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.

Am sure there are teachers working hard...however with the most objective balanced view on our individual experience with our 8 year old it has been very very disappointing...1 Zoom class since mid March...a list of tasks given out on a Monday...virtually no feedback...no answer to clear requests...a like and a smiley face on Class DoJo every so often...but lots of stories of the lovely time she is having with her children. There were so many opportunities for the teacher and head to shine but sadly this did not happen.

@Boulshired

It’s not the worry of how much teachers are doing or not doing but the impact on children as its seems very inconsistent.I don’t think many people care about the workload of dentist unless they have toothache.

Exactly this. Also it’s not exactly helpful when both parents are supposed to work full time and teacher just sends a ton of links and nothing else. No videos, no zoom calls, just instructions for the parents, no real marking or feedback but orders to complete everything by midday every day. So fed up.

My sister in law hasnt done a single thing. She told the school she couldn't go in or work from home as she had to look after her own three children who are 11, 9 and 7. My brother is working from home though and he has always done most of the childcare when they are both home. Plus I'm sure lots of other teachers are working in the evenings when children are in bed etc.
I'm not impressed with this but its normal for her. Very lazy.
I wouldnt describe any other teacher I know as lazy though.

@Saturdayrabbit42 our experience has been the same. So frustrating. And then the commenr that teachers are on well deserved half term break

Also pretty certain our teacher broke lockdown rules as she moved to her holiday home and the beginning of lockdown and then back to her apartment (she told the kids on videos on dojo)

Think different schools have reacted differently.
Know of some primary’s which have been very proactive. Ours has only supplied ‘to do’ lists. The kids have had no communication apart from weekly letters from head. It’s a small school so some teachers have only been in max 1 day a week for keyworker provision.
DS is in yr 6 and there is zero induction for High School planned for summer term and they’re not even starting back even a day early to get acclimatised.
If our local teachers have been busy I’d be interested to know with what.

However they will now be busy with the socially distanced return.

@justjesting

Me. I teach 16+ college gcse retakes so I've been sat on my arse replying to the occasional enthusiast student who wanted to do extra work. Nothing they have done after March 20th will count, they all know this so understandably no one is doing any work for me.

I think is a sad attitude- implying that wanting extra work is somehow a bad thing. What’s wrong with a love of learning and wanting to learn? After all, what else can they do?

I assume it is down to individual teachers to some extent. One of my kid's teachers is doing fantastic work online. The other one appears to sign in approx twice a week, puts up work that keeps the children busy without any attempt at learning new material and,doesn't provide feedback on the child's work.

I have 110 pupils approximately. I have to keep track of who is engaging and who isn’t and report those who aren’t by completing an online cause for concern form for each individual pupil.

This is interesting. I hope a form will be sent out to parents asking for feedback on teacher's involvement but I doubt this will happen.

I've adjusted my working day I check and respond to urgent emails throughout the day but generally I spend until lunch time with Dd helping with her school work, going for walks etc to tire her out. We have lunch then I respond to emails, mark work and sort out the work for future sessions and tend to work until 5pm. I mean my 'office' may change if I don't have any zoom meetings etc then I set myself up in the garden so I can work and sunbathe at the same time or in the living room with Dd to keep her company instead of in the study but I'm certainly working hard.

Brother is a teacher (second year) and has been into school one week out of 3, the rest of the time bored at home he says. Can’t wait to go back.
Neighbour is deputy head of infants and she has been home whole time due to asthma and not expected to work at all. Never wants to go back.
Horses for courses. A lot probably depends on your work ethic.

I wouldn't say I've had it easy more like I have finally got a bit of a work/life balance. Rather than when my own children go to bed me continuatong to work until midnight and all day Sunday (some Saturday depending of the time of year) during this period I have been able to get my work done during my normal work hours till 5pm and spend the evening with my family.

As one poster said, it does annoy me when other teachers don't put in the same effort.

For example, at my primary we set a weekly menu of work with videos we have recorded for the children, we use class dojo and I respond and feedback to EVERY photo or piece of work uploaded. I am also available on the messaging part throughout the day for parents to contact with if they need support. We message every parent weekly and if no response it's a phone call. I have written subject policies, reviewed my subject curriculum and reseached key resources and many other directed activities from our head. I have also been on the key worker rota twice a week.
(My daughters primary hasn't commented on any of my daughters work and you don't have access to discuss anything with the teacher. We have had no phone calls/emails messages from the school about my daughters well being)

One thing is whole situation has taught me is that my family have to come first when we finally go back to normal and my work/life balance needs to change. Over the years I have missed alot with my own children because of my job.

Me! But it's not really easy for me personally as I've returned to teaching full time where I wasn't working before lockdown! But in comparison to others working full time....

I'm doing a maternity cover for something that isn't my subject plus a few lessons of my subject. The cover work I had to plan for the first few weeks but then the head of department produced lesson by lesson workbooks. I had to mark a year 7 assessment (5 classes) and I offered to write a scheme of work for my old department. I have replied personally to every piece of submitted work from my classes.

But realistically I'm working between 2 and 5 hrs a day and 1 hr Sunday night preparing next day. So for full time teaching it's quite good.

This is purely my situation though, my colleagues in my old department have spent a lot of time in addition developing amazing home learning lessons and working on year 11 "exam" grades.

The teachers at the Independent school I work at in a non teaching capacity have worked very hard. We have online lessons which children uploading their work or responding online. Every day the teacher makes a video telling the children about their daily work. The reason many schools cant do this is down to not having the funds to buy this type of online system and that many children don't have devices. I have worked in both sectors and have rarely met a lazy primary school teacher.

*continuing

I’ve been on my emails all day since - whether I get any or not is the thing! Some days I have loads to do and others I don’t. Kids aren’t really sending a lot of work in! But I have my form to make contact with every week; I have work to set; I have online meetings with department and House and then this week we’re doing some online lessons/check ins. I’m nowhere near as busy as I normally am but the mental strain has been tough. I’m at home with our son and my husband is working from home but has been going in lately a bit more. Son is going to CM in a week or two once school opens to Y10 and 12 as I don’t know what will be going on or when I’ll need to be in.

It’s the sheer not knowing that is horrendous! I do not know what to expect, who’s turning up, who’s working, who isn’t. It’s frustrating and isolating. I’m nervous about returning as the pace of everything will skyrocket and I think my anxiety will be awful. But we will see.

Emotionally I’m drained. My son has been absolutely amazing - I could not be more in love with him right now! Husband has also been great but he has worked upstairs mostly as he is working with customers and needs to be on the phone a lot. But when you have no idea what is coming one day to the next in a job that is typically regimental it’s quite tough. And the hideous opinions and comments from some quarters don’t help. I’d have happily been furloughed! But they’d never do that!

My sister’s next door neighbour’s aunties’ hairdresser’s betterware consultant’s cousin’s uncle’s granddaughter is a teacher and I can confirm that they were seen watering plants at 9.25 one morning (during school hours) and I know it’s true cos she was seen through binoculars. Teachers are all lazy bastards. Bet she’s not been on Zoom either. Sack them all I say.

What I dislike is the judgemental air of some when they refer to teachers having done bugger all, or if they say that they can't possibly be as busy as usual.
Yet, at the start of the lockdown, people who were saying how chilled working from home was for some (obv not those juggling childcare of young children) compared to their usual work in their office, they weren't judged.

It's not possible for me to replicate the children's experience of their school day from home. There have been enough of my pupils parents have let me know it's a nightmare for their children to get online for various reasons to access the remote work to pin point exactly why remote or video lessons wouldn't have worked for our demographic.

Instead I spend time finding work for them, making sure it's in a format they can access and edit and then uploading it. I'm available all day (when not in the hub school) via email to reply to questions or fix any issues with them accessing their work. And I have a couple of SMT meetings via video each week.

Tomorrow I'm allowed into my own school, not our hub school, to check on my classroom and start to consider how to organise it for returning pupils.

Definitely had it easier as our authority don't allow live lessons and we have had such a poor uptake on work posted online so we don't post too many tasks. Most parents wanted paper based learning so now that more has been sent home there is no planning and resourcing to do at the moment. I've been doing some online courses and responding to any emails. Also phoning parents every so often. Being able to work flexible hours with no commute has been great. Most days I stop working at 1 as I start around 7. 30. I find work to do as otherwise I would feel guilty but other staff are barely doing anything e.g teacher who covers PPA is literally doing nothing. Again poor uptake of online work is limiting what we can do

I estimate that DS1's primary teacher was spending about 30 mins per day setting cover work remote learning. That's pretty generous as an estimate. We got a 20 min phone call for his SEN review. There was one week on the key worker rota. Minimal marking if any.

DS2's teacher put more time and effort into setting work and sending reources and did a weekly zoom quiz.

If my teaching workload had been that light, I'd still be a teacher! No double marking, diferentiation, data analysis, observations, seating plans with key information for 12 classes or team meetings. Admittedly setting cover work always was a ballache, but that's a considerable easing of workload.

Now all hands are on deck to teach 50% of the school, the deputy is setting a weekly school wide project.

One phone call in 10 weeks between 2 DCs, one with several SENs... I doubt the phones have been that busy.

It's a far cry from when my daily teaching routine was 6-7:30, 8:30-5:35, 9-12.
I know different teachers have varied even within schools let alone from school to school, but some have clearly had a much lighter load than usual.

I'm a teacher. Been working from home everyday since the start of lockdown. My school has a rota system in place staff work shifts to care for key worker and vulnerable children. I found out I was pregnant at the start of lockdown (have since miscarried) so I've been off rota but back next week.
We do online learning everyday and are available school hours responding to emails, training, attending zoom meetings, speaking with parents and video chats with our children. As I'm sure a lot of teachers have I've been enjoying the warm weather outside but I am at my laptop until around lunch and then I respond to any notifications throughout the day as laptop is in the kitchen on loud so I hear any alerts etc.
I have about 5 children doing the work out of 38. The activities are there but I can't force people to do them nor can I do anymore than I am doing 😊

I work part time and have my own children to home school, I have been madly planning at the weekend when DP isn’t working in the office, responding to set work/emails on’my days’ 1 day off and in school the other 2 days. My neighbours must see me ‘lounging’ in the garden 3 days a week as that is where I work at home. So I am working 1 whole day at the weekend on planning:assessment, 2 days responding to work/emails/phone calls, 1 day planning, 2 days in school (now teaching 2 other year groups so my mid week planning day is a full day!) and I get paid 800 a month as a ‘part time’ NQT.

I have been setting lessons, report writing and marking work via my phone throughout the day aswell as working one in 3 weeks in school with key worker children but to be honest it’s been much more relaxed than my normal working schedule and definitely had more quality family time etc. It’s made me rethink my career.

I am part time secondary.
In lockdown I
set tasks for the week ahead
plan for the term ahead
complete online training to inform my planning
contact my tutees
mark work and give feedback
go in on a rota for key workers
answer emails
sort out grades
plan for next year

I also have three small children at home. I think I manage to work about 3 hours a day on average, so less than my usual. But life is very different.

we have had such a poor uptake on work posted online so we don't post too many tasks

I'm sure one of my children's teachers is saying this too. I hope (but very much doubt) if the school will probe why there was such a poor uptake. It has very little to do with not having the technology and a lot to do with the minimal effort the teacher put into the tasks, many of which included watching tv! There was no consistency and no 'teaching'. Work uploaded received no feedback whatsoever. Since lockdown, parents got a first hand view of the lack of enthusiasm and teaching and clamoured for paper based learning. I doubt many, if any, are doing online work.

Some have, and hats off to them. Some really haven't. Some have been taking the proverbial.

If all kids had had decent support over the last three months this might be ok. Many kids haven't.

I think if you have been taking a public sector tax payer funded salary and not working full hours then you should be deeply deeply ashamed of yourself. If your school had little or no teaching work then go and volunteer in a care home, telephone students daily, write positive vibe post cards.

There is now some degree of potential risk everywhere. Are we all going to stop living?

In most regions R0 is less than 1 and falling. In these conditions, a group of well, apyrexial children with decent handwashing, hygiene etc is not high risk.

I shouldn’t worry too much about teacher ‘laziness’. I imagine there will be many a teacher thinking ‘Is it worth getting this constant barrage of crap whatever I do?’ and will leave teaching for better pay and treatment in another industry! I say this as a science teacher who loved her job and wanted to go back after my maternity but is definitely thinking the above. Good luck getting anyone to apply for this amazing, valuable but bloody hard job now after this lockdown ‘eye opener’ to replace those who’ve run for the hills.

I don’t, for the life of me, understand why the media and social media in particular is so happy to highlight teachers in this way as a workforce when they are just following the guidelines of either the school and/or the government. Individual teachers are not deciding ‘oh il ignore these emails, I don’t fancy it’. They are told what they need to do and how to do it by their headteacher. School leaders are just as talented at passive aggressive digs, making examples of apparent shirkers, as every Tom, Dick or Harriet who have to have their 10 pence worth seem to do on a daily basis.

I’m watching my best friend who is a bright, enthusiastic and dedicated teacher and incredible person turning into an anxious and exhausted woman desperately doing everything she can to help her students. She is giving so much of herself for a significant proportion of the public just deciding to pour such vitriol into the world. Hardly surprising she’s at breaking point and it makes me so bloody angry that she’s not even getting the bare minimum of acknowledgment from the public who are happy to clap for NHS or whatever knowing no more than they know of a teacher’s job, but the people who support and enrich their children’s lives....sod them.

I’m sure I’ll get flamed for sticking up for my profession but I can’t listen/see these horrible bashing threads and not say something.