How are teachers feeling now?

[ssd]

I've got an awful lot of sympathy for teachers in all this, I feel they've been hung out to dry. But hopefully the vaccine news and cases coming down will make them feel a bit better.
My kids have left school so I've got a general interest. .no bone to grind.

A week (from memory) earlier than normal so this is not the same school.

For the record, I did not say my school had loads of cases. Comms are not good at my schol so it could be 4 since last week. It could be more. What their is is lots of students who ahve only just returned having to SI and it has made me sad.

Better than all being off, though?

The entire uk government approach to education (and teacher vaccinations) has been an absolutely appalling disgrace. Horrific.

Gavin Williams and the DfE should be totally ashamed of themselves. The medics and scientists at the briefings, quoting statistics to reassure the population how safe schools are, when their statistics sample period includes large periods when schools were closed to most, is just awful.

You couldn’t even say that teachers have been thrown under the bus, that doesn’t begin to cover it. More accurate to say they’ve been thrown from the road-bridge onto the M1 below.

If you want a career that is completely undervalued by basically everyone from the government down, education would be your first choice.

The whole thing is an Absolute fucking disgrace.

Still, we’re the uk. We can start donating our surplus vaccines overseas to other countries who can stick them in the arms of education staff who are a priority in that country. Meanwhile Mr Jones, a 48 year old obese teacher in the UK with high blood pressure and mild asthma, gets sweet fa.

Palacegirl177 I'm in Scotland and we're not allowed to do any PE indoors at all - it was great fun in the really cold weather. Not sure if it's a whole Scotland policy but certainly in my LA. Can't use the hall anyway as it's the staffroom atm

I love having the children back but I'm personally completely worn out by the last year.

So glad to be back and somehow feel recharged despite workload being high and it has been a rollercoaster few months. I think being back with the children and colleagues has reminded me why I love my job and reignited my ambition again.
It feels odd we only have a short time until Easter holidays- but won't complain! Lots to get sorted over the holidays with reports and HOD jobs and for once don't feel resentful.

Our Local Authority (in London) has offered the jab to all teachers this week- not sure how it is allowed but I know many staff are very grateful for it.

Our Local Authority (in London) has offered the jab to all teachers this week- not sure how it is allowed but I know many staff are very grateful for it.
Do you mind me asking which borough (or private messaging!) as I always live in hope! (I teach in a London borough)

Do you know chocolate I am not sure I agree at the moment, in my specific setting. I am lucky enough to work somewhere where engagement with remote learning was very high. the students got lots of feedback, work and personalised attention.

My opinion doesn't count for too much but several year 12 spontaneously said last week that being back was too stressful and disruptive and they wished they were still at home. They felt they could have waited til after Easter. I didn't expect them to say that. It was an eye opener. Some of them have siblings at uni so the contrast is stark for them.

Time will tell whether it is better after Easter!

Been back a week already taught kids with Covid, I'm also pregnant and so no vaccine for me any time soon. As much as I love my job, this is the most nervous I've ever been in regards to going to work.

@noblegiraffe

any more recent figures? now theyre all being tested?

No, because the most recent attendance data was on Tuesday and they said they wouldn't publish the average isolation figures until secondary schools had finished their staggered return.

I don't see why you would expect it to leap from 24/30 pupils isolating per positive to 90 as you suggest though. The procedures there haven't changed from December.

I havent suggested they will leap. In my daughters school it is 90 off for one case (primary) think we are talking at cross purposes.

@Piggywaspushed

I didn't! I said it was an exaggeration by the media, as if it is always the case. I did make it clear I was talking about secondaries, too.

You didn't say it was from personal experience.

Personally, working in an area with many large schools, I ahve never heard of one case leading to 90 children out.

I am not sure if it is hypothetical at your schol, or if it has actually happened palace and don't want to pry. But some schol thought whole bubbles would shut and the then DfE intervened.

Your words were:

"We have NEVER sent 90 home in one go so I wish people wouldn't exaggerate. That is rare."

if you werent referring to me as a person allegedly exaggerating what did you mean?

I meant the media. Or MN in general , I suppose where every case leads to 90 being sent home, which it really doesn't.

As I said, I have never in RL heard of that actually happening for one case. it's a theoretical from (primary school usually) risk assessments but PHE/DfE don't usually allow it.

It wasn't aimed at you personally , so apologies if it felt that way.

@Piggywaspushed

I meant the media. Or MN in general , I suppose where every case leads to 90 being sent home, which it really doesn't.

As I said, I have never in RL heard of that actually happening for one case. it's a theoretical from (primary school usually) risk assessments but PHE/DfE don't usually allow it.

It wasn't aimed at you personally , so apologies if it felt that way.

No probs and that info is really interesting. Yes it has happened in my daughters school (primary) luckily her year group hasnt been out yet but we have lost full year groups (recep, y1 and y5) which were 90 children in total each time. Their logic is that the children play in the same bubble outside. So my daughter could be off for being near a child she has never engaged with outside. Seems OTT to me.

I’ve started to look and apply for different jobs; first time in 11 years.

I can’t imagine going on a thread asking ‘how are X profession feeling now?’ when I wasn’t in that profession and picking holes in what people who were, said.

*Hopefully most of them, if they have any sense, are glad to be back in the classroom doing their normal job

@thefallthroughtheair*

Have you come on a thread asking teachers how they are feeling, specifically to tell us how we should be feeling??

I can sympathise with the frustrations of non teachers on mumsnet and in the world in general, to be honest.

'Teacher talk' easily takes over all other conversation and, as a group, I find we talk about work outside of work in a way that other people don't seem to. I'm not talking about teachers who work in the same school, either. Just knowing that another person is a teacher of any kind, anywhere, seems to be enough, in my experience.

There is also a tendency towards martyrdom and a belief that we have it harder than anybody else. Both pre Covid and now. Alongside that, there exists the belief that teachers finish at 4pm and are always on holiday. One of those stereotypes almost certainly leads to and perpetuates the other but it's impossible to say which came first.

In Covid both attitudes have become so much more extreme. We now see lots of teachers claiming to be 'on their knees', 'permanently exhausted' and 'thrown to the wolves' which I just haven't seen from doctors, nurses, police etc on here.

At the same time, there are more posters insisting even more vehemently that teachers do nothing but whine, want schools closed forever and are workshy.

No idea if one type of posted started due to annoyance at the other type or whether they are independent of each other but I can absolutely see why both attitudes are infuriating to the other 'side'.

And, as is usually the case, few of the extreme views are valid and most people exist quite happily in a realistic, mid way world which could probably be summarised like this:

Teaching is a hard job. It is not the hardest job. Covid has made teaching harder. Covid has made lots of jobs harder. Most teachers love children, love their jobs and work very hard. Some teachers hate their jobs and want to quit but still work very hard. A few teachers are terrible at their jobs. The last 3 sentences could have any job title inserted into them and still be true. Teachers are normal people with a normal mix of good and bad traits.

The last 3 sentences could have any job title inserted into them and still be true

Indeed. This is a thread about teachers, asking them a question though-not anyone else.

I have absolutely no idea why each class isnt a separate bubble, it absolutely should be

Because we don't have enough staff to deal with all the different issues if this is the case. Adults have to cross bubbles. After easter we'll be mixing into bigger bubbles to allow for more flexible staffing and teaching. This is the right decision for the children, even if it is a tiny bit higher risk that they'll be sent home as part of the bigger bubble.

It was, letseatgrandma. I'd say it's evolved a bit since the start.

But just the fact that it (and the 20 million other teacher threads on here) exists just highlights the weird obsession this country has with teachers, in my opinion. And teachers and non teachers both feed into it. No other profession gets so much grief and no other profession seemed so determined to attract it.

We now see lots of teachers claiming to be 'on their knees', 'permanently exhausted' and 'thrown to the wolves' which I just haven't seen from doctors, nurses, police etc on here.

They have been very prevalent in social media such as Twitter, Tik Tok and Facebook though, as well as the media. Main difference is that they rarely (although it is getting worse very recently with the police and demos of course) have people telling them they are lying, whinging etc. and instead listen to them. I know I do.

I came on this thread to say how I was feeling as did many teachers. Not surprising really, given the thread title I suppose.

It was, letseatgrandma. I'd say it's evolved a bit since the start

Evolved or derailed?

Had it just been teachers replying as the question asked, I suspect it wouldn’t have.

Is there a difference? Conversations don't tend to stick to topic, do they. I think derailed is quite a negative term. Once you've had 10-20 replies on topic giving a range of opinions, you need the thread to evolve/derail or else it's just very boring to read.

I thought it was a good post, manic

Yes, I started the thread just asking about teachers. And on the whole the replies are saying they are exhausted. And I dont blame them.