Why does the NEU say that teachers should not be expected to mark work during the pandemic?

[Thenagainmaybenot]

The national education union says that:
'Worksheets and textbook pages for maths and English can work if they are already used in school and all children have them at home. However, teachers cannot be expected to mark work. Schools should not be setting SATs tests or mocks at this time.'

Why shouldn't teachers be expected to mark work? Fair enough they shouldn't be marking as much as they do normally, but (say) 1-2 maths and english tasks per week to be marked is surely reasonable?

Then should a pupil/parent tell you to fuck off, remember how you swore at a stranger on the internet.

Yep. Will do. But remember - the pupil will be swearing at a dedicated teacher doing her job while I was swearing at some dickhead sneeringly telling everyone that teachers should buy their own laptops if schools can't provide them. They and their judgmental, opinionated, entitled, out-of-touch-with-reality pontificating deserved a resounding 'fuck off'.

Then should a pupil/parent tell you to fuck off, remember how you swore at a stranger on the internet

Why?

remember how you swore at a stranger on the internet

Are you new to Mumsnet? Had you not grasped that swearing is almost expected?

just read the last page of teacher comments... if you're a teacher who posted, take a few seconds to wonder why many parents consider you to be militant, condescending work-avoiders.

So are any parents who report a woeful experience from their school thinking about moving their child to a different state school, one like mine, even if it's not the "right" "middle class" "bite your arm off to get your child into" school
are you saying that it's just the "middle class" schools with this problem of workshy teachers? How odd. Why would you think that?
And i don't know if you've ever tried to move schools for your child but I'm afraid you can't simply "decide" to move them to a school of your choice.
I'm assuming you're not in the UK as you have little understanding of the UK school system

Only 30% of the children in my school (primary) have access to a device. Even then it’s sometimes a smart phone with limited data and no WiFi We are delivering work and then discussing it with pupils/ parents on the phone. Feedback is given in this way the best we can.

I think on MN we can all get a bit carried away with ‘just do a live lesson’, ‘Teams was free for everyone’. This ignores the reality of the situation of the vast majority of pupils at my school, and we won’t be alone.

@LaureBerthaud

"I'd assume that a teacher would already own a laptop or computer or they'd purchase one if schools didn't provide them. They're an essential tool of your trade."

Teachers who do use their money for 'tools of their trade' tend to buy supplies for their classrooms as the schools can't afford to provide them, and the teachers don't want to see their class going without pencils, rulers, etc.

They also pay for educational resources, normally sold to them by companies who know that schools' limited budgets won't extend to such frivolities so they hike up the prices for 'individual users' to subscribe to, with teachers feeling that they are doing what is best and necessary to provide quality resources for their class children.

Sadly, buying a personal laptop would fall to the bottom of the list of justifiable expenses for most teachers, as any IT access they need is 'available at the school'. Having a laptop could encourage extracurricular relaxation activities such as gaming, YouTube or researching their own hobbies. Ain't no teacher got time fo' dat.

Oh gawd.
More ridiculousness from posters who know the square root of fuck all about teachers or schools. I could write a long post about what teachers have been doing but no, can’t be arsed. No more justifying from me. My union doesn’t prevent me from doing anything. They do represent me, fight for my pay and conditions and try protect children and families from the worst of successive governments underfunding of education.
The massed ranks of the teacher bashing goady fuckers on here have no idea and don’t care about the reality of working in the education sector. And why should they be when me and my colleagues work so tirelessly (and spend so much of our own money) to make sure it doesn’t impact the children. Fuck off is exactly right.

And that is a small part of the current situation, JimmyGrimble.
Teachers have protected the general public from the realities of the dire funding situation in schools, by working hard to prop up the lack of equipment, either out of their own pockets, or by innovative ways of planning and organising activities to mask the lack.
Covid has removed the veil, and parents are finally horrified, now they find it it impacting their own child.

If you're a teacher who posted, take a few seconds to wonder why many parents consider you to be militant, condescending work-avoiders.
Add foul-mouthed and aggressive into that.
If you look on the 'staffroom' thread -and this is an open forum so perfectly valid - you will are the real vitriol-sneering at parents and children snd boasting of 'copying and pasting the progress gap reports. And if you have a child called Liam then he will be a lowlife according to them. Hardly what you would expect from 'professionals'.

Exactly Angelina. It makes me so cross!

UmbrellaHat

What is your job?

@UmbrellaHat

If you're a teacher who posted, take a few seconds to wonder why many parents consider you to be militant, condescending work-avoiders. Add foul-mouthed and aggressive into that. If you look on the 'staffroom' thread -and this is an open forum so perfectly valid - you will are the real vitriol-sneering at parents and children snd boasting of 'copying and pasting the progress gap reports. And if you have a child called Liam then he will be a lowlife according to them. Hardly what you would expect from 'professionals'.

Oh do behave yourself umbrella, you muppet. Did you copy and paste this comment from the other thread where you posted exactly the same thing? Creepy stalking too. You sound lovely.

if you're a teacher who posted, take a few seconds to wonder why many parents consider you to be militant, condescending work-avoiders.

Hahaha - that's just about the most condescending post on here.

If you're a parent having a go at a teacher, take a few seconds to consider how successive years of Tory government have underfunded education and mental health provision in this country, to the point that provision for our (your) young people is almost on its knees.

Then consider how you've allowed the media to turn you against your public servants (not just teachers, it'll be the NHS, police etc next), when those people have chosen those careers in order to care for the public. No one becomes a teacher or a doctor or a nurse or a copper or a firefighter because it's an easy option that pays lots, they've gone into it for altruistic reasons. At the moment many of them are paying even more of their own money into the systems to keep them afloat, on top of paying tax. Let's remember that not only do 'you pay our wages', we also pay our own wages.

I don't imagine any of you have had such personally negative experiences of all public servants, that you can just wave an arm and say all teachers are condescending work avoiders and honestly believe it to be true.

In this situation some schools have indeed been crap for some children. Most heads aimed for the middle of their community demographic. If it doesn't suit you, or you don't like it, the government and the BBC had offered alternatives which were about as good as the best state schools supplied. None of this remote stuff can be done without parent support (for primary certainly), including the home education of my own child. Lots of us also had to do it while working at the same time. I paid out of my own money for £1.99 work books for some of our children - why didn't their own parents do that? Some don't care, some just can't afford it - because Tory fucking government.

"if you're a teacher who posted, take a few seconds to wonder why many parents consider you to be militant, condescending work-avoiders."

Because they don't understand how schools work but think they do.

Because they're grumpy about a perceived failing in their own school but cba finding out from that school what the context is.

Because they ignore or dismiss all posts that don't chime with their own world view. Hundreds of teachers have posted on mn in recent months to try to answer questions or explain things. How many pp on this thread have acknowledged that they might have misunderstood a few things?

Because their main preoccupation is securing privilege for their own child and hang the keyworker/vulnerable/returning year groups who are being prioritised.

Because they revel in telling teachers what they should/shouldn't be doing and then cry 'condescending' when told why it's not possible in words of one syllable.

Because they're stamping their foot about wanting things a certain way and don't like - or are unaccustomed - to being told no.

Thank god we've got unions protecting us from the unreasonable expectations of mn parents and their ilk, and thank god that my rl parents have been unfalteringly supportive, kind and appreciative.

"if you're a teacher who posted, take a few seconds to wonder why many parents consider you to be militant, condescending work-avoiders."

If you're a parent posting things like this on a public forum, take a few seconds to wonder why teachers and other parents think you're dickheads.

(PS. I'm not a teacher. So, piss, arse, balls, fuck, cuntflaps )

@JuanNil

"if you're a teacher who posted, take a few seconds to wonder why many parents consider you to be militant, condescending work-avoiders."

If you're a parent posting things like this on a public forum, take a few seconds to wonder why teachers and other parents think you're dickheads.

(PS. I'm not a teacher. So, piss, arse, balls, fuck, cuntflaps )

Juanil You're my new hero and I just need you to know that! Thank you.

Hear, hear!
JuanNil for PM.

I don't expect the work to be 'marked', but I do expect the teacher to at least acknowledge its been done, or perhaps comment - which we haven't had from our teachers. Presumably that's totally unreasonable though!

I do realise that some teachers have been working hard, however some certainly haven't been - not sure why that means they should get away with it - if I was a teacher who'd been working hard, I'd want the workshy ones to be called out on it to be honest - not pouring vitriol on anyone who complains.

Oh I haven’t heard cunt flaps for a while!

A friend described someone as having vinegar tits the other day which also took me back.

I calculated that, to date, 5000 pieces of work per class have been set by our school. All families have been given the opportunity to send in what they have done for feedback (which has been readily given). However, not that many have done so, so if we were to mark it all in one go when schools do return, that is a crazy task to have to perform, to zero benefit to the child, so long after the event.

JuanNil
Thank god for parents like you that keep us all going.

Tfoot, there's no denying that you get the odd work shy teacher, like you do in every profession. They irritate us too. From time to time I've piped up on threads to agree with a dissatisfied parent. But so much of what is on this thread, and those like it since the end of March, is misunderstanding and wilful ignorance that really does deserve to be challenged.

It’s weird that threads that put the blame on teachers are so popular, while my thread which put the blame squarely where it belongs got very little response from parents.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3941702-Annoyed-your-kid-isn-t-having-zoom-lessons-or-school-contact-or-not-going-back-to-school-yet

Yes that is strange noble

I wonder why exactly that is?