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.

YABU for blaming job sharing.
After almost an entire term working with your child all day for 2 days every week she should definitely know them better than this. That’s not a job share problem, that’s an individual teacher problem.
As a secondary school teacher we might see a class of 30 only a couple of times a week and still be expected to comment on the specific achievements/attitudes/progress of your individual child, otherwise what’s the point in parent-teacher meetings at all.

This can also be used to prevent the cover teacher having to take over while the teacher does their compulsory half day off teaching for prep. In one case my kids teacher was also head or year so had at least 1 day off teaching each week, and the cover teacher changed all the time. The year they had a job share this was all avoided.

As a parent of children in school I completely agree. On the other hand as a working parent I can understand and support the teachers choice in part time employment to suit her family needs. So basically I totally agree and disagree all at the same time 😆

I don’t think it’s the job share that’s the issue I think it’s the specific teachers that are the problem. A good conscientious teacher would have no issue job sharing. I had this for my child and the two that job shared were brilliant. They kept on top of the children and their needs and seldom ever was there a miscommunication. It was the clear the two were briefing each other well enough for a handover. So I do think it’s teacher dependant. If it is impacting your child adversely I would complain but not about them job sharing but because they’re not doing their job properly.

My son is in year 2 and has two teachers but they are both brilliant. I think they have more energy on the days they are in.

Ultimately, beggars can’t be choosers and teachers are hard to come by. So offering things like part time hours helps retain staff.

That being said the teacher should absolutely know the children’s names and perhaps your child’s one isn’t very good!

Also, I should add that surely we want happy and well rested teachers to educate our children?

What on earth does your perception of their wealth have to do with anything. They had the option to go part time because it suits their lifestyle. If you have a problem with the teacher speak to the head, but you will forever more be see as THAT parent.

I’ve seen very successful job sharing in primary schools. Depends

I don’t think it’s selfish. It could of course just be the teacher(s).
Ive previously worked as a teacher and I did know all my pupils, then when I started pt again I knew them (new class). If you continue not to be happy, you could always contact the Head OP.

Why would the teacher not know the child because they had them half the week? Teachers in secondary school can teach far more students per week but still keep records on how they are doing.

We had an excellent experience of job sharing teachers in p2. They worked well together but also each had their own strengths. Some kids clicked more with one than the other but there was twice the chance of a good match. I also felt that two half time teachers had more energy for that age group than one full time.

Both my sons had teachers who were job sharing in P4 (equivalent to Year 3) and it worked perfectly. The teachers were both excellent and knew the children well. Both my DS’s preferred one over the other slightly, but it was a different choice for each. I had no complaints whatsoever. I’m not saying this is everyone’s experience, but neither is it everyone’s experience that the teachers don’t know the pupils.

YABU - the average full time primary school teacher works 60 hours per week. I would much rather they have 2 energised and on the ball teachers than one exhausted teacher. It also means you have two sets skills, say one teacher who speaks French while another who specialising in Maths or who has lots of experience with SEND.

In my child’s school if one teacher is ill the other class teacher is asked if they will do the extra days rather than getting in unknown supply staff so external supply staff are rarely used.

Wow.

It's just as well there are so many people queueing up to be a teacher - what with working hours being 9-3 and all those holidays!

You're going to get a shock at parents evening when your children are at secondary school. Some teachers may only teach them an hour per week or even fortnight.

its very normal for parents of kids who are relatively new to school system to be over zealous. fulltime teachers don't often present they know young kids well - there are 30 of them. if you want higher level of service you need to pay for private school.

'Selfish'. What a ridiculous comment. As others have said wait until your child gets to secondary school. Due to timetabling issues I share all of my classes apart from one with other teachers and it is the norm. I have also been part time to look after my young child and be a carer for my elderly Mum. How selfish!?

Poor teachers. They must bow at the feet of parents.

I sincerely hope so! My SIL is a single retired primary school teacher, and was frequently in school until 7pm due to making up work, checking homework and attending meetings. Imagine someone with kids doing that.

As others have said, this isn't a job share issue - it's an individual teacher issue or, perhaps, a problem of your perception. Both my kids (reception and yr 4) have job sharing teachers; it works brilliantly for both.

Realistically, if schools refused job shares for infants teachers then they would either have to choose less impressive candidates or perhaps not succeed in finding a permanent teacher at all. There aren't enough great primary teachers who want to work full-time for their entire career to go around. Is that really what you want?

You’re being ridiculous.

I was at primary school in the 70s and we had job share teachers in P6/P7. As far as I remember one taught in the morning and the other in the afternoon.

The morning one was also the deputy head and he was horrible. The afternoon one was lovely and we were always so relieved when we had her.

As someone who went back full time after having a child and suffered very high work-related stress and depression, and ended up off sick for several weeks, YABU.

It is not ideal in some cases, no, however for the sake of retaining female teachers at a certain stage of life, it's essential to support flexible working. Teaching is a very hard job full time without kids, never mind with kids.
I know, because I've done both.

Besides, do you not know what happens in secondary schools? You're in for a shock when those parents evenings come round. Your child might only see their Art teacher once a week.

Only having kids for half the week is no barrier at all to knowing them. As a secondary school teacher I saw most of my students once a week and still knew who they all were by the end of term.
Having two teachers can also be beneficial if they have complementary skill sets etc.
YAnBU if this particular teacher is not effective - and knowing who your students are is part of being effective.