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?

Behaviour.
It’s unrecognisable from when I started 16 years ago.
workload.

I’m getting out within the next 18 months for the well being of myself and my own children.

This many talks a lot of sense…

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gxdkq51ywo.amp

During lockdown when a lot of teachers were working long hours to provide on-line learning I heard of one teacher getting complaints from a parent because her child wouldn't do the work, what was he, the teacher, going to do about it!

Oh just fuck off.
Only absolute morons still believe we get 13 weeks paid holiday.
What is your job and do you have to put up with anything like what is outlined by previous posters?
If it's so great why aren't you in the fucking trenches with us 'enjoying' the 13 weeks off?

There's a definite sense of 'my child should have special dispensation for xyz'
This is often over very simple rules like wearing a tie, being on time etc etc

Hi, ex-Reception teacher/EYFS lead for almost a decade:

From a minority (1-2 within a class of 30):

• Physically attacking staff across all levels. I have been punched hard in the face. My TA kicked hard.
• Swearing. My Head being loudly sworn at every time he removed a child from my class for bad behaviour.
• Destroying/trashing the classroom. Shoving furniture, throwing, tipping everything out of pens pots. I would evacuate my class to the outdoor area to keep them safe whilst my TA got help from a senior member of staff (who did always actually do something).
• Running off. One child would literally run around the school, pop up in Year 5/6 classes, try and escape the school building.

From a sizeable group (up to 10 per class):

• Constant calling out/interrupting/inability to listen.
• Rough play at playtimes. Dysfunctional friendship issues, which then in turn causes dysfunctional parental fall-outs.
• Unable to share/take turns/wait.
• Limited emotional resilience.
• Lack of toilet training/dressing (even hanging up a coat!)/using cutlery/basic manners, which then has a knock on in terms of putting more demand onto the adults trying to educate. Ideally this stuff would all be sorted by home.

Thankfully based on my own first-hand experiences, my own children (aged 3 and 6) attend a school which is military about behaviour and consequences. I would never in a million years let them stay in a classroom with behaviour like I have endured, and I genuinely get why parents are turning to home educating. I don’t blame them in the slightest, good on them!

😂😂😂😂😂😂 What a dick comment

Parents making and looking for any excuse possible for their child's poor behaviour. Just deal with it and give them some clear boundaries, it is actually what they want and need!

Parents threaten legal and sometimes want to end your career without getting the facts first
causes so much stress

workload - why are thousands of English teachers making Macbeth worksheets when this could be centrally organised?

send , no ed psychs available not resources if a child is diagnosed

I was going to ask, as so many of you have mentioned behaviour specifically and it features so high up the list, if you think behaviour has deteriorated noticably in any particulat timeframe and what you think the reason for that might be.

I'm.a secondary teacher. We recently took year 9 on a trip which required them to take off their own clothes, and put on a piece of clothing provided for the activity. Over half of year 9 had no idea how to hang their clothes on a clothes hanger. We spent time demonstrating and therefore wasted time at the activity..parents should be doing these basic life skills

Our local SEN school is exactly like that. Everyone I know that worked there didn't last because they were being constantly assaulted by the students with no support. Yet the parade of self-congratulatory powers that be continues to walk through the halls...

SLT
Behaviour
SEND and lack of funding to support the children properly
Expectation of being a social worker, speech and language therapist, nurse, parent and that’s before we even think about educating 😞

Behaviour has hugely deteriorated because children don't face consequences for poor behaviour at home. When they get consequences in school they say things like "I'll get my mum to email you and cancel the detention" or "my dad will send in a formal complaint".

Do you work full time and regularly put in ten to twenty hours more than you're paid for?

I can’t even express how much I dread Monday. The constant criticism from SLT whilst doing absolutely nothing to address the horrendous behaviour.

Constant. Abusive. Most of them. Never had a problem with parents ever but the last five years have been hell. Glad I’m retiring.

The last straw was having been kicked in the face - I still have a lump 3 years later - and not one SLT asked me if I was OK, and I still had to work all afternoon.

I am so shocked that children this young are behaving like this. Is this the case everywhere? Is it a new thing? My kids have just left school and I have never come across this behaviour in any of the years or seen it mentioned by any of my friends either.

This is a joke, right?

I’m so pleased I left 3 years ago. I still earn alot less than I did but I have not even 1/4 of the stress in my new job. I’d never return even for 70k a year .

I’m resigning in April after 20 years. It’s just a terrible job now. Can’t wait.

Sorry..meant for the poster who was scorning teachers holidays..

I realised the other day that I permanently feel anxious and unsafe in my job.
Fights, knives, throwing tables and chairs, swearing at each other and members of staff, deliberate defiance, or simply falling asleep on the desk and refusing to work.
These things used to happen of course but were rare. Now it’s common place, daily for me. (Or, every lesson more recently!)
It’s just so exhausting and relentless and you can’t say what you want to say to the little darlings so you go home frustrated and drained and your family get the brunt of it!
There is no strict discipline or proportionate consequences, now every child deserves multiple chances, understanding and compassion and this has created monsters!
Why are we so scared to sanction children?

My 11 year old has had (apart from 1 awful teacher) brilliant teachers and TA's, and with that positive example, is determined to be a primary school teacher. Obviously very young and lots may change, but I don't want her to be a teacher, as if it's bad now, by time she graduates in 10 years time, will be horrendous. It's an incredibly valuable job, but an incredibly tough one, and I don't want her to go through that level of stress.

But why shouldn’t parents send messages when it is convenient for them? You only answer them when it is convenient for you. Many parents won’t be able to send messages when you are working because they are working.