To think job-sharing for teachers of kids 8 and under is selfish?

[blowingBubblesinABreeze]

My kid is in Year 2. There are 30 kids in her class. She has teachers who job-share (monday-wed morning, Wednesday afternoon to Friday).
We had a parents meeting and it was very clear to me that the teacher barely knew my child, and was just making up things to say. Other parents said the same.

Do I blame her? Yes and no. No because it is impossible to know 30 kids in a class if you are spending half the time with the kids in the class that a normal teacher does. A full-time teacher with 30 kids in the class already struggles to know all the kids in her class well. (understandably).

Yes because she has chosen to do the job share. (In the case of the teachers in my class, I know that they are both well-off). I know that this is not the case for most teachers. But again I would argue that many teachers that would choose to job share are not on the bread-line.

A teacher should know the kids in their class. That is part of their job. The kids are LITTLE, LITTLE people. They are in school for most of their waking hours. Alot of them really struggle to go into school at a young age. So to be left in the hands of a person who barely knows them is simply not fair on them.

We are prioritising the desires of teachers over the NEEDS of children. Which is where society seems to be headed as a whole. The desires of adults is our focus, neglecting the basic needs of our little people.

I think it was sarcasm.

This sounds more like she’s just shit at parents’ evening tbh…some of the most talented teachers I know are shit at interacting with parents. The idea that she teaches the same class half the week, every week, and doesn’t know the kids is ridiculous.

My best year of primary school was a job-share. They were brilliant.

That sounds strange. I see my young adult learners twice a week for 2 hours and know them very well in a few weeks. Any decent teacher would know his/her students (of any age) after spending two and a half days with them for a few weeks. Either the teacher is incompetent or you have picked things up wrongly. Maybe you could ask for another meeting to discuss? Your initial impression may not have been accurate. Or it might and you would have a right to complain.

I’m always blown away on parents evening when the secondary school teachers are able to absolutely pinpoint exactly where my child has gaps “tell me what xyz is because you lost 3 marks on it and when O asked you last week you didn’t know” and “right, you need to spend less time talking to name 1, name 2 and name 3 and use a red pen not green pen”. This was a maths teacher teaching 2 classes in my child’s year, had a form and also had classes from year 7 - 13

My kids had jobs shares in early primary and teachers new them well. I think even the headteacher knew them. The problem is the teacher/school, not the job share.

Hmmm I think it’s a school problem if they don’t know your child... my boy goes in approx 12 weeks a year and everyone knows his name when he walks in, they know his likes/dislikes and what is needed to meet his needs (lots of allergies etc) I was disappointed last week when his favourite wasn’t in work, but he was happy to go off with her replacement after a quick butt scratch! 😃

Thank you for coming back with the update, OP…

You make several points about money, but I still think you misunderstand the heart of the situation and how your suggestion would only make the situation worse. Yes, teachers absolutely are underpaid, but the real issues affecting recruitment and retention are workload, behaviour & general working conditions (eg threat of violence being a daily occurrence). Nobody in their right mind would specialise in Early Years or Infant education, knowing that if they became a parent themselves, they would not be allowed a part timetable so as to spend time with their own child; in primary schools- we’d literally have nobody willingly teaching the infants!

I think you’re missing the point around what DRIVES people to become a teacher, and then stay in teaching. Teachers are highly skilled professionals, and nearly all of us COULD walk away and get an equal if not better paid job, part time or full time. By forcing us into making a choice between family and work- I strongly suspect that ‘walk away’ is what most would do.

Unreasonable. You are not their manager so their agreed working pattern isn’t for you to dictate. Teachers are in short supply as it is, there would be even less if they couldn’t job share. I had teachers job share my class when I was little and never thought anything of it. I think most teachers are spread too thinly with 30 to a class - my friend is a teacher (year 3) she has several SEN children in her class and a few that don’t speak English as their first language. She would be the first to admit these children take most of her time and the other 15-20 children she barely knows (despite working full time).

It definitely sounds like the teacher just doesn’t know the kids and still wouldn't even if she taught them 5 days a week or she’s just great at communicating at parents’ evenings.

When I was a teacher (secondary) I had 10 classes of between 30-36 children and I knew them all and colleagues from other departments often had more classes and still knew their pupils well.

My little boy is in reception and he has a two day/three day job share set up and they are amazing. You can just tell they know all their kids so so well and that they remember the ones they’ve taught in previous years too. They also clearly have a great professional relationship.

My teachers wanted me to take up teaching but even at 11 I knew it was not for me. I think of it as a hard and stressful job and would not do it for any money. Teaching adults is stressful enough. You know nothing about this teacher's personal circumstances or why she chose to job share. That was her choice. And those long holidays which everyone envies are often filled up with meetings, inset days, work prep and exam prep.

You are assuming that working part-time is desirable rather than a need and for some that maybe the case, but equally there are many people in society for whom working part time is a need and it should be accommodated.

i voted unreasonable because from the get go my children have had specialist teachers for various subjects so the main/home room teacher really only does see them part time.
specialist math, art, music, science etc.

All workers, teachers should be able to work part time to support their own families and mental health.
The majority of job share and full time teachers, teach with 100% commitment and know their classes inside out.
Sadly this teacher bashing is becoming commonplace, to the point at which many teachers have had enough and are leaving.

the school I’m a governor at tend to say no to part time returning, they effectively need 105% of a teacher to provide the overlap. But on the OPs point, on half time they may not be permanently knackered, probably a good thing.

I taught in a High School until I escaped, ie retired, and the problem I found was on Parents' Evening if the pupil came with their parents I often did a double take because some, especially girls, looked quite different out of uniform and glammed up. I also found that in almost every group I taught there were two I mixed up, I would often say to the pair that they were the chosen two for a while!

I left primary teaching after 21 years last December. I am now a tutor and also a present mum to my own three children - the youngest of whom is 5. My only regret is I didn't do it sooner.
I miss nothing about it, including the constant teacher bashing. Because guess what? My own kids matter to me more than yours do.

My dd in year 1 had two teachers on a job share. It worked so well as both had different skills and teachers had more energy to give to the class. Yabu

My son had job sharing teachers in Yr 1 and Yr 3. I can't say I've got any complaints about any of the teachers my children have had, but the ones that my son got on with the best, who really understood him and put support in place for him were the teachers that were job sharing.
Now whether that was because they had a better work/life balance and therefore weren't as burnt out as some other teachers or whether it was just coincidence, I don't know. All I can say is from my experience, they were the teachers that had the most time for him.
When my son was in Yr 2, at the mid November parents evening, his teacher told me that she hadn't realised he had speech issues before that week, but it was because she had never heard him speak! She was a very experienced teacher and taught full time, but there's 30 kids and sometimes kids kind of go under the radar. Just see it as a positive that your child is clearly not problematic in any way or else I'm sure they'd know all about them!

Dick

On occasions students have forgotten my name too...they called me "Mum"...a common occurrence, I should add, in all schools...
This fact might reassure people who believe that teachers are remote beings who fail to engage in getting to know their students.

I'm happy to give got lots of advice how to parent your children and be a better mother, hope you have a notebook ready?
Otherwise, get a grip.

Agree, it's a very entitled attitude. I'd like to see the OP teach 30 children 5 days a week as well as looking after her own family.

And they got fired when they married.

Quite right too. It's very important that they are at home to prepare their husband's tea so it's waiting on the table when he gets home from work.

With parental attitudes like this, I am even more pleased I am no longer a primary teacher (left after 21 years). Best decision I ever made. Now an EOTAS Tutor (best job ever).