Those of us who were ‘cannon fodder’- how do you feel?

[Onandoff]

I went to a gathering the other day with people who were privileged enough to still be working from home in highly paid city jobs. Their experiences were a stark contrast with mine. It was interesting to hear how protected they’d been, many still getting shopping delivered and only just resuming socialising. They hadn’t been on public transport at all. There was a general air of resentment at being asked to go back to offices and commute. They’d all saved money and were very worried about covid exposure despite being vaccinated. Apparently many workers have completely refused to return.

DH and I were the only key workers there and it brought home how exposed we’d been. Literally all of our family and colleagues caught it and some died or were left disabled. My mum died. In the hospital where I work 80% caught it in the first wave alone.

It’s been interesting to see through this that the jobs essential to society are (generally, appreciate some exceptions like medics) the worst paid. If we’d refused to go in or been redeployed we’d have been sacked. While the privileged middle class are still being pandered to despite vaccination.

I feel that those who went out to work should be financially compensated for the risk we took. At the very least we should be given tax breaks and not be expected to cough up for furlough costs.

[quote BustopherPonsonbyJones]@Xenia
A fair point about young adults suffering. They have had a tough time of it. I’m not so sympathetic to those who were able to work from home. I worked from home in the first lockdown (and taught a full timetable ‘live’ from day one so no sunbathing here) and it was UNBELIEVABLY easy compared to being in school. By that, I don’t mean the work as it was very challenging learning new skills so quickly - I mean the mental impact. I really don’t think the mental strain of working being unprotected in a classroom full of people is understood by those lucky enough to work at home.

You are also quite right about leaving. So far, we have lost five teachers who have taken early retirement to do the jobs you describe or tutor from home. Society’s problem is that jobs are not been filled or when they have been filled, the younger teachers decide it isn’t for them (even in the current economic climate).

Rather than take the ‘just move on’ approach, it would be better to listen to workers in the different ‘essential’ working environments and address their concerns. I have been teaching for over 20 years. If I hated my job I would have left years ago. What I hate is the assumption that we don’t deserve to do our jobs safely and that even whilst we have put ourselves at risk during this pandemic, it still isn’t good enough for many people, usually those who didn’t put themselves at risk at all.[/quote]
Exactly.
And many are not going into teaching as might have done.
Our 3 daughters for example ( now in their 30s ) who saw their 2 teaching parents working all hours averaging basic pay per hour spent on school work and the pressure of jumping through hoops and moving goalposts, they vowed never to be teachers.

And then for my ex colleagues ( many of whom are friends ) and my grandchildren's teachers to be sent into the classroom without any PPE at all, well !!! - I wrote to my MP about that, but just got the standard letter back.

I just wonder if @CBUK2K2 's wife ( teacher) has read what he has written !

There are around half a million teachers in the UK. I wonder what proportion of that number is represented by @CBUK2K2'S anecdotal evidence of a few friends that they spent 3 (??) lockdowns either sunning themselves in the garden and doing precious little.

I just wonder if @CBUK2K2 's wife ( teacher) has read what he has written ! wink

I have suggested that she LTB

CB' s lack of response to why they'd not have the dream job of teaching with all it's holidays says it all....

[quote CBUK2K2]@Hercisback Well during the first lockdown the 5 schools I have family working in and my sons shut apart from a skeleton staff looking after vulnerable kids, who largely didn’t turn up. As a parent our contact from school amounted to a single phone call in the 7? Weeks.

I work away (and have luckily worked as normal) through the whole pandemic. I’ve got colleagues from all over the country and their experience was very similar.

My wife is leadership in a primary school and when I asked why teachers weren’t driving round giving out work she nearly fell over laughing because “that’s not in their contract”.

The second lockdown was marginally better, we we’re given a bag of activities to last the lockdown.

By the third they had managed to get an online presence and provided 2-3 hours of work a day.

Having a lot of teacher friends, it’s been very clear from their social media posts they’ve had quite a nice lockdown on full pay.

Around 40% of employed people in the U.K. are self employed owning small businesses. Lots of these people have been very badly stung by covid. Lots of them are in low income brackets to start with.

It’s very difficult to plan work or employ people with the chaos of lockdown and the pingdemic. As an employer you’ve also got to cover holiday pay pensions etc for people on furlough. So even though you’re not allowed to trade. You’ve got to stump up 15% of your staffing costs as a minimum out of your own pocket.[/quote]
I teach and I think there was a bit of both.

There were definitely bits of lockdown and isolation where we weren’t expected to do anything. Contacting parents was done by the school and often we were none the wiser about the next step anyway.

Other bits it’s was days of teaching our classes as usual , covering other classes, online classes and preparing work to send home.

Feast or Famine

Yeah the only time I saw a teacher sat in her garden was when she was recording regular storyline for her students
Just don't get the hate tbh. Everyone suffered but in different ways.

If we are moving to a worker shortage climate for the first time since the 1950s to 60s then wages should go right up. Then they would have to go up so much teaching became much more attractive than my son's full time delivery driver work.

We taught almost everything live and talked to our tutor groups every day and did one to ones with each child a number of times! We also went in to look after kids.

It must have been annoying when schools didn't do very much but it isn't really fair to hate on all teachers because of it.

Don't forget we worked as normal all through the second lockdown when others could WFH.

I'm pregnant, back in school with no measures in place. It does feel a bit unfair that my counterparts can keep them and their babies safe. When I signed up to be a teacher I didn't take into account pandemics...stupid of me, obviously.

Also if you want the life of a teacher the entire key stage with positive cases got sent home to isolate. Anyone that had been in some contact with positive cases but weren’t in that key stage didn’t though and had to keep working.
Guess who contracted Covid first day in the summer hols? Yep, the ones that didn’t get sent home. Cheers for that.

If they had been made to isolated they could have cancelled holidays with notice with no penalty as it was in advance.
Unfortunately as they contracted Covid over the weekend we broke up there was no refunds for two members of staff flying out on Sunday ( to see loved ones for the first time in 18 months).

Not wishing a horrible disease on anyone but two weeks off school with Covid sounds great. Anything else and SLT make you phone in everyday to prove you are well.

Plus we were told we must have the app because they couldn't afford the pingdemic.

The best thing was that school policy was nobody was allowed to go within two meters of one another. This is impossible. So when someone got covid SLT said 'tell us if you have been near this person, but that shouldn't be anyone because it's against school policy.'

So I never confessed to being near a covid case because I didn't want a disciplinary.

@Mazblue86

Plus we were told we must have the app because they couldn't afford the pingdemic.

The best thing was that school policy was nobody was allowed to go within two meters of one another. This is impossible. So when someone got covid SLT said 'tell us if you have been near this person, but that shouldn't be anyone because it's against school policy.'

So I never confessed to being near a covid case because I didn't want a disciplinary.

Exactly @Mazblue86 and @Lightisnotwhite

The life of a teacher

People just don't understand

Which is why whilst being married to a teacher is not ideal, at least the other half truely understands !

Good luck to you both this coming term.

@Mazblue86

Plus we were told we must have the app because they couldn't afford the pingdemic.

The best thing was that school policy was nobody was allowed to go within two meters of one another. This is impossible. So when someone got covid SLT said 'tell us if you have been near this person, but that shouldn't be anyone because it's against school policy.'

So I never confessed to being near a covid case because I didn't want a disciplinary.

Absolutely shocking.

I know people who were asked to fill in a form each day of which children and adults they had been close to. As this was in a primary school, with young children, it was most of them 🙄

I was furloughed very much against my will two weeks before I was due back from maternity leave. Was hugely stressed as it felt like a ticket to redundancy. Then our company unfurloughed us, paid the furlough money back, said we were all good to come back to work, they had done some financial wizardry and all was good. Went back to work and two weeks later I was made redundant along with a huge number of the team. The redundancy process was horrific. Was totally devastated at the loss of role and career I’d worked very hard for for years and ended up on antidepressants and sleeping pills. I’m very sorry for your loss and experience and also for you having to socialise with a bunch of entitled city wankers (ugh) but just because they have glided through the pandemic untouched doesn’t mean everyone in a wfh job situation has. My mum is a nurse and I do feel she had to go above and beyond risk wise and I was very worried for her (typically she just got on with it!) but a lot of people in different situations have been negatively affected by the pandemic in lots of different ways. No one had any choice.

Yea and many of the WFH people had to homeschool their kids as had no keywords places. 2 of our 3 have SEN but no EHCP had to get on with it with all therapy withdrawn. Yea living the life of Riley
DH was one if the lucky WFH shielded and WOH part time. Would much rather he was well and not immunosupressed.
Yea and come to think of it my car needed repairs following and accident. Company was quite happy to take my excess but not carry out the repair as I didn't have the keywords card although potentially DH probably was. No one gave a flying fuck that I was a carer for shielded DH and had to search high and low with no transport for specific foods for autistic dd. No poor people bringing us stuff as couldn't even get delivery slots as dh didn't want the food parcels and that triggered the help.

@Fncottonrrrrgh Please accept my sincere apologies for having a life outside social media and failing to meet your response time criteria.

Why wouldn't I choose to be a teacher?

1. I'm more interested in things than people - so it's not a job that appeals or I would be very good at.

2. I go to work to make money, I make more money in my current job then I would in education.

3. Lots of teachers seem very dissatisfied with their jobs but I've yet to meet one that actually did anything about it (other than retire or moan) - Working with negative people is a massive drag.

4. It's a political/ideological monoculture - I can count on one hand the number of teachers who weren't left wing, liberal and more woke than most. It's pretty dull working in a place where everyone thinks the same.

5. The cancel culture is strong, teachers seem to take offence very quickly at ideas different to their own and a lot seem to actually take it as an attack that you have a different opinion/experience to them.

Let me guess….Has this turned into a typical Mumsnet Middle class / Teacher bashing thread?

The very same teachers you’re expecting to risk their well being to look after and educate your kids at school?

Chortle.

Worse than that, he's bashing his own wife.

My DH has a "cannon fodder" job. I am WFH. He has come out of the pandemic physically fitter, happier and more robust than me. It is swings and roundabouts.

@Thewiseoneincognito

Let me guess….Has this turned into a typical Mumsnet Middle class / Teacher bashing thread?

The very same teachers you’re expecting to risk their well being to look after and educate your kids at school?

Chortle.

Unresolved childhood trauma.

The refrain 'teachers are always moaning' is just classic gaslighting. We aren't moaning; we're making the point that schools are inherently dangerous and people think this is fine. If this is false, then everywhere is safe and there is no covid problem.

Risks have increased for everyone, if you’re double jabbed and not CEV there’s a certain amount of just having to get on with it. If you are CEV/ elderly then yes I think those of us in a better position should be trying to protect you with simple measures such as face masks, hygiene etc.

@noblegiraffe No, I've made general comments about teachers?

@CBUK2K2

Why wouldn't I choose to be a teacher? 1) I'm more interested in things than people - so it's not a job that appeals or I would be very good at.2) I go to work to make money, I make more money in my current job then I would in education.3) Lots of teachers seem very dissatisfied with their jobs but I've yet to meet one that actually did anything about it (other than retire or moan) - Working with negative people is a massive drag.4) It's a political/ideological monoculture - I can count on one hand the number of teachers who weren't left wing, liberal and more woke than most. It's pretty dull working in a place where everyone thinks the same.5) The cancel culture is strong, teachers seem to take offence very quickly at ideas different to their own and a lot seem to actually take it as an attack that you have a different opinion/experience to them.*

1. I gathered that by your small minded posts to date
2. Only fair point you've made
3. Small minded as it's only your social circle your referring to.
4. I'm not. I'm firmly middle of the political compass as aren't many teachers. It is a shame the minority have the loudest voices and the loudest social media voices but that's intelligence for you. The quieter ones know better.

5.thats not cancel culture

It truly is a shame you don't want to join the profession you seem like you'd be great at managing mutiny on a daily basis whilst having your hands tied behind your back and onlookers booing from the sidelines

As are... Rather than than as aren't

@CBUK2K2 unfortunately I voted Conservative not on the last voted but the one before... I'll never make that mistake ever again. (hangs head in shame daily).

I forgot to add @CBUK2K2 how shiny your white male privileged seat looks from the trenches. You've got a nice view of the city but no real perception of the streets below the glass.

@Fncottonrrrrgh My reasons are my own, you asked for them and your only retort is to try and insult.

Your comment on voting Con just goes to confirm you are in the same thin skinned, leftie, liberal woke camp.

Don't believe me about it, 60% voted labour and 12% conservative in 2017 according to this study. That's a massive difference from the wider population.

teachertapp.co.uk/teachers-vote-general-election-intentions-predict/

I'm glad you didn't forget to throw the white privilege card in there, the fact anyone can work in education and still trot that nonsense out is fairly laughable. I take it you don't spend a lot of time looking at data from the DfE.