Coping with Teacher Training days

[bacon]

I'm new to education, DS1 in reception DS2 19 months old. But this is really going to get right up my nose. Teacher training days tagged onto half terms. 1st one Friday just before the weeks break.

How do mums cope? Ive got something planned - booked months and months ago and have to leave really early and now just checked diary and DS1 is home and I'm paying for DS2 to be in nursery!

Why cant they do these training days in the evenings or even Saturday morning like the rest of us? Why has education have to be so disrupted? Surely with the number of weeks off they get it wouldnt be too much to expect a few days to be put towards training?

Struth, we are self employed here, hubby never hardly gets time off, when we were farming we worked well unto the night, expected to get up at the crack of dawn, 7 days a week, working when completely exhausted and so hanging and no paid holidays!

So many families are struggling with childcare, trying to hold onto their jobs, and then this is slapped in our faces.

Surely this doesnt happen on the continent??

fivecandles Wed 27-Oct-10 09:52:35

mrz on Sunday here:

'confident that their children are being well looked after.
by those unemployed people pulled off benefits hmm '

and here:

'"let's puck people off benefits pay them the minimum wage and they will do a fantastic job of looking after our children so we can go to work"'

and here:

'no fivecandles I would rather see children safe'

horrified ?

no just sceptical that what you seemed to think was so easily achieved wasn't quite as straight forward as you still appear to believe. You won't listen to anyone who has tried to point out that there are obstacles to your "solution" not insurmountable obstacles but ones that need to be thought through.

No doubt you'll continue to backtrack mrz but the implications are obvious and they weren't just picked up by me.

no fivecandles as I said you continue to see things in your own myopic manner because your opinion is the only one that counts in your narrow little mind.

I really don't see the problem. I went onto our local school website and the INSET days are on the calendar for the entire year e.g. there is one next June. This is no different than having the holiday dates-or should schools not have holidays?!
You have to allow for them in the same way that you allow for this half term.

Actually Feenie you've not ranged across all of the insults and I'm not just including the ones directed personally at me but at all parents in my position who have been lumped together into one 'incapable' mass. What about 'can't be bothered'? And calling somebody 'pathetic' because they have nobody to look after their children during 5 days of the year is not acceptable and certainly worse than anything I've said.

'but failing to organise childcare could easily be seen as irresponsible'

But who here has ever failed to organise childcare?

Are you seriously suggesting that I should leave my children with a stranger or somebody I don't trust rather than take them into work with me?

Do you maintain that it is somehow a personal failing of mine which means that I have nobody to look after my children on INSET days?? Because that is what is being implied not only about me but about all parents in my position. And, I'm sorry, but that is incredibly hurtful and insulting.

And how, once again, would leaving your children in an out of school provision be any less responsible than leaving them with anyone else?

Well it's a matter of semantics mrz? As I've said, it's not just me who has been shocked by your implications.

No fivecandles it's down to how you choose to interpret everything that people say that don't match your preconceived ideas.

And who else has been shocked fivecandles please enlighten me?

Look what it ultimately boils down to is 2 questions with yes/no answers. Anything else is irrelevant given that any out of school provision or coordination of INSET days would need to be managed school by school or area by area:

1.) Do you think more could be done to reduce the inconvenience of INSET days on working parents?

2.) In principle, do you think, an out of school childcare facility during INSET days would be a good thing?

I'll go first:

1.) Yes
2.) Yes

"Actually Feenie you've not ranged across all of the insults and I'm not just including the ones directed personally at me but at all parents in my position who have been lumped together into one 'incapable' mass. What about 'can't be bothered'? And calling somebody 'pathetic' because they have nobody to look after their children during 5 days of the year is not acceptable and certainly worse than anything I've said."

You have absolutely no right to claim to be 'hurt' about any of this compared to how you've treated at least two posters on his thread, no. And no, I don't think what memoo said is worse than what you said to her.

Even the posters who supported your opinion have disappeared atm, so tiresome is your style of argument.

Whatswrong with you said:

'I'm finding this weird - how is it incomprehensible that, assuming insurance issues and alternative use of buildings could be got round, schools could be used to provide childcare for parents who need it on these days?

Not sure what the funny looks are supposed to mean either - would children be unsafe with people because the were the erstwhile great unwashed unemployed?

One person on this thread has already said her DD will be looked after by 'loopy Nana', and she is clearly not the only one struggling.

Why deny others the opportunity to sort their needs out?'

There have been others who have supported me or asked questions but they've been largely ignored or as I say hounded off.

'You have absolutely no right to claim to be 'hurt' '

That's truly astounding.

Anyway I'm waiting...

You left off the important second part of that sentence, fivecandles. You ony seem to pick out the bits you want to see.

myopic to the end

Puffling said this:

'I'm amazed that anyone thinks this person is unreasonable. I'm a teacher whose days in work don't match dd's days in school. When there is an INSET day at her school and working, there is absolutely nothing I can do about it.You can't get a child minder ad hoc, my school won't allow me to take her to work, I have no family nearby, I can't take the day off because I'm a teacher. Therefore this time mad Nana is coming to look after her. She is loopy but I have no other option. It is a regular problem.

Doubters, offer me a solution. I'd like to hear it.'

And was ignored.

Feenie, you said I had no right to claim to feel hurt.

This is after it has been suggested that I am disorganised and inacapable and pathetic and irresponsible and can't be bothered and don't care who looks after my children and all the rest of it and this is all because like many thousands of working parents

I HAVE NOBODY TO LOOK AFTER MY CHILDREN DURING 4 OR 5 INSET DAYS A YEAR.

As I've said, some people's lack of compassion is truly astounding.

But I'm still waiting

1.)

2.)

And your point is? There were many posters who agreed with you, fivecandles - it's a debate with different opinions. But you've seen nearly everyone off. You will be the last poster standing, I'm sure - but not for the right reasons.

1.)
2.)

I said:"You have absolutely no right to claim to be 'hurt' about any of this compared to how you've treated at least two posters on this thread, no"

Important second clause which you have chosen to ignore - twice.

"some people's lack of compassion is truly astounding'

God, isn't it?

Please don't trot out the alleged insults against yourself - I have answered all of them.

My point is that actually there are some people who are being hostile for the sake of it and putting needless objections in the way of solutions. Anyone who has agreed with me that INSET days are a pain for working parents and should be managed better or there could be out of school provision has been largely ignored or insulted.

And I can only see the fact that you are unwilling to answer these questions is more evidence of that:

1.) Do you think more could be done to reduce the inconvenience of INSET days on working parents?

2.) In principle, do you think, an out of school childcare facility during INSET days would be a good thing?

'I have answered all of them'

That makes it all right then? And, no you haven't.

I am an ex-teacher, have done well-received research into CPD, sat on steering committees for other related research projects, and I am a parent as well, who has been hugely inconvenienced by this in the past.

I think the answer is to abolish the practice of closing schools for odd days, and pay the teachers extra for doing 30 hours' extra training during school holidays or in evenings. I bet the unions would at least consider that.

From what I saw when carrying out national research projects on CPD, the value of it can be very dubious anyway, tbh.

Your "needless" objections are other people's genuine obstacles (from experience) that you don't/won't accept are valid points why it isn't so simple as you want to us to believe to provide these services.
Your solution is long term it is not going to happen overnight no matter how much you stamp your feet and claim to be hurt.

Thanks for that Boffin. That could be a solution!

But mrz I am asking you whether you agree in principle. As I have said any practical issues that may relate to your area would need to be sorted out by your area so are pointless to the wider debate here.

1.) Do you think more could be done to reduce the inconvenience of INSET days on working parents?

2.) In principle, do you think, an out of school childcare facility during INSET days would be a good thing?

Really, haven't I? Answer my answers then fivecandles, if you maintain I haven't:

Your list:"This is after it has been suggested that I am disorganised and inacapable and pathetic and irresponsible"

My answers:

"It was memoo who called your attitude 'pathetic', and you saw her off in a disgraceful manner ages and ages and ages ago. I think you can let that one go for now - so as you can see, I have a very close eye on who is calling the insults.

Sorry, can't find anyone at all who called you 'disorganised', but even if they did, it's hardly comparable to your incredible tactless treatment of at least two posters on this thread.

Irresponsible - you said this twice, btw. Again, hardly 'hurtful' in the truest sense, but failing to organise childcare could easily be seen as irresponsible."

The last one - 'irresponsible' was said in the context of failing to organise childcare. So no, I guess it wasn't aimed at you, so you can probably stop saying it twice, or at all.

Why is it so difficult for you to answer those questions? Do you think there's anything revealing in that?