To wonder how much longer it will be before all teachers quit?

[FunionsRFun]

Been called a bitch and screamed at today. Kids are making no progress because 90% of the leason is dedicated to bad behaviour.
My detentions have been taken off the system to make behaviour look better.
Why would anyone do this job?

You can’t see it? Tax cuts when there's no money? Fiddling with non dom status to prevent Labour doing what they have said they will? It’s cynical and obvious to anyone not blinkered.
While we are considering abject failure, though, that’s pretty much how I’d describe the last 14 years.

Fiddling with non dom status to prevent Labour doing what they have said they will?

You’re joking, surely?

No they didn’t. Schools were mostly built after WW2.

Asbestos wasn’t a safety concern at the time of building. Big deal for the Tories stripping it out. They should have rebuilt them.

No. It was widely trailed by the political press (of all colours and none).
Why are you so supportive of Tories? What works better since 2010?

Same here. And the one pupil who was rude and belligerent I binned off for another from my waiting list.

Presumably for the same reason that you support Labour: I favour a political view.

That said, all governments and parties eventually need replacing and to be forced to reorganise and rethink. I’m not single-minded about who should govern.

I find the left much less able to accept any alternative point of view though.

That’s just silly.

Did you ever consider I might be or have been one? High parental expectations is a good thing isn’t?

Great argument.

🤦‍♀️

The main problems are - funding (because of recent pay rises, TA numbers have been cut), permissive parenting and attitudes in society, using diagnoses as an excuse...

I'd add, a major problem is the expectation and indeed pressure to achieve the same, if not better, results than the previous year every year despite ever more difficult circumstances.

My students' books have been scrutinised this week and have been criticised for their declining state of neat and pretty. It grated a bit.

BUT: in every class, 1 in 3 children doesn't bring a pen. I handed them pens for as long as I could, but now I'm out (because not everyone returns the pen, some take delight in taking the pens apart etc) and I have been told we don't have money to buy more. I am not one of the martyrs paying for my employer's supplies myself, so kids are given alternatives (pencils, different colours of ink), but the expectation is that they all write in black or blue, so my books are not written in in the right colour.

Fewer than half the kids bring in a ruler. I had 10 rulers in September, now I am down to 3 (not returned or willfully snapped), so tables are often drawn free hand and look a mess. See above, I don't buy for my employer and I am being told there is no money to buy in more.

I am lucky if one kid in 30 has a glue stick. Mine ran out a while ago, and, again, no money for more and I refuse to buy them myself. So sheets are loose.

I have a child in Y11 who still cannot spell their own name, let alone any word over 3 letters. I have no support in their class, which is 20 students large. Since I cannot provide effective one-to-one and teach at the same time (I support them when I can, but I have 19 other students to manage and support; there are only 2 stusdents without SEND in the class) so their book has half-written work. Not good enough, apparently.

The expectation is that every child's book is pristine, but I don't get supplied with the tools to do my job. I push back, of course, but it falls on deaf ears. Others quite rightly say eff this and leave.

Okay so I’m not a supporter of any of the parties as they are all the same. But I do have a question for you.

Where is any party going to get the money from?

the only answer to that is increased taxes or decreasing the benefits systems. That’s what any party will have to do. There isn’t any money in the pot.

Some very naive individuals on this thread stating that teachers should get more training in behaviour management. 95% of children behave really well, a few mess ups here and there which is totally acceptable as learning in life.

4% of the disruptive kids are that way because of their parenting. Parents have no control and blame everyone else for their child’s issues.

There is the 1% however, who are just a pain in the backside. Great parents, great teachers.

As for the comment that every teacher should be great and inspiring, where on earth does that even occur? Personalities are different and what inspires one, does not inspire another.

Parents, do yourselves a favour and support your school and however it deals with you children. Whatever little Jonny said happened is highly unlikely to be the whole story.

if you have never worked in a school you have absolutely no idea of what they have to deal with

Exactly. I’ve worked with one colleague who had a chair thrown at him, another threatened with rape, and another having to read notes left on her desk calling her a “p*ki”. Btw, all very good, positive teachers who’ve got great results over and over - for the posters who think a smile will miraculously change their experience. Absolutely ludicrous to downplay such a complex issue affecting our education system.

I left 8 years ago and would never go back, I actually feel anxious when I go inside a school now and am worried about my children going to a secondary school. There are amazing moments and it is wonderful to feel that you have helped so many children in so many ways but that is overshadowed by the negatives.

I have a BA in education and masters in psychology, I'm currently studying counselling in order to help more in my current role and never used detentions as punishment. I used consequences that fit the misdemeanour so they could learn why that "rule" was in place.

I get what you're saying but this again means that teachers are beyond teachers. Qualified in many areas and not even paid adequately for 1 of them.

The issue is that the education system is designed wrong. It harks back to creating good workers not independent thinkers. It needs overhauling and teachers need hearing not beating into submission and told how crap they are because they have to act within confines set by government (don't even get me started on that!)

No other profession is open to as much vitriol and people pointing out how to do the role. Everyone has an opinion, usually coloured by their own experiences of school and teachers get slated for speaking back.

Seems to be plenty of money for war . . .

There is Always money for the government's priorities. That's how it works. Disappointingly I don't think anyone is prioritising education at the minute. Although assessment reform is on the cards whoever gets in.

There’s always money for war.

@FunionsRFun

I am. 17 working days left but just feeling very fed up today. There's a lot of good things of course but also lots of reasons to leave.

What are your plans afterwards OP? 🌹

I've moved to an online school. I would never go back to a bricks and mortar school.
My colleague was hit with a chair and his arm was broken.
He had to take early retirement.
People who think teachers are 'moaney' have no idea at all what it's like in schools.

Can you write this on a notice board for parents?
They could all contribute to a pot of money and you buy the supplies, or you just put a bucket at pickup where they should donate rulers/pencils in an ongoing basis.
I’m sure if as a parent I inew that this is a problem, I would not be opposed to contributing.
I would find it ofd that the school can’t solve the problem, but I’d be more in a hurry to get the problem solved than waiting for red tape to be solved.

I also loved my job as a TA, i think about those kids everyday. I cried when I left. I never complained at work, was always bubbly and positive for the staff and kids. But my pay was abysmal compared to my friends who were not in education. I needed to be able to support myself
So I got a PGCE and now I am a teacher, genuinely love the job, and I am always positive at work. I am not the moaning type
But let's be honest I am outside london and the max I can aspire to is 46 K on UPS 3 🤣 provided I don't become SLT

It isn't great so I am looking at an alternative career since I am still young

I agree with everything you wrote. While some have taken my response to the OP as my criticising teachers - I'm not at all. The world has been changing and putting more pressures on teachers. As a mum who's experienced the US and UK systems and has relatives who are teachers in Canada, friends who are teachers in the US including one who founded a school - I have always tried to see school as a village that takes the support of everyone involved. And I've seen with my own eyes many times in the US and the UK (way more in the USA) teachers struggling with behaviours. My sister has told me horror stories.

@FrippEnos@Whitestick @PickledMumion @CestLaVie123
Apologies if I caused offense or wasn't clear. But really people need to stop jumping to conclusions and attacking people. Many areas in business and different industries are having to learn new things. I did NOT say that people need to get whole new credentials. I have received some training in understanding behaviours and I think all parents should get it. As I mentioned above - while one of you said my comment was the 2nd stupidest you've seen on mumsnet - let me pass that along to all the women in my life who are in teaching and have agreed with me that they could learn more about handling behaviors. Again I'm sorry you took it personally and took fire at me. As I began my comment - I knew some people would jump on me before taking time to clarify or understand my point as it was in direct response to OP's original question about when all the teachers will quit.