Does it grind your gears when people who work at schools send memes around about teachers?

[Whatistherightanswer]

That’s it. I’m not saying whether I’m involved in education or not, whether I’m a TA or a teacher. Just wondering if it’s reasonable or unreasonable for someone to be pissed off if someone who isn’t a teacher posts teacher memes

I’m a teacher. Break up for 5 weeks tomorrow so couldn’t give less of a hoot about what other people post. Other than pay day in August, this is the best day of the year to be a teacher!

Depends what kind of teacher memes?

I assume you mean that they’re posting them on their own social media, in which case they aren’t being unreasonable. People should post whatever they like; if others don’t like it or find it boring they should block or unfollow.

Plenty of people post memes about their own industry, probably because they tend to make “those in the know” laugh more as usually it’s poking fun at something well known to those in that field of work. Don’t see the problem TBH. Do you think teachers ought to be a special category?

If a meme is genuinely funny it’s fine. The world needs comedy.

I totally respect teachers and know the shit show many are living with now but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t stereotypes and observations that are ripe for mockery. If it’s really funny it means there is probably a kernel of truth there.

I mean what do you think if someone who is a Teaching assistant posts something saying how hard it is to be a teacher

I’d think they were acknowledging how hard it is to be a teacher? Anyone who works within a school will see it firsthand. Plus Teaching Assistants work damn hard too!

So they’re not offensive memes? Not mocking teaching but supporting it?
Can’t say I’d think anything of them at all.
I can’t really work out what the issue is.

Can’t say I have the energy to police what other people put online.

They are either expressing empathy for you or they are being used far too much to cover PPA!
What grinds my gears is how undervalued, underappreciated and underpaid LSAs are, by every sod - including their colleagues.

Are you insinuating that they are fronting as a teacher on their social media when they are merely an unworthy TA?

Literally wouldn’t cross my mind to think anything about it. We all work hard and are a team.

What’s wrong with that? No, I don’t think it’s reasonable to get pissed off with a TA or anyone else who isn’t a teacher posting this kind of meme. People are allowed to acknowledge how hard some professions are without working in that profession. For example just because you don’t work as a doctor doesn’t mean that you can’t post a meme about how it’s hard work being a doctor.

And on a side note, I personally don’t think that the word teacher only refers to those in the teaching profession. Anyone who is teaching anything at all is being a teacher. For example a guitar teacher doesn’t have to have a teaching degree to be called a guitar teacher. They just have to be teaching people how to play the guitar.

https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/teacher

teacher
/ˈtiːtʃɚ/
noun
plural teachers
[count]
: a person or thing that teaches something

Ewww those TAs getting above their station indeed!! You should remind them frequently that they are simply not on the level of an actual teacher in case they get any further ideas.

Are you a teacher getting sniffy about it because a TA doesn't have QTS that you have worked for/don't have to do planning, reports, the same directed hours/deal with parents etc?

Or are you a TA who has seen a relatable meme and wants to post it, but doesn't feel able to because it says teacher and not TA and you don't feel worthy because you are "just" a TA?

This is why they need a job title change, they’re Assistant Teachers, not teaching assistants.

Yes. It did grind my gears as these memes were posted by a TA who was not as committed to the job as she could have been. Poor time keeping and early finishes. She had been given support but things remained the same. No understanding of assessment, planning or responsibility for progress.

I can't see anything wrong with this at all? She knows how hard it is to be a teacher and she's expressing that - it sounds supportive to me?

@Whatistherightanswer if someone is getting pissed off with that, I would think that they have something else on their plate or some other issue going on. And if someone got pissed off at me for posting a meme like you described, I wouldn’t take it on board.

@Whatistherightanswer

oh dear, are the minions getting above their station??

@BehindTheSequinsandStilettos

I'm not a TA, no skin in the game, but completely agree with you.

@NotSayingImBatman

i think (for what it's worth) that Teaching Assustant is the correct name, they are supposed to be there to enable the teacher to teach. Problem is schools using them as Assistant Teachers.

I'm a TA, considering I regularly teach is it ok to post , or am I getting above my station again?

Do I have your permission Miss?

It couldn't possibly be that they commiserate with their (teaching) coworkers , could it?

Chill out, it's just because it's similar and relevant

I wouldn't think anything other than "fair enough". Teachers and TAs work bloody hard and I'm sure they are all delighted to have reached the end of term.

We're about to lose loads of our TAs to redundancy and it's awful.