Too many part-timers working in schools

[Titogovi]

That;

a) Only work 8.55-3.15pm, not a minute earlier, not a minute later.

b) Have hissy fits if you ask them do anything 'from home' (their place of worship)

c) Actually, just re-read a) and that really says it all.

Who suffers - the children.

Question: who created their jobs in the first place then? And who decided that "working flexibly" (aka, doing the bare minumum and caring more about taking little Johnny to his sax lesson on the other side of town rather than giving your all to the school your work in..) would work..?

I feel ashamed to be a part-time working mum athe moment.

TAs let the side down, big style.

Can't understand why the OP takes it upon herself to ask a TA to do something "from home' anyway (see (b) in post). Outrageous that she should take it upon herself to boss around an employee in her child's school. What did you ask her to do OP? Plan lessons? Mark work? Make a costume for the school play?
Only the teacher or the headteacher can dictate the TAs tasks. The TEACHER can be expected to complete tasks out of school hours, but then their contract and terms and conditions are widely different to a TA's.
Surprising that you haven't comeback, OP. Did you realise that you sounded like a hysterical female who had thrown her toys out of the pram? You are given women a bad name.

I am a part-time teacher in an independent secondary school.

I work fucking hard.

Bite me, Titogovi.

Am a TA and certainly wouldn't work more than my contracted hours if YOU were my teacher. £8000 pa and a teacher with that attitude? I'd ask to be moved.

Sayithowitis, I've been doing a TA role for a couple of years. It's been part time, because that's all the staff need. I got the experience for the job by volunteering for 3 years. I love working with kids and my previous job, which wasn't in marketing, was dull in comparison.

I think the OP has taken some elements of TAs (being part time, working around their own kids, finding education of interest late) and twisted them into something to be despised.

I, however, have found that most TAs are mums who genuinely enjoy being at school, who do more than they are paid for and who enjoy their jobs immensely. Maybe that's why the OP has her knickers in a twist. Bitter, jealous, angry, judgemental...all are words that could apply to the OP.

I wasn't going to respond, but what he heck...I clocked off at 10:15am yesterday (stayed till 12 to get a little job done, but was paid to 10:15) so I have had chance to do the housework on a weekday, leaving me free to post whenever I feel like it this weekend.

Grow up OP. You sound like a 2 year old having a temper tantrum.

Oh...and I mentioned Sayit, as her approach is the one I'm most familiar with (meant to say this in the first paragraph, but got distracted by my child).

Also, I'm not a yummy mummy at all. I'm not middle class either. So I dont' know if that exempts me from the OPs hatelist or not.

Agree with Nonnomom. Titogovi - you give women a bad name. And I'm embarrassed to think that you were once a teacher.

I am a TA and work PT. I work 8:30am - 12:30pm but I am often there before that and often there beyond that. I do almost all my prep work in my own time, either at home or in school time. I have been known to spend several hours doing work in prep for school.

Pretty much all the other TAs in my school work over and above heir contracted hours.

i can claim back pay for additional hours, but rarely do unless it is a full afternoon - although often chose to take time in leiu instead.

However I do chose to work PT in order to prioritise my DD, and if my DD has a music lesson or activity club, or indeed needs colletcing from school at 3:45pm - that does come first, way above my school based work.

As a TA I get paid very little. the pay is not great, esp as I am actually a qualified teacher (as are 4-5 other of the TAs at my school). I don't get paid enough you work from home or do additioanl unpaid hours. And yes - I do put MY FAMILY first.

But I also know that school get very good value for money too.

Oh and in the past I worked PT as a teacher too. It worked very very well in terms of what I did for schoo. School got a darn sight better deal from me as they always got way more from me than my contracted hours. One of the reasons I stopped teaching was to improve my home work liife balance - a TA post makes my life much better.

I am a part time TA and it is a challenging but fantastic job, but sod it if I am working overtime for nothing. I have a family and study too and only payed a small wage which I am not complaining about as I new what I was getting when I interviewed for the position. I was given my hours and trust me you don't get thanks for working overtime and many parents see you as not being all that important in the classroom. Fantastic job but with naff pay- will do school trips but like others I have a busy personal life and rent to pay.

Many thanks for your response Hulababy, very considered unlike some of the other rants, which have bordered on downright abusive.

I guess that this is where you and I, and c98% of the other posters to this thread differ; I would always put JOB/CAREER first and family second. Which is why I would be a crap mother and wife if I went back to teaching, so I don't bother, just do my admin for a bit of pin money.

The only way round it for me would be to have a DH who was willing and able to be a home-dad. But,even then a teachers salary is hardly going to keep a family of 5 like ours used to what we have become accustomed to, (cue more abusive rants). Or should I just ditch my DH and marry someone so rich that we could employ a nanny and still have money left over for holidays and clothes.

It's all or nothing with me. I suspect it is with countless others as well, it's just that their voices are seldom heard.

OP, you are shit stirring.

TA's get paid squit all. They should work the hours they work and not a minute more. Their job should be 'in the moment', they are not teachers and they should not be required to be "professional" at their salary. It's far more important for them to be simply caring, fun and willing to follow a plan a teacher has devised.

You sound very lazy to me.

Titogovi - I could never put work first. My DD will always be my priority. IMO that is the way it has to be. Why have a child otherwise after all?

But I do also thing there is middle ground. You can still give yourself whole heartedly to work, but still be able to take a reality step back and get life into perspective. My class teacher and my head respect how much effort and wok I put into my TA job. But they also respect the fact that I am a mummy first and foremost - so if I can't stay behind in an afternoon (which I may not get paid for ) they know why.

As it happens on Monday I am staying in the afternoon - unpaid - to go to one of my pupils with SN's review. I have managed to work it tofit in. But then likewise it was my DD's spech day at school Friday morning and I made up my hours prior to it and was able to be away from school Friday in order tgo.

Middle ground exists and really does make for a good home work life balance.

But seriously - IME, very few TAs only work for their contracted hours. Many do work in their own time. Yes, they may need to leave on the dot in an evening - but you can generally be sure they probably get in early, work through their break or work at home too. And that is before adding on any extras they may do such as attending school based events in their own time.

I've never heard such sanctimonious claptrap in all my life! I'm a single parent with two children, I'm also an assistant head,classed as an "Outstanding Teacher" and work very long hours, but I would NEVER put my job before my children. Grow Up Woman

That is so sad that if you had to work full time (some of us do) that you'd put your career before your family.

I give endless amounts of energy and time to my teaching career, but likewise to my DS. I absolutely love my job and my ds. It is possible to do both. I don't have a nanny. CM from approximately 745-345pm, term time (unless meetings...etc). I do Loads of work at home but also time with ds. I have a very good work life balance.

People should have or strive for that balance. It's healthy. My students get all my attention in school, a lot of out of hours time planning, marking, assessing...etc. I engage in professional development and do just as good of a job teaching now as I did pre- ds. Probably better now actually. Because I understand how special each one of my students are to their parents. I loved them before, bu now I truly get it. Only possible to "get" that after having your own dc ime.

X post with hulababy. She said it better. And primarymum

"It's all or nothing with me."

Hmm. That's a tough one. I think I'll take nothing, if that's ok?

But you can have "all" of both - it just takes a lot of energy and time management.

I keep thinking the op isn't for real And doesn't really have dc. Either that or something really awful happened to her...
It just doesn't make sense...

Sorry by "isn't for real" I meant the way she describes herself. Not the "T" word

What a bizarre op.

I am shocked by how many TA's are working above contracted hours routinely for no pay. One offs I can understand. All the time? No, you're not paid enough.

I'm a professional whatever type the OP was moaning about who will only work school hours and rushes off to be home by 3.30pm. Also have a severely disabled child and in common with the vast majority of children like him there is no out of school provision for him. No after school clubs and it's incredibly difficult to find an after school carer who could cope with him.

I guess the OP would prefer me to be on benefits than dare to only work school hours?

Titigove - do you put your admin job before your children and family then, & work more than the hours you are paid for? I assume if that is the case you would put your work before watching your childs very important school events nativity play or sports day or the like?

Titogovi...
Do fuck off. You've had your fun now.

And I'm cross that this is the first thread I've ever felt moved to actually use that word in its entirety.

I would not want my children to be taught by someone whose own family did not come first!

When I'm at work, I concentrate on the job, and don't spend every five minutes thinking about finger painting. However, if an emergency cropped up (god forbid - but a febrile convulsion or a head injury for example) then I would be contacted and my boss, without hesitation, would let me go and be with them. I would expect this to be the case for every working mother (or father). Any decent place of work would have procedures in place to allow this to happen.

I would want my child's class teacher to clock off (at 6pm/7pm whenever) and not think about my child at all during her non-working hours. I would expect the TA to clock off at 3.15pm.

If they put my child first at 9pm on a Friday night, I would think they were a loon!

Exactly Nonnomum. But I think OP is suggesting that anyone who has dc shouldn't be a teacher or work full time becAuse they should give "everything" to their career. It sounds like either she doesn't have kids or something went wrong in her own career...

Since having ds I personally would prefer a teacher for him who has dc.