

So am I having it easy? No - no commute is great, but teaching live lessons remotely is exhausting and marking online is slow. Can't wait to get back into the classroom and see the kids again.

’It’s a bit confusing how some posters are working double the hours they usually work - that would suggest something amiss either with your school or time management‘

I’m not sure what’s so confusing about an increased workload during a pandemic with a short notice closure when in order to continue providing an educational experience you have to:

a) teach yourself how to use an online teaching platform that you’ve never had cpd on.
b) Have to create teams and populate them with all of your pupils.
c) Have to support pupils in how to use the platform that they’ve not used before either.
d) have to create and adapt new lessons that are suitable for home learning using the new digital format.
e) have increased workload from the exam board who needed us to work on estimates due to no longer having exams.
f) Create work for all year groups that is suitable for home learning without ICT.
g) start new courses for those with their exams cancelled- this wouldn’t normally happen until June.

None of those are me being poor at time management or the fault of my school.
Perhaps you should be a bit more respectful about the fact that many teachers have being going above and beyond working more than usual to try and provide support and resources for young people and their families during this time instead of implying they can’t manage their time of there is an issue with their school.

My DC teacher has uploaded homework on the app every day and then commented completed homework with sentences like "well done" or an emoji. Never seen the TA on the app.
We had zero phone calls or emails and have been asked to not contact teachers during half term. We had one half an hour zoom call with the class during the whole time on lockdown.
IME they had a very easy time and definitely not busy.

I feel a bit less busy but I think that is mainly because some parts of my job disappear when the students are working from home - so marking and planning takes a similar amount of time (a bit longer on reality), but I have no commute, no standing in a queue for the photocopier, no setting up/tidying my room, no break duty, no interruptions from other staff, no meetings. I've probably even said I'm bored, but that's not really the right word, it's more I miss the best part of my job - the interactions with the students, it's not the same planning resources and then waiting for them to submit online.

I have been a lot less busy than usual.

Very much WFH here. Have to be available during usual timetabled lessons via email, marking and student feedback, adapting resources for online use, zoom meetings and using any extra time to prep for September. My teacher friend in a different school has been doing mostly DIY at home so it does depend on school.

Christ alive.

Where's the daily thread asking what all those lazy dentists are doing? Or the bone-idle GPs who aren't doing face to face appointments?

What about all those lazy fuckers who have been furloughed and aren't allowed to work??? (Like my DH )

My tongue is firmly in my cheek here as I wouldn't presume to know what many other professions have been doing, but yet again, yet another thread casting aspersions on teachers. Not a day goes by when teachers aren't harangued / criticised / negatively portrayed as lazy moaning bastards. Frankly, some may be, but a great many really aren't and are busting their arses actually trying to help hold things together for your kids & many vulnerable families out there.

Yeah, some of whom may have had an easier workload the past few months. Like many other professions.

However, very many have never worked harder and are at fucking breaking point especially with the constant negativity and criticism about what they should or shouldn't be doing and how shit they are, however hard they try.

It may be that your kids' current or future teacher has been working their arse off and has just had enough of the constant barrage of criticism & even now is thinking about throwing the towel in. Then the education system will be even more fucked than it is now....

My Aunty is a part time teacher and has not had anything to do since lockdown.

I only work part time, but I’m definitely working more hours than usual. I was at my makeshift desk today from 9am - 9:30pm. Stopped to make the kids’ dinner, but that’s it. They’ve been left to amuse themselves all day. They went to bed still in their pyjamas. My bum actually hurts from spending so long sitting! Everything just takes so much longer and there are so many tech issues. At 8:30pm I opened an email from a pupil in a panic about an assignment. I replied straight away. I really am doing my best and so is everyone else in my department. The resources I use in class aren’t suitable for the pupils to use from home, so I’ve had to adapt everything.

I’d imagine there are some teachers who are having an easier life though. I know of one who cuts and pastes work from a few weeks ago and issues it again. To the same classes!

There’s an entire department in my school refusing to answer pupils’ emails as they don’t have time, but one member passes my window every day several times, walking her dog.

My kids’ teachers are working like trojans. They post work and feedback 24/7, even at the weekend! I feel like telling them to take a break.

So in my experience, it’s a mixed bag.