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.

Exactly this - and we have our own children to think of.

😆

Clearly we're not allowed to have our own children and work part time to spend more time with them.
As usual parents expect us to be at their beckoned call 24/7 and not have our own lives.

And no, the holidays don't make up for this. You can easily burn out with workload and mum guilt two weeks into a half term, never mind an eight weeker.

I think there are some people who genuinely think their child is the most precious child and that everyone else should recognise this and act accordingly - and so are shocked and outraged if a teacher ever does something that is not solely and specifically for the best of their one individual child.

It really is very strange...

Count your blessings you've got two teachers!

YABU. I think you’re feeding into the massive problem we have in this country of people thinking teachers are childcare providers. They’re not. They’re there to provide an education for your child. Yes it’s nice if they get to know them well, and yes they should have a basic understanding of your child as a person. But they’re there to teach a whole class. If you feel you weren’t given enough information about your child’s education then that’s a matter for senior leadership and you should take it up with them. Teachers’ hours of work are none of your business.

Right? I once had a class of 37 children. It was bloody hard work. Yet parents assumed I had a class of 1...their child.
Like getting told off for not encouraging their child to drink from their water bottle, for example, even though their child was 8 years old.

YABU it hasnothing to do with being a job share. DS1 also P2 has had job share teachers P1 and P2 his teachers still know him and can give a run down!

Depends on the teacher.
Over the years mine have had all sorts of combinations.
Reception - one young teacher one semi retired worked beautifully as complimented one another.
Year 2 and 6 job share two teachers with young families 3 days each covered absence for one another.
Year 3 one teacher - bloody awful taught things that were not correct.
Year 5 one teacher off sick a lot so cover teacher supply teacher HLTA (who was the best of them even though officially unqualified)

I agree with the OP. When I decided to ease off a little after over 2 decades of teacher, I job shared in a Year 6 class. Both myself and my colleague (both very experienced teachers) absolutely hated it! We didn't feel we had the same relationship with the children, and we certainly didn't get to know them and their quirks on the same level. Both of us lasted the year. I left the classroom and she went back to full time. Certainly for KS 1 children, I think having two part time teachers is a poor substitute for one full time teacher. Even if the p/t teachers are excellent, it's just not the same experience for the children or the teachers.

Parents and carers do not own teachers, their leaders or any other member of school staff.

Parents and carers do not get to dictate the systems and structures that keep a school running.

Parents and carers should remember what is their responsibility and what is the school's.

YABU - the financial circumstances, employment contracts and personal lives of school staff is sweet FA to do with you.

Why didn't you go back full time?

Well it is part of the terms and conditions of employment and they are perfectly entitled to work part-time or job share, without these family friendly terms and conditions maybe your child would have a load of subs in and out over the year because the school would struggle to recruit. They are employees and decide on what hours they do based on their own circumstances as I am sure you do too

YABVVVVVU

The desires of teachers? Like the desire to meet the needs of their own children and their own needs for good mental and physical health? The average full time primary school teacher is working 70 hours a week. If you want teachers to want to work FT then you need to campaign to change that.

I worked two days a week until my LITTLE DC was two years old.

I can't work out if this is a joke or not 😂

Because it’s a free country without indentured servants?

It's bizarre but seemingly not that uncommon. There is a mum in DS1's class who honestly, genuinely thinks the school was wrong to schedule the Christmas concert when they did because her DD had a swimming lesson then. Not a school swimming lesson or anything, a private one. Which apparently should be at the centre of the school's calendar.

All posts like this do is reveal how little people know about teaching and how many shit teachers there are out there.

As a full time teacher, by the end of the second week of September I’ve worked with your child in a small group setting at least 6 times, as well as the whole of the rest of the time (about 60 hours) in a whole class setting. I’ve seen them socialise, play sport, draw, calculate, read, use a computer. I know them pretty well, as far as teaching goes.

A part time teacher it might take until half term to reach that point. But a primary teacher who doesn’t know your kid at all by Christmas is a shit teacher.

Being part time is irrelevant here.

My eldest's first teacher was a job share - it was brilliant - they were both very different people (both great teachers) and it meant that if someone didn't get something the way the first teacher said it, they had a second chance at understanding when the other one did.

I didn't hear complaints from my son, or any other parents.

I just thought it was interesting the person I quoted said that a job share doesn't work blah blah and so they decided to leave completely, and not go back full time, which is clearly better for the children...

Are there any other workers who should be denied their legal rights to work part-time, or is it just teachers and people that affect you?

Have you ever thought that you might be to blame for raising a boring child who clearly has no personality and is therefore impossible to distinguish from the other boring children?

Jokes aside, I think that 30 children is alot but unlike secondary teachers who have over 100 names to remember at least the nurturing nature of primary means they should have sufficient time to learn names and personalities. So, I am 50 50. Yes, they should know your child no, there is nothing selfish about a jobshare.

Teaching - especially primary teaching is a mammoth job that takes up so much emotional, mental and physical bandwidth. I take my hat off to primary specialists - they are amazing.

Also the naughty children are always easier to remember so at least that means that your child is probably good as gold.

Maybe let the school know your concerns and that they are shared by other parents.

Is your child happy with their teachers and with their school in general?

We had a shared teacher class when my twins were six and it was a bit rubbish one teacher was very shouty and the other had a hippy , yoga vibe and was very soft spoken. There was a spirited cohort of boys who refused to listen to either. First half was all shouting,second half was children running riot. Surprisingly hippy teacher broke first grabbed one of the boys and shook him (police were called) I assumed it was shouty teacher until dt said otherwise.

I do think dc do better with consistency of one teacher to do main teaching. I think it’d be be far better if part time teachers did every morning or afternoon docould take on all maths etc