Ds's teacher has returned to work after mat leave and her baby has just started nursery full-time ...

[bibbitybobbityhat]

I wonder how many days she will need to have off to look after her poorly baby.

What was the intent behind the question? What was the meaning?

By 'plain question' you are using the defence 'I was just being honest'. I usually find that this is just an excuse for holding some pretty unpleasant views. This doesn't seem any different.

Can't wait for the explanation of why it's perfectly ok to speculate about the teacher's ability to do her job on the basis that she's a mother now so it's all up in the air

Op - would you be asking the same 'plain' question (bollocks btw - that question had more baggage than Jordan) if the teacher was a man?

What a weird op

?????? I don't understand what you were after hearing!

Obviously touched a mn nerve! You can be very fierce when you want to be.

Well surely you know that already bibbity, being a regular poster and everything. This all seems very out of character

explain, explain, explain....what was the point?!

Actually DD1's teacher has a three month old baby and looks v tired. I wonder how much time he will have off?

Actually I think the answer is - I couldn't give a monkey's arse.

Clearly, I'm a shite mum because that thought didn't even enter my head with DD's "just back from maternity and a 3yo"" teacher last year.
FFS shall we go back to sacking women when they get married?

Are you drunk?

Northernlurkerr - in my vast experience it is mainly women who pick up the pieces in the too-sick-for-childcare scenario.

I am only asking the question. I am not judging the teacher. Where am I judging her? How do you know I am not a teacher in exactly the same position?

perhaps bibbity wasn't having a go at the teacher but was actually speculating on the situation that many of us find ourselves in of returning to work/ baby/childcare? Isn't that allowed? It doesn't mean she's having a go.

Of course you are judging her! Why else ask the question?

The question is in itself unreasonable because the personal life of your child's teacher is just that - personal to HER not YOU.

OK here are some (in my view, similarly unloaded) questions...

I wonder what percentage of the prison population are black?
I wonder how many of the people convicted of rioters are from single parent families?
I wonder what that women who got raped last week was wearing?

Wouldn't any of those make you wonder what the person asking the question was getting at?

But what is the point? What was she expecting? Enquiring minds would like to know...

Indeed corny. Ty.

You are judging by asking. There is no definitive answer to your question - in fact any answer would be nothing but speculation as we have no idea of the teacher's family life/back up plan.

And also corny, because I'd bet my house that Bibbity doesn't work, or else the question would have been asked in a very different way

Bibbity is speculating. I imagine (although I don't know) because she has some experience of the situation.

I am a teacher.

I had 7 days off last year which I am reall shocked and appalled and embarressed about. Why? On 2 days, DS vomited at 5 am - I arranged alternative care for him on the second day of his 48 hour exclusion from his school but could not for the first.

For 5 days, I was off because I lost my voice. Completely. Couldn't even hum.

I am sure that there were some parents who thought 'I bet you it was because her children were ill' but in fact it was genuine illness on my part.

And in fact the 7 days were dwarfed by the number of days I spent out of the classroom on continued professional development (=training, observing other teachers etc).

I went back to work as a teacher when my ds was a baby (f/t). The question doesn't offend me at all.