Who would want to be a teacher now?

[Painauchocolats]

I've just read an article (found on the DM) that a 53 year old teacher has taken her own life before she was due to appear in court for accidentally catching a pupil's hair. This was whilst she tried to confiscate the girl's mobile phone.

A male teacher (also in the DM) faces being struck off for shouting 'Who the hell do you think you are?" At some pupils who filmed tik toks during his lesson, and slammed his hand on the desk.

Sometimes teachers lose their temper, especially if this behaviour is incessant. Who can blame them? This is why pupils' behaviour is so poor these days, because there are no consequences, and because of things like this.

I was part of the first true social media generation and really wouldn't be bothered about someone filming me and uploading it to TikTok etc. I teach adults in a work based setting and let them record it.

Are you serious? You think that adults filming you in a work-based setting is comparable to the kind of videos and images that teenagers (embellish) and post online of teachers (and indeed other students)? Why do you think they film teachers? It's not for educational purposes. I assure you, these members of the social media generation are not so blasé about it when they are on the receiving end and abusive images of them are shared online by their peers.

@Redebs

I know! Which is why I said earlier slt need to enforce it ateast until its just given that it's happening.
//
I also find students are slightly more wary / intrgueed by people they don't know or see less... So more likely to comply.

I didn't/ couldn't even complete a PGCE... that was 20 years ago. Behaviour in the secondary school I was placed at was appalling....then! Kids came in drugged first thing in the morning. None of them were interested in anything I tried to do for them. I felt like a social worker. A horrific experience. I honestly don't know how teachers do it. Kids aren't getting an education now.

Agree but it's usually poor parenting cycles and or undiagnosed sen cycles

No it isn’t. I’ve taught kids from the same families, one of whom can be off the wall.

That’s appalling - where is the leadership in the school?

We have a no phones policy.
In the last two weeks, I've been aggressively challenged by a y13 who claimed that he "didn't know" about it, and we've had an irate dad storming in to complain that his kid had been put in isolation for using his phone. Said child had borrowed his mate's phone to text dad after his own had been confiscated.
We've just banned smartwatches after a couple of unpleasant incidents. Apparently this is against their human rights.

We have not "sleepwalked" into this,
teachers have been telling you what has been going on for years.

And we have been accused of Whinging and whining.

I had to do this years ago with a boy who had held a lit lighter very close to my head. We each had to give our side of the story. As far as I was concerned I had already given mine so either they believed me or they didn't. There were witnesses so he could hardly deny it (he tried) but then he tried to defend what he did and she was nodding sympathetically. I couldn't believe it, if I had been wearing hairspray or something my hair would have gone up in flames. Quite honestly I wish I had had the presence of mind to walk out instead of sitting there while he and the HOY had a nice cosy chat. Fortunately for me I left secondary teaching not long afterwards.

Absolutely-accused of being moaning whingebags who just don’t know what it’s like in the real world and should just leave (or never have started) teaching if they weren’t happy…

@miniaturepixieonacid I can only assume that you actually are on acid as your assertions that the majority of teachers are happy in their jobs is just blatantly wrong. In the last ten years of the 270,000 teachers who qualified, more than 81,000 have left. Taking into account the many that just can't up and leave, for whatever reasons, and the numbers speak for themselves. The teaching profession is on its knees.

@Grumpybutfunny It may be a generational issue in that generally speaking, there are real issues with young people today.
They have no respect, no boundaries and seemingly don't understand or believe in society, or the benefits of it.
I am part of that generation too, and I would be extremely unhappy about people filming me. I remember MSN chat and all that drama.
We never recorded lectures on phones, but did use them to take pictures of posters etc. Not sure why as we had a system where things could be uploaded online- think it was called Moodle and we could access it at home, we did have a very slow laptop at home, so I opted to use the school library after school, and there were many others there too. They were used as a tool, this has escalated. It is unnecessary to use phones, schools went a long time without them, with better outcomes than today.
It is disrespectful to film people without their consent, and certainly not appropriate in a place of education.

A woman ends up dead and a family is grieving because a disobedient brat could not put her phone away. Just imagine, if she had behaved herself, the lesson would probably have developed normally and the lady would be home with her family.
Parents, parent your children. If they can't cope with owning a phone, don't let them have one.

Well said.

I teach Year 3 in a very ‘nice’ village primary and even we have seen a massive increase in behavioural issues. Going to our local secondary for a meeting now feels a bit like walking through the apocalypse. I do not know how secondary teachers do it.

It would be much easier all around if the government simply put a stop to phones in classrooms and tried to make school a phone free space.

Bring it into ofsted to make slt do something about it a d make it slt issue.
. With proper back up.

It's ridiculous to even be having a conversation about it. I've seen students watching programs in lessons because they can

Parents should back up school but we All know that doesn't happen

Re phones in class, how can parents police that.

Last week a colleague was made to have a restorative with a teen who has threatened to get their dad in to beat her up and get her sacked. All the teacher did was follow the school policy, and got a barrage of abuse.

Yep, I was on-call in a school one day and was called on the walkie-talkie to remove a student from a lesson for exactly this. Mouthful of abuse to an incredibly lovely teacher who was just calmly following the behaviour policy. The girl then said her dad was coming in that day (to see the Head yet again about her behaviour), so she would get him to beat the teacher up. Teacher and I both reported the incident in full. Nothing was done, because the student had apparently already reached the maximum amount of days of exclusion. The school wanted to permanently exclude her, but it was turned down on appeal.

I don't work there any more, thank goodness.

In my children's secondary school, they have lockable phone cases that need to be put in as they enter the building and have a specific magnetic lock that opens them as they leave. My son left his at home and his phone dropped out of his pocket and he got the highest level of detention and hasn't done it again. The Head told the parents and children he would be imposing this regardless of what people thought (in a nice way) and I've no doubt it hasn't been perfect but it seems to help. I know its expensive and with funding as it is, not necessarily feasible but he said it was one of the best things to put money into. It also saved kids reading messages in their lunch break and being distracted or upset for the rest of the day.

I haven't rtft but I am a teacher of 15 years. IME the biggest issue is parents.

They all want you to be tough on any pupil who negatively impacts their child in any way - throw the book at them.

But when their child has done something wrong - well then there must be a very good reason for that, were your lessons too boring, did the other child goad them, does he have undiagnosed sen.

I hesitate before giving out any punishment whatsoever or calling a parent about misbehaviour - you won't be supported, quite the opposite, you'll spend hours of your life justifying, being called a liar, smeared on sm, fielding the complaint they made about you to the head.

Parents have made it so that punishment and sanctions are no longer a deterrent. They might wriggle out of it or, if they don't, dad will take them out for a treat after to show that tosspot teacher who's in charge.

It's a minority of parents but they take up so much time and grind you down.

My teen’s school did “school reception” - 2x Y8 spend a morning helping in reception.

2 years ago, on her morning, she witnessed an electrician contractor swear at the receptionist and refuse to sign in “wot you want my name for you bitch?”. Then she witnessed a mother called in to collect a Y10 after a fight on his first day back from exclusion. Where she went right up in the Deputy Head’s face with a lot of “yeah what about the other fucking kid, you’re just picking on mine, I’ve had enough of your shit, come on Jack we’re going.”

I don’t think they do student reception anymore, especially judging by the email out last week asking parents not to be abusive to reception staff 😡

Yes. So many parents want to outsource the raising of their children to school.

I think what would make the biggest difference is being able to exclude. Kids and parents know they've got to murder someone to be excluded now. They can behave as badly as they like, destroy teachers, destroy the learning of other pupils, and we will just keep welcoming them back with a big fake smile. If they thought they'd be starting again in another school, maybe further away, that would be a real deterrent.

A colleague of mine was eviscerated on sm by a pupil. He was weeks away from his GCSEs so school excluded him, but would allow him back to exams. Parents kicked off - he wouldn't study at home, he'd fail his exams. Back in class within days, smirking at the teacher he had embarrassed and humiliated online.

I remember putting a really naughty boy in detention every week.

Every week his parents would phone up and l’d have to justify why l put him detention.