I am not sure I agree that Teachers have absolutely exhausting jobs - much more so than most jobs - as said by man on r4 this morning

[RevolutionHere]

i am not sure what my dh, former welder would make of this statement

this is an argument regarding long summer holidays,

It’s not a competition. I think teaching involves being always ‘on’ whereas many other jobs have peaks and troughs.

I would say in my role, which carries a lot of responsibility, for which I’m decently paid, my ‘peaks’ are higher and involve more stress than a standard teaching day (although I’m sure there are occasions where seriously bad social services level stuff happens) . However, there are times I can slow down a bit. I don’t have the long holidays but I don’t have the constant ‘drumbeat’.

There’s no ‘hardest job in the world’. There’s many variables. It’s pointless comparing.

I work in early years. Every year more paperwork and funding slashed for ASN support. But we are expected to keep up the same standard. Good practitioners are off with stress, many leaving education all together.
This last term I was verbally abused by several parents (they can’t be banned which would happen in other jobs) , was scratched so badly that I’ve still got a scar 3 months later. Bitten a couple of times, equipment thrown at me.
But I love my job and the difference I make to these wee ones at the start of their educational lives, that is why I suck it up every day and slap a smile on.

Yes we get more time off than most jobs but they are unpaid (our wage gets split into 12 so we get a wage every month) and at the most expensive time of the year for going anywhere.
All jobs have their pros and cons.

Instead of wasting time playing exhaustion bingo, let’s debate why so many decent jobs are under valued and under paid?

some teachers have it easy. Some have it tough. I can’t imagine teaching in a crumbling school with shit toilets, asbestos etc and finding it easy.

It isn’t the hardest job in the world but I strongly suspect we wouldn’t agree as to what is.

so let’s just respect each other instead of looking for ways to have a pop.

Honestly, apart from hearing things from my mum and sister who are both teachers, I know little about the teaching profession and yet my viewpoint is bloody kudos to all teachers out there! It seems like such a challenging, draining profession and the posters on this thread genuinely have my utmost respect. Like, the mental impact must be immense. In my opinion, it’d be harder to be a teacher than work with… steel as thats what you seem to be mentioning a lot?

the amazing pension is a good pro too!

DD has been teaching, secondary, for four years now. SEN specialism. She loves it despite some very challenging young people. There are pinch points, high points and low points. Her BF, accountant, is far more under the cosh but earns twice as much.

I don't know the half of it, but I have been very proud when she has shown me the emails/thank you cards from some of the parents - especially of the high needs 15 year olds.

The phrase "she is small, but very fierce" springs to mind.

We get paid in 12 even amounts so we don't get left high and dry and unable to pay the mortgage in August. But the total amount is less than it would be if we didn't have a number of weeks enforced unpaid leave. We only get paid for something like 5 weeks of the 13 or so.

I think any job where you are "on" the whole time is draining. So hospital staff, teachers, retail workers.

Whether teachers have it worst or not probably depends on how much you like kids 😅 I could not think of anything worse but I always assume you wouldn't go into teaching if you really hated children??

Why did I leave teaching? Because I got bored with other people's rude kids, entitled parents and endless preparation and c**p being dumped on me that the parents should have dealt with at home. I did not sign up to be a social worker, therapist, parent, nappy changer etc. I signed up to teach children. I then went into law and it was far more lucrative, interesting and altogether satisfying.

Can you find a single quote saying that? Because my experience is what happens on here is that someone says teaching is piss easy and a teacher says, ‘No, actually, it’s hard work’, then 14 others come along and say, ‘Oh so you think teaching is the only difficult job do you?’
I’ve never seen a teacher on here say it’s the only, or even the most, exhausting job.

Obviously the term 'exhausting' can be interpreted in many ways. A surgeon would be exhausted after a long day in surgery, a supermarket worker would be exhausted after an 8 hour shift moving pallets of groceries around a store. Equally, I'm bloody exhausted after a day looking after my DGS!

Schools have long holidays because that is how the education system works. I don't understand why this argument or discussion appears every year. That's just how it is. Would we rather have schools open every week of the year - and would that be the right thing for children?

If you want to enjoy the long holidays then train (or retrain) and become a teacher, Lord knows we need them.

Its a thinly veiled teacher bashing thread!

I wouldn’t deny to the OP that welding is physically exhausting. But teaching is mentally, physically and emotionally draining! And I’m pretty sure the OP knows that teachers work during weekends and holidays, as I will be doing throughout! And FYI those of us who finish this week, don’t get a full six weeks! And most will be preparing classrooms and planning (like me!)

As teachers we also have to experience some of the most awful safeguarding things, that never ever leaves us!!

Yes other jobs can be super hard, but teaching - I think - is a particularly challenging job, exhausting physically, emotionally, mentally.

1. Imagine it’s Sunday morning. You know that tomorrow at 9am you will have 30 6 year olds waiting for you.
2. You need to plan and prepare (print/ cut out/laminate) resources for all the lessons they have on Monday, this will be phonics, English, PE, history, maths. Oh and you will need different resources for kids who get through the material more quickly or slowly than the others.
3. oh, you also need to finish marking their books from last week.
4. oh and your job isn’t finished by the end of Monday. You have Tuesday too to plan and prepare, that will be Geography, more phonics, more maths… and you’re also preparing an assembly for their parents to come along and watch. And then you have different resources to prepare for Wednesday and Thursday and Friday.
5. oh and by the way, it’s not just the planning you do on a Sunday and every morning and evening during the week - you also need to teach all the lessons!!
6. if you’re lucky, you’ll have a teaching assistant in the class to support some of the kids who will need some extra support
7. oh and you also have to send phonics practice emails to the parents for next week
8. oh and you need to be incredibly patient and warm and nurturing whilst you’re doing all of the above
9. even when you might have some complaining parents - or people (who don’t have A CLUE!) saying you have it easy because you only work 9-3 and have long holidays

@RevolutionHere Before writing a post like this either talk to a teacher or spend some time in a classroom.

And to all teachers reading this thread, you’re doing a fucking amazing and hugely important job! Thank you

This is so lovely, I've been teaching in a mainstream secondary for 16 years and I've saved every card I've ever been given, each one was so appreciated and each year when I clear out the office I get them out for a quick look- it warms my cockles and makes me think I might come back in September after all!

With teaching you spend all day 'on' in a way you don't have to in an office. In an office people at least have to pretend to be polite and cooperative. In a classroom you've got 30 people with different needs who you have to constantly sell the material too. That's draining in a specific way. Even if you present/sell a lot in your job it's probably not as much as when teaching.

It's tough, for sure.

But it's not a frontline A and E nurse.

Teaching is the only job with holidays that good. Teachers cannot argue with that.

Children are great. I've never met one I couldn't have a decent one-to-one conversation with. But now imagine any largish kids' birthday party you've been to. Still like children as much? Multiply that by about 6 parties a day..

Actually, the OP's job (or lack of one) is irrelevant. The only way she (or anyone else) could have an informed opinion on this is if they've actually worked as a teacher themselves.
Then and only then might they have any idea how exhausting it is or is not. And even that will depend on area/age group taught/skill set/individual school set up/teacher's own age or life-stage (teaching when one has young children at home is a killer).

It really is. That’s the contract. That’s why your salary is less than most other professionals with the same level of education and experience. It’s a bit irrelevant, but it’s the case.

You couldn't pay me to do the job, they are leaving in hoards for a reason as others have said.

"Teaching is the only job with holidays that good. Teachers cannot argue with that."
And have you ever heard a teacher arguing that the holidays are NOT good? I have not.

Teachers have a very difficult job where you have to be ‘on’ for most of the day, and kids and parents can be awful.
However, they do have a very long holidays and make a decent salary… so I think you could do a lot worse!
I think the culture is tricky in teaching, most people have never worked anywhere but schools so assume it’s the hardest/worst job ever and then the negativity breeds amongst staff quite quickly, which doesn’t help morale!

Physically? Or mentally? Emotionally? You have to take all these forms of exhaustion into consideration.

I’ve no doubt it is exhausting.

but so are loads of other jobs.

many on lower wages and without 13 weeks annual leave per year.

teachers don’t have the monopoly on being tired 😪

We are not paid or contracted for 1265 hours. 1265 is directed time - where we can be told where to be and what to do by our headteacher. This can be over 195 days only. We are also expected to work unspecified additional time in order to meet our professional responsibilities. For that we are paid an annual salary.

That's for schools who use STPCD. Some trusts have their own T&C, but I'd be gobsmacked if they limited teachers to 1265, because that really isn't enough time to carry out a full time professional job.