Sorry this is far too long. But, i have been up working, in the night, in the holidays as many do. These threads can damage people, those who use a system see only negatives and lies and those who provide it feel burned out and unappreciated. Neither bode well for children, who of course are the heart of the matter when it comes to schools.
It's funny that everyone knows a teacher, as in are good enough friends with to discuss detailed working hours, to be able to say that teachers have it easy and do no work. 🤔👏
Personally I try to be more picky with my friends. I may have worked with a few lazy and work shy teachers over the years, but those that didn't exceed their paid hours are fairly rare and those who don't care rarer still, thankfully.
Teaching has one of highest number of unpaid hours in uk jobs, this has been a consistant finding for years.
www.tes.com/news/teachers-work-more-unpaid-overtime-anyone-else
Most staff work unpaid overtime and spend their own money supporting learners in a massively underfunded sector.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/education-47964154
But according to certain people all teachers, primary at least 🙄 ate sitting at home watching daytime tv drinking various hot drinks. And, well, you know, they know, because their best friend, sister, mil, aunt is a teacher and this person is fully representative of a profession.
But, for all you wonderful people out there, be you mn warriers, journalists, the BBC, please keep hoping that these lazy, underworked, overpaid, unchallenged teachers continue to privide your family with the extras, the free stuff, the trips , the equipment, the pastoral care that goes above and beyond, the family support, the free time, the listening ear, the fun stuff that gives happy memories, the stuff that aims to stop abuse, hunger, desperation, family breakdowns. Most of these are expected but not paid for, they go unacknowledged in a profession that is struggling to retain staff.
So sit snug snd happy on that keyboard knowing that teachers and other staff in education are doing nothing to support the virus response. When you pads tgat closed school with a group of children outside in the holidays, remember that work shy member of staff supporting, engaging with them, unpaid, has really spent their unpaid holidays sitting in front of the tv consuming copious amounts of Ben and Jerry's. When the member of staff responds to a parent, at breaking point, at night or at the weekend, out of paid working hours, they were uncaring and lazy, counting their over generous holidays like a miser with his money. Pkease hold them accountable for their lack of flexibility when your child is on a residential trip, overnight. These staff are all having a jolly at your expense, only again, it is unpaid, with no time back or flexi time or reimbursement for their increased childcare costs when they are working away from home unpaid.
Teachers aren't saints, the profession isn't the best it can be, thete are problems and, like every profession tgere are those who don't pull their weight and too often these people are promoted or allowed to carry on without being dealt with. However these are the small minority, but, we are losing our good and great staff, we are losing the goodwill and this will create a change in education that can only be to the detriment of our children.
So when you demand more for free due to a, hopefully, one off crisis, then get upset, or don't believe, when people explain over and over, that doing extra for nothing isn't that unusual, but that they are less willing to give up their holidays, because YOU demand that these lazy workshy staff pull their weight for the sake of parents, the country, for you, they respond negatively not just for their own sake but also for the children's health and because actually they are only just coping as it is. As a profession we will try to do as much as we can. Yes there will be the few who don't pull their weight, please speak to individual schools these people make all our lives worse. But don't push school staff to a breaking point where collectively they stop doing the extras and give the public the educational experience that they pay for.
Please remember, just because you think it is a good idea, or because you are sure you know how little teachers and staff do the chances are you don't and your negative, goady comments actually risk real harm to the families and children who need the goodwill and staff willing to go the extra mile.