Shocked by hatred of kids & parents on TES website

[kris007]

I've spent a bit of time reading the TES website which contains threads and postings from teachers and I am stunned by the level of hatred and abuse directed towards students and their parents. I am horrified to think that some of these creatures may actually be teaching my kids!
It appears that the "state of war" we read about it British classrooms is by no means one way traffic - the teachers
seem to relish getting in on the all the drama.

i know some schools are war zones, because i went to one! in that school were a mix of very very good teachers, very very bad teachers, and a lot of them somewhere in the middle. as a previous poster said (welcome to MN btw!!) most of the poor situations are down to bad management, not to bad teachers.

i don't think anyone would look at MN, and get an accurate picture of parenting today, we all have different styles and different children. the TES forums i have looked at are pretty much what i would expect: they are sometimes despairing, desperate people, who have to have a sense of humour to do their job. their comments are not always a sad indictment on teaching, but a sad indictment on the lack of discipline and routine that most children face at home.

in my job i have to see all sorts of people from all walks of life. you know what? sometimes i don't enjoy treating the smelly NHS patient who walks into the practice. obviously, i would much rather treat the trendy young professional who is going to spend more money - that's LIFE and that's what doing a job is about. there are good and bad bits of it. i am in a FB group that has been set up for people who do my job, and if you read that you'd think, "Fuck me, I'm never going to the opticians again."

denlive, it was juule not hunjermunker

Reading skills

Charming, denlive.

denlive - that was a little harsh. i'm not sure what hunker said to offend you, but i seriously doubt her children are brats!

as an aside - I find the reasoning that because a professional has to deal with difficult behaviour (i.e verbal abuse, etc) that it is acceptable to speak about them in a very unpleasant way in a public place because it is "letting off steam" - is "OK" very odd!

I am abused, threatened and treated in very anti-social ways very often in my job. That does not mean I become angry, bitter or feel the need to "let off steam" in the way some on the TES site have. I understand that treating people in a pro social manner works more often than not and if I am beggining to feel angry etc, that I need to look at why I am reacting in this way and what I can do to better understand/approach/deal with the person who is causing me to feel this way.

I do feel in your defence Evasmith, that teachers must not be being supported or taught this for the very fact that they feel its OK. That is very sad.

wow, gininteacups, you must really love your job! because when someone i'm working with makes me feel angry i think, "I wish they'd piss off."

denlive
you are being appallingly rude to the wrong person.
Own goal I think

I have tried to help many extremely broken and decent people from TES so am always going to defend the site. I know it has helped people get well again or get justice! I also know it has saved lives.
If that welcome was for me, thank you, how kind!

you're welcome thedaphers - we're a friendly bunch here, really!!

and to the OP (who i haven't actually addressed) your dd sounds like the kind of idiot i was when i was 16, and i hope she's as ashamed of herself in 10 years as i am!

and at least my mother didn't encourage me.

On the teaching subject part of the problem is the children and their parents. When my mother taught classes of 40 in the 1940s they sat still and worked as a class. She did sometimes get challenging behaviour (we remember her stories about one boy threatening to throw himself out of the window in class) but usually the parent supported the school even those whose parents were in and out of prison (which were quite a lot of the parents actually where she taught). I do not think that is the case now because people too little about responsibilities rather than rights.

It would certainly be useful for teachers to tell parents what they would most like us to do.

Theurbandryad - I just believe in treating all people well not just those that are "easy" believe me - sometimes I feel very upset and angry but I have learned to deal with it without ruminating or the need for much venting!

thedaphers - you sound like a very caring and professional individual and I am glad there are teachers like you. I just wish teacher training included more about dealing with and understanding difficult behaviour as unfortunately modern society results in much more of it and so it is a part of the job.

BoneybackJefferson--should that be 'lose' it not 'loose' it?

See me after school, please.

gininteacups

I believe that the reason why so many Teachers Bitch and whine on the TES is simply becasue it is full of people who understand the nature of the job.

Although many parents and professionals can empathise with the situation that we are in they don't/can't fully understand it.

Teachers need to be able to le to bitch, whine, cry, complain and be bitter about life to those that understand the situation and have been through what a class of year 7, 8, 9s etc. can do, So that the next day we can go back into the same class with the same pupils and try again.

I am lucky, I am in a supportive school where all of the staff can and do talk to each other, many teachers are not in that situation.

Please, daphers is good! I would have just gone for that name but it was already taken. Arrogance and a bit of naughtiness made me go the THE daphers! I probably won't use this site to be frank, it was due to a link form TES I had a peek, but I am sure you are all wonderfully friendly!
Before I go, I would just like to say I got on famously with pupils and parents! I was simply wanting to stick up for a site which has helped so many - even if some of you think education is no more stressful than other jobs (I agree, I used to nurse) x

gininteacups (fabulous name and indeed thought) I don't teach anymore but again, how kind to say that, thank you. I DO care and deeply so.

Bridie3

Yup, I'm a BAD BAD Teacher.

BBJ - I understand the reasons why some teachers may feel the need to "whine" etc but I do not feel posting such views - even if fleeting - on a public forum is acceptable. If I did this in my profession I would risk losing membership of my professional body - for good reason.

As I said - in your professions defence - maybe you do not recieve adequate supervision/training and this explains the lack of understanding why this is not appropriate behaviour - you personally, obviously do/have but I dont feel defending the right of other professionals to do what you wouldn't is correct.

If society/parents are to balme for kids lack of respect, then we as professionals should not contribute to this decline in standards by stooping to such levels of unpleasantness in a public place

Don't worry. I won't be calling your parents yet. But I think some loss of Golden Time is called for.

Some teachers have lost their jobs over their posts on TES but not because of any reason other than their employers have used their posts as ammunition to get rid of them if they have discussed a bullying manager or an unprofessional working environment. This is what some teachers are up against. The filth posted, the desire to antagonise or shock is only policed by TES moderators and responsible posters. Teachers wanting to share hideous professional issues (other than the kids and parents) get jumped on and hard. There are so many agendas in this profession today and many of them are not designed to assist teaching and learning of our young. It is sad but true.

Denlive - I had noted the 'us the teachers' but I was sincerely hoping that you were an imposter. I am sad if you are truly in the teaching profession and not someone who is just trying to get teachers a bad name.

You also do not know whether my children are brats or not as I really don't think you know my family and hopefully never will. I also think it sad if you consider all your students brats regardless of how well you know them.

Cornsilk - 'Do teachers in private schools get the same opportunities for training and personal development....?'

In my experience the answer is , yes. Having taught in both sectors I would say that it is very similar except that I have less trouble getting the funding / cover for a day's course ( outrageously overpriced IMO!)in my current ( independent) school.That is not because the school is awash with money but rather that it can't afford to aim for anything but the very best if it is to continue to attract the brightest pupils. It is a very successful, academic school and needs to remain so. Independent schools are entirely dependent on applicants - no applicants = no school.It would be a very complacent SMT ( state or private) who didn't encourage the professional development of all its staff .

On the subject of TES - I agree with AbbeyA. 'Opinion' is often deliberately provocative but strong views are usually robustly challenged. A forum for dentists might well elicit some surprising comments about their patients but they would behave professionally towards them 'in the chair', I've no doubt.

actually, having read gininteacups' last post, i think the issue is more that TES is a public forum. there are probably more forums (fora??) out there which aren't as public. as Cod said, the teachers who post on there probably haven't found the private sites yet, or maybe they're not willing to pay a membership fee.

apart from anything else, it's a small part of TES which we're discussing here. as others have said, there are parts of TES that are fantastic, professional and give good advice. the few people spoiling it for everyone might not even be teachers, but now we're all going to have to stay in at break, until someone owns up.

lol at urbandryad!