Do you think that schools are okay?

[applejane11]

When I was in school, I remember absolutely hating school. I like learning. What I hated was the constant feeling of being in a prison, having no freedom. Having to sit for 7 hours a day and not speak. Having no say at all in most things. Constantly being controlled. I remember every morning, feeling dread when I woke up to go in.

I now actually work in a school in an admin position. Ive worked in lots of different companies. Now im in a school. I hear the teenagers say the same things all the time. They hate it, they feel like they are in prison, that it is awful, that they feel depressed every day, that all their young life is wasted. I also have to say, I definitely see school teachers abuse their power over the students. Not in a way that you could say is definitely abuse, but just in a way where you can see that they are really loving having power and control over the teenagers.

Do you think that schools are okay the way that they are? Teenagers don't have a lot of say in things or a lot of human rights, so it's adults that need to have the conversation about it.

Same here. I felt safe in school which I didn’t at home.

Implement change by whining on mumsnet? Yeah right. Go to bed.

I only recently found out that at my sons school they were made to take of their blazers in freezing weather ahd and stand the the freezing cold. A couple of kids challenged it and the teacher got in their face.. Then its the other extreme where they won't let children take of blazers. Thats just control for the sake of it.

Also the pressure on children is awful. Theres no school life balance at all . At my childs school it was 8.25am start . Finish 3.05 but then they had to stay for master class until 4pm. An hour to get home. Then from 5pm till 6 study. . 7 till 9 home work.
Plus some Saturdays in school and some of the half terms plus more study. They use words like compulsory when irs not. They send warning type messages to the children. Different type to the parents. I took my child out of some of them. They tried to tell me it was compulsory and there wasn't a choice. Which is not true.
Dd did go to the core subjects. One was 3hrs hours of maths . Are they really taking anything in doing 3hrs.

There was quite a few horrible things.

You see this with so many children. Memories of one particular girl, from an awful background. Reputation of being workshy, a bit disrespectful.

She made a point on leaving to visit every teacher, she had tears in her eyes. She was scared. Scared of what was to follow. But, she was grateful for an environment that gave her some normality, a level playing field. A chance.

I often think of her, hope she is safe, hope she is living an enjoyable life. Chances are though, she isn't. School will remain a highlight for her.

It's my experience that the majority of students are grateful for the structure, the opportunity it represents.

Back to the original point of the OP. Is school okay? It's more then ok for the majority. If you wish to judge by the outliers that make news and that have rightfully been called out, go for it.

what do you get by being so rude. do you feel a kick of power or something? Is that the only bit of power you feel in your day - by being rude to people on the internet? Im sorry you feel so low that you need to feel powerful by being rude to others

No I won't go to bed, because you, a random stranger on the internet told me to.

Yes that's another thing that the students in my school say to me. That the pressure on them is so huge at a young age.

I also teenage children of my friends saying this. That they are under too much pressure at school and can't cope.

Can a thread be deleted for being pathetic? 🤔

All the local schools round here suspended usual uniform rules during the heatwave and the teens went in wearing pe kit every day.
Ive not heard of a single school insisted they wear blazers in 35 degree heat, with the exception of places like Michaela which are definitely that - the Exception, NOT the rule.

Can your posts be deleted? What are you adding to the thread. Nothing

Lol are you adding anything worthwhile either?

OP works in school admin yet gets into constant conversations with students. Why aren't they in lessons?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvge4q69d01o

Here is another story. Boys were forced to wear trousers to school in the heat, so this student wore a skirt in protest.

They come into the office for lots of different reasons.

Admin, and making change for the students from the inside.

A true revolutionary.

Genuinely interested, what is this Admin role?

@InOverMyHead84 ...well complaining on mumsnet rather than making changes from within...(appologies if you were being tongue-in-cheek and i've taken your comment too literlly)

I think your own school experience is affecting your judgement of modern day schools.

Maybe stick to your own admin lane.

Why mention admin there?

Are you insulting all administrative people now? Wow just wow!

Lets see if your school could run without the admin staff.

My school is very appreciative of admin staff actually and yes I am making change. I sit on an a comittee. I am included in a meeting with our safeguarding lead every week. We tlak about school issues.

you said that you worked in a school.. Are you a teacher because I'm surprised that a teacher would be that rude and abusive?. I've seen rude teachers. But you are another level.

It's ok. When confronting nonsense we all have different coping methods.

If you’re having, as you imply, many students confide in you about their periods and toilet habits, and their deep emotional feelings about school, that’s pretty inappropriate as a member of office staff. The way you have written, OP, implies this is a very regular occurrence which has given you ample evidence to make the statements you have made. If this is really true, you should reflect on your boundaries with the students, and probably speak to the Safeguarding Lead and pastoral team about these issues - which is who the students should be speaking to.

And yet every year hundreds of thousands of teens make it through GCSE's with similar grades to the years that came before them, happily head to prom/leavers parties etc.
Yes im sure a minority feel a lot of pressure.
Sadly, statistically, in any educational environment (other than home education!) there will always be those kids who find it harder than their peers - it's not possible to fix that. Make is easier? There will still be the kids who do worst/find it harder/ get the worst grades/ fail exams. It isnt possible to fix the problem that human beings were not all created equal, unfortunately. Even in hunter/gatherer times there would have been those who were the most successful hunters, and those who felt pressure because they were less successful.

What do you suggest we do to fix it?

You said you had an admin job.

Again, so defensive. I'm interested, what admin role do you have that allows for the interaction with students? I'm trying to learn about the environment you work in.

What is your admin role that you are able to implement change?

Your posts are honestly some of the worst I've ever seen on mumsnet

What do you get out of attacking, harassing and bullying me over and over.

Seriously, what is wrong with you?

@applejane11 i dont feel this is the right environment for a delicate flower that considers any respones other than those capitulating as being abusive

With all due respect, if you work in admin you are hardly ever in the classroom. You are basing your opinions on what a minority of the students say, which is hardly objective.