Teachers : what's the worst thing about the job now?

[Floursacktabletop]

I've name changed , but been here many years and teaching for 22 years.
Dreading going back on Monday. For me , the worst bit is the increasingly poor behaviour of students and the continual parental complaints and allegations.
Anyone else dreading it and fancy a solidarity thread?

Are you leaving teaching completely or just your school?

When Bob was in y8, mummy said I picked on him because I kept putting him in detention for not doing homework, which is the policy. I have it in writing that he's not to get detentions.

Okay, mum and head of year, as you wish.

Bob starts his GCSEs soon, Mum is now very worried. I have resisted pointing out that the chickens are coming home to roost.

If Bob bothers to do his work, I mark it. If he asks for help, I give it. I offer help. I am totally professional.

But he will pass or fail as a consequence of his choices.

People who make comments like this are generally the people who would be rocking back and forth in a corner by lunchtime should they decide to try teaching for a day 🤣

And you can report the post, I don’t care, you can still fuck off

Those are rookie numbers 😁 In myy last class of 33, 19 had EHCPs and another 5 had parents that were pushing for them. I had five TAs, four were 1-2-1s due to one disability and 3 severe behavioural issues. In that class were a couple of runners, a child who would harm themselves with anything they could get hold of if you took your eyes off them for more than a split second, one that would do the same but to other people, one whose speciality was spitting directly into the faces of staff, and one who enjoyed hurling chairs and tables at the windows and other children.

They were 7-8 year olds.

That was a fun year.

Then why open the thread knowing what the title was? Other than to be a GF?

SEN numbers have increased in my school over the last few years but so has our knowledge and practice. Our SEND team are fabulous and supportive.

I can understand reading this thread why SEN parents feel let down by some schools when SEN is being touted as the worst thing about the job by many on this thread.

Imagine sending your child into school knowing their disability is seen as the worst thing about their job by some of their teachers.

What is this imaginary world in which I live and work??

DH is a teacher. He said parents

Oh my god. It’s because we CAN’T SUPPORT THEM. Because we know we are failing them. Not because their ‘disability is the worst thing about our job’.
Ffs.

That's interesting. I worked in a high level managerial role when I finished uni and went on to be the director of my own three companies. I started teaching in my 30s, and I have never known a workload like it.

It sounds like you don't have a clue how the teaching world works, and I can assure you, it's a lot harder than this, "Real World" you speak of.

I'm leaving for tutoring and driving instructing. So yes, from classroom teaching.
I'd try another school but I get a strong impression from the teaching community it's the same everywhere at the minute.

What is this real world of which you speak?

How do you feel about those who have been always worked as doctors, dustbin men, plumbers, nurses?

Read the thread.

Its when Bob, after 3 years of not showing any interest in your subject, backed by the parent, decides that he must do it for his GCSEs and the SLT let him, as its his choice. "he's going to fail somewhere, it might as well be your class" said one SLT to me.

Yet the same letters/emails and complaints still come in as Bob hasn't changed and he is just dragging his mates, who had half a chance at at decent grade, if Bos was somewhere else.

It doesn't quite work like that, though. I'm a disabled teacher - wheelchair user, multiple disabilities and neurodiversity. The high levels of SEN are one the worst things about the job because we actually care about the children and cannot physically give them the support they need, nor support the non-disabled children. It's sad, frustrating, sometimes rage inducing that these children are being failed and we are powerless to help. It's not their disabilities we are complaining about, but our lack of resources to support disabled children.

Im not a teacher but I work in autism diagnosis.

Many, many parents complain when we don’t diagnose their child with autism. They ‘know’ their child is autistic, despite not having a clue about the diagnostic criteria.

I’ve been doing my job for 27 years and these people basically complain we’ve got it wrong and just say they ‘want to appeal our decision because they disagree.’

Cue a full review, loads of paperwork etc, and funnily enough, we never change our opinion. This absolute waste of time is one of the reasons children wait so long in the system. We are busy dealing with complaints.

At least we KNOW we're getting all the Bobs.

But I speaks English, dunn I, miss?

Well, sort of, yes.

Again, read the thread.

It's because it's extremely stressful and hard work dealing with SEND needs of many pupils in one class, whilst also having 20 odd other children to teach as well, often with no additional support.

It isn't personal. I completely sympathise with parents feeling let down, but we feel let down too. We are as exasperated as the parents because we simply cannot meet all of their needs.
Parents should feel let down by the system, not the schools or the staff.

I may get flamed for this, but in my experience this often happens because they are struggling to cope with their child's behaviour, and feel that an autism diagnosis would explain why they're struggling so much, and feel a sense of relief 'it isn't just them'.
We've also experienced parents wanting a diagnosis because of concerns from school or poor behaviour/outcomes, and that will suddenly magic up extra support for their child. It unfortunately isn't that simple.

What are the friendship issues they have?

God it’s depressing reading this. My late parents were both teachers and one used to comment on the high expectations of parents wanting their child to achieve exceptional grades ready for university, whilst the other had concerns about violence in an inner London school.

Being 60 it’s so apparent that times have changed and resilience and good behaviour are not the norm anymore. It amazes me reading posts on this forum from parents who somehow think it’s up to the school to not only educate their child, but to also teach them values, responsibility and resilience whilst at the same time undermining teachers and schools at every opportunity.

Acceptable behaviour used to be part and parcel of the upbringing of a child, but somehow this seems to hard, too harsh, not enough time in the day etc.

I realise that many families now obviously have two working parents and other generations may have had the mother at home, but children need boundaries introduced at a young age. You only have to hear of the perceived entitlement of school leavers entering the workplace and the shock they encounter having to adhere to working life.

Both my parents took early retirement and certainly things were easier than now.

My beautiful and gentle natured adult teacher friend is being bullied by a particular group of boys she tries to teach. She confided in me recently. She feels so demoralised and humiliated. She really is a hard worker but feels ganged up on and too embarrassed to ask for help.

Its because there are too many pupils in the class, Limited time, Your lucky if the child has a TA, ECHP or not, 1-2-1 or not.
There are also another 6 - 10 pupils with with varying SEND in the class, some of which clash with each other,
The fiddler cannot be put next the child that needs silence and focus, or the child that calls out, the child that calls out cannot be sat next to the child with tics, the child with tics cannot be sat next to the child with the behavioural issues, and they need to be sat next to the teacher. Throw in another couple that have to have a the background on the whiteboard a different colour due to dyslexia and the vision impaired pupil that needs to be at the front and the child with hearing issues.

it cannot be done with the resources available, size of the room etc.